Reaping the rewards of the Taper already!

3 weeks until the Boston Marathon! 

With just three weeks to go, it was time to start the taper. For those of you who don't know, tapering is the process of reducing mileage and effort before a race to enable your legs to recover so that they feel fresh on race day. The taper for a marathon is usually 3 weeks so, now all the hard work has been done, it was time to ease up a bit. I'm looking forward to running fewer double days and running slower. I also have to be careful with what I eat; doing less miles means I don't need to consume as many calories as I have become use to over the past 16 weeks of training.

I am also going to give up alcohol from now until Boston - to try and cleanse my body and just give me even more chance of achieving my goal. 

Monday 27th March 2017 

For the first time in a while, the plan called for just 1 run! It was really lovely not having to drag ourselves out of bed before work. Instead we opted for a enjoyable run through Ashton Court in the evening. My legs were clearly feeling refreshed after a morning off as I managed 6 miles at 8:58 which is a lot quicker that my usual Monday recovery run. 

Tuesday 28th March 2017 

Today was a busy day for me as the children in my dance club were performing at a Dance Festival in the evening. The whole day was taken up with rehearsals so I would effectively be at work from 8am to 9pm - a long day! I knew I wouldn't have another chance to run so John and I headed out early for a steady 3 miles at 9:22mm pace. 

In the evening was the Aztec West 5k which I obviously wasn't able to make. However it was lovely to get home and hear tales of success from all of my friends - lots of PBs! Well done guys! 

Wednesday 29th March 2017 

Wednesday nights are always GWR club nights. John and I ran to club and were delighted that our crew were planning on running the summer 8 mile route for the first time this year. The route goes over the suspension bridge and around Ashton Court. It was lovely to run a different route on a beautiful sunny evening. We ran to and from club as well which made 11 miles at a very steady 8:54. 

Thursday 30th March 2017 

Felt a little bit sniffly today - worried it might be the start of a cold...hoping it's just hayfever but took some lemsip and strepsils just incase! Weather was wonderful once again so a really lovely 7 miles this evening again through Ashton Court - it's just a great place to run in the sun. 

Friday 31st March 2017 

Up early today for a recovery run around the harbourside. 4 miles at 9:26 pace. Legs feeling a bit achy in places but definitely  feeling the benefit of the taper so far. At lunchtime was the last running club for this term. We managed 3 laps of the woods which made it just over 2 miles; the furthest most of the kids have ever ran- awesome! 

In the evening, John, Cat and I met at Ashton Park School which is the new venue for the Towpath races this year. It was a lovely evening so John and I ran there - 3 runs in 1 day! 

The venue is fab - car parking and changing facilities and only a short walk from the start. 

If you are interested in a fast, flat series of 10k races, you can sign up by following this link: 

https://www.sportsystems.co.uk/ss/event/GWRTowpathSeries20172 

Saturday 1st April 2017 

Saturday is Parkrun day! But, with a race tomorrow, I was taking it nice and gently. We ran there and back again so 7 miles done at an average of 8:44mm - very sensible!

After my God Daughter's 2nd Birthday party (which was just adorable! - Thank you Fliss and James for the invite), John and I planned to head outside to enjoy the sun. Our Boston Marathon envelopes had arrived in the post and after seeing photos of Dave and the Maestro opening theirs, we couldn't wait to open ours...unfortunately, I chose this day to loose our one and only post box key...so our exciting letters were stuck in the post box. Luckily, John is very nifty with a set of tweezers and managed to get them out!

Enveloped freed and sitting in the sunshine, we opened the letters...not long now! Can't wait!

 Sunday 2nd April 2017 

Today was the Cardiff Bay 10k. I was really looking forward to this race for a number of reasons: 

1) I was feeling good and feeling a PB.

2) I had heard that the course was flat and fast.

3) The weather forecast was excellent! 

The forecast was certainly correctly today - a stunning day with blazing sunshine and hardly a cloud in the sky. We drove to Cardiff and made it to the start without much time to spare. Not really any time for a warm up but at least it was a warm day! My missions for today 

1) To get a PB (sub 38:50) 

2) To finish in the top 10 ladies

3) To beat Woody! 

Looking around at the start line and I thought that number 2 looked possible. The gun went off and I set off at 6mm pace - exactly what I'd planned. Woody had a similar goal in mind for today so we ran together to start with. A couple of weeks ago, I'd have been fairly confident at beating Woody in this race, however, after his epic PB on Tuesday of 18:09 (nearly 1 minute quicker than mine!) I was feeling rather worried! 

The first couple of miles went passed really quickly and felt comfortable which was surprising as 6 min miles has never felt comfortable before! After about 2 1/2 miles, Woody pulled ahead of me slightly on an uphill section. I decided to keep him in sight but stick at my pace. The great this about this race was that there were some turnaround sections where you could see the faster runners going the other way. This was great as I could see how John and Marcus were doing. It also allowed me to count the women going the other way. I realised that I was on for my 2nd goal! 

At the 5k mark I looked at my watch and realised I'd just got a 5k PB - clearly I've not been reaching my 5k potential - must try harder at the next Aztec! Mile 4 was the hardest one for me - a slight dip in pace; I watched Woody pull away a little more. Once my watched beeped for 5 miles though I knew I didn't have long to go and managed to pick up the pace by focusing on my form and technique. 

With 1 mile to go, I'd overtaken lots of women and was feeling happy with my pace and time. Just had to try and catch Woody! I was starting to get really warm now and could have done with another water station really. I picked up the pace as much as I could -I was finding this last mile hard work - probably because I am so used to running 5 mile races; my legs were ready to stop! 

Here are my mile splits: 

mile 1 - 5:59

mile 2- 5:58

mile 3 - 6:00

mile 4 - 6:10 

mile 5 - 6:05

mile 6 - 6:04 

I crossed the finish line in a time of 38:08 a huge PB, 8th lady and goals 1 and 2 achieved! Woody finished in a very impressive 37:41. Marcus also had a great day with a PB 36:22 and finishing as 5th V40. John once again achieved a truly fantastic time of 35:10 - getting close to the elites now! And out of over 5000 runners, was 26th - incredible - very proud. 

Total mileage for this week = 50.8 

The next race I run will be in Boston!!!! I am beyond excited. Only 5 more days of work and then we're off! Hooray!