Well, here we are, folks–we are officially into marathon week. Can I get a “YIKES!” from the crowd?
So last week was my last full week of marathon training. It felt rather weird, actually, because you’re supposed to taper down significantly the week before a race, and so I just felt kinda lazy. I mean, I only ran 11 miles on Saturday. Of course, for anyone who isn’t training for a marathon, 11 miles is a stellar distance to run. But considering that I’m supposed to be running 26.2 miles in just a few short days, I felt a little paranoid that this tapering-down business wasn’t really the way to go.
But who am I to go against hundreds of studies and years of research and the all-knowing Runner’s World?
So taper down I did. I actually skipped out on one of my runs completely, although it was by necessity, not choice. I’m hoping that that one skipped day won’t ruin all the progress I’ve made in the last four months.
See? I’m already starting to think irrationally, and I’m not even on Mile 23 of the marathon yet.
That can’t be a good sign.
As if you couldn’t tell, I’m a little nervous about the Big Race coming up this Saturday. Although the nightmares haven’t started setting in yet, I guarantee that I won’t be sleeping for about 3 nights straight right before. I’m already paranoid that I’ll sleep past my alarm, or that we will somehow not be able to get our packets…
I’m paranoid that I’ll eat the wrong thing before and have to take a massive bathroom break six miles in…
I’m paranoid that I’ll randomly pull a muscle ten miles in and have to stop…
But most of all, I’m paranoid that I’ll get to Mile 20 and that I’ll just hit a massive wall of resistance and that I won’t be able to push through my mental block and that I’ll finish the race enormously disappointed in myself.
Whew.
Glad I got that off my chest.
Pray for me, will you? Pray that my digestive system will keep everything in?
Thanks. I sure appreciate it.
High Point: I won’t lie, only having to run 11 miles felt like a huge break (even if it did make me feel a little guilty at the same time).
Low Point: Although various training programs have warned that “tapering down” will make the runs seem harder (not easier), it still was a hard pill to swallow–I just felt like I’d lost all the ability I’d gained over the past four months. I sure hope those people writing these training plans know what they’re talking about…
# of Miles Run: 15
Time Per Mile: I don’t even know. I totally spaced timing it. I really am losing my mind!
