Thursday, March 24, 2011

Ten days!

The 13.1 NYC half marathon is in 10 days!

This means that I will pretty much have weather.com up on my computer all the time. And, yes, I will obsessively refresh the forecast. Right now, we're looking at partly sunny with a high of 56. I'll take it. Just don't rain on me and I'll be happy!

Ten days also means that after my peak mileage week last week, I am now right smack into my taper and all the madness that goes with it. Every twinge and soreness looms large but I'm forcing my mind to win out over the wimpy whining of my knees, hamstring, calves and whatever other body part decides it wants a little attention.

Speaking of which, I did have to give my knee a little break this week with two days off. It was feeling sore -- not injured, just sore. The days off did the trick because it's fine now, even after some short but solid speedwork last night. Phew!


Now don't think I haven't put two and two together and blamed my sore knee on the fact that my running shoes have 400+ miles on them. I have. Multiple times. It's just that there's nothing I can do at this point. I have checked, re-checked and then checked again and my Somnios are still not in stock. I've facebooked Somnio. I've emailed with a company rep. There's some sort of back up with the manufacturing or something. I don't know. All I know for sure is that I will not have new shoes for the race. Instead, I will be running in the same shoes that have carried me so many miles since giving birth in October to running the half marathon in a mere 10 days.

There's bound to be some good karma in those shoes.

So I take back the blame. It's not the shoes. The shoes have been incredibly good to me. I love them. Probably a little too much. I just wish that maybe they didn't have quite so many miles on them. But they do. And in 10 days they'll have about 40 more, including the 13.1 from my first half marathon.

Before I sign off and go obsess about the weather, my race day outfit, the pros and cons of carrying my gatorade, etc., etc., let me ask you this:


How do you get through the last 10 days before a big race? 
What's your secret to managing taper madness?

~ Felice

15 comments:

MCM Mama said...

I didn't do much in the way of taper this time. Just skipped a few runs because I was busy LOL.

Today is a complete rest day for my half that's on Saturday and I'm thankful it's cold and rainy so I'm not tempted to run. ;o)

Bridget said...

What do I do 10 days out? Well - since this is my first half marathon - I too obessively check the weather, think about what I am going to wear and then I drink some wine.

Being Robinson said...

i am awful at managing taper madness. all i can do is try and stay occupied as much as possible! good luck with the tape and the shoes.

Suzy said...

No rain, no rain, no rain. I think that is my mantra for the next week plus. I don't have anything great to say about taper madness. We're so busy the next 2 weeks that I don't know if I'll notice all that much that my runs are slower and shorter.

Gotta Run..... said...

The shoes will be good karma for sure but promise to replace them as soon as you cross the finishline. Time for some new kicks :)

Have a great race!

KT80 said...

What exactly is entailed in tapering? Good luck!!!!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

I usually take that extra time to enjoy my evenings on the couch, go to a movie w/ my bf, take a walk, meet up with girlfriends for dinner or a glass of wine, read a book, bake something yummy, etc. But it still is hard to fight that urge to just run your little heart out when your body doesn't need to.

Marlene said...

I hope those lucky shoes can carry you through the remaining miles without issues! I get soooo stressed when I need new shoes and can't get my hands on a pair.

10 days! Woohoo!

Unknown said...

I'm terrible before races for the most part, so o wise words to pass on. But sending you great thoughts. I believe everything happens for a reason. Clearly your shoes have the heart and soul to help carry you to the finish line. I know you'll rock it!

Tiffany @ The Chi-Athlete said...

Oh you're just as superstitious as I am, and you do the same things! I am always on weather.com at least 10 days out. Good luck, hon! Happy Runner does work! :D

Anonymous said...

I plan ridiculous house projects, like refinishing my floors, or fixing all the broken things that are neglected for training. Just good distractions to fill the void of training less, and distractions from the pre-race jitters.

macnic said...

In 10 days I'll still be in peak training mode as my half isn't until May 15th. I'm running this challenge virtually in two runs, so I'm just combining my Thurs and Sat runs into one long one on Fri to get the mileage in.

ihaverun said...

I don't get taper madness. I always run my best after my legs have had a break, so knowing that makes the taper wasier.

And begin obsessing! That helps to distract.

Robyn said...

Taper madness is tough. I talk to my running girlfriends alot so I do not overload my family with my nervousness. As a mom of two I am often busy enough that the time goes by eventually!

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Try not to worry too much about your shoes - I retire mine at 400, but some don't until 500 miles. Hopefully, you can catch some naptime during taper time. You've trained hard, race fast!

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