Taper? What taper?

My 22 miler on Saturday marked the longest run of this training cycle and the end of the highest mileage week (48 miles).  Only three weeks to go until I line up in Blackheath for the main event and from here on in it's Taper Time!

Except I'm not really sure how exactly I'm supposed to taper. 

Last year, my 22 mile run was immediately followed by an injury which took me out of action for most of the 3 week period before the marathon.  A compulsory running hiatus. I guess that's one way to taper!  And it must have worked, because I got a 6 minute PB.

I can't remember what I did the year before that... (them's were the days before I even knew training logs/blogs existed). I think I just ran.

But this year, although my shins are still being little buggers with their splinting, and the second toe on my left foot won't bend, I'm relatively injury free.  I can still run.  So how much running am I supposed to do? And at what intensity?

Taper science. Running Nut knows his stuff

I heard something about decreasing your mileage by a quarter in each of the 3 weeks pre-marathon. But I'm not really sure how that works. If I did 48 miles last week, does that mean I do 36 miles this week? 24 miles next week? What about the week of the marathon? I can't do just 12 miles that week because the marathon alone is 26! Do I do 12 miles in the Monday to Saturday before the race on the Sunday?

What about speed training, tempo runs and hills? Am I supposed to do them? Or should all of my runs be easy?

Because finally I'm starting to feel good, and maybe even a little bit fast?! My legs seem to just want to GO.

Or maybe that's what taper wants me to feel. Is it trying to lure me in, trick me into letting my legs run free and fast?  Because then they'll end up tired and heavy just in time for the race and I'll wish I'd exercised some mental strength to force myself to be good and rest (ironically, something that during the entire training cycle, I absolutely have NOT had a problem doing. I'd go so far as to say that I have probably done a bit too much resting for this marathon).

Oooh taper, you're a fickle beast.

I searched Google Images for "Taper Beast" and this is what came up. This is a tapIR not a taper. I want one.

I didn't run on Sunday or Monday, so by yesterday I was ready to run. I planned to do 6 sets of 800m @5k pace on the treadmill in the evening, but lunchtime rolled around and the work running club were heading out to do my favourite session - 3 loops round the lake (1km each), getting progressively faster. I'm not sure why it's my favourite; I always go too slow on the first lap, too fast on the second lap and have nothing left for the last lap.

Anyway, we did our usual 1M warm up to the lake and then I set off on my laps. The route around the lake isn't flat. It has rolling hills, but there is one steep uphill on the far side of the lake which never fails to ruin me. Even when I take it slowly. Rude.

Death by hills

I had company for the first lap. Another girl was running a similar pace to me and although she's usually faster, she's got a niggle in her knee at the moment, so we cruised along at 8:25/mile. We picked up the pace for the second lap and I was still feeling ok.  As the big mean hill loomed into view, I put my head down and prepared to slow down. But something happened that had never happened before - as I leaned into the hill my thighs seemed to pick up all the slack and I started overtaking people left and right.  I was stunned.  And even more surprising, as the hill flattened out slightly I sped up. Normally, I am dizzy by this point and really struggle to maintain my pace.  It was a revelation!

I still bombed my last lap, but my average pace for the 3 was definitely sub-8:00/mile.  And for once, I didn't completely despise the hills.

A similar thing happened last week - a few days rest and all of a sudden, my legs were raring to go.  Maybe there is some method to this taper madness after all...

Which triathlon?

I haven't even got my marathon out of the way but all of the totally amazing weather that we've been having has really got me excited for the start of triathlon season which is coming up FAST!!

Despite the fact that I profess my love for these multi-sport events, I have only ever competed in one Olympic distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run for the uninitiated out there), two sprints (750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) and one super-sprint (400m swim, 20k bike, 5k run). And even then, the Olympic distance was the South Coast Triathlon and the sea was so choppy that they had to shorten the swim to 750m for safety reasons (although due to the waves, tides, and my general lack of swimming know-how, the swim still took me as long as a 1.5k lake swim).

