The dreaded taper week has arrived, no plans to do anything other than perhaps a little easy jogging and double then triple check my kit and plans for Saturday and the first 100 miler.
I hate tapering, I get it but I hate it.
I’ve usually opted to ease off mileage and intensity the week before a race if it’s a decent distance but I do still run most days the week leading up to it as it takes my mind off things. With the White Rose 100 though I feel I’m entering a whole new league where the goal is significantly bigger than anything I’ve taken on to date.
When I signed up for the Hardmoors 60 I knew with 99% confidence I would finish the race. As it got to the final weeks with the niggles and knee issues I still felt confident when I stood on the start line.
100 miles feels a much bigger beast though and the scale of the unknown is starting to play on my mind a little I must admit. Tapering most certainly isn’t going to be fun this week. The only run I really want to do is perhaps a few miles later on a night to get a feel for the temperature as it’s rapidly cooling here at the moment.
Had another decent outing at parkrun with a 17:18 at Huddersfield. There’s no doubt I’ve topped out speed wise in the low to mid 17 minute range with the training I’ve been doing but the next cycle of training should address that.
I read a fantastic book this week – “From Last to First” by British Olympic Marathon Bronze medalist Charlie Spedding. Can’t recommend this book enough. It was enjoyable reading about his successes (and failures) but most interesting were the sections about how he got a handle on the psychological side of his training and racing. Definitely one of the best running books I’ve read in a while.
- Monday – 7.5 miles
- Tuesday – 7.5 miles
- Wednesday – 8 miles
- Thursday – 6.2 miles
- Friday – 5.2 miles
- Saturday – 3.1 miles (parkrun)
- Sunday – Rest
Total: 37.7 miles, 2,047ft elevation