This week was all marathon taper. I completely shifted my normal schedule to front load my week so that I had plenty of rest towards the end of the week, which felt like a good choice. I traveled for work on Wednesday morning after my workout, and did my 6 mile run that afternoon on the treadmill. I didn’t want to have to worry about dropping in to a CrossFit box out of town, so I worked out in the morning and ran in the afternoon. Opposite of what I prefer, but not an issue. Thursday evening I had a work event, so I knew I needed to schedule my run in the morning before work. I had a good time with my team, but I stayed out a little later than I would have preferred, and didn’t get quite as much rest as I would have liked. Friday morning, I had one final team building event and then went to the movies with my boys. We saw Frozen 2, and I was happy to start my carb loading with popcorn and Reese’s (the only acceptable movie snack combo). After the movies, we drove my dad’s house to spend one night with him, since he lives in central Texas, and his house is about halfway between our town and Dallas.
Saturday I woke up later than normal, ran my 3 mile shakeout run, made some french toast, and we headed to Dallas. The first half of my week, I completed my carb deplete. It was not the most fun I’ve had in my 32 years of living, but I didn’t set anything on fire and I stuck to my plan. I share some details about why I decided to try a carb deplete and the parameters I set for it on this blog post. Wednesday and Thursday, I ate the way I do in a normal week, and then Friday & Saturday I carb loaded. I don’t normally eat a whole lot more leading up to a marathon, calorie wise, but I definitely shift from a balanced diet to one that is very carb focused in the last two days. This has generally worked well for me in the past, and helped me to feel fresh and ready for take off. This is the first time I have tapered using the Hansons Marathon Method plan, and it was definitely higher mileage than any other plan I’ve followed in the past. I gave a good amount of info on how the Hansons taper is different than most plans, and the rationale for those differences on this post.
Saturday, we got into Dallas around 2pm and met my mom at the race expo. The expo was super calm, which is so different from so many other races I’ve done. One of the race sponsors is Samuel Adams, and the beer area had some really great patio games set up that both boys enjoyed. After the expo, we met one of my girlfriends who lives in Dallas. She was gracious enough to watch E for us Saturday evening and Sunday morning. She has a son that is very close in age, and they have a lot of fun together. I am so grateful to have friends who are as supportive as mine. Saturday night, we had a great dinner with my mom and brother, who ran the half-marathon relay together. It’s a lot of fun being a part of a family who runs together. We got back to the hotel early and tucked in early. Sunday was going to be a very long day.
This Weeks Workouts
Total Miles: 32
Hansons Marathon Method, Week 18 (Final Week!)
How the Runs Felt
All of the runs this week were at an easy pace, and I made sure to follow that recommendation. I didn’t have a single run with an average pace below 9 min miles. Sun – Tuesday, I was still doing my carb deplete, so my runs felt pretty sluggish. 10/10 do NOT recommend running any sort of distance without eating a good amount of carbs. After I returned to normal eating on Wednesday, my runs all felt really easy and consistent. Since my mileage was so low this week, I let myself sleep in a little later than normal, and spent more time doing some stretching and mobility work.
What I’ve Been Listening To
I have been loving Disorganized Crime; it is so hilarious to hear these “misadventures” that happen when you’re trying to make a living doing something illegal. I also started listening to a very interesting true crime podcast, called Lords of Death, where a man shares his experience growing up with and around two serial killers. The podcast doesn’t fully wrap up before he announces that he will be pausing to complete some additional research. I am really looking forward to that podcast picking back up.
How the WODs felt
This week’s WODs were kind of all over the place. I wasn’t eating much in the way of carbs, and I felt pretty fatigued Mon-Wed. I kept the weights fairly light, but I still just felt like I didn’t have any kick. None of the WODs were particularly difficult, but by Wednesday 105lbs felt like 125lbs, and I was really glad to be done with CrossFit for the rest of the week. In my post on tapering, I cover how I navigate CrossFitting during a marathon taper, and some general rules I follow to make sure I don’t end up with a last minute injury or muscle soreness.
What Went Well
I DIDN’T GET SICK. This is a huge victory for me. My allergies have been acting up, and while that’s been irritating and annoying, I was able to keep it from turning into a sinus infection or flu or anything else. I keep seeing Facebook posts from my friends whose kids have come down with some pretty nasty viruses, and I’m really happy I’ve been able to avoid it. I got through my carb deplete without harming myself or others, so I’d rule that a success. I have been able to get a decent amount of rest, my nutrition has been good, and I’ve spent more time stretching this week.
What Went Shitty
This week involved a little more travel than what is ideal right before a big race. I wasn’t thrilled when I got the notification from work, but there’s not a whole lot you can do. Eating fewer than 80 grams of carbs per day overall was not a fun experience, but I’m interested to see if I notice any changes in how I feel during the race and if I sense any changes to what I need for fueling.
Plans to Improve Next Week
Next week is going to start out with a 26.2 mile run, that I am hoping goes relatively well. I plan on taking a full week off running afterwards, though I may do some CrossFit depending on how my body feels. I’ve found that how I feel after a race is really dependent on how hard I push during the race itself. When I run for fun, I can usually go back to normal activities within 3-4 days. I’m hoping that I’ll push so hard on Sunday that the thought of working out doesn’t even cross my mind for the week after. My plan is to leave everything out on the course, so wish me luck and fast legs!
