Tapering Week 1 and 12 days to go

Distance = 95K over 5 days with longest run of 25K to finish off week and a double day totaling 30K.

At this stage I'm doing just enough to keep my legs moving and I'm paying even more attention to my rest and recovery.  Each run finishes with an ice bath or at least a cold bath and I'm starting to fine tune my diet by cutting back on anything I don't need.
Most of today was spent sorting out my kit and race day food which I hope to have packed by Wednesday and i'll list the items in more detail during next week.

Tapering

Be patient during times of inactivity
Sun Tzu 'The art of war'.

All the hard work is done and now it's time to Taper (reduce training volume and intensity). Sounds easy but this can be the hard part. You start to feel edgy and wondering should you try one more hard session or maybe doubting what you've done and start going through the what ifs in your head. But the Taper is just as important as the training and essential for optimum performance. It's during this stage of the programme that your body recovers from all the recent stress and recovers stronger. If you've done the work and have confidence in your training knowing that you have done all that you can do then the Taper is that bit easier to accept.

You have to believe in yourself
Sun Tzu.

Peak Week. Day 7

Distance = 48.5K
Pace avg = 5:50 per K.
Hr avg = 126 bpm
Ascent = 1074 M

Total distance for week = 174K

Saying goodbye to Des after 15K

A good end to the week with a run from Leixlip to beyond 2 Rock mountain via Ballyboden Rd. It was quite a tough session made all the easier with the help of my pacers from the Wednesday night crew. Des met me at 7am to run the first 15K and he stayed me up to the junction of the Kylemore Rd & Naas Rd before turning for home. This left me with a solo 10K before meeting up with Tony & Brendan for the mountain section.

Tony & Brendan on the approach to 2 Rock.

 I had left a drop bag with Brendan which included a change of running shoes and my fuel belt so I could test out my fuelling strategy for Greece. A quick stop and change and we were off again. The pace didn't seem to be any slower than on previous occasions and my heart rate was staying well within my easy zone so the signs were good.

From the moment I left my house the sky was looking very dark and all the time I was waiting for it to rain and when we started on the mountain section visibility was very poor and I was just hoping that bad weather wouldn't be the reason for cutting the run short. Luckily the rain held off and although tough we managed to reach 2 Rock and continue on for another Kilometre before turning to retrace our steps. Getting back to the car I had covered 48K and so ends the training. Tomorrow the taper starts and on Tuesday I have a well overdue day off.

Peak Week. Day 6

Distance = 30K
Average Pace= 4:59 per K

Split between 2 runs
16K @ Heart Rate avg of 141 bpm
14K @ Heart Rate avg of 120 bpm Recovery

A good day and all went as planned. Started off with 16K in my easy zone over the Waterworks route after a simple breakfast of 500ml Powerbar Energize. Got home just in time to bring my son to a soccer match and had a serving of Powerbar Recovery and a bowl of weetabix minis before leaving the house. Returning from the match I set off yet again and drove to the Phoenix park to meet a friend for my recovery run. I always find that it's easier to run when tired if you arrange to meet someone as it can be easier to let yourself down rather than let a friend down.
Finished this run with a large bottle of Yazoo chocolate milkshake which is very handy for leaving in the car as it won't spoil and bought 2 bags of ice on the way home for my bath. Spent the rest of the day loading up on carbs to prepare for my big run tomorrow.

Peak Week. Day 5.

Distance: 18K in 1hr30min.  

Avg Pace=5:03 per K.

HR avg=133 in zone 126-146bpm.

Another warm day and another good run even though yet again it was shorter than planned.  Finished strong and without any issues knowing that I could keep going and that in itself means a lot.  Tomorrow I'm planning a double session starting with 16K before breakfast and the same after lunch but slower and flatter. 

Peak Week. Day 4.

Distance = 17.7K
Avg Pace = 5:04 per K
Hr avg = 134 bpm in zone 126-146 bpm.

I had planned on running over twice this distance today but that niggle in my knee yesterday forced a change of plan. All day I paid attention to my knee and didn't have any issues so I decided to take a chance running an easy pace with an escape route if needs be. Before starting off I loaded up on a sports drink to ensure I didn't have a repeat of Tuesday's run when I started to feel low on energy shortly after starting out. Finished strong and although shorter than planned I corrected a few mistakes and rather than get annoyed over a few missed miles I'm happy knowing that I'm injury free.

Peak Week. Day 3.

Distance: 10K in 42min10.
Avg Pace=4:14 per K.

HR avg=150 in zone 146-153bpm.

Something just wasn't right before I started my second run today so I decided to forget about it and just do some stretching.  Nothing serious but when driving to the running track for the usual Wednesday night club session my left knee felt a bit tender when using the clutch and at this stage I can't afford to take a chance.

My earlier run went well and my HR avg was down by 2 beats for the same run only two weeks ago which if nothing else it shows I'm going forward rather than backwards and my recovery strategy must be working.

Tomorrow is yet another split session but I'm thinking that I might forget about the earlier shorter run and just stick with a later 16K which I might extend depending on how I'm feeling.  But then again I could also end up taking a rest day if my knee feels the same.  Train hard but train smart and sometimes it's best to rest.