Another failed taper?

Well, two days to go, and once again, I'm not feeling in top form before a big race. The main culprit is that I went to a Namban workout on Wednesday, fully intending to take it easy, but then getting caught up in trying to run faster than other guys, and ultimately pulling a muscle in my right hamstring. It's not too bad, but as I heard in an interview with Haile Gebreselassie (sp?) the other day, you have to be in 155% condition to run a good marathon, and I am not that. My back has also gotten a bit stiff over the past couple of days, which may just be stress. I went to a new massage place at LaLaport today to get it worked on a bit, which helped, hopefully it will feel better on Sunday.

Let's see if I can remember what else I've done for training in this taper. Took Sunday and Monday off this week because Sky was sick, rode my bike to work on Tuesday, Namban workout on Wednesday, then took Thursday and Friday off, and likely not run tomorrow. Probably the least I've ever run the last week before the race.
Last week I can't remember many details, but did a solid 18k run, building up to marathon pace for about half of it, and also doing some rope skipping every 3k, it was a pretty fun workout. I ran 2-3 times during the week, and also rode my bike.
Two weeks ago I ran every day except Monday, including a solid 25k run out in Chiba and then my fun tire, plyo, whatever routine on Saturday. Need to do that more consistently after the marathon.


So, not sure how things will go on Sunday, but I'm trying not to stress about it. At least i'll be running in style in my new costume...

Catching up Again...

Obviously that last post was published way after I had done anything with it, and this one has been a long time coming as well. For better or worse, I have lost much motivation to do regularly weekly posts, and therefore keep specific track of my training. Fortunately, it's not because I haven't been training!

I ended up doing month of training with only one day off. The training was mainly runs home from work at a reasonable pace, with some of what I have been calling, 'obstacle running', which is basically just running up, on, and over stuff on the way. I did do one 40k, which was a loop up and down the Arakawa, and a bit of a bitch because of a really strong north wind. I also ran a 18:59 5000m time trial with Namban, a time that I was happy with on tired legs and having planned to take it easy. It was the day after that time trial that I took off because I had a bit of a niggle in my right foot that I was afraid was getting worse. It didn't so I continued for a few days, including a 25k with 20 at marathon pace, which ended up being around 4:18 and with a nice low HR. However, the way my Garmin has been acting lately, I honestly don't know if I can trust any of the data from that thing.

I've been keeping up my general plan of adding more variety to my training as a way to get more fit generally, and one of the most interesting ways I have done that was by getting a used tire at a local taxi mechanic. Drilled a hole in it and put some vinyl cord through the hole. Originally thought I would just use it for dragging, but then started having some more fun with it, throwing it as high as I can and catching it, and jumping in and out for something like plyometrics. Shiori park is a great place for all of that, with some places to do pull ups and other jumping exercises.

So I'm two weeks out from Tokyo now, and don't have any concerns about running it, but wonder if I can make my focus to have fun, but also to run a good time. I know focusing on time makes me super nervous, and that's just not much fun. Maybe this costume I'm designing will help with the fun factor, and hopefully won't make the race miserable.

After Tokyo, I'm going to try to strike a better balance of doing more biking so I get home a reasonable time at least 2-3 times per week. Generally cutting down my mileage, but keeping some long runs, and doing the short, intense workouts as well. I also need to figure out what the hell I'm going to do with my diet that is feasible and healthy. I weighed in at 78.6 today, which was a little surprising, as I think I've been pretty good lately, with very little sugar and almost no beer. Could be that that's just the right weight for me, especially if I have a bit more muscle than before.

Catching Up and Starting Fresh in the New Year

Well, it's been almost a month since I put anything up here.
I did a bit of running after my last race and around Xmas, but then Dad was here during the new year, and I got pretty slack, partly because we were busy, partly because we were up in Nagano, where it was too damn cold and snowy to run.
But I'm back at it now, and it's going to be a slog to getting back into decent shape. But, hey, it's what I do, and I'll do my best to enjoy doing it!
When I ran for the first time this year on Jan 6, I was doing a lot of thinking about what kind of running resolutions I could make for the year: not getting injured, doing a 40+km run once a month in preparation for a 100k in the fall, doing less running during the week to get in more family time, doing more varied training for overall fitness and strength, etc. Nothing stuck in particular, so I'll just make it up as I go along.
I also got some new shoes (again!) and was thinking getting no more shoes this year should definitely be my resolution. They are the Altra Adams, and I was pretty excited about them. Unfortunately, I got them too big, but when I ran in them the first time, I was pretty happy with them, and thought I would only run in them all year. But after running in them four times, I started to get some bruising on the outside corner of my left foot where a piece of leather hits my pinky toe knuckle. Bummer! I'll keep trying, though, and hopefully they will work out without me having to buy a replacement pair.
The other thing I thought I would try, for this month anyway, is to run consecutively for as many days as I can. It would be cool if I could do it for the whole month of January, but who knows.
Here's what I've done so far this month:
1/6: One hour home from work. Adams. Felt great, if a bit floppy in the feet.
1/7: One hour home from work. Adams. Still good.
1/8: 45 minutes along the Sumidagawa. Adams. Mixed in some rope skipping and running up and down hills.
1/9: One hour home from work. Adams. Mixed in what I will call 'obstacle running' jumping up on benches and low walls, hopping up stairs with two feet, etc. Definitely will try to make it a regular thing.
1/10: