Tapering Strategy for the Victoria Marathon

Well, the big race day is clearly in sight now. On October 12, 2008 I will be running my second marathon of 2008. After 4 years without running any marathon, I must have been clearly mad when I agreed to a second marathon this year almost immediately after finishing the Vancouver Marathon.

With one month left before the marathon, we are running our last long-distance run tomorrow morning. I hope to complete a 3 hour and 45 minute run at least, and hopefully a bit longer. Weather’s looking great for our run and our route is mapped out.

With one month in my marathon training, what is my strategy?

Well, as I mentioned above our longest run will be taking place a month before. Typically, I like to do my longest run 3 weeks in advance to the marathon, but we were lucky enough to have a half marathon happening right in our own community - The Peace Arch Rotary Half Marathon in White Rock, BC which is taking place 3 weeks before the marathon. Needless to say, we’re in and will be racing next weekend. The half marathon will not only give me a chance to get some running in at race pace, but also allow me to have a race day rehearsal.

After the half marathon, the taper will begin. I will allow myself more rest if needed - keep my easy runs - easy. I feel that this is the time to take a couple days in a row off to get my body feeling strong again and get rid of any feelings of tiredness or exhaustion.

Figure out what I might like to wear on race day and take it for a test drive/run. I’m very comfortable with my tried and true running apparel that I will be sporting on marathon morning. However, I did just just purchase some brand new running shoes from Roadrunner Sports. Delivery will be in about 5 days - too late to try out on my long distance runs, but I will still have a couple of two hour runs in my marathon training which should give me a good indication of how they will feel. I would have liked to have had the runners sooner, but, call me cheap, but I was holding off for a sale. Which, by the way I got and saved over $30 on my new Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 10 s plus free shipping. If you are in need of new runner I suggest that you check it out at: Free Shipping and 15%off on all purchases through 12/13/2008 at Roadrunner Sports

On the final week before the marathon the things that I will be keeping check on is sleep, proper diet, stretching and drinking lots of water. Oh ya, very limited alcohol consumption. I do love my wine, but there isn’t alot of give in a marathon and I find that I need all my body has to give. The wine will be saved for the post-race celebrations!

No Pain - No Gain

Since skiing season ended a few months back and I now have my weekends back to my running routine, I’ve been feeling really good.  My running condition is the best it’s been for over a year now.  I consistently keep up with my Monday/Wednesday/Friday runs and on the weekend we have been increasing our distances and are now at 2 hours again.  I think that 2 hours is a nice distance to be at with no particular goals in mind.

My body has felt fine through all the runs and even my first 2 hour run felt great and I recovered well.  But last Sunday, we did our 2 hour run on soft bark mulch through one of our urban forests. It’s only been a few years since our last marathon and I remember the feeling well and that was it.  After 2 hours, I felt like I’d just run a full marathon.  Later that day, I even found it hard to stay on my feet and man did I sleep well that night.  The next day, I still felt a little bit sore, so I decided to put off my usual run until the following morning.  But now I’m back in action and feeling better than ever and running better than ever.

So is it true - No Pain - No Gain?  I asked a running coach friend of mine and he said - “It’s normal to have aches and pains as your body adjusts to new running distances and new running surfaces” (My body wasn’t used to running on bark mulch) “and normally these pains will go away as your body becomes stronger.  But if the pain is severe and doesn’t go away, then it’s time to visit your doctor”.

So it’s a good thing to add variety to your runs.  Try a different route that includes different terrain or grades that your body isn’t used to.  I’ve been very pleased with our results.  Our local town has a half-marathon in September and I’m in.  Last year I went out and supported my friends who ran in it.  It’ll feel good to be on the other side this year.

One more item on sports nutrition. www.poweringmuscles.com is an interesting website that has an online tool to calculate the nutritional supplements that you need for a given workout.  You can put in the details of a workout and specific sport and it will do the calculation and let you know what your body needs before, during and after your exercise. Though there is an unlying focus to the website with advertisements for Accelerade.

Next Page »