Friday, September 27, 2013

Is It Reefer Madness?? No, It's TAPER Madness!!

And y'all? I am losing my ever-loving mind.


When I first started my marathon training, I had some trepidations, just like any other sane person who signs up for this race.  For instance, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to reach the mileage on the long runs.


But I did that run. Yay, me!

And then came the reality.


No, no, the REAL reality.



Now that I've done all the long runs, even the 20 miler (!), the mileage is backing down.  This is a good thing since I have been training for races since December.

And now?  I literally don't know what to do with myself.


After Saturday's run, I chatted online with TriGuy who has been away on business for the past ten days.  (Lucky guy gets to come home to the insanity today.) I said that I was feeling antsy, and that maybe I would clean. I know. Utter madness.  Ultimately though, I came to my senses.


Still, for the rest of the day I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to be doing something more.  Then 8:00 p.m. hit.

And just like that, I was exhausted.


It was a wild Saturday night.

Monday night was my second rest day and I was bored, so I picked up my beautiful guitar  that has been gather dust since oh, June?  Of 2012.

Ok, so in my defense, my shoulder was messed up and it would really hurt when I strapped on the guitar so I didn't play while I was going through PT.  

Which I stopped in the spring.

And then I was, you know:


Anyway, I tuned the guitar (after looking up what notes the strings are), and plunked through some chords.


April was not impressed.

Tuesday night I got to run again, but it triggered another thing has been bugging me over the past two weeks:  I've been plagued with mysterious pains.

First, I was worried I had a stress fracture in my foot. Then, my hip was driving me crazy. Today, my ankle is clicking.  I realize there is a mental aspect to this but I'm also trying to be smart-yet-cautious (that's an expression, right?)

So I've iced.


 I've foam rolled.


 And I've lain on a tennis ball to stretch out my iliopsoaz...es.


The ball feels that big.

Oh, and now I'm starting to have crazy dreams.  I'm going to consider that just part of the process.

So I guess all in all I feel ready for race day.


I just hope that little tingling in the back of my throat isn't the start of a cold.


Questions:

1.  If you do races, do you get crazy too? How do you deal with the madness??

2.  Even if you don't race, what do you do to make yourself feel normal when things get wacky?

UPCOMING POSTS: SUMMER RACE REPORTS, LONG RUNS, RUNGER (RUNNING HUNGER)

I'm linking up with my most favorite writers' site this weekend, Yeah Write!  Click the button to get to lots of awesome blogs!

41 comments:

  1. Oh the taper, so very maddening in a real way. I thought I was going to lose my mind and that the world was going to end. Luckily, you're in the home stretch! I cannot wait for you to be a marathoner. And you're ready! You rocked that 20 miler and you'll just have the adrenaline of FINALLY being done and erika pushing you guys to get you through that last 10k. Good luck surviving the rest of the taper!! I think TriGuy needs to give you some treats or wine to get you through it ;)

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    1. Ohhh, wine and treats sound like a great way to get me through this next week! Thanks for the encouragement and the experience to know this is normal :D

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  2. Wow, 20 miles? How do you train for something like that, rile up a badger and then run from it? Is laying on a tennis ball part of your madness or does that really stretch something? That tingling is probably allergies, I've been feeling that tingling for the past two weeks.

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    1. I tie a doughnut to the end of a stick and have TriGuy hold it out in front of me :P The tennis ball really does stretch out that pesky psoas, but you do have to be kind of crazy to subject yourself to it, I think. As for the tingling, it could be allergies, but almost every person I've come in contact with this week has been sick.

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  3. Total mind playing tricks with you! You are ready. It is hard to rest after all that training- but enjoy it!!!

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    1. Thanks Robyn! I do feel good about my training...it's just the waiting that's hard now :)

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  4. Nice work on the mileage!!
    Try and relax the next week and remember that you are hard core and you are going to rock!!

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  5. I am the worst at taper tantrums. I can't count how many times I have gone to urgent care thinking I have had a stress fracture or something else going on leading up to a big race. What you are going through seems rough, but it is normal. Hang in there!

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    1. "Taper tantrums"; I like it! Yeah, it's good to know I'm just being the normal kind of crazy!

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  6. Ah ha ha! I'm "tapering" now too. It's in quotes because I'm not really tapering because I've been running about 2x per week for most of the training cycle. So people have asked me if I'm tapering and I'm like, "Sort of?" If I run a marathon again, I think I should maybe actually train for it...or something.

