Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Training – Weeks 17 & 18 – TAPER!

Taper taper taper time! This is the first time I’ve done my longest run just 2 weeks out from the race and tried a 2 week taper. The taper itself cuts back on mileage more than I am used to but it also includes a decent amount of intensity to keep my legs fresh. So far, I think that it has gone well and it has left me feeling a lot more fresh and less sluggish than I have in past taper periods. I also think I’m just more fit and trained than I ever have been before which is helping my sluggishness and confidence level.

I’m still in week 18 of training but there isn’t much left to do, so I figured I’d post the recap now. Ironically, I spent $400 in the last 2 weeks of my marathon buying a new Garmin watch (I got a good deal through a friend but it was still expensive!) and new shoes. Ouch!!! But, the good news is that my new Garmin Forerunner 235 is pretty incredible, so much so that I wish I had purchased it even earlier.

I plan to get on tomorrow to do a quick race plan post so stay tuned!

Week 17: May 15-21 

Monday: 6 miles with 1 mile @ half marathon pace, 1 mile at goal marathon pace. This was my last run with my friend Kelly – I’m so thankful to have her as an early morning running buddy. It’s always nice to get the workout done early. The paces felt easy which was a good sign after the tough 20 miler from the previous Saturday.

Tuesday: 70 minute easy run with my friend Ashley. This was the maiden voyage for the Garmin! Later that day I did Beachbody Yoga Studio’s Muscle Recovery Yoga (30 min). This is my favorite!

Wednesday: 9.1 mile speed workout and 5 min of corework. Last big group speed workout and I felt great. The workout was:

• 2.25 mile warm-up & strides (including a big hill, as usual)
• 4 x 1,200 with 400 recovery, first at MGP (actual: 7:58) , second at 1/2 pace (actual: 7:41), third at 10k pace (actual: 7:15), last at 5k pace (actual: 6:56)
• 4 x 400 with 400 recovery, first at MGP (actual: 8:00) , second at 1/2 pace (actual: 7:48), third at 10k pace (Actual: 7:20), last at 5k pace (actual: 6:28).
• 6 x 200 fast (all in the low 6s).

Thursday:  4 mile stroller recovery run. 

Friday: 32 min easy run + 5 min Core on the Floor (from Core De Force).

Saturday: 6.9 miles easy. This was a dramatic decrease in mileage, given I ran 21 miles the weekend before, but I trusted my coach when he said to go run 70 min easy (and of course he threw in a big hill int he middle).

Sunday: Rest. Planned to do yoga but we had a busy day and that took priority. I got in a solid 2 hour nap after our wine tasting event in the afternoon which was wonderful!

Weekly Totals: 

• Miles Run: 33
• Yoga/Core: 50 min

Week 18: May 22-28 

During this week I made a goal to do at least 10 minutes of foam rolling or stretching a day and I’ve focused on resting as much as possible. My new watch tracks my steps and my goal is to go LESS than 10,000 steps a day, or close to it anyway. So far I’ve been on track with my goals!

Monday: 3.5 miles with 1/2 mile @ marathon goal pace – 10 sec. Mike and I headed down to the coast and did this run with the stroller after he got off work. This run felt really good. I really wanted to run faster but didn’t! I did the 1/2 mile piece at 7:55 (goal pace is 8:05) and felt like I was holding back a lot.

Tuesday: 35 minutes easy with my friend Ashley. We both pushed the strollers and it felt very odd to turn around after such a short period of time! We took the girls to the park afterward to play. When I got home I did Beachbody Yoga Studio’s Yoga For Runners. 

Wednesday: Last group run! 4 miles with a few pickups. It’s been so fun training with this group!

Thursday: Planned: 22-24 min easy walk. This as an optional walk or run and I’m going to walk with Mike tonight during our date night instead of running.

Friday: Planned: 20 min easy run. 

Saturday: Planned: Rest day. 

Sunday: RACE DAY! 26.2 miles!

Weekly Totals (Excluding Marathon)

• Miles Run: ~12.5
• Yoga/Core: 50 min

The hay is in the barn, as they say! Time to race!

What is your favorite part of the taper? What is your least favorite part?