Tag: taper

Losing the Plot

One week to go until the North Dorset Village Marathon and I feel… I don’t know how I feel.

Or rather, I feel nothing.

Or rather, I feel lots of contradictory things.

I feel like my training has gone well: I’ve been consistent, I’ve run more miles than I did for my last marathon, I haven’t had any major injuries or time off for illness. I think I could run a marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes.

I don’t think I could run a marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes. That’s 25 minutes faster than my last marathon. The course is going to be hilly, my hamstring is still tight. Who am I kidding?

I don’t know if there’s going to be a happy ending or not. If things go badly next Sunday I will point to my tight hamstring and the fact that I went to a nightclub last night (yes!) as proof that things were doomed to failure. If things go well, then dancing til midnight (I know!) was valuable cross-training and the hamstring thing was just a niggle.

I’m in the middle of my story, I’m not in control of the plot now. I can’t turn to the final page and tell you what happens. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Weekly Summary:

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 6 miles (steady)
Wednesday: 5.5 miles (easy)
Thursday: 5 miles (intervals)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 8 miles
Sunday: rest

Total: 24.5 miles

Q: When is a Taper not a Taper?

A: When you’re a week into the “taper” and still running the same amount.

A: When your running’s going so well you don’t want to run less.

A: When you tell everyone you’re tapering but really aren’t.

A: When you fear rest and avoid it at all costs.

A: When it’s a tapir.

A: When you really need to get a grip and STOP RUNNING GINA.

I ran 6 miles this morning. In my defense, the plan said 7. In accusation, I could easily have done 4.

My plan seems to have a 2 week taper, rather than a 3 week one. Is this ok? I feel good, but I know I need to slow down. There are 31 miles in the plan for next week, then 10 the final week. Too much? Help!