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| Taper or Passover or Temperature or... (Read 185 times) |
trojancinephile |
posted: 4/22/2008 at 9:04 PM |
So yesterday was my first official run of my taper for my half marathon in 2 weeks. I felt really slow, gross, sluggish, tired. I'm accustomed to feeling that way during a taper, but never on the first day. I felt so blah that I cut a mile off my scheduled run and chalked my sluggishness up to running later at night than usual.
Today, I ran a 3 mile fartlek. I was expecting it to be a great run, I was really excited about the weather (in the 70s and partly cloudy!), and because it's finals period, I got to run in the afternoon. I start my warm up and I feel really heavy, like I'm dragging. Then I started my run. I went at an easy pace until I would push myself, and while I usually like to push myself for about 30 seconds at a time, today I could barely hang onto the speed for 15. It wasn't that I was running too fast, it was as if my brain kept saying "keep going fast," and my legs didn't pay any attention. Even worse, on my last mile, even when I was going easy, I felt like I had seriously hit the wall at the 23rd mile in a marathon. I don't know how my legs kept going, it was like I willed them with my mind. This should NOT happen when I run 3 miles.
The sluggishness I felt today was similar to what I felt yesterday, so I'm trying to figure out what's wrong and would love some input. I narrowed it down to three potential culprits.
1. It's just how you feel during the taper
I don't think so because this is just my second day of the taper, but it's a possibility.
2. Passover
Today is the 3rd day of Passover. I haven't had anything non-Kosher for Passover since noon on Saturday. I keep it pretty strict -- so I haven't had corn, soy, beans, rice, or non-Matzah grain (or their derivatives) since then. Is it just that I need some carbs? Should I eat a baked potato before my next run?
3. Temperature
This is what I hope it's not most of all. Starting this week, it has been 20-40 degrees warmer than it has been for nearly all of my recent training. Even last night, it was about 20 degrees warmer than what I am used to running in during the day. Do I just need to get used to the new temperature? If this is it, any advice on how to speed up this process before my half?
Thanks! |
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| view log Hurdle the Dead |
posted: 4/22/2008 at 9:11 PM |
None of the above. (Although the Passover restrictions on carbs was probably part of it).
You felt sluggish because you took 3 days completely off.
Not to mention running a 15 miler in a 27 mile week that followed a 17 mile week on a pretty low mileage overall base.
Want to feel less sluggish? Less tapering, more running. If I were you, I'd run every day this week, minus the long run, and not even think about tapering until 5-6 days before the half. I'd even throw 1-2 quality days in there.
My two cents.
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E-mail: JakeKnight2002@aol.com
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"The past is nothing but a series of recollections; it does not own you ... if we are prisoners of the past, we are jailer as well."
~~ Jack Kerley, The Hundredth Man
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trojancinephile |
posted: 4/22/2008 at 10:12 PM |
I'm glad that running more is a possible solution -- and especially that it's probably not completely the carb-cutting.
Thanks. |
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| view log Funky Monkey |
posted: 4/22/2008 at 10:18 PM |
If you run at a low effort, you will preferentially burn fat and the absence of carbs this week should be less of a problem.
Eat more matzoh balls. |
| It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. |
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