Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Objective: G.A. w/ 6 mi at MP. Taper countdown: 14 days

Weather: Mid 50'sF, cloudy, w/ light rain first 3-4 miles.  Starting to see some beautiful autumn colors.

A good run.  I wish it could have been a bit longer but I have to dash off to a wedding shower this morning.  Sometimes I think my training would benefit greatly if I had a strict policy of No Events On Long Run Day.  Unfortunately I am incapable of strict policies.  :)

Each day I am getting better control over this stupid TMS (more here and here).  It is very nearly gone.  I looked at my running log from the last episode I had (about a year ago) and it had lasted about a week.  I used that fact today to mentally attack the fear that keeps TMS going. I also was really excited about being able to do the MP part of today's run, and that contributed to a mental boost.

It felt especially good to work hard today.  I really don't know how much objective data has gone into the notion of a 3 week taper.  I believe that I recover relatively quickly from workouts, and that I also lose fitness relatively quickly when I'm not actively maintaining.  I know that a few days of low mileage plus one or two rest days before the race will leave me feeling very fresh, but I think I will be careful about how much reduction I do this week.  If anyone has thoughts on that I would love to hear them.  Now off to shower for the shower! :)

Objective: easy, taper countdown: 13 days

Weather: 49F, light rain

15 min. abs & weights

A nice run.  It's still warm enough that I can be comfortable in the rain without a nylon shell or long pants.  I resurrected a thin microfleece top that I have not worn for about 3 years and it was perfect.  It has a ~6 inch zipper at the neck which is broken (hence not worn for so long), but I realized it wouldn't matter that much. 

Why is it that I seem to always run across some fabulous running program right around taper time when it's too late to try it out?  The latest Running Times magazine has an article called Run Faster, by Brad Hudson, that sounded SO good.  (A book by the same title is available.)   Maybe I liked it so much because it addressed a few points on which I have harbored similar opinions. 

For example, Hudson is a proponent of year-round consistent mileage, rather than re-building your base for each training cycle.  He also likes lots of hill workouts (I can hardly avoid them in my hilly neighborhood).  And he favors "nonlinear periodization," meaning less distinct training phases and distributing different kinds of workouts through the training cycle.  The exception would be toward the end of the cycle, when he favors race pace workouts. 

Alas, it's too late for me to dive into his program for this race. Perhaps for the next one too, since I am running CIM in early December. Coming right up!   I hope that wasn't a foolish choice, but I wanted another marathon without waiting until spring, and the winter marathons are mostly run in fairly warm places.  As I told my Phoenix relatives who want me to come down for the R & R mar. there, 65 degrees does not feel "cool" when you've been training in 35-40 degree weather.  CIM can get warm too, but I won't be so entrenched in winter conditioning at the beginning of December.  Besides, I love that race.   Maybe I can implement some of Hudson's principles in Oct-Nov, but I'll probably have to wait until January to really see what it can do for me.

Happy first day of Autumn, everyone!

Objective: G.A. w/ cadence drills and strong effort on hills. Taper countdown: 12 days.

Weather: Clear, 43F, starry sky w/ crescent moon. (Saw a shooting star.)

15 min. abs and weights

Although I put all  my miles in the "easy" category up there, I know I was closer to MP during my drills, and MP effort level (but not pace of course) on the hills.  It was a fun, quality run that made me feel more at ease with the reduced volume.

This is the first morning we've dipped under 45 degrees. It felt cold! My body warmed up pretty quickly but it took about 30 minutes for my hands to feel comfortable, and that was with my fleece gloves on.  I'll soon be breaking out the wool...

Warning, indelicate subject ahead.  I'm wondering if anyone has some good suggestions for... ahem, how shall I put this?  Let's call it PATS (Porta-potty Avoidance Tactics and Strategies) -- specifically during a marathon.  And I do mean any kind of pit stop, not just the digestive type.  I try to keep my diet very clean and "normal" (no exotic foods) in the last week, and I do try not to go crazy with pre-race hydration, but in my last marathon I had to stop twice.  Gr.  It sure would be nice to avoid that this time around.  I think most of my races have been stop-free, but certainly not all.  Maybe it's just luck. I'd love to have some control over it though. Send me your PATS ideas please!

