This week is all about tapering! The Marine Corps Marathon is only 4 days away, and I am trying to get plenty of rest and mentally prepare myself for the big day. I have been training hard all summer and am enjoying this nice little break from doing hard work outs.
This is what I've been doing/planning on doing this week:
Sunday- bike 18.5 mi (easy-ish)
Monday- rest
Tuesday- 1 mi run + 2 mi walk
Wednesday- 1.5 mi run + 2.5 mi walk
Thurs/Fri- rest (travel days)
Saturday- run 20 minutes easy
As you can see, I am drastically cutting down on mileage this week since I am taking a two-day trip. I also opted to walk more because I am trying to give my knees a bit of a break. The past week or so, I've been feeling a few twinges, so it's probably wise to rest as much as I can. I should be fine by race day :)
I have been reading a bunch of tips on running a first marathon, tapering, properly fueling, etc to try to calm my nerves. I thought this article by Tere Zacher on Runladylike was great. It's about how you are in control of having a positive perspective when racing and I will take this advice to heart when running my first marathon!
A few other tapering tips that I thought were helpful:
1) Try to get a few solid night's rest in the week before a race- make sure you're not sleep-deprived and catch up on sleep beforehand, because you probably won't sleep too well the night before.
2) Increase the percentage of carbs in your diet- I try to eat a more carb-heavy diet (which means lots o' bagels, sandwiches, pasta) throughout the week, not just for the pre-race dinner. I'm not taking in more calories, just more carbs percentage-wise
3) Prepare a game plan for race day- study the course, pack every thing you will need, plan how you will get to the race start. Planning before hand will prevent a lot of stress on race day.
4) Hydrate well- keep a water bottle by your side constantly and drink up! It'll probably be wise to avoid alcohol, as well, since it is dehydrating. I have some pumpkin beers in the fridge that are tempting me, but I will abstain until after the race!
For those of you with upcoming marathons, happy tapering! :D
This is what I've been doing/planning on doing this week:
Sunday- bike 18.5 mi (easy-ish)
Monday- rest
Tuesday- 1 mi run + 2 mi walk
Wednesday- 1.5 mi run + 2.5 mi walk
Thurs/Fri- rest (travel days)
Saturday- run 20 minutes easy
As you can see, I am drastically cutting down on mileage this week since I am taking a two-day trip. I also opted to walk more because I am trying to give my knees a bit of a break. The past week or so, I've been feeling a few twinges, so it's probably wise to rest as much as I can. I should be fine by race day :)
I have been reading a bunch of tips on running a first marathon, tapering, properly fueling, etc to try to calm my nerves. I thought this article by Tere Zacher on Runladylike was great. It's about how you are in control of having a positive perspective when racing and I will take this advice to heart when running my first marathon!
A few other tapering tips that I thought were helpful:
1) Try to get a few solid night's rest in the week before a race- make sure you're not sleep-deprived and catch up on sleep beforehand, because you probably won't sleep too well the night before.
2) Increase the percentage of carbs in your diet- I try to eat a more carb-heavy diet (which means lots o' bagels, sandwiches, pasta) throughout the week, not just for the pre-race dinner. I'm not taking in more calories, just more carbs percentage-wise
3) Prepare a game plan for race day- study the course, pack every thing you will need, plan how you will get to the race start. Planning before hand will prevent a lot of stress on race day.
4) Hydrate well- keep a water bottle by your side constantly and drink up! It'll probably be wise to avoid alcohol, as well, since it is dehydrating. I have some pumpkin beers in the fridge that are tempting me, but I will abstain until after the race!
For those of you with upcoming marathons, happy tapering! :D
