Taper begins

This tree seems to think it's Autumn already.

I am very angry at my shoes. The only reason why 15 miles took me so slow & I had to walk so many times is because the bottom of my feet were burning. They were rubbing in not a good way. I have developed blisters on my feet that I have never gotten before wearing any other brand of shoe! Even the previous model of the same shoe before this one. I am sooo not happy. I'm wondering if my shoes are in fact NOT narrow like they should be. So I think what I'm going to do is go back to my previous shoes and run in those from here on out during my taper. I only have 354 miles on them. They could potentially last me until approximately 450 miles. I have a few maintenance runs during the week, 12 miles and 8 miles for my long runs the next 2 Saturdays before Race Day on October 4.

So my run today was decent enough. Except as I mentioned by the end, I had to keep walking because my feet hurt. Not because I was tired or achy or sore but my feet were burning. When you're on your feet for this many hours, you need them to hold you up otherwise you will fail.

Wow, so I can't even talk anything about this run because all I can think about is my GD feet! I only wonder how things would have turned out if my feet were not bad. Would I have been able to keep up the pace??

I did get some of the typical aches and pains of taper paranoia. My left shin, left knee and right hip hurt. They went away. I started to have my doubts with even completely 11 more miles after this 15 miles. Would I be able to do it? What was I thinking? Why do I do this to myself? How can I even think of doing 2 more next year?

At 7 miles I stopped to have some Watermelon Sports Beans. At 14.5 miles, I filled up one of my water bottles at the spicket near the front of the condos. And then at 14.8 miles, I passed someone watering her plants so I yelled out I'll take some of that and she turned the nozzle toward me and I ran over to her and my front and my back got sprinkled on. Felt soooo good! I had goosebumps for the rest of the run!

Something interesting did happen at about 4.5 miles or so. I was coming up to a walker facing me with 2 dogs. Behind him was a woman on a bike coming towards him. I warned him of her behind him that way he could tie up his dogs and let her & I pass without bumping into each other or him. After she passed, I said to him, "They never tell you when they're coming up behind you." He just smiled and nodded. I then heard the woman on the bike say something but I still had my earbuds in and Steve Runner was still talking so I didn't know exactly what she said but it sounded like "I ___ told him I was behind him." Don't know if that was "did" or "would have" or what but I don't care. She was not happy and I'm not happy with bikers at all. She saw me again when I stopped for my jelly bellys and again she said something to me but I had my back to the bike path cause I wasn't sure of the way I was going to go after I ate them but I ignored her. No idea what she said this time around.

This week, I didn't want to run. I was apathetic about EVERYTHING it seemed. Work, waking up, eating, running. So not like me. I forced myself to run on Wednesday morning and I squeaked out 3.5 miles. Didn't even blog about it that's how apathetic I was even with that. I had cereal every night for dinner. Didn't feel like cooking and hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while. Apathetic about running. That is sooo not like me!! Luckily I think it was all hormonal for it seems the apathy is now gone but the cereal phase certainly is not! I'm addicted to the stuff it seems!

This song is gonna be my mantra; for more reasons than just running:

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 857 ft Location: DeKalb, IL Elev. Gain: +7 ft Date: 09/12/09 Up/Downhill: [+538/-531] Time: 08:38 AM Difficulty: 3.5 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 73 F temp; 68% humidity 73 F heat index; winds NE 6 Performance Distance: 15.01 miles Time: 2:28:36 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 54 /mi Calories: 1595 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 24 -0' 30 6.4 +0.3 +27 ft 2 9' 18 -0' 36 6.5 +0.4 -17 ft 3 9' 36 -0' 18 6.2 +0.2 -10 ft 4 9' 27 -0' 27 6.3 +0.3 +36 ft 5 9' 25 -0' 29 6.4 +0.3 -36 ft 6 9' 36 -0' 18 6.2 +0.2 -10 ft 7 10' 06 +0' 12 5.9 -0.1 +39 ft 8 9' 52 -0' 02 6.1 +0.0 -16 ft 9 9' 56 +0' 02 6.0 -0.0 +17 ft 10 9' 48 -0' 06 6.1 +0.1 -16 ft 11 10' 05 +0' 11 6.0 -0.1 +6 ft 12 10' 39 +0' 45 5.6 -0.4 +23 ft 13 10' 50 +0' 56 5.5 -0.5 -23 ft 14 10' 37 +0' 43 5.7 -0.4 +7 ft end 9' 59 +0' 05 6.0 -0.1 -13 ft Versus average of 9' 54 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Categories: 15 miles, DeKalb Nature Trail, feet, shoes, taper

Taper time

Check out this blog post first about the taper paranoia. It's has a list of things to deal with during taper.

