How I Relax Before A Marathon

Running marathons makes me nervous.  I start to get race anxiety a few days before the run and have a lot of butterflies the morning of the marathon.  Finding ways to keep my mind occupied can help relieve the stress and anxiety associated with racing.  This is a list of how I like to keep my mind occupied instead of getting anxious and worrying about the marathon on Sunday.  


1.  Paint my nails.  Seriously.  First off, painting them keeps my mind busy as I try hard to not smudge them.  Second, for a reason unknown to me, looking at them during the race keeps me occupied (probably as I search for chips).  HRG also does this so you know it’s the right thing to do.

2.  Read.  I read everything.  It’s hard for me to find a book I don’t like.  Reading helps me fall asleep at night by quietly my mind.  Everything that I have thought about during the day is forgotten for the time being and thus reading also helps me fall asleep.  Currently, I am reading She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb.  
 

     3. Look at the course map ahead of time and get familiar with it.  I like to have an idea of where the turns are and if it is a point to point or loop course.  

 

4. Binge watch tv shows.  I have a long list of shows to catch up on with Netflix, HBO GO, and on our DVR.  Watching tv (or reading!) = more time off your feet and on the couch = well rested legs for the marathon.  Very scientific.

     5. Review my training logs and think about all the times I’ve succeeded and all the times I’ve stumbled.  Acknowledging the parts of training that were hard for me and reliving my successes will help me overcome any possible hurdles on Sunday.  It will prepare me beforehand to deal with it rather than attempting to find a solution in the moment.  

     6. Walk with Peyton.  Since my running mileage has decreased, I need to expend energy and relax through another outlet.  Taking (short) walks and listening to a podcast or just listening to nature helps me remain calm.

Today I finished my final training run before race day on Sunday! I focused on 9 minute miles and keep my pace slow and relaxed. 

4 miles

36:11

9:03/mile

What do you do leading up to your race to help you feel rested?

What tv show is your favorite right now?

Weekend Round-up and ONE WEEK TIL MARATHON!

Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out there! (and dog moms, too)

Peyton likes to be fancy for special occasions.

This weekend has been a total blur.  I can't believe it's Sunday already!

Friday when I got home I saw this out my front window:

So a run was out of the question.  It poured and it came down for a long time.  It was good timing though, as my knee was acting up on Friday.  I had pain whenever I went to stand from a sitting position and whenever I did stairs (which is frequent living in a three story townhome).  So I rested and iced instead.

Watching the Cubs is an important part of rest and recovery.

Saturday I had planned on doing Friday's run depending on how my knee felt.  It was still stiff but did feel better walking around on it.  I decided to give the run a try and turn around immediately if it was bothering me.  I don't want to risk anything at this point.  I also went on a limb and changed my shoes.  I had been thinking they were due for a replacement for a little while and my knees are often the first thing to act up when my shoes are old.  Normally I try to break in my new shoes with a few short distance runs, but I did not have much of a choice for the 11 miles planned.

As soon as I took off my knee felt WAY better.  I could feel the blood flow immediately to the sore spot and it was gone just like that.  I ran this run without music (mainly because my ipod is dead) and I didn't feel like I needed it.  Not having music allowed me to think clearly and focus on my posture, my form, and my breathing.  Changing my shoes was one of the best decisions I made all day.  The new shoes felt like little clouds on my feet.

11 miles

1:27:48
7:59/mile

2 miles easy, 8 miles race pace, 1 mile easy

 I am more and more having the bad tendency to run faster than race pace on my training runs.  I really need to learn to reel it in for the race so I don't crash and burn early on.

We had Costco take and bake pizza for dinner yesterday.  They are my absolute favorite.  I always add extras to my side of the pizza.  Yesterday I added Costco's power green blend and fresh, minced garlic.  Amazing.

 This may also end up being my dinner the night before the race as well.


Today was another marathon pace run and I was determined to hit it on target at 8 minutes miles.

10 miles

1:20:16

8:01/mile

It was wet and misty outside, but luckily there was no real rain coming down.  The limestone was nice and soft and felt great on my legs. Again, there was no music for this run and did a lot of mentally visualizing the race next week.  My legs are feeling very rested and are ready to go for my runs lately.  I'm going to take that as a good sign the taper is going well!

What are you doing for Mother's day today?

What shoe brand do you wear?

Do you like take and bake, frozen, or delivery pizza the best?

Why You Should Taper Before a Marathon

I am officially in my taper.

I'll admit it.  I LOVE when I finally get to the taper.  At this point in time my body is tired and ready to turn down the mileage.

