Taper and Run Strong

To borrow a line from the Phedippidations podcaster, Steve Runner, this is my plan for the upcoming Singapore marathon.

Reflecting on the training over the last 8 weeks, I've put in faster paces but less mileage on average, when compared to the 14 week training schedule I've put in for the KL marathon.

For the KL marathon, I must have made a couple of boo boos, such as cross training the day before, lack of sleep, too many races in the training period, focusing on too much carbs and not enough protein and actually doing the actual distance in training, 4 weeks from the race.

Coming into this 12 weeks program, I was feeling much stronger, with a better base of 'musculoskeletal' structure.

The aches, pains and tendonitis seemed to have also migrated, after I incorporated some elements of 'Chi' running (read the book by Danny Dreyer).

So, instead of going overboard, I only did 4 LSDs 30k and above, with the highest at 36km. For shorter runs, I pushed for at marathon pace minus 5-10 seconds, and this instilled some confidence.

Overall pace was much better, and I managed to finish the last 3 LSDs without any muscle cramps. A big improvement compared to the previous try.

Going into the taper (actually I only scheduled 14 days), I plan to do only 40-45k, with the last long run on Sat at about 15-20k, depending how I feel.

Given that this Friday is a holiday, I was also thinking about heading down to either the Klang stadium or UPM stadium to do the Yasso 800s to see where I am. 4min for 800m x 10 reps with intervals of 400m (MP-1 min).

Next week, I'll be traveling, so it would be a great time to taper :p

By the time I'm lining at the starting line in Esplanade drive next Sunday, I'm hoping to feel refreshed, energized and ready to go for a sub 4, God willing!!

Come 7th December, hopefully I'll be posting the race updates. Until then....Run Strong, and taper!