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May 02, 2006
Second Guessing
All of us go through the second guessing phase of a taper. The thoughts of losing fitness are there becuase you simply are not doing anything. I'm terrible at tapering, it is most definitely a downfall of mine. I always thing that not doing much during the week leading into a big race is going to hurt me, when I really know that it can. Nothing done in the week leading into a race that you truly care about is going to help you. I was looking back at what I did this time last year, forgetting that I knew the super-dooper big secret that Broad wasn't my big race, the biggie was still another two weeks out. That means last year's taper really wasn't a taper, so I would have to look at another year. Frankly, when I did that, I realized I have never really had this as one of my main races. Sure, there have been years when I ran very well here, but it was always an afterthought. Last year it was supposed to be one of the main races, and then I had some crazy idea about jumping into a marathon. I wouldn't give up what I did, but I wouldn't do that again, either.
Today, when J and I gossiped, we came to this conclusion-take whatever I think that I should do and do half of it. The poor man has not been able to work for three months, so we end up talking most days since he is so bored. He finally has a diagnosis and someone who says that he will be able to go back to work shortly.
Today I was supposed to run on the treadmill in the lab. I was so excited that I wasn't going to have to go out after it to get the total time for the day when things didn't go as planned. They were having a lot of trouble with what we were supposed to be doing. It had something to do with connecting myself to a computer to read my heartbeat, but they were getting a great deal of "noise". The grand total of running time on the treadmill was 3 minutes. This wouldn't cut it, there is a difference between cutting back and doing nothing at all. I went down to the school where J holds his track practice hoping against hope that some of his kids were going to be doing a distance run. This was an absurd thought since they are also in their sharpening phase, so they aren't going out to do their long runs anymore. To top everything off, he needed a watch, so he took my watch.
Not having a watch was probably a good thing for today, but I felt naked without it. It isn't a problem when I'm running an known route, but when the route is unknown, it can be a bit worrying. I did the route that I did last Tuesday, plus a two-loop segment that is just about a mile, completely untimed. My guess is that it is about five and a half miles, but I'm not going to even measure it. I was quite hungry by the time I got to run, so it wasn't the best feeling run I've ever done.
Right now I'm without my car since it's check engine light decided to make it's annual appearance. It needs a part that has to be ordered, so it's staying at the mechanic. Since I'm driving one of the 'rent's cars, it feels like I'm a high school kid again. Not that that is a bad thing. According to a "dating expert" on the Today show this morning, whenever you feel in an awkward position on a date, you should talk about something in high school since most people have good memories of that time period. I can't say that I have great memories of high school, but I do of periods of college.
I have pretty solid plans for the rest of the week as far as running is concerned and I plan to stick to them, no matter what!
Posted by Blondie at May 2, 2006 08:45 PM
Comments
Thanks for the dating tip :) And I concur-college was way better than HS.
Rest up! Try not to go crazy :)
Posted by: Audrey at May 2, 2006 09:46 PM
Good luck this weekend!!!! I can't wait to hear about the race.
I totally agree that college memories are way better too :)
Posted by: barb at May 3, 2006 12:52 PM