Monday: 6m interval (2m warm up 9:15/pace, 2 x 1m @ 6:27/pace 4:00 recovery + 1.5m cool down)
Finally! I feel like i’ve been talking about the Indianapolis Monumental 1/2 for such a long time! This might be the first time I’m heading into a half feeling excited to see what can happen!
Usually I go into a taper feeling like my training sucked, I coulda/shoulda/woulda done more, but even as I reviewed every detail of my training log i’m taking the positive notes & keeping those for motivation. I’m not gonna get upset if every speedwork session wasn’t perfect, or on every long run i didn’t make incredible improvements. I’m taking the big, important facts & those will be where I draw motivation to push and do my best this Saturday.
Also, I needed a long sleeved shirt for the race and I loved this new Champion long sleeved top I wore for the last easy 8 miler this past weekend.
Important Facts That I Will Be Reminding Myself All Week As the Taper Crazies* Set In!
- 7 weeks ago I did the Parks Half Marathon in 1:40:02. Un-tapered legs, 5 weeks into training, this was a great time for me to post at the beginning of a training plan.
- I finished training healthy, happy & feeling good!! I’m not burnt out and I’ve loved running this fall.
- I had an extra week of training!
- I’ve been sleeping well, eating well & drinking a ton of water every day.
- I can PR on Saturday. I will not restrict my brain with a pace/time goal. I want to run a race to the best of my ability and do better than I have before. #bebrave
*Taper Crazies- The week or two before a race where you think you’re getting sick or injured, you suck at life, you’re not good enough, your spouse/family or co-workers just don’t understand!, nothing is going your way, you review your training log only to find out you didn’t do enough, your final runs all feel like crap–there’s no way you’ll hit your race goal, the barista gave you regular milk when you asked for coconut milk! NOOOOOO!!!!!
Basically, it’s a stressful time where the runner needs to trust the training, relax and get a race day gear & game plan together.
I’m doing what I can to stay busy at work and relax in the evenings. We went to dinner with friends on Halloween so the only dressing up I did was at work. We’re all super goofy & love an excuse not to wear out normal Gold’s Gym shirts. I didn’t have anything laying around the house other than my Hunger Games shirt, so I went as Katniss, like last year. But i figured it’s more relevant since the last movie is coming out this month! I can’t tell you how excited i am for Hunger Games, but also..Star Wars. <—I literally cried watching the trailer. —> See! Keeping my mind off the race 😉
and me wearing real clothes on my way out to dinner!
and one more picture from last week, it was SO pretty out!!
Week of Oct 26th – Nov 1st
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 9m interval 7:46/pace
Wednesday: 30min lower back/obliques
Thursday: 6.1m easy 8:20/pace
Friday: 6m easy 8:47/pace
Saturday: 8m easy 9:01/pace
Sunday: Rest
Total Miles: 29.1
How do you deal with the taper crazies?
11/03/2015 at 10:34 AM
Ugh, taper crazies. I don’t get them too terribly for the half, but marathon tapers are really terrible. I’m running a race on Sunday so I’m taking it easy this week but it actually feels pretty good since I have a few ‘hot spots’ injury wise that I’m trying to let recover. Mostly I try not to eat a bunch of sugar and make sure to get some non-risky cross training in to keep me sane. That stripe on stripe outfit is super cute!
11/03/2015 at 12:43 PM
I have a hot spot in my left shin, and the easing back is definitely improving it! And yes, not a ton of sugar..which is hard with all this halloween candy laying around
11/03/2015 at 10:51 AM
You’re going to crush it! Tapered legs are really a miracle. It’s hard to really respect the taper but it always pays off. Also, I’m all about the stripes. I realized that about 85% of my wardrobe is stripes…
11/03/2015 at 12:44 PM
Thanks! and yes, respecting the taper…and stripes..
11/03/2015 at 11:46 AM
I know what you mean about the crazies! I don’t tend to miss the running so much (I quite enjoy the rest!) but I do worry that I haven’t done enough or that I’m going to get ill or some other disaster will befall me before race day… Good luck with your half marathon race, its sounds like you’ve got some solid training in so boost your confidence from that… you can nail that PR !
11/03/2015 at 12:45 PM
yes! all my taper craziness is worry. I’m trying to stay as calm as possible!
11/03/2015 at 1:48 PM
Haha – totally get that, though after a couple I decided that I no longer cared so much about tapering (I guess that is my overall attitude) and last year did a 7 miler the day before a half marathon just because I felt like it. Oh well 🙂 But it is amazing how all of that energy and time to think allows you to play games inside of your own head!
Trust your training, trust your fitness, and just go out smart and even paced and have fun!
Also love that shirt – I had one with thumbholes a few years ago, sadly they are less common for guys, but I like it for wearing under gloves. Quest for this year, I think.
Also, loved the B&W picture of your mixed stripes – really highlighted the contrast. Agree with comments – hair looks great, but I can’t even imagine managing all of THAT! 😀 (tough life of a guy, right?)
Good luck and look forward to reading moe!
11/03/2015 at 4:05 PM
Good luck this weekend! I’m still coming, still running, but I am pretty injured (dumb calf!!) and it may be a long day, but I’m still excited!
11/03/2015 at 4:12 PM
Good luck to u too! I’ll send u an email later..maybe we can try to meet up at the expo or something
11/04/2015 at 10:04 AM
Yes!! That would be awesome!
11/04/2015 at 8:40 PM
ok i feel stupid, can you give me your email address?
11/05/2015 at 10:04 AM
Yes!!! allison.fiorini@gmail.com. Ha! You are so not stupid!
11/03/2015 at 6:20 PM
The taper crazies haven’t set in for me yet but they will be here soon enough Im sure!
Good luck! You are fully prepared and will do great!
11/03/2015 at 8:56 PM
thanks! now as long as i can stay away from the halloween candy
11/04/2015 at 7:18 AM
You can do this! I cannot wait to watch for triumphant pictures on Instagram along with a recap. Have fun. 🙂
11/04/2015 at 8:45 PM
aww thanks Margaret!!
11/04/2015 at 9:44 AM
I’ve never yet had to properly taper for a race but I think it’s gonna be tricky this time around! I love the Katniss top, mainly cos you just reminded me that the new movie’s out soon 😀
11/04/2015 at 8:46 PM
lol totally excited about the movie!
11/06/2015 at 5:05 PM
Love your dress for going out! I haven’t had a “taper” for quite some time because the half marathon is more like a training run BUT I plan to take some time off distance and make a PR half marathon my goal for early spring. Thanks for the inspiration!
11/06/2015 at 5:47 PM
Thanks sheena!