Less than 20 days until The Day. March 21st. That means the bane of most marathoners has begun - taper. Most of us hear about "taper madness" - that time where we are told by our training plans to run less to prepare for running more. It seems counter intuitive. It's tough to cut a run short at 6 miles when you used to run 10. Most of you have been there before. And even though this is my third time, I've got to admit this whole taper thing is still a bit of a mystery.
I spent some time yesterday researching the value of the taper. There are tons and tons of articles on the Internet that tell you what to do, but very few that actually explain why. I found this gem at Runner's World that does a decent job of discussing the whys. In a nutshell:
"The primary aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue, rather than to attain additional physiological adaptations or fitness gains."
In other words - what's done is done at this point. After 15 weeks of training, there is very little that I can do over the next three weeks that is going to enhance my physical preparation. But, push myself too hard though, and the consequence can be a Long Beach repeat - where I was dust by mile 13, or worse yet - injury. The goal now is to maintain my current level of fitness and to give my body ample time to heal before the big day.
So, over the next three weeks, I'll be doing slow easy miles. Like the 6 I did last night (10:32 pace, 73% MHR). I'm going to treat the next three weeks like a big dress rehearsal. Now that I've been through this a couple times, I know what *can* happen. Time to figure out how to recognize and fix issues before thy become big problems. Over the next few days, I'll be attacking the checklist that comprises the *rest* of taper (Oh my! What a pun!)
It's hard to believe that we are already in the first week of March! Wow! That means it's time to put the wrap on February and look forward to this month.
Bottom line is February went out like a lamb. Part of it was a little too much racing - three races this past month - Surf City Half on the 7th, WTRS 21K Trail race on the 20th, and the Firecracker 10K this past Sunday. With all the mini-tapering that went on, that definitely put the kibosh on serious mileage:
Week ending 2/7: 28 running, 9 rowing - 37 total
Week ending 2/14: 41 running, 10 rowing - 51 total
Week ending 2/21: 29 running, 9 rowing - 38 total
Week ending 2/28: 23 running, 5 rowing - 28 total
Total: 121 running, 33 rowing - 154 total
That's about 25 to 30 miles short of plan when I started the month. Oh well. Consistency is really the name of the game. Or so I convince myself that it is.
And now? Nervous time begins! The L.A. Marathon is less than 3 weeks away. Gulp! That means that I start taper this week. I'm going to forgo the rowing machine for the next few weeks and put my mileage in on the roads and trails. For this week:
Monday: Scheduled rest.
Tuesday: 8 general aerobic miles
Wednesday: 6 general aerobic miles. Stretch and core workout.
Thursday: Hill repeats. 6 miles total including 6 hill repeats.
Friday: Scheduled rest.
Saturday: 12 miles general aerobic.
Sunday: 4 miles general aerobic. Stretch and core workout
Total plan: 36 miles
This time around I am committed to not showing up at the start line tired. So while this week's schedule is a medium effort for me, next week and the week after will be rather pedestrian - 25 miles next week, and 8 miles (plus the marathon) the following week. My challenge will be to not *eat* like I'm still running 40 miles.....
I'm back from another race! You know what that means! Another (not so) short video:
Yesterday's race was the Firecracker 10K. Last year I gave this race a pretty negative review. All I've got to say is what a difference a year makes! The race organizers listened to criticism and made this a truly memorable event.
Sunday morning broke cool but clear. It was shaping up to be one of those spectacular days in Southern California.
Traffic is always a crap shoot in L.A., so I left with plenty of time to spare. I got to Chinatown a little early and snagged a parking spot right around the corner from the start line. I got my bib and goody bag. Wow! A reusable tote bag with more than just race fliers!
One thing that is *very* important if you do this race. You *need to get here* early. Not because of parking, or crowds, or anything like that. But for the opening ceremonies! Gung hay fat choy!
At this point it became *very* apparent to me that the race organizers took last year's criticism to heart. This year the organizers blocked about a half a city block so that everyone got a great view of the festivities. Way to go Race Director!
Since I had about 30 minutes until the 10K started, I headed back to my car, ditched my coat and pants, used the porta potties, and then roamed around a bit. Yes - all in 30 minutes. And yes - at a race with 4000 plus runners plus friends and families. Ever go to a race where you can't find water before the race? Not so here! Excellent Mr. Race Director!
This is not an easy course. The elevation profile tells the story:
The course is a steady uphill 2.5 mile climb, a little level off at the top of Los Angeles's Elysian Park, followed by a steady downhill back into Chinatown. This requires a pacing strategy (something that I am still struggling with) to keep from blowing up.
I often read about races with thousands of runners going different distances all sharing the same course. Not so here! There were 2400 5K runners and 2000 10K runners. It would have been easy to put us all on the course at the same time and then split the 5K runners off at some point. Instead, the 5K runners started half an hour earlier. This made all the difference when it came to some of the narrow points on the course. Kudos Race Director!
We started promptly at 8:30 AM. It took a couple minutes to hit the start line and activate our timing chips. I tried to hold back as we headed toward the steeper uphill portions of the course.
In about 3/4 a mile we turned left off the city streets and stared climbing in earnest. I shortened my stride, but as I hit some of the steeper parts of the trail, I still had to slow down to a brisk walk. My pace was almost pedestrian at times:
Mile 1: 9:16 Mile 2: 10:49 Mile 3: 10:44
As I moved up the hill, I couldn't help but notice the views where phenomenal!!!! Miles 2 and 3 actually include time stopped (yes stopped) to take photos and to take photos for others running the race. One *really* nice touch were the signs letting everyone know what they were looking at. Nice touch Race Organizers!
Here's the view to the Northwest:
Here's one that I didn't need a sign for - Dodger Stadium! (Oh - with Downtown L.A. in the background):
I started downhill. Unlike last year, I was not sporting a stiff, painful back, so I was able to let it rip as I headed down the hill.
Mile 4: 8:01
At mile 5, I had to stop again. Yes - that's right. I said STOP. We were entering BLUE HEAVEN!!! I am a *huge* baseball fan, *and* I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I had to pay homage to my beloved Dodgers.
Mile 5: 8:49 (Three stops included - video of Taiko drummers, photos of Dodger Stadium) Mile 6: 7:55 Mile 6.2: 1:39 (7:11 pace) Final time: Garmin: 57:16, Official: 57:30.4
In the end, I was satisfied with my effort. The uphill climb was a big challenge last year. This year not as much. I may have left my PR in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium (actually not -I wasn't stopped for 2 and half minutes). But what better place to leave it? I was pleased with my first time ever sub-8:00 miles (even though they were downhill miles).
I finished up the day with dim sum at Ocean Seafood in Chinatown! I met up with some of my Twitter friends for a delicious tweetup!
Pictured are @biblio_phile, yours truly, @nicolapiggott (standing), @ridgeley and @anotorias. Great way to wrap up a great day and great race.
Bottom line? I will definitely be back next year! If you are in Los Angeles in February, you should too!
The course
Mile 1: 9:16
