Create.

Teena, First of all, congratulations on reaching the homestretch of your PhD. Just like the last few miles of a marathon, this is a really hard part ... but the finish line is in view!.

Secondly, taper madness is no fun. Think positive, try not to stress. The taper is talking too loudly in your brain.

Thirdly, you need to not stress about the actual time you run your marathon in, but run smart - and within your ability on the day. Go out slower than you think you need to for the first 1/3 of the race, pick-up or slow down the middle 1/3 depending on how you feel, and hold on the last 1/3. Luckily the last part is downhill, so you even if the middle 1/3 is a little fast, you can hold on ... You always run best when you go out and have FUN (recall how fun it was to run Park City all drunk on screwdrivers ;-) -- that is how I remember it anyway - but I promise not to tell anyone, that is how rumors get started ;-)).

Lastly,in the future you need more recovery days!! (even Jake K runs a few runs at 9 min pace and runs his marathons well over an hour faster than us!!). With your current life/job commitments you need more recovery days (easy easy running) or days off. You deserve it, you need it to stay the strong woman you are!!

PPS: BACON!!

Bonnie~

You always have a way of saying things in just the right way!!!! Okay ... I am going to do EXACTLY what you said. I am going to forget about my time goal. I will run the first 8 or 9 miles conservatively, run the second 8 or 9 mile stretch according to how I felt on the first stretch, and then hold on for dear life. :) :) :) I absolutely agree with you ... I need more recovery days, especially now that I am hitting my 40s. Yikes!! Okay ... so let's say my recovery pace is 9:30-10:00 minute miles then ... roughly how many days should those be? I'm thinking maybe two or three??? Sometimes I do do that ... but then I just go gung-ho for no reason at all on other weeks. Ridiculous.

Lastly ... how many miles/days do you think I should run next week?

Oh yeah ... and where do I find the screwdriver aid station at Ogden??? Is it hidden behind some mile-marker? :)

Ok, let me sort through it so I can give you concerted feedback. Initially, I'm most interested to see your training for the past week-ish.... I'll get back to you soon:)

Much appreciated, Tara. :)

Hi Teena, I run about ~70% of my total mileage at a really easy pace (sort of depends on how close I am to race day - but I think in general, I only worry about my pace 30% of the time - the rest of the time I either don't wear a watch or at least don't worry about trying to find my pace). But - I admit I am an extreme in this regard ... it doesn't work for everyone to run so slowly so much of the time!

Next week I would drop your overall mileage by 60%, do some strides (25 secs` fast 1` easy x 8-10) on Monday, and run 4 x 4 mins at 1/2 marathon pace (with 1 min recovery) on Tuesday. Then run 20-30 mins/day Wednesday/Thursday/Friday -- SUPER easy!

You will rock it (I am sure the screwdrivers will be pretending to be orange juice at mile 22 -- grab two just in case!) :)

Oh Bonnie, you crack me up!!!

Alright... I'm following your plan!!! :)

Bacon! :)

Hi Teena, I've missed you! You crack me up:) Your life totally resembles mine right now. I work 4-10's as well with 5 kids. UGH!!! I have heard lots of times that speed work and fast runs should take up very little of your training. I've heard a recovery pace should be about 1 1/2-2 minutes slower than marathon pace. IDK, but keep on keepin on!

Michelle!!!!! Hi! :-)

It's been far too long!!! How are y

Oops ... Silly phone

How are you?

Teena- I agree with Bonnie's advice. Perhaps more easy/xt days in the future, especially with your current life commitments.

Also, never downplay how much stress has an impact on running. The past week you have been physically and emotionally spent. The last time you did this same workout, you were also pretty tired according to your post, however, today's was one slightly faster:)

Also, Michelle (?) mentioned running slower for your easy and long runs. Looks like you should be around 8:45-9:15 ap. Have you ever looked at McMillians pace calculator? That is pretty helpful. Maybe you have already been doing this.

I found this regarding taper and nutrition http://runnersconnect.net/running-nutrition-articles/marathon-taper-nutrition/.

I would consider asking Allie since she is a college professor for Nutrition....and she runs a little, too.

Personally, anytime I run with antihistamines, my running suffers because my body feels dead.

I don't think the Dansko shoes (love them btw) are anything to worry about. Your sleep actually still looks fine. Taper is crazy time and your daughter's coach needs a reality check. C'mon!

Overall, I wouldn't be concerned about how you felt today AT ALL. I really wouldn't. As you know, marathon training alone is draining. Add the final year of a PHD program with internship, a busy mom of 5, crazy coaches, allergies etc....YOU SHOULD BE TIRED! The good news is that this is nothing new. This has all been in the picture during your training. You have essentially trained for this, under these conditions from the get go, so nothing will be new when you step up to the line in Ogden. Best of luck, Teena!

Thanks for taking the time to look at all of that Tara. :)

I do think I need to talk to Allie, or someone about my nutrition. This is something I struggle with.

I looked at McMillan's calculator way back when ... but recently I tried to pull it up and it had changed and would show me my desired paces for different workouts. I will try again. :)

You are right, I just need to forget about today run. I really thought that I was going to run 12 miles with 10 miles at a 7:48 pace with simply a solid effort. So when that didn't happen (far from it) it threw me off big time.

My three youngest have their first track meet up in Park City for the season. That will remind me of how fun running can be! :)

Thank you again!

See you at Ogden! (Hopefully ... I have never met you but hoping I will be able to spot you out either before or after the race.) :)

And ... the good news is (I keep trying to tell myself this) is that I am going to the starting line injury free!!! That part is AWESOME! :)

Wow Teena, that was a long list and it didn't even have my number 1 reason why I have crappy running days more often than I used too... I'm getting older.

Enjoy the rest of your taper.

Rhett~

That made me laugh!!!

I am feeling a lot better. I was just a tad (okay a little more than just a tad) frustrated when I couldn't produce!! Almost a little bit embarrassed that I posted all of that. BUT ... it did get it out of my system. Onward and upward!!! :)

Anything new in your neck of the woods??

I am doing great! Finally back running consistantly and enjoying it more importantly. I hope you are doing good and look forward to seeing you at some races!

TEN reasons only?!!! :) :) :)

No advise from me. I have a feeling that you already know what to do. You know your body and mind best. You are one terrific runner, PhD candidate, wife, mother. Keep up the good work. Whatever happens at Ogden, I know it will be GREAT because you will do your best like you always do! :)

Michelle~

We definitely need to hook up for a run or something!

SSF~

Thank you for the confidence booster. I have been given some great advice today and I am going to heed it! And now I don't need to stress about what to run next week ... I am doing exactly as Bonnie has said! :)

Also, so everyone knows, I am earning a doctorate not a PhD. :) :) :) To be precise it is a DPT (doctorate of physical therapy). Although a PhD would certainly be amazing (and you can earn a PhD in physical therapy) my focus right now is to practice clinically whereas those obtaining PhDs are more inclined to teach and focus on research. :)

Doctorate ... PhD ... No matter, you are awesome, and will be Dr. TM from FRB to us :-)

I'm a little late on this one. Just wanted to chime in on the recovery run thing. Rachelle got me working on this a while back and it's helped my training immensely. She always says the faster you're doing your workouts, the slower you should be running on your recovery days. Your just letting your body accept the workload and getting it ready to go out and hammer on it again. (I'm usually around 8:40 pace depending on the prior day's workout, sometimes much slower).

You've obviously got a few different things that could've effected your run.. The 50 lb leg syndrome for me is invariably because of the lack of food. My wife gets after me about it every time. :)

(thanks for the article Tara - very helpful)

Happy Mother's Day!!