Saturday, June 13, 2009

Tail of the Taper

There's a lot of taper talk.

3 Weeks before the race you should....

2 Weeks before the race you should...

..... back off the mileage....

............ nothing over 10 miles at a moderate pace....

Truth is nobody knows. Truth is nobody even knows what works for them. Sometimes one thing works, and then you can try to do everything the exact same way and it doesn't work at all. That's running, that's life.

Oh, I don't think it's smart to run 100 mile weeks the month of your race, and I don't think it's smart to do a hard race the month of your race, but there are many who even argue with that. Ultra-running buddy Michelle Barton was just interviewed on Karno's blog and she swears she runs best if she does a hard race, not the month before her goal race, but the week before her goal race! That's hardcore, and I can't imagine it would work for me...... however, I ran a 22:59 in Vermont one week after running the Grandfather Mountain Marathon, so....

All that said, my body tells me, why try it? Take the final 2 weeks before the race and relax a bit. Oh, a few training runs here and there, capped by a 15 mile Croom run next Saturday at a social pace, but mostly chill.

Maybe it's a good idea, maybe it isn't, what do I know? Shoot, my goal is to run 100 miles in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it's a crapshoot any way. I can do it, I have done it, and I'm going to give it a helluva try, but basically I'm going up there on no more 3 months of training and only 2 quality months. Good luck to me, because if you can't train, luck is what you need!

6 comments:

Frank Sierra said...

Take a straw poll of the people who have run with you in the last few months. Old Andy is back...with a new and improved foot. Since we will be in a betting state (not like the Tampa Injun type, mind you), I am willing to make a wager that Andy Matthews brings his behind across that finish line in a very respectable time.

They say that the first 50 is run with your legs and the second fifty is run with you head. I believe that most people following your blog will agree...A-Man is mental. ergo....

Star said...

"You'll be fine."

Mr. Matt said...

Yeah, yeah, I know I'll be fine, but will I finish? This I do not know. It's all about the journey, and I'm just happy to be able to run again, and that I have a job! Thanks Arlene for reminding me!

Now, as far as being mental.... duh!

Anonymous said...

Here' something that's not a gamble moc Doc Frank... My quads will crush your boy AndywoMan by a midnight double feature picture show!

-Dean Karnazes

Arlene said...

I'm here to help!

BTW...look at your bracelet. You'll finish!

Star said...

I was just dying to say that to someone. I had to pay it back to my Vermont friends who said "You'll be fine" to me. Armando, however admits he never told me that :)

I think after today's therapy session...I mean, run...you know it's more than "You'll be fine." It's: "You're going to kick @$$ at 'States!!!"