The taper binge is starting though. I cannot stop eating. It started last week on Thursday, I think. Friday I just ate so much. Insane. Today was the same way but luckily, I was a little busy at work so it helped me. When I'm in my office I just want to eat. Fortunately, I have nothing but cereal bars in my drawer and they're not good after 10am. I try drinking water to calm it but I just want something to chew on. My gum has is now out. Must buy some more. Also, I've been craving pop lately. I only have less than a week left and it's the first sign of craving pop. Which is good! But everytime I hear a pop can pssst open or see it in a bottle or fountain drink I want a taste of it!!!

Some would say that the taper pain paranoia is starting but I really do think that I'm a little injured thanks to my AWESOME "non-step back; add 2 miles to every long run" training plan!! Yea! But my IT Band flared its ugly head on my run with Erin. I also felt some knee pain a little while after the IT Band pain. I managed to run through it but I did notice that my form got sloppy. Tonight, I ran for a measly three miles and my quads are sore. But I can't tell if they're injury sore or if they're muscle sore. They kinda feel muscle sore, but um, it's not like I never used them or something. Maybe it was because I ran at 2% incline for the last .83 miles and 1% inclines for the other miles? I know I keep saying this but I need to set up a massage this week!!

I'm drafting up a big post of my Go! St. Louis Marathon course & info. That'll come later on in the week, if not on Sunday.

Categories: taper

Running with a friend

Our Garmin 405's with the finish time.

Saturday morning had me getting up and running as usual But this time it was different. I was running with a friend! Erin lives in a suburb of Chicago and since we were both tapering, we figured this would be a great time for a run today. She is tapering for her first half marathon at the Illinois Marathon/Half Marathon event in Champaign-Urbana.

She does her long runs on a great urban trail that starts right across from Brookfield Zoo. I was so excited to go even close to there since I've never been to Brookfield Zoo before. We started running and it was great. We talked constantly for up to about 4 miles and then we got a little quiet but we would talk every now and then. Then we hit the turn around, ate some Sports Beans (I bought some for her).

The way back we had a wind coming towards us but it felt nice since the sun was shiny and getting us a bit warm. I had problems with my Gatorade bottle lid, in that I picked the wrong lid for the wrong bottle. So when I went to pull up the opening, the whole lid came off!! Spilled half of my Gatorade all over the path. But had enough to pull me through. I have to remember that when I eat some energy gels/beans/shot bloks on the run, I must bring water with me, not Gatorade.

What was so great about her trail is that it was busy. Well, not like busy busy but there were people on it!!! Dog walkers, walkers (and in particular a walker that did not know which side of the lined path to be on!), runners, bikers and really fast bikers. I waved at all who passed by us and I got a majority of waves or nods back at me. So happy!!! I also let the walkers know that were passing AND we were notified by the bikers that they were going to pass us. That was just great. That never happens to me, either here in DeKalb or in St. Louis. I even let one runner know who had earbuds in his ears that there was a biker behind him. He just thought I was waving at him though. I think I like running with more people on it. Doesn't seem so lonely that way!

After the run, we came back, got cleaned up and went shopping! We hit up Sports Authority and looked for Sports Beans for Erin and Shot Bloks for me. We also looked for a visor for Erin, just in case it rains for her race. I also picked up a rain jacket for biking. Totally didn't have one last year.

Came back to Erin's house and she made ravioli casserole with spinach. YUM! After that we broke open the wine and watched Spirit of the Marathon. So great! I haven't seen it since I saw it in the movie theatre Nov 2007. I still got moved at places. We also got to see the deleted scenes.

After that we hung out for a while, helped Erin write a list of items to bring & remember (like turning off the auto-pause on her Garmin). She's heading on down on Thursday night, the Expo is on Friday (we have off since it's Good Friday -- yay university educational system!) and the race is on Saturday at 8am!

Just a few pictures below. This is the link for the whole album.

