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Taperville: the mythical place that runners run to reach to signal that training is winding down. The stay is usually temporary, but enjoyable nevertheless.
Week 14 is when I reach the pinnacle of my training, Taperville. This is the week that I run 20 miles, which signals that I am done with my long runs.
My Ekiden plan for the week is below .
Tuesday
I recover pretty quickly from half marathons, so I ran the tempo run on Tuesday. The plan was to warm up for a mile, then run 2 miles at tempo, run easy for a mile, 2 more miles at tempo, cool down for a mile. I really like tempo runs. I wish my Garmin had the ability to program different interval paces so I don't have to restart at each change in pace.
Wednesday
Yoga
Thursday
Another 7 tempo run. With the cooler temperature and an awesome group it was easy to knock these miles out. I ran 3 of the miles in a new Mizuno shoes with Fleet Feet Decatur for their monthly Pub Run.
Saturday
After what seemed like an eternity, I finally made it back to Atlanta Track Club training. I ran 5 miles with an inspirational 72 year old participant that was great company.
Sunday
The day to run 20 miles finally arrived. To make the task less daunting, first I ran a 5k race. The great thing about the race was that we got medals and there was plenty of food at the end to prep for the remaining 17 miles. Phyllis, my running buddy, joined me for a 17 mile journey on Peachtree Road from downtown to Chamblee. While the distance is long, there is much to see on the route and plenty of places to stop.
We made it to 20 miles and celebrated with sweet tea and Dunkin Donuts. Taperville welcomed both us with open arms and we will be temporary citizens for a few months.
I wore my 2XU compression pants and my legs felt amazing after the race. We ran 2:1 intervals for most of the route (I accidently cycled through our running portion a few times). Now it's on to the last few weeks of training.