Last year, I had grand plans to complete two Olympic distance races, one of which being the Virgin London Triathlon.  And I totally bailed on both of them.  Bad happyfeet.  In my defence, the first one was the morning after a horrific day of wedding dress shopping. HORRIFIC. (Who knew that looking for a regular old white dress could be so traumatic?!). Which was swiftly followed by an emergency bottle of prosecco to numb the pain. Followed by a few more bottles of wine (by that stage they seemed like a really good idea) to celebrate a really good friend’s leaving party.  The tube ride home was ropey, to say the least. And getting up at 6am the next morning? Never going to happen. I blame the wedding dress shopping. If that hadn’t shredded my nerves so badly, I wouldn’t have had to hit the bottle in the first place, and could have prevented the downward wine-induced spiral of doom… or maybe not.  Nevertheless, it happened, and the triathlon didn’t. The London Triathlon was always a question mark – it’s on the east side of London which is a biatch to get to (especially when roads in the centre of town are closed for the cycle route), they encourage you to get to the venue by public transport, but you’re not allowed to take your bikes on the tube/DLR, and they don’t tell you which day/time (Sat/Sun, am/pm) you race is until a couple of weeks beforehand. In the end, the 8:30am Sunday start was just too logistically difficult.  I wimped out and I am ashamed.  

This year, I had been hoping to really up my game and commit to a 70.3 but, due to the small matter of a wedding and the bigger matter of a honeymoon (WOOHOO!!!), I am going to be out of commission for the whole of June, which kind of puts a spanner in the triathlon works as that is peak race month.  

So I have been looking into which triathlons I can conceivably train for and complete this summer.  My first choice venue is Dorney; of the four tris I have completed so far, three have taken place at Eton Dorney Lake.


I seriously love that place.


The water is clean, the bike and run are flat and fast (although can be a little repetitive due to multiple laps), the people are friendly and they usually organise so many wave starts that it never gets too busy.  This year, Dorney Lake is hosting the Olympic rowing so the venue is not available for triathlons during July and August.  May and September however are fair game! 

I've already registered for one:

Humanrace Eton Super Sprint - Saturday May 19th.

I competed in this race two years ago, the week after the Prague Marathon. I remember it felt amazing to finally be doing something other than running, and because I was still recovering, there was no pressure for a particular time.  Thankfully the swim was only 400m because the water was bloody freezing.

This time around, it will be 4 weeks after the London Marathon and 3 weeks before the Big W.  I still won't have any time goals - I just want to enjoy it before the final stages of wedding panic set in.  My mother will freak out if she finds out about it though, so I'm keeping this on the down low.

Other potentials:

Lake Logic Standard Triathlon (Cotswold Water Park) - August 5th
This one's a cheap (well, relatively) triathlon at a good venue in the Cotswolds. I hadn't heard of it before, but I know a few people competing which could make it fun. The only problem is the course involves lots of county roads with lots of bike-crashing potential. It also takes place the same day as the women's Olympic marathon and the Men's singles tennis gold medal match... hmmmm maybe not then!

Reading Triathlon - September 9th

Not at my beloved Dorney, but it's a similar set-up with multiple laps and the trail run should make this a bit interesting! It's also not as expensive as the Dorney races, which presumably have higher fees for prestigious venue usage.

USN Dorney Lake Triathlon - September 30th

Hurrah, Dorney's back! I downgraded to the sprint for this race last year (and finally converted Ratface over to the dark side!) and loved it.  USN/VO2 organised a great event and it was sunny. What more could you want? 

Aquathlons:

I've also joined a sort of swimming club (more on that in another post) and although I'm still slow, I'm definitely enjoying swimming more and more.  The coach organises an aquathlon series at the Cotswold Water Park so I'm planning to get involved in the May and July races.  Most of the swimmers are complete badasses and last year I did one race and came third from last. Humiliating, much?! 

This year I'm definitely hoping to improve my performance!! 

So there you have it.

BRING ON TRI SEASON!!

Running London

I had 22 miles on the cards for this weekend's long run, the final long run before taper. After a few up-and-down training weeks, I decided to switch things up and incorporate all of my favourite routes that I knew I'd love and couldn't possibly get boring.

Enter the River Thames, 5 Royal Parks, 2 Royal Palaces plus Battersea Park and Clapham Common. Turns out you can cover quite a lot of London's finest in 22 miles!

London. My route.

It wasn't the best day weather-wise. I woke up to a cloudy, grey and chilly morning. Quite a difference from the warmth and blue skies we've been having recently, but no complaints from me.  I filled up my camelbak with a lucozade, water and nuun concotion and hit the streets.

First stop, Tower Bridge.  I wasn't planning on taking any photos, but then I got there and the bridge was up and I couldn't resist!

The Tower.

I ran west along the south bank to Westminster and headed over Westminster Bridge.

St Paul's Cathedral. And some litter, by the looks of things. Not cool

Looking east back towards Tower Bridge

The London Eye, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament

It had become quite clear after a few miles that I'd left my legs in the park at work on Friday - my calves were tight again and a new mysterious pain in the ball of my left foot (base of my second toe?) had come out to play too. Rude. Nevertheless I decided to just enjoy the sights and try to complete the miles.

