Taper and Marathon Training Experience

This week is a taper week. That is if you don't count Saturday because Saturday is anything but a taper. It is the marathon! I'm glad my brother is willing to go up with me. It should be a good experience for both of us. We will head up to Ogden on Friday afternoon. Friday is the only day you can pick up your packet. Rather than drive the 150 mile round trip twice, I booked a room. I am naturally nervous and excited all at the same time.

My son-in-law asked me about training for a marathon. He is considering running one and wanted to know what my experiences have been. I will bullet point some of my experiences.

• It's the hardest thing I have ever tried to do physically.
• It is just as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one.
• It is HARD work!
• You face your doubts every time on every long run. This is important training to finish a long race.
• Every time on the long run, the last few miles is sooooo hard.
• Every long run I go in nervous and come out grateful that I got the mileage in.  They keep me humble
• I have learned a lot about myself.  I can do more than I think I can.
• Training is just more instructive and character building than the actual race is.  The race is the official payoff.

My biggest fear for the marathon is this statement:

For safety reasons, runners that have not entered Ogden Canyon by 11:30am will be required to board the bus and be transported to the finish line - No Exceptions!

If I can make the 11:30 cut off, I should be able to get it done. It is 17.3 miles. The race starts at 7am. You think I should be able to make it, but there are two big problems. Even though the race starts at 7, I need to be at the back of the pack since I am doing a run/walk approach. I can keep up between a 13- 15 min per mile pace. I'm not sure when I will actually hit the starting gate. Being towards the back will delay the start and eat into the 4.5 hour time limit. But at the same time, if I do the math and based on my longer runs I should be still be fine. It's just a nagging doubt.

The forecast looks good. 75 degrees for the high. Just a bit warm at my projected finish, but it could be a lot worse as we are scheduled for 80's the next couple of days.

Hope you all had a great mother's day. We had a good time with family at our place. I enjoyed cooking fajitas for both my Mom and my wife. They are both great mom's.

Hang in there and I will too!