The Beer is in the Tank

Yes I know the expression is "the hay is in the barn", but I thought a reference to the brewing process would be more my style given that I've probably been in a barn all of about four times my entire life. So, two weeks out from the Jemez 50 mile, the beer is finally in the tank and it's time for the conditioning (i.e. taper) to start. And damn am I ever ready for it. Holy crap I'm tired. Fortunately I don't have any nagging injuries that need healing, just wear and tear, and on muscles I didn't even know I had. Kind of like when you visit the East Coast in July for the first time and you start shvitzing in ways you hadn't imagined were possible. Just replace the sweat with pain. Yep that's about what I feel like right now.

This last week was a journey in and of itself mentally. Monday it was "yeah maybe a three week taper is the way to go then I could just start today".  Wednesday it was "OMFG just shoot me now", which by about Thursday afternoon had devolved to "I want my mommy". Somehow Friday I felt good again and was thinking "man I just wanna get out and run". Which I did, with a beautiful cruise from Tesuque up to Ski Santa Fe and back via the Winsor Trail on Saturday. Granted, I was cursing my own enthusiasm as Crone and I power-hiked the last of the steep technical singletrack before the Norski parking lot, and cursing myself again as we blasted back down the same section shortly thereafter, but it was a pretty sweet way to end the week and kick off the taper. Of course I had to aspire for even higher levels of stupidity by doing a three hour hike 90 minutes after I got back from a four hour run. I still don't know WTF I was thinking.

Saturday's route:

The last long run. Click for larger version. 

So here's what my 18-week build-up (tear down?) has looked like in terms of weekly mileage:



To be honest I like RunningAHEAD.com but I don't get the whole run type thing. I mean, if I run easy up a hill is that an easy run or a hill run? Is it just me? What's just as important as the mileage though is specificity, and for Jemez that means vertical. So here are the actual mileage and climbing totals for each week (with highlights), dating back to the beginning of the year:

• 1/03: 30.8 mi / 5300'.
• 1/10: 43.5 mi / 7000'.
• 1/17: 49.4 mi / 7000' (16.7 mi / 1000' long run).
• 1/24: 35.9 mi / 4000'. Corrida de Los Locos.
• 1/31: 49.2 mi / 7800' (6.4 mi / 500' + 16.7 mi / 1000' double).
• 2/07: 54.0 mi / 8400' (9.8 mi / 1900' + 15.1 mi / 2000' back-to-back).
• 2/14: 47.0 mi / 8300' (9.3 mi / 2700' + 13.6 mi / 1900' back-to-back).
• 2/21: 53.8 mi / 7300' (23.1 mi / 1300' long run).
• 2/28: 51.3 mi / 7000' (13.2 mi / 1200' long run). Hangover run :)
• 3/07: 52.1 mi / 7100' (26.2 mi / 4500' long run). Salida Marathon.
• 3/14: 52.4 mi / 8500' (14.0 mi / 2300' long run).
• 3/21: 60.7 mi / 9200' (23.8 mi / 2900' long run).
• 3/28: 66.4 mi / 11200' (19.8 mi / 3700' long run).
• 4/04: 71.1 mi / 12200' (17.2 mi / 4600' long run).
• 4/11: 40.7 mi / 4400' (11.2 mi / 1300' + 13.6 / 1700' back-to-back).
• 4/18: 64.5 mi / 10700' (13.7 mi / 2300' long run).
• 4/25: 72.2 mi / 14300' (19.0 mi / 4900' long run). Tour de Dale Ball.
• 5/02: 73.5 mi / 12400' (19.3 mi / 4800' long run).

I'm pretty satisfied all things considered. My only real regret is not being able to run a shorter ultra in April as an additional training race. But I guess I'll have to wait until next year for a mid-spring suffer-fest on the home turf. Regardless, I know I can run up and down hills for a long friggin' time without getting tired. Now it's time to ease off the gas and get some rest. Hopefully it will all add up to something better than DFL in a couple weeks.