Running with Jack

So how is my first week of tapering going? Thirty-two marathon veteran Bob Cooper said it best:

“Tapering, or cutting way back on your mileage before a marathon, can be a tough thing for runners to do. It's akin to driving on the left side of the road in England: You know you need to do it, but it just doesn't feel right.“

You got that right Bob!

I am kind of worried about my diet in the moment, I have already gained a couple pounds since my long run on Saturday. Of course our big anniversary pig-out last night has a lot to do with that. I’ve been reading a bit about tapering on the Internet. Most “experts” seem to say that one should eat about 60% carb’s during the tapering weeks. I’ve been eating a lot more meat than normal the last few days, but I think this was good after the long run – the body needs to rebuild itself. I need to cut back a little bit on the caloric intake over the next couple weeks.

Most articles that I read also seem to say that the tapering should consist of reducing mileage while maintaining intensity. So far so good with that. Tonight is my second “taper” run, I’m think about doing about 10-12K’s at about my planned marathon pace (6:00/K – 9:39/M). Tomorrow night I may do a 5K run at about 5:30/K (8:51/M) in preparation for my Baden Mile run on Saturday.

My goal for Saturday’s race is 8.88889K’s in 47 minutes. I know I can run faster, but I am kind of hesitant about running too fast during taper time.

Happy Running!