Objective: Easy. Taper countdown: 11 days.

Weather: mid 50s F, cloudy, breezy (10 degrees warmer than yest. - almost overdressed myself)

15 min abs. weights

Sorry - another Brain of Snoqualmie discourse...  I spent a great deal of today's run thinking about goals and fears (thanks a lot, Taper).  Like many others, I like to create 3 levels of goals. 

• Nearly Impossible Dream Fantasy Goal is 4:05 (BQ). 
  
• Challenging But Realistic Goal is 4:10.  
• Acceptable Without Disappointment is any PR -- i.e. less than 4:17. 

I believe I am much fitter than I was last year on the same course and I am about 5 lbs lighter, so I think these are reasonable goals.

Enter creeping fears and doubts....  I thought it might be useful to do a little permission-to-fail mental exercise to see if I can calm the perfectionist part of my brain.  Do you know about perfectionism?  It is not really about trying to be perfect.  It is an all or nothing attitude that insists on a particular outcome.  There is no forgiveness.  So I could make a dozen goals -- even one that said "finish in under 6 hours" -- and still be uptight about not achieving any of them.   That's why the permission-to-fail exercise is so useful.  I think I first learned about it from a book about performance anxiety for musicians.

The first step is to identify what would be a disappointing outcome.  That's easy: I truly would be disappointed with anything slower than 4:25.  I can't help it.  I just feel I can do so much better.  This training cycle has been dream-come-true good.

Now comes the hard part.  What would it take for me to forgive a 4:25 finish? "Do your best" is a little vague, but I think I can live with this: "Dear Self, I hereby give you permission to come in at the disappointing time of 4:25 or slower, provided that you: 1) keep your diet healthy between now and Oct. 5 (you're doing great so far!), 2) continue to follow your taper schedule, 3) go to bed on time, and 4) in the next week and a half, say "no" to any further events, obligations and duties beyond what you already have on your calendar.  If you do all that and still have a disappointing time, we will just forge ahead and eventually you will reach your goals.  Your goals are attainable."

Objective: w.u. +  MP miles + cool down  Taper countdown: 10 days

Weather: High 50'sF, cloudy, wet streets, light rain at first

Today I had scheduled a small tempo run (9:00-9:10), following the training schedule in Daniels' Running Formula.  But my head is so messed up right now with anxiety that I decided to ease up and do some MP miles instead (9:20-9:30).  Ironically, my pace kept creeping up to tempo pace and once I even caught myself doing 8:50!  It reminds me of the Dickinson poem:

We never know how high we are
'til we are called to rise.
And then, if we are true to plan
our statures touch the skies.

The heroism we recite
would be a daily thing,
did not ourselves the cubits warp
for fear to be a king.

Bad moment: I was nearly done with my MP work and it was still mostly dark and I twisted my ankle on a rock. It was so stupid. I run in the street so that I can avoid all the cracks, bumps, skateboards, etc. that lurk on the dark sidewalk. Usually I can point my headlamp straight ahead that way. But a parked car was idling and I wasn't sure when he was going to pull out, and so I skirted the side of the road and my foot found the one rock sitting there. Fortunately I didn't go down. Just made a goofy save motion and experienced about 5 minutes of complaints from the ankle. Feels fine now.

Nice moment: I was taking a short cut through a wooded path and it was just starting to get light out.  I came into this little clearing and there were 2 deer grazing. They didn't run away from me. We all just looked at each other and kept on with our business.  I got really close to them.  Lovely experience.

Objective: Easy. Taper countdown: 9 days.

Weather: Low 50'sF, patchy fog. Crescent moon. Nice sunrise.

I found a way to keep my pace in the "easy" zone.  I typically breathe in a 2/2 rhythm (with foot strikes).  I noticed today that if I consciously try to breathe in 3/3 I stay at a slower pace. Switched back to 2/2 on the hills.  That worked quite well.

I kept crossing paths this morning with a guy wearing the coolest vest. It was lined with a row of red flashing lights.  He caught up with me the last time down in the Crestview neighborhood where he was turning in to go home and I complimented him on the vest, which he said his wife found...  (drum roll)  in the automotive section at Costco! Very interesting.  I also ran across my house sitter walking her dogs. Quite the social run for me, compared to my usual solitude.