Reverse Taper

I'm just about getting back into the swing of things with my running since completing the Barcelona marathon 4 weeks ago and am now up to a steady 37 miles per week - hardly the high mileage preparation required for a 39.3 mile ultra in 7 days. In total I've covered close to 340 miles since Barcelona - 85 were on foot, 243 on wheels and 11.6 in the water.

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My legs took longer that usual to recover from last Sunday's long run, with a few aches and pains lasting through to Monday. Hardly surprising 3 weeks after a marathon that left them in a poor state.

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Tuesday's track session involved 3 x 1k at a challenging 5:48 target pace (86 sec laps - actually 89 second laps in lane 3 = 3:43 for 2.5 laps). My marathon recovery and the headwind on the home straight was enough to make for a very tough session where it took me (and my sole companion, Kevin) the full three ks to hit the target - 3:50/47/43. Still I look forward to returning to fast sessions on the track once Connemara is behind me.

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My last longish runs before Connemara were a 10 miler in the park in Thursday and a reconnaissance run of the inaugural Cobh 10 mile road race with Eagle AC on Saturday morning. Needless to say, being a week after Connemara I won't be running on the day. While the race is a net downhill, starting on the hill above the town and finishing on the seafront there are a few undulations in between (but nowhere near as hilly as the Bantry 10 miler a few weeks back - according to John D). Despite the inclines it was a very pleasant run on mostly quite roads and I wouldn't mind running it again.

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After the run Denis, John and I made final plans for the Connemara road trip next weekend and exchanged some race day strategies - well John and I listened to Denis who had it all sorted - from how to stop the half and full marathon runners from taking your drop bags, what to wear, what to eat, what not to eat and the all important carb loading or should I say "Super carbs" - where can I get me some of them?

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My running week ended with a short 2.1 mile steady run after a 2 hour bike ride this morning and unlike 2 week ago where the 8 minute post bike pace hammered my calves the 7:18 average pace this morning felt quite manageable.

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...and now for the short 1 week taper (or the end of a 7 week taper with a marathon in the middle).

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March - (Run 117 miles, Bike 173 miles, Swim 16,750m)

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Happy Easter!

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