I passed the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, Birdcage Walk and into St James's Park.  I looked for the pelicans but didn't see any. I'm quite glad because I'm still traumatised after the story a few years ago of a pelican eating a live pigeon.

Westmister Abbey and Winston

Back entrance to Downing St

St James's Park

I cut across the park to the Mall where the London Marathon will finish.

The Mall, looking towards Trafalgar Square

And headed down towards Buckingham Palace. 

The Mall, looking towards Buckingham Palace

I was pretty early so there weren't too many tourists at that time.

From the Palace I headed through Green Park to Hyde Park Corner. I ran up the east side of Hyde Park to Marble Arch and turned down Oxford St. Thankfully it was still too early for the shoppers to be out - Oxford Street is normally a claustrophobe's nightmare.

I turned left at Selfridges and headed down Baker St to Regents Park.

I ran a loop of the 3 mile Outer Circle and past the Zoo then headed back down Baker St to Hyde Park.  By this time Oxford St was filling up and tourists and shoppers where EVERYWHERE. I gambled with my life and ran down the road, dodging double deckers left and right!

I ran along the north of Hyde Park, through Kensington Gardens and down past Kensington Palace.

Queen Victoria and Kensington Palace

The Albert Memorial (from behind) and the Royal Albert Hall

I then made my way back to the Serpentine to see the swimmers (None. I think they'd all been and gone by the time I got there) and do a quick loop of the lake. I love this lake - it's so pretty and tranquil and I would absolutely LOVE to be a member of the Lido Swimming club.  A lot of people say the Serpentine tastes of goose poo, but I think I could probably get over that if I could swim in the lake in the centre of London! Sadly not an option at the moment, but I'm definitely looking into it...

The Serpentine and Lido Cafe. No swimmers

From Hyde Park I headed towards Knightsbridge and down Sloane Street. By this stage, I had 5 more miles to go and to say I was sweaty and stinky is an understatement. As I ran past all the designer shops, I wondered what it would be like to have enough money to live in Chelsea and shop in Prada, Chanel and Gucci etc... that little daydream took me all the way to Chelsea Bridge and then I only had 3 miles left.  It was about this time that my legs finally showed up.

Hello legs!!!

Battersea Park Buddha

I ran a quick loop of Battersea Park and headed up the final stretch towards Clapham.  The road from Queenstown Road to Clapham Old Town is a STEEP one, and I had planned my route such that I would finish before I got there. But I must have cut a corner somewhere along the line and I still had a mile to go.  I took a deep breath and powered up the hill.  It felt pretty good considering I'd already run 21 miles.

I really got my sprint on through Clapham Old Town and onto the Common. I started heading towards the Junction and then finally I heard the blessed beep of my Garmin signalling 22 miles.

I finished in 3:15 (including traffic and photo stops) and felt as though I could definitely run another 4.2 miles.

It was a great way to complete my longest run of this training cycle and now I am ready to TAPER!

Post run: sweaty and tired!

Cheeky Triple

I didn’t run at all on Monday and Tuesday this week. This was partly due to the weeping blisters that have been plaguing me since the weekend, and partly because I was pretty down about my long run fail.

Considering that this is supposed to be my peak training week, to say I was a little behind in my mileage is an understatement!  

I finally laced up my shoes on Wednesday and headed out for a 7.5 miler which turned out pretty well, but didn’t bring me close the the 26 miles I should have under my belt before this Saturday’s 22 miler.

As I didn’t have time to head out for a longer mid-week run, instead I formulated a cunning plan.

Not one, not two, but THREE runs in one day.  It’s what I like to call a cheeky triple.

I planned to do 3 easy runs, just to get the miles in my legs, but not tire me out too much for my long run.  

I also wanted to try out my new Nikes in case they were more comfortable than the Brooks. 

yay colour!! (in gym changing room. classy)

1. 7am, 4 miles

I got up early and headed to work so that I could run my usual 4 mile route round a park near the office. It's hilly, 50% trail 50% pavement, and actually quite pretty.  The run was absolutely gorgeous and I took it nice and easy. I didn't use my watch but I'd guess I stuck to 9:15 min miles. Nikes felt good and NO BLISTER PAIN!!

2. lunchtime, 4 miles

I followed exactly the same route as the morning, and planned to do another slow run, but then my legs just wanted to go fast. I wore my garmin, but I didn't look at it because sometimes when I feel as though I'm zooming along, and I look down and see a slow pace, I get really despondent!

