It's Officially Taper Time!

Today's 20 miler was the final 20 miler I will do before my first marathon in just 3 weeks. The run was not as good as my previous three 20/20+ milers. It was the slowest (but not by much) of the 4, but I think for good reasons.

A few of the reasons, I believe, that made this run a bit harder and slower are:
  1. I have not been running on the Saturday before my long runs, but did yesterday. - about that
  2. Last night was the homecoming dance for my two daughters meaning a very late night and only about 5 hours of sleep.
  3. It was colder than it had been in all my previous 20/20+ mile runs. 42 when I left so long pants/sleeves/hat/gloves were in order.
Today's run was also a bit harder than the last couple 20/20+ milers. It took everything in me to keep going at mile 15, I just felt like quitting. I pushed through and it got better.... but not till mile 17! My last couple miles were good, but that always seems to be the way it is with me on my runs, I run conservatively enough that I kill it at the end..... not in races, just in training.... races I kill myself throughout :)

Today I also tried a new product that I was sent from SPIbelt. The SPIbelt is a small personal item belt. I was looking for options and different ways to carry items, especially Gu's or Sport Beans because they seem the hardest to get out of an arm band carrier. I have been carrying my cell phone and any other items in an arm band which has worked OK for items that I just need to carry while I am running, but if I needed to carry anything that I needed to access while running (Gu, Sport Beans) it was a major ordeal. I was pleasantly surprised and more than willing to take a look at the SPIbelt when the opportunity came up.

I was very pleased with the ease of use and simplicity of the SPIBelt. I only put my Sport Beans in the pouch but it is really cool how it is very small but will expand to fit almost anything you would want to carry while running. I put the belt on and quickly forgot it was even there. The way it is designed it fits snuggly and doesn't bounce at all. Now, I was not carrying anything too heavy, but the way it felt I don't think it would have done any bouncing or been any more noticeable if I had. When the time came for the beans I was able to open the pouch, get the beans, and close the pouch with one hand without any issues. This will be my belt of choice for the marathon no doubt.

I honestly can say this is a day I have been looking forward to for a few weeks. I think I hit a little bit of burnout a couple weeks back and was exhausted constantly. I was not getting much sleep due to early 4 am wake up times multiple times each week to get my mid week 8-10 mile runs in. I even missed a couple runs during this time when things got the worst.

As I mentioned, today marks the official beginning of my taper. I am really getting excited for November 14th and my First Marathon, the Chicamauga Battlefield Marathon. I feel like I am ready, but wish I could have gotten to the full 26.2 distance before the actual race. I know that the majority of the training plans do not take you past the 20 mile mark, and the Hal Higdon Intermediate II that I followed was one of those. I did modify the plan a bit to better fit my schedule, and also because I wanted to get a bit further than 20 miles. In the end I only got to 21 miles one time, instead of the 24 I had hoped, but did get to 20 miles 3 other times for a total of 4 times in the 20+ area.

I just found out this past week that the Chicamauga Battlefield Marathon will probably not have pacers. It is a smaller race (field of 600) so I was concerned enough to ask. I was told that they were trying to get some pacers but it didn't look good. Oh well, good thing I have my MyTach GPS Watch to help me keep on pace.

Thank you all for reading my blog and for the comments I love so much! This has been a long journey, and it is exciting to near the first 26.2 completion.... My 26.2 Quest is nearing it's goal, thanks for coming along for the ride!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

17 comments:

  1. Tim,
    It's been fun reading your blog & following you on twitter. 20 miles is nothing to sneeze at even if today's run didn't go as planned. I'm looking forward to the results of your marathon.

    Rock on!

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  2. sweet , sweet taper, I love it.
    I just picked up an SP as well. It works great.
    Good luck on your first marathon. Do your taper properly its as important as all the rest of your training.

    PS. an occasional bad 20 miler is normal dont let it bother you. I did 13 of them getting ready for my marathon next weekend and at least 2 of them where brutal.

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  3. Tim,

    I've never left you a comment before (I never really felt compelled to), but I've been reading your blog on and off for the past year or so. Your journey has been an exciting one, and I wish you the best of luck in accomplishing your first marathon! I hope you keep on blogging after you achieve your 26.2 quest - reading it is fun as much as it is motivational.

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  4. I hear you on the exhaustion!

    I'm really impressed that you went straight into intermediate 2.

    You're going to rock this marathon for sure!

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  5. 4 - 20 milers is amazing! i have yet to see a training plan that takes you to 26 miles on a training run... so they must know something. i think the extra boost of the race atmosphere and other runners will definitely help.

    enjoy your taper! you've worked hard, time to rest up, keep the legs loose, and get ready to rock your first marathon!!

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  6. Wow. I wish I had following your blog all along. Very cool. Good luck on your first marathon, man! Just enjoy the experience! You will be hooked forever.

    jason
    www.trithedream.com

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  7. Thank you everyone for stopping by and the comments. It is two weeks away and I am getting anxious. It feels strange to be not running as many miles already.... and the next couple weeks will be even stranger.

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  8. Oh, wow. I hope your first marathon is awesome! Can't wait to check back and read all about it!

    PS: Thanks for the follow on Mom vs. Marathon!

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  9. Congrats on the 20!!! AWESOME!! For the next race if you are looking at something to lug all of your stuff...try the Race Ready shorts! They are great!!

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  10. Have a great Marathon. The first is special.

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  11. Way to gut out this last 20 miler. Your training seemed to be very thorough & well executed. You'll run a great first marathon! Can't wait to read about it. Relax during your taper and trust your training. I'm sure you'll start going nuts (as I would), but you'll be ready to rock on race day. Good luck!

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  12. It sounds like you did quite a few 20s in your training. That alone could explain the last one feeling harder than the previous. It's ok that it was slower, that's how they should be. It's all about time on feet. Sounds like you're ready. Best of luck!

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  13. Nice Blog!! Good Luck in your taper. I never went the full distance in my training and 26.2 on race day felt less than 20 on a long run day. Good pacing and proper nutrition-you'll do awesome!

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  14. Tim,

    Good Luck on your Marathon.

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  16. Tim,

    Good Luck on your Marathon.

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  17. Have a great Marathon. The first is special.

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