As I mentioned before, when I taper, I usually try to do a two week taper. I cut my mileage from the 70s to 50s and then I try to do about 20 week of the race. Last week was my part one of trying to stay in the 50s. The weather was beautiful and I finally had some free time after work to get extra running done so it was a struggle to keep myself away from my running shoes.
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – 10 Miles
74 minutes for an average pace of 7:26. Kept the run relatively steady around the flat lands of the Charles Esplanade. I’m not sure if you’re suppose to taper at your race pace for that long but I wanted to test out my legs a bit on the only straight trail I have nearby.
Wednesday – 8 Miles
I didn’t target this to be a fast run. In fact, I started out at a relatively slow 8:15 pace and I was planning on keeping it but I found myself getting progressively faster. It does help that I end the run on a downhill and start on an uphill. Progressive speed? Yes, progressive effort? I’m not sure.
Thursday – 8 Miles
Slower 8:07 paced run around the neighborhood. It got dark before I finished so my last mile was on my treadmill.
Friday – 7 Miles
Friday after work run on the work treadmill. Incline was set to 3 so I was surprised that I was able to run as fast as I do on incline 2. I guess that’s tapering for you. You feel stronger as you rest up.
Saturday – 4 Miles + Barre Class
I was half asleep when I started running that I didn’t realize I had my glasses on, until mile 3! I’ve never run with glasses before but good to know I’ll have options as I get more blind.
I took a Exhale – Barre Class (core fusion) in the afternoon that left my arms and chest feeling like jello. Who knew there’s a muscle near my sternum?
Sunday – 15 Miles
Ghost Train 15 Miler race at average pace of 7:47.Check out the full race report for the details.
Total Mileage – 52 miles
Total Feeling – Feeling good, feeling fast, Physically I’m ready, now I just need a little luck to get me there!
My Taper Final Plan
I read this article on Runner’s world about tapering and my plan is a slight modification of it. Since my average mileage is a little higher than the average marathoner, I added a little bit of extra miles. Most miles will be run around comfortable to easy pace
Monday – 5 Miles
Tuesday – 4 Miles
Wednesday – 5 Miles
Thursday – Rest
Friday – 4 Mile Run
Saturday rest
Sunday – Marathon!