Today was my final run on the trails at FH. Though I loved my return to the trails, I'm definitely ready to bid farewell to FH for a while. Today I did 6 of the orange loop sections for the first time. Though I've spent longer amounts of time and covered more distance at FH, today's run was the most challenging and, fortunately, most rewarding. Repeating these loops has been a challenge mentally as well as physically. It has been inspiring to see my progress. When I first began training this summer, this section of the orange loop was a real killer. Today, its become just another hill that I've climbed and conquered.
I've been debating when to begin my taper. Its usually 17 days out before a marathon. What do I do for something like this? I'm still 25 days out. It feels right to begin the taper now. Mentally, I'm definitely ready. Each run this week has been a mental challenge to prepare for. Granted, some of that is due to the repetitiveness of my runs. But some is due to mental fatigue, too. Physically, the runs have been getting easier, too. I'm finding them less challenging and I'm recovering quicker than ever, despite the increase in volume.
For my marathon p.r. in May, the taper began 29 days out. This was due to having major races for the 3 weekends preceding the marathon. A similar schedule is being put in place for the TRR. Last weekend, I spent 5 hours running the App Trail in MD. The goal was to increase the length of my uphills and downhills from 'sprint-size' to something much more substantial. AT MD was the first step.
This weekend, the AT in Northern Mass should be the second step. The following two weekends will be the Monster Marathon (hopefully) and then the Imogene Pass Run. Well, that is my 'ideal' schedule. I'll have to take one weekend at a time and see how that works. But for now, I'm smiling...the taper has begun.
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Based on your previous races there is no way you are mentally ready. You need to spend some serious time with a map and trails that are new to you. It'll teach you to think on your feet and get an awareness of where you are on a course. Physically you'll get through it just fine. But Mentally, Nuh.
By the way no one called you fat, they just questioned your 5% Body number.
Sorry about the anonymous post but I don't have an account.
Cheers
Matt
I might of missed it, but what are your plans for acclimitizing to the huge altitude difference between delaware and the high rocky mountains? Do you plan to go out early enough to acclimate? I've done Hardrock twice w/o acclimitization (coming from Alabama) but I showed up about 36 hours before the start (for a ~48hour race). I don't know if that would work for a 6 day stage run though? I'd get out there as early as you can or else if you can't, as soon as you do get out you should get out there as high as possible and spend most of your time there. There are any number of methods, check the web. Otherwise, since you are in "peak" shape just lower your expectations and enjoy. See I can produce a "non-harrassing" comment... ;)
Hey Matt. Fortunately, we'll have a map for the TRR and I'll have a GPS. I also think that I'm going into this race and, for the first time, expecting to need to really think about navigating a course. Prior to this race, my expectations have been that courses would be well marked and easy to follow. Going into the TRR with a different mind-set will hopefully help. Thanks Matt.
Hey Rob. The altitude and downhill pounding are my biggest concerns. I've been wondering if training in really hot and humid weather offers any benefits. Both altitude and heat inhibit the ability of your body to get oxygen into the mitochondria of your cells to produce energy. The heat does so by diverting more blood to the surface of your skin to take advantage of evaporative cooling. Altitude does so because the air is thinner, therefore there is less oxygen available to breathe and thus less getting in the lungs, red blood cells, etc, and eventually the mitochondria. Does the deprivation of oxygen via altitude and evaporative cooling have the same effects? I have no idea. With heat, your muscles are getting a less than normal volume of blood, but the blood has the same concentration of O2 that it normally does. With altitude, I'm surmising, the volume of blood reaching the muscles is the same as normal (assuming the temps and %RH are lower), but the concentration of O2 is lower. So...is there a difference between having fewer, 'normal-level-O2' red bloods cells reaching the muscles (heat) versus having a normal amount of red blood cells with 'lower-level-O2'(altitude) reaching the muscles? I suspect there is a differnce.
Sorry for all of the tech talk. I hope my thought process made sense and also that it didn't appear like I was presenting a lecture, that was not my intention.
Back to your question about acclimization. A week prior to the TRR, I am running the Imogene Pass Run which goes from Ouray to Telluride CO. http://www.imogenerun.com/printableXfer07.pdf Page four of the PDF has the course profile. This will be my final training run. I'll be arriving in CO on Sept 6th and besides from my time in Ouray, I'll be camping in Leadville. I know that I can't gain any performance benefits from just 10 days of acclimitization, but I hope that being out there that early helps eliminate any of the nausea, headaches, fatigue, etc., that I've heard can accompany being at altitude. I've been in Steamboat and Breckenridge for ski vacations and never had any problems, but, I wasn't running the TRR. That is the extent of my experience being at altitude. Thanks for the advice.
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