T Minus How Many??

I was supposed to go for a run this morning.  Instead, I ate a donut.  Ok, fine. I ate two donuts.  And you know what?  I feel damn good about it.

Of course, in the interest of full disclosure, I did eventually go for a run.  Because I'm a good girl, and I (mostly) do what I'm told.  Still.  Mmm....  Donuts.

Source

I've now been staring at that picture of a running donut for 10 minutes without typing anything.  I think we all know what's going on here. I may have mentioned it before.  It's the dreaded MADNESS.  Taper Madness.  It's the week before "the big race," my mileage is cut way back, and I am left twiddling my thumbs trying not to go bat shit crazy before the weekend.  I should be fine.  I've been through this before. I know what to expect.  Right? 

Wrong.  Because this time, there's more crazy. I'm travelling to the race.  I'm meeting people for the first time.  I'm sharing a hotel room with virtual strangers.  Well, actually, they're virtual friends.  As in, in the virtual world, they are my friends.  But they are virtual strangers.  I need a dictionary. Or a thesaurus. Anyway!  (See?  Brain.  Crazy.)  

Plus I actually trained for this race, unlike my previous half.  Which makes me kind of have expectations.  Or hopes, I guess.  And hopes can get dashed.  I don't want to be dashed.  I don't even want to be Mrs. Dashed.  (Have you ever had that stuff?)  

I have 2 more miles to run this week, and then that's it until race day.  That's insane.  Who does that? That can't be right.  La la la la la la la.  Cows. 

Bat Shit Crazy, people.  From the Urban Dictionary: 

1. batshit crazy

A person who is batshit crazy is certifiably nuts. The phrase has origins in the old fashioned term "bats in the belfry." Old churches had a structure at the top called a belfry, which housed the bells. Bats are extremely sensitive to sound and would never inhabit a belfry of an active church where the bell was rung frequently. Occasionally, when a church was abandoned and many years passed without the bell being rung, bats would eventually come and inhabit the belfry. So, when somebody said that an individual had "bats in the belfry" it meant that there was "nothing going on upstairs" (as in that person's brain). To be BATSHIT CRAZY is to take this even a step further. A person who is batshit crazy is so nuts that not only is their belfry full of bats, but so many bats have been there for so long that the belfry is coated in batshit. Hence, the craziest of crazy people are BATSHIT CRAZY.

Dude that guy on the corner wears a tinfoil hat and ripped all the wires out of his house so the government couldn't listen to his thoughts.

Really?

Yeah, he's batshit crazy. 

Is it Friday yet? 

Week 13 Recap

Here we are.  It's RACE WEEK!  Before I freak out over that, let's take a look back at last week. 

GMM Half Marathon Week 13 Training Schedule:

• Monday - Rest
• Tuesday - 4 miles speedwork
• Wednesday - Cross Train/Rest
• Thursday - 2 miles easy
• Friday - Cross Train/Rest
• Saturday - 10 miles
• Sunday - 2 miles recovery

How it actually went: 

• Monday - Rest
• Tuesday - 1.8 miles of painful speedwork (nasty shin pain made me stop)
• Wednesday - Rest
• Thursday - 6 miles of painful running but mostly walking (tried to do the 10 miles that day, due to schedule conflicts on Saturday - turns out it was a bad idea!)
• Friday - Rest 
• Saturday - 2 miles easy (felt fine!)
• Sunday - 2 miles not-so-easy (picked it up in the last mile, felt great to move!) 

Total weekly mileage: 11.84

So.  Not exactly a stellar last week of training. Over six miles short, plus Tuesday and Thursdays miles weren't very high value.  Ugh, ugh, ugh.   But! I am happy enough with all of the rest of my training that I'm just going to say Oh Well and move on.  It is what it is and I'm not going to let a few bad runs get me down!  (Plus I already wallowed for a bit - ya'll just didn't get to hear it!) 

Source

And now it's here.  Race Week.  I will run two more short runs this week, then on Friday morning I will get up, say goodbye to my family, and head to the airport.  I am so, so, so excited for this trip . The actual race?  Well, I still haven't thought about that, to be honest.  I have no idea what pace I'm going to run or whether or not I have a time goal.  I haven't decided what fuel I'm bringing, and whether or not I'm going to carry a handheld.  All those things will get decided later this week.  Right now, I'm just going to try to enjoy the "taper madness" that is slowly settling into my brain, and the fact that I am just four days away from meeting some of the best people I have never actually met in person. =) 

Whoo! =)

What are you excited about today? 

It's Madness, I tell you!

Since I have yet to actually FOLLOW a training schedule (not to mention that I usually run shorter races), I have never actually experienced a real taper.

Taper, being defined by Wikipedia as: 

"In the context of sports, tapering refers to the practice of reducing exercise in the days just before an important competition.[1] Tapering is customary in many endurance sports, such as the marathon, athletics and swimming. For many athletes, a significant period of tapering is essential for optimal performance. The tapering period frequently lasts as much as a week or more."

Despite the fact that I've never really tapered, I've participated in a few races, and the week before a race, something weird happens. Some call it TAPER MADNESS.  I call it going bat shit crazy. 

Things you can stress about the week before a race (of any distance), in no particular order:

1. Training (or lack thereof)
2. Sleeping (or lack thereof)
3. Hydrating
4. Why is the dog looking at me like that? 
5. Getting to the race
6. Parking at the race
7. Pinning on the bib
8. The number on my bib - lucky/unlucky/reminds me of my ex boyfriend's birthday
9. Calf feels twingey. Maybe a strain? 
10. Foot hurts.  Stress fracture? 
11. The living room needs to be painted. 
12. Where are my lucky socks?? 
13. Do I have enough Gu? Maybe I should buy some Gu.
14. Race day weather. 
15. Whether or not I should cut my toenails. 

I'm sure there are more.  But since I'm currently bat shit crazy, that's really all I can think of.  Tomorrow is Friday.  Race is Sunday.  Monday, I may have my brain back.  Maybe.   Eeeeee! =)