8 More Days

You would think I would be used to the madness by now, but new challenges mean new things to obsess over during a taper.

The Georgia Jewel is a familiar distance for me but I will be facing my first race with any kind of elevation gain.  So, guess what is occupying my mind.

Take a look.

It’s not much compared to the crown jewels of ultra running, but for this beach runner it is a significant step up in difficulty.  I’m estimating that I will climb a cumulative 9000 feet.  By comparison the most I ever climbed during a single run in training, running back and forth over the tallest bridge I could find, was just over 1000 feet over a distance of about 10 miles.

At least the weather looks like it is cooperating.  The extended forecast shows partly cloudy skies with a high of 78 and a low of 54.  That's more than 10 degrees cooler than my training conditions.

Just take it one step at a time and when all else fails - Suck it up Buttercup!

This is going to be interesting.

Restless Legs

Anyone else get restless legs when you taper?

I’m taking a light week in advance of the Miracle Miles 15k this weekend, kind of a mini-taper.  My legs were bouncing up and down so hard during dinner last night that I almost toppled the wine glasses.  This was despite the fact that I ran 20 miles Sunday and had a vigorous speed workout Tuesday.  Missing a single mid-week 8-10 mile run has left me bouncing off the walls.

The last two weeks of October are going to be misery.

Eat Like a Kid Again

I’m tapering again, which means it’s hard to focus on anything other than my upcoming 50k.

Today I killed time by researching and obsessing over fueling strategies during the race. It seems that the optimum fuel for these endurance events combines simple sugars (for a quick release of energy) with complex carbs (for a longer energy burn). The most frequently cited examples I find are:

Candy bars
Donuts
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Soda
and let's not forget about chocolate milk afterward for recovery.

I get to eat like a kid again and people still look at me like I’m crazy for running this far.

Caught off Guard

I’ve done this before. I’m a veteran now. So I can’t figure out how this snuck up on me without my realizing what was happening.

It started innocently enough.

Let’s take a look at the route for the Charleston Marathon.

. . . . tippity tappity . . . .

The race organizer’s map sucks. Let’s see what else I can find.

. . . . tippity tappity . . .

Oh look! I found the USATF certified map. Now we’re talkin’!

Now, how far is it from my hotel to the start? One, two, three . . . nine blocks.

No, I need to know precisely how far.

. . . . tippity tappity . . .

.5509 miles.

I wonder how many feet that is.

. . . . tippity tappity . . .

2908.752 feet.

Man, my ankle is a little sore today. It’s probably a stress fracture.

Hey, maybe I should check the weather forecast for Saturday while I’m at it.

. . . . tippity tappity . . .

Can I really trust weather.com? Maybe I should check a few other sources.

. . . . tippity tappity . . . intellicast . . . . tippity tappity . . . wunderground . . . . tippity tappity . . . accuweather . . . . tippity tappity . . .

And maybe the Charleston local news while I’m at it.

. . . . tippity tappity . . .

Ow! Stubbed my toe. It’s broken, I just know it. What was I thinking, walking around the house in bare feet? I’m an idiot.

Sniff, sniffle.

Oh crap! What are the symptoms of ebola?

. . . tippity tappity . . .

Yadda yadda yadda “hemorrhagic fever” yadda yadda yadda “death occurs in two weeks of onset of symptoms” yadda yadda yadda “ symptoms include weakness, dehydration, headache, joint and muscle aches . . .”

I knew it! I’ve contracted ebola. Well at least I’ve got two weeks and won’t keel over until after the race.

Damn taper madness.

A Journey of 500 Miles

I officially started my marathon training 17 weeks ago on July 26. An eight mile run this morning brought my total mileage to 525 since starting this journey.



You can view my training plan, as well as the actual mileage I ran, here.

With one week left, I can honestly say that I feel ready. I had highs and lows throughout my training, but I’m happy to say I am ending on a high. I thought that I would feel beat up and run down at this point, but instead I feel better than I have in a long time. My last few long runs went extremely well and I finished each one feeling stronger, more confident, and remarkably pain free.  I know much of this success is due to the support and advice I recieved since joining the West Volusia Running Group and I owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

Next week, I expect I’ll look back and scrutinize my training to figure out what worked well and what did not.  But for now I will sit back, relax, and try to enjoy a week of rest and gluttony.

Seven more days until the Space Coast Marathon!

It's all Downhill from Here

I’m tired.

I just completed my highest mileage week ever, 47 miles, which immediately followed my best month ever at 173 miles.

Physically I feel great. Surprisingly I have no aches or pains, but I’m exhausted. I have to say I’m looking forward to a couple of lower mileage weeks. This week I’ll run around 32 miles with a 12 mile long run, and next week 25 miles with the longest run only 8 miles.

I can’t remember the last time I had a weekend that wasn’t completely dedicated to preparing to run, running, and recovering from running.  It sounds luxurious.

20 more days left and already I find myself wondering – What’s next?

Time to Taper

Apologies in advance to friends and family that will have to put up with me for the next few weeks.  Check out this website for some insight into what I will be going through:  Taper Madness

Yesterday I completed my final long run in preparation for the Space Coast Marathon, 23.8 miles.



I owe many thanks to the other Robert from WVR for planning this route and for coaching me through the run.  It made what could have been an agonizing experience into a very pleasant Saturday morning run.

I'm ready.

I also want to wish good luck to all of my friends running the New York Marathon today!