One week to go. Time to taper down – and second guess myself all week as to whether or not I’m actually ready for this race.
Early on, my training was going ok. I didn’t bounce back from Fred Lebow quite as quickly as I would have liked, and as a result I don’t think I was quite fresh and ready for the United NYC Half last month.
But since then, things have been looking up. Two weeks in a row, I ran a race on Sunday and used the race as a marathon pace tempo. In each case, I was able to easily handle 6:45-6:50/mi for the tempo – and still feel good at the end.
This week is about taking it easy and tapering down. I am going to run one more race – a 10k – on Sunday. But again, I’m going to run it at marathon pace and take it easy. It’s more about being out there to support my team.
The rest of the week will be easy runs, with a final bit of speed in a short Wednesday mini-workout.
The Plan for the Week
Over the last two weeks, I’ve done 70 miles and 60 miles – down from a peak of 75 mpw before the United Half. For this final week of the taper, I’ll pare back even further to an easy 40 miles.
Here’s how things broke down:
- Sunday: 10 miles, 10k race + warm up
- Monday: 5 miles, trail
- Tuesday: 5 miles, treadmill
- Wednesday: 6 miles, mini-workout
- Thursday: 5 miles trail
- Friday: 4.5 miles treadmill
- Saturday: 4.5 miles easy
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: An “Eh” Morning at The Cherry Blossom 10k
There’s a local 10k race in early April – the Cherry Blossom 10k – that I love. But, last year, it was one week out from the Jersey City Marathon so I skipped it.
This year, it again fell on the Sunday before the JC Marathon. But it’s a team race, and a ton of my teammates were going to be out there. One of my wife’s friends was also planning on running. So I decided at the last minute to hop in – but take it easy(ish).
We woke up and got there early, because the parking is limited. I jogged a couple miles through the park to warm up. The race is in Branch Brook Park in Newark – which is home to the largest collection of cherry blossoms in the US. Yes, more than DC. And in early April, they’re just coming into full bloom.
I swung by where my wife was sitting, and she had found her friend. Her friend’s husband was there to spectate, too. Chatted with them all for a bit, then ran off to take a team picture. Finished up my warmup with one of my teammates. Totaled 4 miles on the warm up.
This is a big race, with a little under 2,000 finishers. So the start area is packed. In retrospect, I lined up a little too far back – 6 or 7 rows from the front. When the gun went off – with a giant explosion of pink confetti – I was stuck behind slower runners for thirty seconds or so. Then we went up a fairly steep hill, and I didn’t really get up to speed until about a minute into the race.
At the top of the hill, I passed by my wife. Gave her a wave and a grin, and off I went. I settled in to the pace – around 6:50/mi – and slowly breezed by people through that first mile. With the slow start, I lapped 6:57.
The second mile went better. The course is slightly downhill in the first half, over gently rolling hills. I tried to keep the effort even, speeding up and slowing down a little with the hills. I kept moving up in the field at this point, but by the end of the mile I had more or less caught up with people going my pace. Split: 6:49.
In the third mile, I looked ahead and spotted a woman in blue shorts and a white top that I’d seen at last week’s race. She was a good ways ahead of me, but she became a visual marker in the field – and I aimed to slowly reel her in. There was a hill here, and it slowed me down a bit. Towards the end of this mile, the leaders had doubled back and passed us – and one of my teammates was in 2nd. Nice!
My split for the third mile was a little off (6:56). Hills, right? We did a little out and back in the next mile – with another hill – before circling back past the first half of the course. Over the course of mile 4, I saw a bunch of my teammates – and my wife’s friend – that were strung out along the course behind me. Lots of cheers and waves. The split: 6:54.
I wanted to pick up the pace for the last mile or two, but it just wasn’t happening. Despite consciously opening up my stride and trying to run a little faster, I just seemed to be stuck. No sense in pushing too hard, though. Towards the end of mile 5, I passed the woman in the blue shorts. Split 6:54.
