Greetings from the first week of taper mania! I have to say that despite the mileage going down, this week didn’t feel particularly easy. I think that has something to do with the fact that it was a really busy week outside of running. I always make a concerted effort to see friends once classes wrap up for the semester, but I’m very guilty of making plans every night and burning myself out. I’m also feeling a few of the mental demons sneaking their way in, so I want to really cement my mantras and mental strategies during these final two weeks before race day. Here are my goals for the taper:
- Run my marathon pace runs at MGP, not faster.
- Carb load in a smart, gradual way and take it easy with the sugar and vino.
- Really give myself a mental break and take time to chill the eff out.
On the logistical front, I started rotating in a lighter pair of sneakers that I plan to use on race day–and they feel great! I usually run in Asics GT 2000 4 and my newer shoes are the Mizuno Wave Rider 20. I have done speedwork and racing in the Wave Rider 18 and these are a great new version. I have super narrow feet, especially in the midfoot/heel, so my sneaker options are limited to those that come in a 2A width. If there are any other tiny footed people out there looking for shoe options, these two work well in rotation for me. I plan to get about 50 miles in on the Wave Riders before race day. I did spend a silly amount of timing deciding whether or not to return a pair of Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 33s–does anyone have thoughts on these?? I’m all ears!
Also, Denise and I are planning to run Sugarloaf together! We run really similar paces and are totally in sync with our race strategies, so I think it will be great to aim to stick together–of course with the caveat that we’ll both need to run our own races and do what we need to do to take care of ourselves day-of. We ran a really strong long run together on Sunday so I’m very confident about our plan. I am starting to think throgh nutrition planning and race strategy also–more to come on those 🙂
Week 14: 45.3 miles total
- Monday: 6 easy + strides
- Tuesday: 4 “watchless” easy miles, banded strength circuit
- Wednesday: 8 MGP miles, fast finish
- Thursday: 6 easy
- Friday: 4 easy
- Saturday: Rest day
- Sunday: 10 easy, 6 MGP for 16 total at 8:20 average
Linking up with The Weekly Wrap (hosted by Hoho Runs and Miss Sippipiddlin), with Eat Pray Run DC for her training linkup, and with the Jess’s (Jess Runs ATL and The Right Fits).
Shorter and Faster 
Looks like a great first week of taper! It sounds like you’re doing the right thing with the shoes, I think if you have 50ish miles on them you’re pretty much safe. I used to run in the Wave Riders and really liked them, Mizuno in general has good narrow shoes. Best wishes with the rest of taper and with managing the taper crazies :).
Best of luck with taper crazies! the race will be here before you know it. 🙂
Welcome to the taper 🙂 How fun that you have a friend with a similar goal.
Stay healthy and sane these next few weeks!
You still ran a lot of miles this week–45!, so I can see why this week felt tough. You sure seem ready, tho!
I think it’s a great idea to run Sugarloaf with a friend. You both can push each other when needed. Enjoy the rest of your taper and try not to go too crazy (easier said than done!). You’ve had a great training cycle and I predict you will crush this race. Thanks for linking with us!
I like the Wave Riders myself. They are in my 3 shoe rotation. 🙂 Glad you have a friend to run the race with – that always makes it better! I have to be careful when I do that in marathons, though. It’s bitten me in the butt when I’ve gotten separated from my friends early and then been sad about it the whole rest of the week, lol.
Welcome to the taper….sounds like you are READY!! Keep track on nutrition and maybe start daydreaming about your post race meal 🙂