Tapering is important because it allows your body to be as rested as possible so you can perform at your maximum potential.  You should not only cut back on the mileage, but also the intensity of your workouts.  Your easy runs should be taken at a much more conservative pace.  

Your marathon training plan should begin to taper three weeks before your goal race.  Your mileage should decrease by 10-15% that first week.  Two weeks out, your mileage should go down by 25-30%.  Your final week of tapering should be focused on getting enough rest.  Your daily runs should also decrease by 50% of your normal volume.

For many runners tapering can be difficult because of the fear of gaining weight and losing fitness.  However, your body will no longer make physiological changes to training. These adaptions take six weeks to effect your training, so high intensity workouts will not improve your performance. 

During the taper you want to be sure to include specific workouts.  Short, speed oriented runs are not going to affect your marathon.  You should, however, try to include moderate distance runs (think 8-10 miles) at marathon pace to help you hone in on your pacing.  My marathon training plan includes 1-2 workouts at marathon pace a week and removes all other speed work.  The rest of my 3 runs during the week are run easy.

Your taper should not only be about reducing your mileage.  Tapering should also include focusing on increasing your sleep, planning out your race day, finalizing any travel plans, hydrating, and your nutrition (source).  Your calorie intake should be cut to account for your reduced mileage.  You should increase your carbohydrate and fat intake during your taper to help restore glycogen levels.  It is also recommended you remove cross training from the final two-three weeks of marathon training. 

The hardest part of the taper for me is the mind games.  I start to worry about competing at my race, especially when I get comfortable with the reduced mileage.  With all the stress relief from my high mileage weeks, my nerves start to show.  Part of tapering should also include mental preparation.  What will you do if the weather is miserable?  Your previous injury starts to at up or you have side stitches during the race.  Preparation for race day during your taper will help to reduce and race day anxieties you start to feel.  I like to spend more time reading and taking Peyton for walks during my newly found free time.  It helps me keep my mind off of my impeding marathon and helps to decrease race anxieties.

Most of all, enjoy it!  You've made it this far and you've completed the bulk of your training.  Now it's time to rest and get ready for what is going to be a great race day!

Yesterday was beautiful day here in Chicago.  Chris, Peyton, and I went to my mom's house to enjoy her backyard.  Peyton loves having the freedom to run and sniff as she pleases.  My mom also has a dog that Peyton likes to run around with.

I am TWO WEEKS away from my marathon!  Today's run was really challenging, but helped to reinforce and solidify that I am ready for my race.

18 miles

2 miles easy, 14 @ marathon pace + 20 seconds per mile, 2 miles easy

2:27:43

8:12/mile average

The miles at marathon pace averaged around 8:05-8:10 per mile.  Those easy miles were run really easy.  My final two miles were around a 9 minute mile pace.

How was your weekend?

Do you like or dislike to taper?

Last Long Run Before the Long Awaited Taper!

I am actually very excited to start my taper next week after what feels like a very long marathon training plan.  I could not wait to get this run done today as I knew the next time I'd be running that long would be on marathon day!

Originally the training plan called for 23 miles.  After last week's successful yet very long 22 miler, I had no interest in running beyond 20 miles.  Absolutely none.  Thinking about it felt like torture, so I decided last Sunday after struggling through those 22 miles that this Sunday I would run 20 and be happy with that.  20 I can wrap my head around.

To account for the decreased mileage, I was hoping to do this run around race pace (8:20-8:30ish).  Well race pace never happened, but in a good way because it was faster than race pace.  Once I hit a few 8 minute miles, I decided to go for it.

20 miles

2:38:22

7:55/mile average

Now I don't want to jinx anything, because you certainly never know what will happen on race day, but I have a feeling my sub-4 hour dream will come true with lots of room to spare.  But like I said, we'll see what happens on May 17.

Today was a beautiful day for a run.  We might not have mountains in Chicago, but we have lots of forest preserves with the prairie plants starting to come in.  These limestone trails are my absolute favorite.

 

 

I apparently lose a lot of salt when I run.

Nasty.

After my long run we indulged in one of our favorite breakfasts:

Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake

Absolutely incredible.

I alter the recipe to decrease the amount of pecans to 3/4 cup and maple syrup to 1/4 cup.  I don't add any extra maple syrup once it's done baking and I also don't add powdered sugar as it is very sweet already.   I usually have to cook it about 25 minutes.  Once it has set and doesn't jiggle too much when you give it a shake, you know it's done.


Tell me about your run today!

What did you have for breakfast?


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