Why hello, Taper! I am so happy to see you! It’s been 13 weeks of intense training and I must confess I am ready to scale back the running for a few weeks until marathon race day. Yesterday I completed my fifth and last 20-mile run for this training cycle. I’m calling it a huge success. Twenty miles in 3:06:55. The training schedule called for 20 miles at an 8:50 pace. I hit several of the miles at that pace and all the 14 complete downhill miles I averaged 9:00. I had to run back up the trail for nearly 5 extra miles to get in a full 20 and even with those uphill miles I averaged 9:20 overall (6.4 mph). For those people who understand or even care about the elevation gain and loss, here are the stats from my Garmin Forerunner 110:
Elevation Gain: 534 ft
Elevation Loss: 1,436 ft
Min Elevation: 142 ft
Max Elevation: 1,052 ft
I ran Aliso Creek Trail again because it’s the one that best simulates the Mountains 2 Beach race course elevation gain and loss. This time though I didn’t continue all the way to the beach. I started with this:
and ended with this:
I highly recommend Cafe Anastasia for brunch. If you go, try the Eggs Laguna:
If you have time, wander down Ocean Avenue to Main Beach Park:
but first stop at Casey’s Cupcakes for one of these:
Did you run over the weekend? Did you go anywhere fun?
5 miles on the Banks Vernonia Trail in the Oregon Coastal Range. My temperate rainforest looks a bit cooler than your desert path š
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Believe it or not it was 64 degrees out! Crazy really, because just a couple days before that the temperature reached 100 degrees with strong Santa Ana winds. Thank goodness I lucked out with perfect running weather. I’m still jealous of your lush green trail though!
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Fantastic training runs, Girl!
Yep, I ran this weekend – my first half marathon. š
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Thanks Jill! And congratulations again to you on your first half! I enjoyed reading your race recap.
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Thanks. The negative split part was 1) because I was terrified of pooping out early and not being able to run the whole thing and 2) the VERY crowded first three miles that kept me slower than I was even comfortable going. I ran the second half of the course almost 4:30 minutes faster than the first half.
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No running (still). Great job – now just a bit of rest during the taper and you are going to rock your marathon!!!
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Thanks Kim. I am crossing fingers for you that you can get back to the running soon!
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Where on the Aliso Creek trail do you get a good drop? I feel like I’m always uphill on the dang thing! And yes taper is a lovely place…the first week – then 2 weeks of squirming and worming until the big day š
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The first 8 miles of Aliso Creek from the Cook’s Corner trailhead running down have an elevation loss of 600 feet. After that there are a couple of hills that definitely make it feel uphill both ways, especially on tired legs!! Here’s the link to the map from the time I ran the whole trail then added on some road running to go a total of 20 miles to the beach (talk about killer hills — some of those roads were steep):
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/195329072
I have definitely had my share of taper crazies! I am trying to embrace the experience as best I can this time around. We’ll see how long that lasts LOL!
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One of these days I’ll have to meet you midway on a longer run. I run from Mission Viejo/Laguna Hills/Lake Forest to the Top of the World trailhead, but have never gone all of the way to the ocean. Looking at your map, f you take Niguel Rd, you can pick up a trail that actually avoids all of the lights on Alicia & CV Pkway that dumps you at Ritz Cove/The Strand
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You are so kind to offer to run with me and to share with me the directions to another trail to the beach. When I did that 20 mile run to the beach, it got harder and harder to get going again after each stoplight on Alicia and CV. When I race, I carry all my sports drink with me and grab a bottle from my family along the way without stopping at aid stations — that’s how bad I am about getting going again after stopping to a walk or full stop. I do not get out to Aliso Creek often because it’s a 40-minute drive, and I’m a little intimidated by your speed, but I hope it works out sometime in the future for us to meet up! Thanks again for the tip about the other trail from Niguel – I just saved that route in a new MapMyRun map!
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I’m trying to get caught up on all of your posts. I’ve been terribly behind, but you’ve been knocking out some amazing runs! I’m so excited for your marathon. š
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Thanks Jenn! I am excited for the race too, when I am not experiencing major race jitters ALREADY! You know how it is, when you’ve invested so much time, energy, and emotion into a race.
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