Hyannis Marathon - Taper Week

Today's Run:  5 miles through Bath
Total Time:  39 minutes, 39 seconds (7 minutes, 56 seconds per mile)
Type of Run:  Easy (relaxed effort)
Total Miles This Week:  14.14

It has been a little while since the last update, so I figured I'd better fill you in!  This is, after all, the final week before Hyannis..

Last Week
Recovery was slow.  The first four runs felt like I had iron strapped to my ankles and often there would be minor muscle cramps.  I eventually came down from 9-minute miles back to under 8-minute miles by the end of the week but it was a sign that there would be no more elevated workouts or runs from here until the Marathon.  The goal was to get between 45-50 miles at a relaxed effort.  I was as ready speed-wise as I was going to get.

This Week
Though I suffered a strange cramp in my right calf muscle Tuesday afternoon, I have had a fairly normal week of easy running as I've hovered right around 7:50-8:10 in every mile that I've run.  By the end of Friday I should have between 26-28 miles logged (which will total well over 50 after Sunday).  I shouldn't have any concerns with overuse injuries; it's just a matter of how ready I'll be at this point.

Hyannis Weather Forecast
In a word, ugly.  In 2008 it was sunny, 25 degrees, and a bitter wind - it felt a lot like Cape Elizabeth and Somesville this year.  In 2009 it was overcast for 3/4 of the race, then a gradual rain.  Temps hovered in the lower 40s but the wind wasn't as bad.  This year, at least with what they're saying now, it'll be in the upper 30s, steadier rain through the whole race, and high winds.  One fellow marathoner called this a "perfect strength runners' Marathon."  Does this equate to an ideal Quadzilla run?  The jury's out on that one, and probably will be until roughly 1PM Sunday.



Hyannis Goals
-3:10:59 or better.  Goal #1.  If I don't do this, I don't qualify for Boston.
-Run an easy first 10K (6+ miles).  This may be vital to how I'll handle the remaining 20 miles.
-Maintain 7-minute miles as long as possible after the first 10K.
-Maintain under 7:15 pace after mile 20.  My guess is that mile 22 or 23 will have the sucker punch that'll make this much more difficult.

How Crucial is this Marathon?
In truth, not very.  Yes, it's a Boston Qualifier, but it'll only get me into 2011 as 2010's registration is long gone. The Sugarloaf Marathon in May will get me Q'd through 2012 so that is the more important of the two races.  I'm still not going to take it lightly, though.  I'm confident of a personal best (time to beat is 3:15:25) and I should be hovering right around that 3:10:00 mark but there's a lot of factors that could affect the time, for better or worse.


In 4 days, all the questions will become answers.