A prairie portion of the path right at the beginning of the path.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 623 ft Location: Brookfield, IL Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 04/04/09 Up/Downhill: [+203/-206] Time: 10:06 AM Difficulty: 2.8 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 46 F temp; 39% humidity 46 F heat index; winds Vrbl 6 Performance Distance: 10.03 miles Time: 1:36:50 Speed: 6.2 mph Pace: 9' 39 /mi Heart Rate: 178 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1072 190 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 45 +0' 06 6.2 -0.1 159 -6 ft 2 9' 50 +0' 11 6.1 -0.1 172 +9 ft 3 9' 37 -0' 02 6.2 +0.0 180 +10 ft 4 10' 08 +0' 29 5.9 -0.3 180 -7 ft 5 9' 34 -0' 05 6.3 +0.1 181 +3 ft 6 9' 29 -0' 10 6.3 +0.1 178 -3 ft 7 9' 31 -0' 08 6.3 +0.1 183 +3 ft 8 9' 44 +0' 05 6.2 -0.1 182 -7 ft 9 9' 56 +0' 17 6.0 -0.2 182 -9 ft end 9' 24 -0' 15 6.4 +0.2 184 +3 ft Versus average of 9' 39 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Categories: 10 miles, friends, pictures, taper

Taper Paranoia

I got this from another site. My taper haven't been that bad; no phantom pains, no flu. Now the Taper Binge... OH MY GOSH that is sooo true. I seriously cannot STOP eating at work!! My race day is this Saturday and I meant to post this earlier but forgot.

Right now we're in a segment of our training called Tapering. This is where we reduce our weekly miles, and let our bodies rest, rebuild and repair. After running so many miles each and every week, cutting back significantly can have some funny effects on the mind and body. I like to call it Taper Paranoia.

Taper Paranoia can present itself in any one of the following ways:

1. Phantom Pains. phantom pains strike at any time during taper. suddenly, you'll experience an ache, a tingle, a stabby stitch - some sort of malady in one or both of your legs. if you are tapering, there is a significant likelihood that this pain is not real! it's all in your head!

2. I've Forgotten How to Run. i've forgotten how to run is a complete loss of confidence in your running abilities. yes, you've spent the last six months running 5 days a week. yes, you sometimes even run in your sleep. and yet when mileage is cut during taper, your confidence can wane so dramatically that you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat screaming 'i've forgotten how to run!'. fear not. although your brain may be incapacitated by the taper, your legs will know what to do on race day. follow them.

3. Taper Flu. taper flu consists of the sniffles, a stomach ache, sneezing, and various symptoms of malaria, the bird flu, west nile virus and ebola. although taper flu can actually occur (the immune system can be a bit weak from all the training), there is a greater chance that these symptoms are psychosomatic, and you are in fact perfectly healthy.

4. Taper Binge. four bags of cheetos. a pound of reese's pieces. half a bag of shredded mozzarella. 3 tins of baked beans. this, my friends, is the taper binge. it consists of an insatiable hunger; an appetite so ravenous you could leave Takeru Kobayashi in the dust. this, i believe, is where the parasite Tapeworm got its name. get it? tapeworm? taper? it all makes sense.

5. Taper Rage. by far the most hideous of taper symptoms, taper rage can turn the most pleasant of runners into a crazed, angry maniac. taper rage can only be made worse by people laughing at a runner in the midst of taper rage. is it that comical that i can get angry for having two carrots on my plate and three pieces of broccoli, when i wanted three carrots and two pieces of broccoli? is it?? IS IT??? think of taper rage as a drug addict's withdrawal. see, you've had a nice steady stream of endorphins for the last six months, and now you've barely got enough to keep the shakes away.

these are but 5 of the common symptoms of Taper Paranoia. there are many more. but fortunately, race day is less than two weeks away, and all will be right with the world once again!

Categories: taper

Shhh, I'm hunting runners!!

This weekend is shotgun hunting season in Southern Illinois. This I did not know. Let me begin my story of my first taper run...

I headed to Benton, IL to Wal-Mart and grabbed a large Gatorade and a couple PowerBar Harvest Grain bars to tide me over for breakfast. I saw a young boy about 14 in hunting gear. I smiled and said to myself, this is why I don't live in Southern Illinois. But it didn't ring any bells in my head. I've been too far removed from it I suppose.