At this point, the field was fairly well strung out. But there were two guys ahead of me. They were within striking distance. I thought I could grind out this final mile and pass them, for sure. Maybe it was the (slight) net incline, or maybe my legs were just a bit off. But I just didn’t have the oomph that I needed. When we got to the 6 mile mark, they were still just ahead of me. Split: 6:57.
I tried to charge through to the finish in the last quarter mile. I did manage to pick up the pace here, averaging ~6:15/mi for the final bit. But I couldn’t quite chase down those two guys, so I eased up the pace in the final stretch. There was no one behind me in striking distance, and a few seconds didn’t matter to me on this one.
After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed my water and a bagel, and I chatted with a few folks. I went back to see my wife, and we waited with her friend’s husband. We cheered every time one of my teammates passed by.
Meanwhile, I was mulling over my performance. I wasn’t thrilled with it. My overall pace (6:53/mi) was slightly off from marathon pace, and it hadn’t felt quite as easy as it should have. I always forget about the incline in the second half, and that might have had something to do with it. I was also running today in regular daily trainers – my NB 1080’s instead of my old SC Elite v3 race shoes – so that could account for a few seconds.
Nonetheless, it was a fun day and I enjoyed seeing everyone out in the park. But I’ll make a mental note to take it extra easy this week – just in case my legs are a little more fatigued than I thought from the last few weeks.
Monday: Feeling Fresh on the Trails
I didn’t feel great at the race Sunday, but I did feel fine on the trails Monday.
I woke up feeling well rested. When I hit the road for my trail run, my legs felt fresh. It took a little bit of time to warm up in the first mile, but the second one was quite comfortable. I went 2.5 miles – which felt super short – and circled back.
The final mile was 9:05 and it was easy. Legs definitely feel good.
When I got back home, I did some light work with the medicine ball – squats, lunges, trunk rotations – followed by some easy yoga.
Tuesday: On the Treadmill to Avoid the Cold
I woke up Tuesday morning, and it was cold. This whole week is colder than usual. I just didn’t feel like dealing with the weather – it is April after all – so I decided to hop on the treadmill.
I watched a couple episodes of “What If?” on Disney+, and the time flew by. After 45 minutes, I was done with my five miles and ready for work.
Wednesday: A Final Test of Speed
One of the workouts I like from the taper period in Daniels 2Q is a stint at threshold pace followed by a stint at marathon pace. Two weeks out, this could be a couple reps – like 5 minutes threshold, 10 minutes marathon pace, followed by a break and another round.
But it’s race week, so I don’t think I need to do two sets. I really just want to get my legs moving a bit without putting too much stress on my body.
As I was lying in bed, reflecting over the past few weeks, I also realized I hadn’t done very much running faster than marathon pace in the last few weeks. So I decided to add in a few shorter, faster reps, too.
It was cold – and windy – Wednesday morning, so I put on a long sleeve shirt and gloves and headed down to the Reservoir. First lap felt good for the warm up, and I finished up with some leg swings.
In the second lap, I did 5 reps at around 5k pace. The path is marked at intervals of a tenth of a mile. So I was on for 0.2 miles and recovering for 0.1 miles. The first rep was a little slow, and I my legs needed waking up. But the next two got down to ~5:50/mi at the end. Nice.
The last two were into a strong headwind, so I didn’t bother too much with the pace.
After a little recovery, I got back to the start of the loop and launched into the threshold rep. The plan was 5 minutes at threshold then five minutes at marathon pace.
The first five minutes went great. I think I had a little tale wind, and I was on pace at ~6:25/mi early on. I slowed down a bit towards the end, but I averaged ~6:30/mi for the rep.
Just as I turned the corner and started the five minutes at marathon pace, I got slapped in the face with a huge wind gust. I focused on keeping the effort steady, and eventually the wind let up. My average pace at that point was ~7:15/mi, but over the next few minutes I worked it back down to 6:57/mi. Looking at Garmin Connect later, I was comfortably doing 6:40-6:45/mi towards the end.
