I asked my wife what she thought about me running the GRM. She told me she was secretly really disappointed for me at how Chicago turned out and was 100% behind me running in Grand Rapids. Unfortunately she and the kids will not be able to join me, so I am going to Grand Rapids sans-family with some other runners from Fort Wayne.
Now that I had the family’s support, I wanted to make sure Coach Tammy was OK with my decision, and she agreed. So I took the plunge and registered.
Finally, I had to plan out how I was going to recover from Chicago, build my mileage back up and taper again for another race in only 3 weeks. Below is the plan I developed with the percentage of my pre-Chicago high week (45 miles) in parentheses. Of course I made sure Tammy reviewed it. She suggested I try to run 12 for my long run the week before the race and to do fewer miles than I had originally planned the week of the race.
| Plan | Week 1 | Week 2 | Final Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Rest / Massage | 5 Tempo | 5 Tempo |
| Tuesday | 20-30 min walk | 6 Easy | 5 Easy |
| Wednesday | 30 min Elliptical | 30 min Elliptical | 30 min Elliptical |
| Thursday | 3 Easy | 5 Moderate | 3 Easy |
| Friday | 30 min Elliptical | 30 min Elliptical or Rest | Rest |
| Saturday | 8 Long | 12 Long | Rest / Travel |
| Sunday | Rest | Rest | GRM |
| Equivalent Mileage | 17 (37%) | 31-34 (68-75%) | 16 (35%) + 26.2 |
| Actual Mileage | 11 + 85 min XT | 28.4 + 30 min XT | TBD |
So far I’ve been able to stick to the plan.
Monday, my quads felt like heavy book bags were hanging from them. I made an appointment with Tom Seifert, a massage therapist, to get the soreness worked out. This was the first time I had had a massage from Tom. He was out of town with Tommy Haas, the professional tennis pro he tours with, the week before Chicago. Stephen Grogg filled in for him. Stephen is the massage therapist for the Fort Wayne Komet’s hockey team. Both guys are obviously respected in their field and know their stuff. Monday, there were times when Tom’s massage seemed to hurt more than the muscles did. But, it certainly worked. I was feeling much better by Tuesday. I already have my appointment scheduled for October 29.
On Tuesday I walked on the treadmill at work for 20 minutes and then worked out on the elliptical for about 5. When I first started going on the elliptical, my muscles went “ahhh” in sweet relief. Something about that motion felt good. Thursday I ran slowly on the treadmill. It was a beautiful day outside, but being my first run, I didn’t want to venture too far in case I got into trouble. My first real run was Saturday at Foster Park with the PR Training group. It went surprising well. It was then I knew that I would be OK by the GRM.
On week 2 Monday I was able to do 5 miles sub-9:00, which was awesome. My 6 on Tuesday were at a 10:00 pace and on Thursday I did 5.4 at a 9:45 pace. However, I was surprised that my 5.4 were only at 9:45 … it felt like I labored harder like I would for a faster pace. I took that as a sign my legs needed a break after working out 4 consecutive days, and I chose to rest on Friday.
Tomorrow is my last long run. Don’t get me wrong; I’m excited about running the GRM. But when I find a quiet moment with just my thoughts, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. I think about how I should be kicking back and taking a well deserved break from intense training, but instead I’m doing another double-digit run. It’s part of the mental game that’s part of being an athlete. Doing the miles to train the body is one thing, but sometimes training the mind is more difficult. It’s part of the psyche-job that was the Chicago Marathon. This is where having a plan helps. I’m going to run a 12-mile long run tomorrow because I know I need to and it is on the plan … not because I feel like running it.
The early weather report is calling for partly cloudy skies, temperatures between 40 and 53 and only a 10% change of rain. Looks like it is going to be much better than Chicago.
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