October 14, 2013
Monday is here again and it got here FAST this week. Maybe because I spent yesterday cleaning my house, it feels like it got here too fast. Normally, I like fast things. I like fast cars, fast women and fast food, but I don't like fast weekends. I like long, slow weekends. I like weekends that drag on for, oh, three weeks at a time. If anyone has a way to help me achieve these three week weekends, please inbox me. Let's chat!
Speaking of fast, a lot of what I talk about here in this blog is speed and getting faster. Part of getting faster, particularly in races, is tapering correctly. The 18th article in the 22 Essential Pieces of Marathon Training Advice from Active.com talks about this.
Practice the Art of Peaking at the Right Time
Dramatically reducing overall mileage and intensity is not the best way to peak and feel your best on the starting line. You may feel flat if you take this strategy. Your legs need to remember how to run fast. About two weeks before your race you should run a race-specific workout that mimics the demands of your goal race. A 10- to 20-percent reduction in overall mileage often works best during the two weeks before your race. —Jason Fitzgerald
Speaking of fast, a lot of what I talk about here in this blog is speed and getting faster. Part of getting faster, particularly in races, is tapering correctly. The 18th article in the 22 Essential Pieces of Marathon Training Advice from Active.com talks about this.
Practice the Art of Peaking at the Right Time
Dramatically reducing overall mileage and intensity is not the best way to peak and feel your best on the starting line. You may feel flat if you take this strategy. Your legs need to remember how to run fast. About two weeks before your race you should run a race-specific workout that mimics the demands of your goal race. A 10- to 20-percent reduction in overall mileage often works best during the two weeks before your race. —Jason Fitzgerald
Tapering, as mentioned in the article, is a bit of an art form. I have at times tapered well, and at other times, not so well. Usually, I feel like I have over tapered. Life usually was the cause of my over taper. I was too busy, or maybe even a bit lazy and I skipped a workout or two. Tapering means you want to lower your volume and intensity, but if you remove too much intensity or you lower your volume too much, you will reduce your effectiveness on race day. On the other hand, if you don't taper enough, you will not be rested enough on race day. That has been my issue this year because of my running schedule. My running plan doesn't really allow for tapering except for my long runs and I have been reticent to alter it for the most part. I am pretty sure it affected my performance.
So, take a look at the article and see how you can incorporate these techniques into your training plan. You do have a training plan, right?!
Here are my numbers for today:
Time: 30:00
So, take a look at the article and see how you can incorporate these techniques into your training plan. You do have a training plan, right?!
Here are my numbers for today:
Time: 30:00
Distance: 3.17 miles
Pace: 9:28/m
Max Pace: 8:07/m
Calories: 324
Avg HR: 122
Max HR: 129
Today was one of those days that I could not make my wheels spin any faster. I felt like I was moving ok, but when I looked at my pace, it didn't reflect my perceived effort. I think my legs are just tired. Oh well...back at it tomorrow folks! Get out there and move people!!
Run for Life!!
Today was one of those days that I could not make my wheels spin any faster. I felt like I was moving ok, but when I looked at my pace, it didn't reflect my perceived effort. I think my legs are just tired. Oh well...back at it tomorrow folks! Get out there and move people!!
Run for Life!!
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