I have now started to taper for Leadville as I'm only eight days away. This is a very odd feeling. If you remember from last year's Vermont 88.6, I spent the few weeks prior to the race making up for all the training that I hadn't been doing in the months leading up to the race. I actually did a 3 day triathlon competition the weekend before. Additionally, I put my flexing my stomach muscles and holding my breath in overdrive. Apparently those strategies didn't work all that well.
This year, after several fall 2009 marathon disappointments, I decided to put in the mileage and effort and see where that would take me. To date it has taken me to PR's in the 5k(17:29-and that's with running an extra indoor lap), 10k(37:03-and that's with a stop for a beer), half marathon(1:18:33), and marathon(2:47). It also has taken me to a stress fracture from running a 25 mile birthday run for Amber on a Wednesday and a marathon on Sunday. After taking nearly two full months off to recover from the stress fracture, I started back running the end of June to find that my cardio as well as leg strength really took a hit. I steadily ramped up my mileage to that point that last week I ran the most I had ever during a week(around 70 miles)*. While I still don't have my speed back, I am definitely getting my legs under me.
Danny with Jimmie Cochran III after a disappointing first race back from the stress fracture.
So now begins my taper, I feel so underprepared and yet looking back at last year's 88.6, and the twenty mile weeks I was doing, I see that I am in far better shape than previously. And as a co-worker of mine pointed out, I can always rename the Leadville 100 as well.
Flying out Thursday, race on the 21st, post to be continued that following week...
*I don't measure my mileage but rather time myself and use 8 min/miles as an average for my runs- last week I did 9 hours for the week.
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