It was a short workout. But it felt great. And it helped ease my worries a little bit from Sunday’s race. When I got inside, I did another easy medicine ball workout – this’ll be the last one before the race. From here on out, it’s just light yoga after my runs.
Thursday: Another Easy Morning on the Trails
Back on the trails for another easy morning on Thursday. It’s still a little chilly, but not quite as bad as the last two days. Back to a short sleeve shirt.
I felt great as soon as I started. The warmup mile was faster today, and my paces worked down quicker than on Monday. The final mile was 9:09 – but I glanced at my watch on the flat, straight section, and I was going 8:50/mi.
It was a nice easy morning, and I’m feeling fresher by the day. All of the metrics on my Garmin – Body Battery, HRV Status, etc – are also pointing towards my body feeling rested. They all look a lot better than they have in weeks, thanks to the reduced mileage.
Friday: Cold Rain Day, On the Treadmill
I woke up Friday, and it was cold and rainy. Again.
This is supposed to be an easy week, so I’m taking the easy way out. I hopped on the treadmill and knocked out an easy 40 minutes – ~4.5 miles. Watched an episode of “What If?”
Legs felt really good. Everything was nice and loose. One day closer to race day.
Saturday: A Few Last Strides to Shake It Out
And here we are again. Cold and rainy. Woke up and it was in the 30’s.
But this is better than having a hot race day. So let me know complain.
I waited out the rain and went for my rain a little later in the morning. Went down to the Reservoir for a quick lap. Stopped and did some leg swigs. Everything feels pretty good.
In the second lap, I mixed in a few strides. Did 3x short strides at MP to HMP, nothing strenuous. After that, I did a short, extended segment (~0.1 mile) at roughly marathon pace. Checked my watch at the end – 6:45/mi. Everything feels good, everything checks out.
Added in one more stride at a faster pace for good measure and then jogged out the rest. And … we’re done.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
That’s it. That’s all she wrote for this training cycle. Tomorrow is race day.
Since the beginning of the year (15 weeks), I’ve put in 990 miles. 4x weeks at 75 mpw, 4x weeks at 70mpw, 5x weeks at 60 mpw, and the last taper week at 40mpw.
My overall mileage was a little lower compared to the fall, when I prepped for Chicago. And I did fewer long runs – although I still knocked out 2×20, 1×18, and 1×17. I tried something a little different this time, with a shorter midweek workout (~10 miles) instead of a 15-16 mile midweek long run.
At this point, I feel much fresher than I did in October. The last few weeks leading up to Chicago, I was burnt out – and I was hoping the taper would save me. I don’t think it did, and I probably showed up on race day a little bit worse for wear.
This time around, I think my legs are fresh. This Sunday wasn’t the greatest tempo, but the previous two workouts were perfect and my mini-workout on Wednesday went well. Marathon pace – 6:45-6:50/mi – feels pretty easy and sustainable.
The weather looks good tomorrow. Probably about as good as it gets. After a week of cold rain and wind, the rain will be gone – but the cooler temps will remain.
It should warm up a little bit later in the day, but race temps look to be in the mid-40’s, with clouds, moderate humidity, and light wind. My last three marathons have all been borderline warm (JC / Chicago) to hot (Erie), so this is going to be a treat!
My teammate is looking to go sub-3:00, too, so we’ll discuss strategy in the morning. But I figure we go out at around 6:45-6:50/mi and see what happens. If the first mile is a little slower getting out the gate, that’s ok, but plan to come through the half around 1:29:00 to 1:29:30.
Then either hang on … or let it rip after we make the final turn towards downtown around mile 22.
The goals for the day are:
- Bare minimum: 3:05 (technical BQ, PR)
- Main goal: 3:00 (break 3:00 plus BQ-5)
- The stars align: 2:58 (BQ-7)