Despite the hills and the heat I just got faster and faster, and it felt amazing.

8:07
7:48
7:29
7:09
average pace 7:38/mile

I think that might be the fastest I've run outside of a race environment! GET IN!

3. 8pm, 5 miles, treadmill

After work I had scheduled a hair cut (first time in 10 months - I'm actually getting better!) and the woman blowdried it so beautifully that I kind of felt bad about going running and ruining it. I sat on the sofa and ate 2 bowls of honey cheerios. And then forced myself to the gym because otherwise I'd waste a perfectly good blog subject and I really don't have enough imagination to squander inspiration when I get it!

So I plonked myself on the treadmill and pounded out an easy 5 miler at 9:10/mile pace.  And my legs felt great.

I am officially in love with the Nike Zoom Elite+. Soft and light, they fit my feet like spongy gloves and make runs seem easy and fast. 

I think I might have to buy another pair. Do they do them in pink?
  

Back in the game

Maybe I spoke too soon after my sports massage of doom...

I had planned a hill session for yesterday evening, but all night and all day my quads had been agony (although not quite as distressing as the raw blisters on my toes) and after struggling to make it up the stairs to my first floor apartment, I decided to switch out the hills for a nice gentle run to see if I could get some blood flowing to my thighs to help with recovery and test my calves. 

** all photos included in this post were taken during last night's run, however they have little to no relevance to the actual text. I'm a bad blogger. My apologies. **

pretty daffodils. how very welsh of me.

It was a gorgeous evening - warm and sunny - perfect for a little canal path action (without music - even though it was still relatively light, the sun was setting and I was paranoid about creepers lurking in the bushes, waiting to drown me in the murky water - got to stay vigilant!)

Canal path. This one is relevant I suppose

The first mile was a struggle. My left quad was a little more sore than the right after the previous night's beating massage, but this was counterbalanced by the crushing pain in my right toes, so I am sure I looked really awkward, trying to land on each leg in a way that minimised the pain.  I definitely felt awkward.

not my house. but it's pretty, right?

But as I ran, I started to find my stride.  And although the bruised feeling in my quads and the burning sensation of fabric rubbing against raw flesh on my toes didn't go away, my legs actually felt... springy. 

I can't remember my last run that felt like that. 

canal-side pub. good cider.

It took me until the turnaround point (3.5 miles) to realise what it was - my calves and shins weren't hurting AT ALL.  It was amazing!  I picked up the pace and felt as though I was flying!  (NB. this may also have been due to the fact that it was getting darker and creepier, and I was imagining myself outrunning murderers lying in wait under troll bridges). 

doesn't this look like the troll bridge from Three Billy Goats Gruff?

see?!

Everything was wonderful - the weather, the sunset, the speed - until 1.5M from home when a sudden steep uphill was immediately rejected by my quads. Turns out they had been lying relatively dormant up until this point.  I didn’t exactly power through, I just tried not to stop, and when the gradient flattened out the springs returned.  But then the final half mile was all downhill and as my toes slammed into the front of my shoes my blisters also reawakened.  It was like someone was crushing the entire outside of my foot with a vice. THE PAIN! 

sunset over the common



same again.


I managed to hobble the last little bit home and sat down to gingerly take off my trainers, half expecting to find a fully developed club foot.  Instead I was greeted with toes that had swollen up and looked like fat little cocktail sausages, leaking some kind of fluid. Oh so grim.  How the fudge do you fix that?  

Despite the pain during the latter part, it was the best run I've had for a LONG time - even better than my non-stop long run! It felt fast and effortless (although I wasn't wearing my watch, so it could potentially have been very slow and effortless. Let's ignore that possibility)

And now I've found my springs, I don’t want to stop running!

Who said massages were relaxing?

WHAT THE FRICK?!!!

I booked a sports massage last night to try and loosen up my legs and untie the knots in my calves.

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And now I am broken.

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I went into this appointment with lower calf and medial tibial stress syndrome issues. I also threw in a hamstring and ITB request, because my hammies and ITBs are always tight (who doesn't foam roll enough? This girl).

Despite my quite specific requests, the guy went straight to my quads.

Let me preface this by saying I have never had a problem with my quads. Of all the problems with my legs - runner's knee, ITBS, shin splints, tight calves, weak ankles - my quads have never let me down. They're strong and well developed; sprinters' thighs. They've never felt tight or sore, I even stretch them regularly (probably because that's the easiest stretch).  My quads were fine. 