Then I headed on over to Rend Lake. On the way I spotted many trucks pulled over to the side of the road next to woods. Still no trigger until I saw my fourth truck. Then I started thinking... "Um, Rock Cut State Park was closed last weekend due to hunting, maybe southern Illinois hunting's season this weekend?" After another couple of trucks & seeing guys dressed in all orange, I started laughing and yelled at myself for not thinking this all the way through.

So I get to the parking lot across from the visitors centre and I start to get prepared for the run. There was a lot of trucks in the parking lot but they were closer to the centre while I was near the trail head with one truck beside me. I looked in there, sure enough, dressed in camouflage with his buddy in a hunter's orange hat.

As I walk up to the trailhead, I set my Garmin. And I start my run. Boy was it cold. I checked the weather that morning and the forecast changed significantly from Friday's forecast. It was supposed to be a high of 46 on Saturday in Southern Illinois. Now only 40. Worst part was the 9a forecast of 30* with a wind chill of 21. But it still beats Northern Illinois of 24* a wind chill of 15. OUCH.



After mile 1, I ran across a hunter, dressed in orange and a gun strapped to his back. I was afraid he was gonna say something to me but he didn't and I just kept on going.

Boy, I can tell I am losing my fitness though. It hurt to run just 3 miles and I stopped at the 3 mile mark. I guess it's back to midweek running for me and only hope that it doesn't bother my foot anymore. After a minute or two of resting I plodded ahead. I ran past the dam and then I saw the sign.



Um, today's the 22nd. I'm running during hunting season. SHIT! Am I gonna get killed by a stray bullet? Probably not I realised because I am on the trail. However, the trail does go through some dense woods. Well, let's just keep going and see what happens.

I make it to the marina and see another sign and notice that it's getting to the wooded area. I lean against the Stop sign and decide what to do. I decide that if I turn around now (3.7) I'll get almost 7.5 miles in and that's good enough. I was having some foot problems again.



Everything heading back is fine. With 3 miles left to go, I had to start walking. But I also found this thing (picture left). Is it a bullet or what? So in the podcast I was listening to talked about the Galloway method which was running & walking. So I did 4 minutes of running and one minute of walking. It was hard to even do that.


The scary part came with only a mile left to go. A doe ran across the path in front of me from left to right. Oh shit. If she's running, she's running from something. So I was hoping that no hunters (or worse a bullet) were coming through at that time.

Man, I forgot how completely different southern Illinois is compared to northern Illinois! Here is the sign that I completely missed at the trailhead. I was messing with my Garmin as I walked through the barriers. Maybe it should have a chain across it to garner more attention.


But this week I will get back on the horse and start running again, at the Y, on the treadmill. To top it off with a Thanksgiving morning run! Then 8 miles on that Saturday. Sad part about today is that I was actually looking forward to running my 12 miles today because it was only 2 hours of running!!

I also got a strange rash on my neck. I don't know if it was from my neck gaiter and my iPod headphone cord mashing with each other but I didn't have it last week so something was different this week but it bothered me while running. It actually hurt! Speaking of headphones, my ear buds just won't stay in my ears! I had to keep messing with them which didn't help my run.


Oh and I don't get my orthotics until Wednesday. So I will only have a week or so to break them in and get my feet used to them. I hope that it'll work out!

Once again the BiM Active site has gotten at least one mile wrong compared to Garmin. My mile 4 Garmin has at 10:44 while BiM said 14:57. Oh well.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 397 ft Location: Benton, IL Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 11/22/08 Up/Downhill: [+285/-288] Time: 09:48 AM Difficulty: 3.2 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 34 F temp; 47% humidity 34 F heat index; winds S 14 Performance Distance: 7.37 miles Time: 1:16:54 Speed: 5.8 mph Pace: 10' 26 /mi Calories: 753 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 50 -1' 36 6.8 +1.0 -23 ft 2 9' 37 -0' 49 6.2 +0.5 -13 ft 3 10' 25 -0' 01 5.8 +0.0 +39 ft 4 14' 57 +4' 31 4.0 -1.7 +20 ft 5 10' 48 +0' 22 5.5 -0.2 -52 ft 6 10' 54 +0' 28 5.5 -0.3 -6 ft 7 11' 07 +0' 41 5.4 -0.4 +7 ft end 11' 07 +0' 41 5.4 -0.4 +27 ft Versus average of 10' 26 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Categories: hunting, pictures, Rend Lake, southern illinois, taper