Mile Markers: Countdown to Race Day
A taper can feel almost anticlimactic; after even just a few weeks of hard training, the sudden shift to easier and fewer miles has the sensation of winding down for the season, rather than ramping up for a PR. That’s not to say that the taper doesn’t work – it really does!
This week’s training tapered down for the Snohomish Women’s Run 10K. I spent a few weeks sharpening to hopefully break 45 minutes and after a week of hard workouts last week, I stuck to mostly easy and shorter runs in the days leading up to the race on Sunday – which if you haven’t seen on Facebook or Instagram, it was a very good race!
Monday: 5 mile easy run & core work
Those of you who have adopted rescue dogs know that many shelter pets carry past fears with them. Ollie is scared of large trucks and buses, and so waiting at stop lights to cross a busy road is nerve-wracking for him. He’s making huge improvements on our runs now!
For the first several weeks of running with him, we ran on paved trails to avoid intersections. For this route, we crossed one intersection twice (out and back route) and had to stop both times. I worked on having him sit and petting him as we waited for the signal to cross. I could see him flinch a little as the cars drove by, but he did so well in handling the crossings.
Tuesday: 6 mile tempo run
Peaking for a race does strange things to the mind and body. As all the hard training sets in and taper sets forth the recovery process, I feel simultaneously antsy with energy and sore in weird places. Hard speedwork, even with less mileage, feels like it places more of a demand on my body and therefore more of a need for recovery than long distance training.
I felt mildly tight and achy before this run and a bit sluggish during it – yet surprisingly, I hit my paces. After a two mile warm up, I ran 10 minutes at half marathon pace, 2 minutes easy, and 10 minutes at 10K pace, followed by a cooldown mile.
Wednesday: 20 minute Pilates workout
I did a quick, easy Pilates workout to stretch out and do some light strength training. I carry tension so heavily in my upper back and shoulders, and I definitely feel it released in a good Pilates workout.
Thursday: 5 mile easy run
Ollie and I ran another 5 easy miles together. It’s actual quite simple to assess if I am running at an easy effort with Ollie, since I spend a majority of the running saying “easy,” “good puppy,” and “leave it! leave it!” every time we see a waterfowl.
Thursday night brought a deluge of rain and a thunderstorm (which rarely occur out here in the Seattle area). Since Charlie lived the first 2.5 years of his life in the Midwest, where we swaddled him in a Thundershirt every time it stormed, he was unfazed. Ollie, however, panicked.
Friday 3 mile easy run
We ventured out on a newer-to-us route, which made this easy 3 mile early morning run fly by. I also cannot repeat enough how happy I am that it’s fully light out by 5:45 AM here! It makes morning runs so much more enjoyable and relaxed.
Saturday: Rest day
I always like resting the day before a race. A rest day makes me antsy to run again and puts me in the right physical and mental state to race hard. Instead, I squeezed in some puggle snuggles between prepping for Ryan’s booth at the race and running errands.
Sunday: Snohomish Women’s Run 10K, 43:53
I will share a full recap of this race on Wednesday, but to summarize: I hit my goal of breaking 45 minutes and finished second overall! Also, racing a 10K is really hard but really exhilarating. The whole race experience was a little surreal. The course was beautiful as well – definitely a race I would consider doing again! A huge bonus of this race was that I got to see two of my athletes, as one is the race director and the other ran a really strong race.
We celebrated with some Greek food (yum), seeing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (so good!), and the Hendrick’s Gin that I had held off on enjoying until after this race. And now, it’s off-season/base building until I start training again in August for California International Marathon – I registered again this week!
[Tweet “Race week leading up to a 10K PR via @thisrunrecipes #RKRunner #runchat”]
Do you prefer to rest or run the day before a race?
How was your week in running?
When did a race last feel surreal to you?
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22 Responses
I was so excited to see how well you did in your race! I also like to take the day before a race off from running. It helps to make me feel ready to race the next day!
Thank you so much! I hear so many people say they like shake out runs, but there’s definitely something that a rest day does for feeling extra ready!
congrats again! so proud of you, but I knew you could do it!
Thank you so much!
You CRUSHED it! Congratulations Laura on a HUGE PR and second overall!!!! I was ecstatic seeing your FB post because 10ks are super hard to race and you did it!! Cannot wait to read the recap…in the meantime I’ll keep looking at that adorable picture of Charlie. LOL!!
Thank you so much! 10Ks are so hard to race – what a challenging distance of holding that hard of a pace for so long! I’m in awe of how you race them AFTER swimming and cycling!
WOW! Congratulations! That is an awesome time and it is so great to see all your past weeks of training pay off!
Thank you so much!
Cooper flinches at big trucks that go by when we are outside. He also barks like crazy at the sound of the UPS or FedEx trucks. Even if it’s not at our house. Weird.
Congrats on such a strong race! I can’t wait for the recap!
Dogs are so weird! Charlie hates the UPS/FedEx truck also. And thank you so much!
Congrats! You’ put in the work, and now it was time for the work to go to work for you. Tremendous job!
Thank you so much!
Congratulations on your finish time, placing 2nd OA, and the PR!! That is awesome!! Sub-44 was my original goal for my last 10K, before I got injured and basically had to use it as a fun run. It’s so neat to see you improving and meeting your goals, especially because I know you had some setbacks too with the plantar a few weeks ago and are still treating it. As someone whose race times are close to what yours were (since you’ve gotten way faster), it kind of gives me some hope, I guess, that maybe I can do it too. I’m sure other bloggers who read your blog, and maybe some who read mine, feel that way.
I hope you have a good recovery from the race and can’t wait to read the recap.
Thank you so much! I’m still very fortunate that my case of PF was minor and easily treated. I definitely believe you can break 44 minutes and beyond – running goes through ups and downs and breakthroughs are the result of patience as much as hard work.
Yay!!! So happy for you! The 10k is tough mentally for me. Your nailed your training and it all came together! Can’t wait to hear more!
Thank you so much! The 10K is such a mentally tough race – I slowed down in that final mile. It’s so hard to run that fast for that long!
Beating a time goal by over a minute in a short distance like 10K is a HUGE deal – congrats on such a strong race!
I’m so with you about resting the day before a race. The Hungry Runner Girl once said she does this because she likes to make herself crave the starting line, and I couldn’t agree more. I also feel like I’m going to jinx something if I run the day before a race. All of my half and full marathon PRs have been set after a day of rest so there’s something to it!
Thank you so much! I realized I had a bit of cushion in my time goal by my final workout, but I also knew that the 10K was going to be hard in a new way and didn’t want to set too big of a goal. All of my PRs have been set with rest the day before – definitely something too it! My worst races have involved stressing over squeezing in a shake out run the day before.
I usually run every day right up to and including the day before a race. I go slow and just keep my muscles and joints warm and limber.
Congratulations on that race yesterday. I gave a shout of excitement when I saw your Instagram post!
Thank you so much! You run daily, so I can see how rest the day before a race would throw you off. It definitely varies from runner to runner!
Yesterday was such an exciting day!! You looked strong when I saw you at the turn around. I loved being able to give you a shout out as we passed!!!
Thank you so much! I was so excited to see you after the turn around as well – although I was already so out of breath that I don’t know how good of a cheerleader/coach I was! I am so proud of you for such a strong race back.