But the massager? masseur? dude had a cursory glance and declared that they were very tight. He proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes kneading them to shreds and now they're black and blue and hurt like hell.    

He did give my other muscles a good pulverising too, but seriously? I know I'm not a professional sports massage therapist, and I'm sure he knows more than I do, but I'm still mad about the quads.  I don't mind the massage pain (normally I can't stop laughing. It's a bizarre reaction) but my poor, dependable quadriceps took a beating for no good reason and now they're punishing me.  I wouldn't blame them if they never trusted me again.  And how the frick am I supposed to get round 26.2 miles of London's finest streets without them?! 

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The voice of doubt

So, it would appear that last week’s non-stop long run was a one-off.

By comparison, I honestly don’t think this Saturday’s run could have gone much worse!

I did almost everything exactly the same as the previous week to give myself the best chance at completing the 20 miler sans stopping – early start, coconut water (I still swear by its magical properties though), 3 x 6.2 mile loop. I even wore the same outfit, just in case. Does anyone else do that? For exams, for instance? Always wear the same clothes, just in case they are lucky? I do. Don’t even get me started on my pre-exam rituals – dictionaries under the end of the bed for instance. Crazy lady, right here.

I digress. The only things I changed were music – my ipod was charged this time – and new shoes (I spy a problem right there).

I set off and did a short, flat 1.4 mile loop around the village, partly as a warm up, but mainly so that I wouldn’t have to worry about tagging on extra miles at the end to make my run up to 20. As I looped back past my house to head up the hill and begin the main loop, I convinced myself that I was just starting, my legs were fresh and I just had an 18 mile run ahead of me. My head:0, me:1

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The hill was fine – I think that with the little warm-up, my legs were much more amenable and I made it up with hardly any slowing down. 

The next mile was fine too. I felt as though I was flying. 

It was at the beginning of mile 4, the bottom of big-ass hill #2, that I realised something wasn’t quite right.  My feet felt funny in the new shoes (and of course, there was the ever present shin pain/tight calves) and there was a slight rubbing on the tops of two of my toes on my right foot.  Then my right shoelace came undone.  Damn the new shoes and their slippery new laces that don’t even stay in a double knot. 

With every step my shoe was getting looser and slipping further and further off my foot.  I forced myself to the top of the hill and then angrily stopped my watch and bent over to re-tie my shoe.  I should have just chalked it down to bad luck, sucked it up and carried on. But once I’ve stopped my watch once it opens the mental door for open-season on watch-stopping for the rest of the run.  My head:1, me:1

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I started running again but as the rubbing on my toes became more noticeable, the run became more and more unbearable. I could not zone out and my music was doing nothing to help my state of mind. I was freaking out that if the blisters kept getting worse, I’d end up changing my gait which would lead to a whole slew of new injuries. My head:2, me:1.

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I completed one loop to make it back to my parents', slapped some plasters on the offending areas, picked up my coconut water and tried to carry on.

But it just got worse. And it felt like the longest run ever. 

I called it at 13.7 miles (average pace 8:47/mile). I sat down on the pavement against a wall and contemplated my failure.

A few blisters really aren’t a big deal.  I could have completed the scheduled 20-miles if I had set my mind to it; but I just couldn’t tune out the discomfort or turn off that niggling voice that was telling me to stop, find that inner strength and push through.  My head:3, me:1 

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In the end I decided to chill out in the sun all day, find some Compeed and try and tackle the final 6.3 miles in the afternoon. 

But after a bit of wedding shopping (MOB = done), sunbathing in my parents’ garden all day (in a bikini. In March! I even have a tan line or two to prove it, which isn’t such a good thing considering I have a wedding dress to wear in T minus 10 weeks and 4 days and under no circumstances am I allowed to get any tan lines. Oops!), chilling in the sun with a friend by the river in Wapping, and feeling sorry for myself about my run #fail,  by the time the evening rolled around I was really not in the mood to run. My head:4, me:1

Instead, I woke up early again and attempted the final miles on Sunday (damn British Summer Time for stealing an hour).  And despite the blisters and pain in my shins, I managed a relatively effortless 10 miles at 20 seconds per mile faster than MGP.  Me:1, my head:0.

It just goes to show that no two runs are ever the same.  

And as Troy so rightly sang, you HAVE to get'cha head in the game.

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I know that I used the blisters as my excuse to half-ass my run on Saturday. But maybe it was what my body and mind needed?  Who knows.  All I do know is that next weekend I am really going to try my super hardest to complete the 22 miles and not give in to the voice of doubt.

And I'm going to make sure my new shoes are fully broken in.

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