Tapering is hard for many of us crazy addicted endurance athletes. Being tired and complaining is easy, pushing the limits is fun but tapering is scary....why?
1 - OMG I may lose all my fitness in 2 weeks (not), I may gain a lot of weight, I won't see my friends (training is my only social life) ...the list goes on. I have been managing well, at least I think so, being self coached. I have backed off when I was not feeling it, taken rest days to recovery and if anything maybe under trained. But we will see.
I digress..... I raced SDIT 2 weeks prior to Vineman which was a good decision. I raced tired- after a 17+ hour week and managed a good race. But then I was thinking now what..... its funny I am coaching an athlete who is racing Vineman and did SDIT and I had not problem confidently writing her training plan - so why not mine? In any case I decided to run the Coronado 15K on July 4, 9 days pre- Vineman and 3 days post SDIT. In between I was flexible. Monday I was feeling SDIT so I opted for ez swim only. Tuesday I did an ez run and felt okay but not great and went to yoga. Wednesday I planned a 3 hour ride with some intensity but I had to listened to my body- it was not feeling it. So I backed off, fell off the back and told myself that pushing the efforts would only hurt Vineman. Then came the 15K today my legs are stiff and I was not sure....so I started running and the PE (perceived effort was high for the pace) so I ran by effort and not pace and it was funny around mile 3 I was feeling better and assumed I was running slowly but quite the opposite I was running 7:00 pace (which is quite good for me) and I was reasonably comfortable so I went with with it. I began passing people and was really motivated - around mile 6 the little voice in me suggested I back off, save it for Vineman..... so I did. Hoping the momentum I was feeling today is there next Sunday! Okay I was 4th by 30 seconds.....argh...coulda, shoulda,.. but did not!
Now....steep taper I believe. My legs are feeling the run and I need to shed this fatigue. Friday will be swim, hot yoga.... then active recovery Sat and Sunday -massage and re- asses Monday. The fitness is in the bank so now it is staying sane and finding some spring in my legs.
I digress..... I raced SDIT 2 weeks prior to Vineman which was a good decision. I raced tired- after a 17+ hour week and managed a good race. But then I was thinking now what..... its funny I am coaching an athlete who is racing Vineman and did SDIT and I had not problem confidently writing her training plan - so why not mine? In any case I decided to run the Coronado 15K on July 4, 9 days pre- Vineman and 3 days post SDIT. In between I was flexible. Monday I was feeling SDIT so I opted for ez swim only. Tuesday I did an ez run and felt okay but not great and went to yoga. Wednesday I planned a 3 hour ride with some intensity but I had to listened to my body- it was not feeling it. So I backed off, fell off the back and told myself that pushing the efforts would only hurt Vineman. Then came the 15K today my legs are stiff and I was not sure....so I started running and the PE (perceived effort was high for the pace) so I ran by effort and not pace and it was funny around mile 3 I was feeling better and assumed I was running slowly but quite the opposite I was running 7:00 pace (which is quite good for me) and I was reasonably comfortable so I went with with it. I began passing people and was really motivated - around mile 6 the little voice in me suggested I back off, save it for Vineman..... so I did. Hoping the momentum I was feeling today is there next Sunday! Okay I was 4th by 30 seconds.....argh...coulda, shoulda,.. but did not!
Now....steep taper I believe. My legs are feeling the run and I need to shed this fatigue. Friday will be swim, hot yoga.... then active recovery Sat and Sunday -massage and re- asses Monday. The fitness is in the bank so now it is staying sane and finding some spring in my legs.
No comments:
Post a Comment