Day at the Office

Day at the Office
All Terrain Vehicle
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Phillppians 3:14

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Taper, Swim Party, & The Olympics

Three subjects to be addressed in one post...not very elegant but I am sure you can deal with it.

First the Taper:
Taper does not mean not running or exercising. It does mean that you are giving you body the rest and recovery it needs for the attempted feat or race. At this point we are 2 weeks out from TNF 50 miler detonation (I was a Marine Mortorman...what did you expect with the word choice) . So my taper is to continue with the weekly spin class, speed work, core work ect. These workouts are never longer than 1 hour. The weekend long runs are cut way back and I do not run back to backs like I have been doing. The Long 7 hour runs are really what deplete the body of it's resources. Today, I woke up and ran an easy 15 miles....next Saturday will only be around 8 to 10 miles. The weekday workouts will remain as they have been, although I plan on backing off the intensity the week before the race.

Next topic - Swim Party:
Tonight is our end of summer bash swim party with my son's Cub Scout Pack. I am the Den Leader for Luke's den and really enjoy being active in the Scouting Program. It will be good to get back into the swing of things with Den Meetings, Camp outs and such. I grew up in the Scouting Program. My Granddad was active as a Scout Leader, my Uncle Jim is an Eagle Scout, and my both my brother and I earned the Eagle Award. When I was twelve, I completed my first 50 mile backpacking trek. It took 5 days and my pack was about 40% of my body weight. The other day I reflected back on this trek and thought, "my goodness, I am about to cover that 50 mile distance in less than a day...we hope.

Last - The Olympics:
I love the Olympics...always have! I remember when I was 6 years old watching Bruce Jenner win the Decathlon in Montreal. I even had 3 Bruce Jenner posters that grace my childhood bedroom walls. My favorite events of course are the track & field, but I always love watching an athlete dominate their event at the highest level. Thusly, I have become a big fan of Michael Phelps. With that being said, I still believe that a good track star is poetry in motion and watching that Bolt dude is truly a sight to behold. Tonight I am very excited to watch America's own Ryan Hall as he attempts something that Frank Shorter accomplished in 1972. To win the Marathon. Hall needs to go out tonight blazing. If there is a pack at mile 20 Hall may be trouble as I believe he is at a disadvantage with a tactical race. Let's hope he has conversed with that Bolt guy.

There you have...

2 comments:

Rick Gaston said...

Nice Dave, I think you're set. You've got the taper down right. Now remember don't freak out if you start to feel sluggish or get weird pains. All part of the process. Now let's drop that personal best for the 50-mile distance. Should only take part of one day this time:)

As for the Olympics and the marathon, whew they dropped the hammer early and just kept on going.

Brenda / Russ / Lance said...

Finally - Taper time! From the recon on the forum looks like it will be smooth sailing....well, that's the hope at least.

What a marathon race!

RUN ON -SEMPER FIDELIS

RUN ON -SEMPER FIDELIS