Today ends the peak of my training. I did 20 miles today and now starts three weeks of "taper." That means my next two weekend long runs are less mileage so that my muscles heal. In three weeks they are supposed to be strong and ready to marathon! Next weekend I have 12 miles scheduled and the following weekend it's 8 miles. Workouts during the week are decreasing also.
The 20 miles went better than I expected. I started playing mind games the moment my feet hit the floor this morning. I kept thinking about the time during the run when it really starts to hurt. When you have to switch from wanting to run to forcing yourself to keep pushing through. I forgot that there are a lot of miles I LIKE running before it gets to that point.
Mind games can work to my advantage too. At mile 17 my chanting mantra (inside my head) became, "My legs are strong, my legs are strong." I like to think it helps. Instead of thinking about how badly my right foot was hurting I thought about all the parts of my body that felt strong or simply did not hurt. I hope it gets me through the race.
Princess Bride cast 25 years later. (found on facebook)
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Good mantra!!! I tend to think the same thing, I focus on what is strong, not what hurts.
ReplyDeleteYay for the 20 miler!! The taper drives me nuts though! I'm good the first week, mostly because I need a break, but then I get a little antsy to say the least. I always question my training.
Don't do that. You're ready, you're trained.
Enjoy the taper and rest up!!