Taper Time!
And that’s a wrap! Last 20-miler in and it’s officially taper time! We celebrated with a shot of Fireball! We still have 3 not-so-long runs, but we are scaling back from here to rest and recover from asking so much of our bodies. I’ll be in Boston next weekend for my husband to run the Boston Marathon. I’ll get in a 12 miler while he’s waiting to run his race. I should be done by the time he gets started and I can get cleaned up and take the T to the 24 mile marker to wait for him to pass by. Then, I’ll run back the three quarters of a mile back to the T to meet him at the corner of Arlington and Boyleston. We’ll get him back together and head over to Cheers for a celebratory Sam Adams 26.2 brew and maybe a couple others.
He’s pretty anxious about this trip. He had to sit it out last year due to injury. In fact, he spent the entire year rebuilding from his knee issues and wasn’t able to run a fall marathon to get him a qualifying time for Boston 2024. So, he either needs to re-qualify this time around or try and run another race before the cut off in September to re-qualify. He’s not too keen on that because from here on out it’s hot weather which equates to longer race times. Cleveland is an option as it’s in mid-May. The weather may or may not cooperate. We’ve been up there when it’s been so cold and windy there were water spouts on Lake Erie along with sleet slapping us in the face. The next year it’s so hot you feel like your head is going to ignite. As of right now he’s saying it wouldn’t matter either way. He doesn’t want to run another marathon 6 weeks after Boston. He could. He’s done it before. But it’s not ideal. The body is still in recovery and it’s very difficult.
But, that’s how he was able to qualify for this year. Boston 2021 was held in the fall due to being postponed for Covid. He ran it. But it was humid that day and he got cramped up the last 3 miles and ended up walking those. We’re not going to get into that too much more because it’s a very disappointing occurrence for him. Fast forward 6 weeks to the AACR Philadelphia Marathon. He pulled off a 3:14 which got him re-qualified for this year’s race. So, it can be done. But he said he was still feeling the Boston race on him from 6 weeks earlier and he said he definitely paid for it.
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I think he will requalify for Boston, at Boston. But I keep that to myself. So far the weather looks ok. It’s not my favorite but it’s not a forecast I would dread either. Sunday night’s low is forecasted to be in the low 50s and Monday’s high in the low 60's with a chance of rain. So, if it rains, at least it will be a warmer rain. It will be better than the 2018 tsunami he had to run in. But there will be a head wind, as there usually is in Boston since you are running towards the ocean. Gusts could be up to 20 mph so that’s always fun. Anyway, that’s still 8 days away as of right now and that is going to change 50 million times in the next 8 days. It is my hope it doesn’t get cold, wet, and really windy. It’s also my hope it doesn’t get hot, humid and life sucking.
All I can say right now is my training is in and I am ready to enjoy my taper. I need to try and keep my weight in check. The challenge will be the Boston trip. I won’t pig out or anything. But I’ll be in a different place on a different schedule and eating different things. On the upside, I will be walking a lot so I’ll be burning more, too.
I have a 12, 10, and 8 miler to get me to the Flying Pig. My mission is to keep my foot healthy and get the inflammation down in the joints. I think I’ll be ok. I really don’t want to have to ask the podiatrist for another cortisone shot. I think it’s inflamed from training. So, hopefully as I taper, the inflammation will go down. I will take some ibuprofen here and there to help tamper it. My foot spa with Epsom salt and essential oils is a helpful tool, too.
I really enjoyed this training experience. Having Kim at each long run made a difference. I had a couple rough days when I was simply exhausted and having her there waiting for me gave me the oomph I needed to get it in. Our last 20 miler was our fastest. I had a 10:29 pace and was pleased with that. I am hoping to continue my hill repeat training on my shorter runs to keep conditioning for the course in Cincinnati. Fingers crossed. I don’t expect to come out of it unscathed. But I am hoping to minimize the impact on my quads. I want to get to the last 7 and not feel as though I have nothing left in my legs. That is a real possibility. I think I can have a decent last 7 miles if I still have power left in my legs. And the training I’ve been doing is essential. I just don’t know if it’s enough or effective.
We’ll see.