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  7. Taper tantrums are normal so YEAH for normalcy right??? I know, doesn't help at all. You are trained, you are ready and you will rock your first marathon!!! I am excited for you. Just be nice to TriGuy if you can...they seem to always remember after the race how awful we were to them and then its "remember when you were pingin...yea go get me a beer" hahaha

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    1. Thanks Marnee! Yes, hooray for normalcy! I will work on being nice; that's actually really good advice...I'm afraid I will be horrible a week from now!

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  8. I remember the first time I ran 26.2 m. Only, in my defense, it was meters and not miles. I don't even know how people do the 5K. (actually, I have done a 5K, but not for some time).

    Good luck. I do know that running on one side of the road can give you weird pains, as roads are slanted, and its millimeters further for one leg to touch down. I used to run to a point and turn around and run back so I knew it was an equal distance on both sides of the road. (equally stressing both legs). But seeing as this is a blog about running, I'm probably stating the obvious.

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    1. You know Chris, I actually do a lot of out and backs for just that reason! Someone once told me that she hurt herself while training for a marathon by always running the same loop, and I've never forgotten that. I don't think it's that obvious; more like one of those things that's only obvious after someone tells you :)

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  9. Running is definitely not my thing, but I'm in awe of anyone who can (and wants to do it). I have several friends who are runners, and I've gone to their marathons to cheer them on. I love doing that, and for some reason it always moves me to tears.

    You're amazing!

    Karen

    P.S. I love the dog in your sleepy picture.

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    1. Thank you Karen. I was not a runner until a couple of years ago and now I (obviously) really enjoy it. I had a lot of fun drawing April so I'm glad you liked that picture :D

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  10. I have never done anything like this, so I really don't get the taper madness. In the very small-scale training regimens I have done, I have been thrilled to rest. Hang in there. Maybe watching a lot of Breaking Bad will help?

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    1. I'm hanging in...mostly :) I can't sit still for too long!

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  11. 20 miles is really impressive! The closest I've come to anything athletic this summer is when I had to detour on my way to the parts store for the triathlon they hold in our little town. I really need to do some stretching! :)

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    1. Thanks Ken. Oh man, stretching sucks. Running 20 miles is much more fun!

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  12. This is my favorite of all your posts so far - funny! And as for the mysterious ailments, I can relate. I always have some kind of ache or pain going on.
    (Also, the farthest I've ever run is three miles [still], so my hat's off to you.)

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    1. Thanks Natalie! I get lots of mysterious aches too, but this week has been the worst...and I still have a week to go!

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  13. Thank you for reminding me again why I don't run. So no, I don't do races, I would maybe do competitive eating, but really just for the free food. This post was hilarious. I must-ache you why you have a mustache on the foam roller?? :)

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    1. Because I need to wax :P Just kidding. It's not a mustache...it's my mouth. The line under it is my chin.

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  14. I've always wanted to get one of those foam rolls. Do they work? And you were rockin'! I loved that. I would love it if you'd do a cartoon of me with my Ric. I have the crazy dreams too.

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    1. The foam rollers work. They hurt like a mofo when you start using them though. So, "rockin' " might be an exaggeration...I was getting through 4 chord songs with LOTS of pauses.
      p.s. email me if you want to talk about a picture :)

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  15. How do I make myself feel normal? Um. *scratches head

    I......drink wine and watch weird, twisted TV shows!

    Yeah, that's what I do.

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    1. Oh yes. That is a great way to do it! Good thinking!

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  16. Yesterday I registered for my very first full marathon this coming May, so I'm saving this post to come back to in about 6 months when I start my taper. In other news, what training plan did you use for your marathon? I'm hunting around for a good one.

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    1. Woohoo!! What race are you doing??
      I used the Hal Higdon novice plan and then my friend helped me tweak it based on other races I was doing, and she added some speed work and hill repeats. We could chat more about it if you want--just email me :D

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  18. You are freaking HUL-arious! LOVE the drawings you made to go with the post. I just got back into going to the gym 6 months ago and am ALWAYS getting those mysterious little pains everywhere....which I use as an excuse NOT to go to the gym (so I can take a nap sometime....hehehe). Glad I found your blog, funny TriGirl!

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    1. Thanks so much! Excuses for going to the gym seem way easier for me to come up with than ones for running :)

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