9/22 – 3 Miles, felt tired after Boulder Half Marathon
9/23 – 14 Miles on The High Line Canal Trail
9/24 – Off
9/25 – 7.1 Miles
9/26 – 8 Miles
9/27 – 22 Miles on The High Line Canal Trail @ 7:27 Pace, planned on going easy due to the race on Sunday, but that pace felt easy.
9/28 – Fans on the Field 10k, 4 Miles warming up/cooling down

64.31 Total Miles

The Hay is in the Barn! The work has been done, time to taper, rest up, sharpen the legs and kick some ace at Denver Marathon on October 19th.

My 22 miler on Sunday felt great, legs were fresh, probably from the day off earlier in the week. As I said earlier, I was going to take it easy to save myself for the 10k on Sunday, but I have not tapered for a race this year, so why start now. My plan for the taper is to hit this week at 80% of peak (70mpw), then 60% the following week, and 33% the week of the Marathon, leading up to the race.

I’m looking forward to sharpening up and I also hope that I have a few good races left in me after the Denver Marathon. I’d like to still run a fast 8k/10k, but I’m not sure of any races in November that fit that criteria. I’m happy with my 5k time, Half Marathon time, but I have yet to race a decent 8k/10k, at least a time that I think reflects my current fitness level.

My endurance feels strong, I’ve completed a 22, 21, 20, 20, 20, 20 and I think two 17 milers. I will also get in 17 this weekend for my last long run, but 17 doesn’t seem that bad anymore. Best of all, I am healthy, probably 99%. Rather rare for me, I always seem to have some little injury, sore IT band, muscles, etc. but right now I feel great.

One thing that Brad Hudson states is that high mileage keeps the injuries away, it’s increasing the miles too rapidly that cause injuries. Thus, I’m going to try to keep the mileage in the 40-50’s through the winter, as well as focusing on my core routine, something I let slip this summer when my miles picked up.