Big Sur Marathon 2005 - Taper Time
Yogi Berra once said that “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical”, which also applies well to marathons. It’s taper time, and we’re clearly working on the mental part of the game.
With seasonal allergies in full swing, I wake up feeling tired and groggy every morning, so it’s easy to be anxious about whether I’m in shape to run Big Sur, especially without the reassurance of completing a decent workout every day. This week I’ve been mostly doing short, easy 3-5 mile runs, vs the daily 9-13 mile runs I was getting in a few weeks ago, since part of the reason for tapering is to let the body recharge a bit. Unfortunately, while that’s good for the body, it’s tricky for the mental aspect of preparation. In my case, I know it can take up to an hour of easy running before I get comfortable, so between allergies and short runs, most of my workouts this week have left me feeling slightly uneasy. Today’s workout was a full hour, and felt awkward for the first 30 minutes but the last 3-4 miles clicked off cleanly at MP-to-LT paces, which makes me feel better for now.
Since I’m running less this week, I’m spending more time on planning. Today I’ve been debating which shoes to run in. I’m down to my last pair of Saucony Hurricane 5’s, which I have been alternating with the Asics GT-2100 for the past few months. The Hurricanes are a little heavier and provide more foot protection, and I’ve used them for thousands of miles of training, making them a safe choice. Unfortunately, they stopped making the 5’s over a year ago, I didn’t like the Hurricane 6, and haven’t had a chance to try the Hurricane 7’s yet. My current Hurricane 5’s are the last of the ones I stashed away when they were discontinued, and they’re at something like 300 miles, which is where I typically stop using them for long runs. They occasionally have some at Road Runner Sports, but not in my size lately.
The GT-2100’s have been working ok so far. They’re lighter than the Hurricanes, but aren’t “lightweight” like the New Balance NB900’s I got a while ago for shorter/faster workouts. I didn’t like the Kayano IX or the GT-2090 for some reason when I tried them a couple of years ago, but the GT-2100’s haven’t given me any discernable problems. My stride mechanics are substantially better, and I weigh less than when I started running, which makes the extra cushioning in the Hurricanes less critical now than back when I originally picked them. However, I can definitely tell that the GT-2100’s are less “cushy” after 13+ miles compared with the Hurricanes, not sure how they’ll feel after 26+. They feel a lot worse if my form gets sloppy, which is an incentive to pay attention.
I’m probably going with the GT-2100’s.
Tags: running, marathons, big sur
