Amy Reinink

I usually hate to taper.

My trusty roasted vegetable lasagna. Just one thing I love about tapering.

This week, though, I’m having a blast. Yesterday’s cross-training workout consisted of 30 easy minutes on the stationary bike. That’s all! I usually save the day’s newspaper for my stationary bike dates, and bring a book and magazine with me, too, just to be safe. Yesterday, I barely had time to get through Monday’s Washington Post before the workout was done. Tonight’s workout: a 30-minute run I’m looking forward to immensely. I’ll peel off a bit early from my group run, heading home to eat the roasted vegetable lasagna I prepared and froze last week, just for nights like this.

Here’s how to replicate my taper bliss:

Train so you need it. When I trained for a marathon in 2007, I was burned out, for sure, but I can’t say my muscles were fatigued enough to really beg for a taper. This time, my legs are begging, pleading, cajoling me to take a week off. Also, since my training is a lot more varied, with hard cross-training efforts and core work regular parts of my regime, it feels like even more of a treat to drop back to just a few 30-minute runs.

Focus on other stuff. I happen to have one of my busier work weeks of the year this week, with multiple deadlines floating around. But even workout-wise, I’m using the time I’d usually spend training to focus intensely on stretching and foam-rolling, which usually go sorely neglected.

Follow good advice. I’ve mentioned before that Olympian Keith Brantly, who I got to interview for a few Gainesville Sun stories a couple years ago, tells runners: “Repeat to yourself: ‘Rest is training. Rest is training.'” He’s a certified coach who has run marathons in the Olympics. That means he knows his stuff, as do the other reputable books and magazines I get advice from. Everything I’ve read about tapering suggests that it should last three weeks, that it’s a bad idea to squeeze in an extra workout during that time, that it’s not the time to diet. I’m listening and not questioning.

Just go with it. I usually freak about gaining weight thanks to some extra carbs and the decreased workload. I once almost burst into tears upon reading this quote from a prominent running coach: “If you worry that you’re gaining weight during your taper, wear a pair of pants with a forgiving waistline.” This time, I’m just going with it. And not that it matters, but it turns out I haven’t gained a single pound, despite doing things like adding 1/3 c oatmeal to my daily breakfast (I know: whoa, Nellie! 1/3 c!). Same goes for the weather forecast. I started out checking obsessively, but then I thought about the ZOOMA Annapolis 10K. Forecasts promised a cool morning with 0 percent chance of rain. We woke up to find it pouring. Pouring! We ran the race in garbage bags. The weather’s gonna do what it’s gonna do. All I can do it be ready to run.

Focus on mind games. I’ve been visualizing the miles in 5-mile chunks, focusing on a different section of the race every day. This helps ward off negative thoughts.

Treat yourself. I’ve got a massage scheduled tomorrow. I’m taking lots of baths with Epsom salt. How can that be a bad thing?

How do you make your taper tolerable? Let me know by posting a comment below.

While I was tapering for the Nashville Country Music Marathon in 2007, I went on tear, scrounging up every bit of inspirational information I could to fuel my marathon obsession. Among my impulse grabs from the library: an old edition of Runner’s World’s “Guide to Running,” a sort of beginner’s running bible.

Most of the information was, as you’d imagine, pretty basic. But there’s a gem of a chapter laying out what to do, wear, eat and think every day the two weeks leading up to a marathon. Overkill? Maybe. But I’m a planner (or, as others would put it, “obsessive compulsive”), and the neat structure of it all appeals to my sense of order in the world.

I’m revisiting that chapter this week, as I chill out and wait for the Marine Corps Marathon in nine days (gulp!). It’s been instrumental in my efforts to desperately to avoid unhelpful negative thoughts (“Will my hip be so messed up after, I won’t be able to walk? Or will it just be time off running?” or: “Will I slow down 30 second per mile in the second half, or more than that?” NOT helpful.).

Since the cheesy visualization exercises are helping me so much, I’m going to share them here, and let you know how I’m applying them. One helpful suggestion: Use every training run leading up to the marathon to visualize a chunk of miles of the actual marathon. Today’s exercise: Visualize yourself running the first five miles of the race. You’re feeling strong, letting other runners whiz past you — you’ll pass them later. You’re feeling good, even able to chat with runners around you.

For me, this means the first mile through Rosslyn, the second and third miles on Lee Highway/Spout Run, and the fourth and fifth miles in Georgetown. I’ll make myself hit the water stop at mile 4. I’ll congratulate myself on running an evenly paced race as I pass 9 minutes at the first mile marker, 18 minutes at the second, and so forth, completing the first five miles in something like 45 minutes.

By the way: You should know, as I post these confessions of my dream marathon, that dream-marathon Amy adjusts to changes on the fly, gracefully retooling her goal time and resulting splits according to what her body’s telling her is possible that day. I’m not, like, married to 9-minute miles or anything.

These visualization exercises will happen on a treadmill for me today. Steve and I aren’t skipping our group run tonight because it’s our four-year wedding anniversary (happy anniversary to us!). We’d planned to go, but I don’t want to invite my head cold to come back because I’m dumb enough to run in the cold rain with an already-compromised immune system. Instead, I’ll squeeze in three 1-miler repeats sometime today, and will enjoy a nice, relaxing dinner at home with him tonight, which I think is just what the doctor ordered.

With 10 days to go until the Marine Corps Marathon, I’m using this week to put together all the final pieces.

My trusty roasted vegetable lasagna will provide many pre-MCM meals.

I’m adding last-minute songs to my marathon playlist. Know what I’ve been digging lately? Kanye West’s “Golddigger” and Outkast’s “B.O.B.” and “Rosa Parks.” If you ever liked these songs, it’s time to try them on a playlist again. Trust me.

I’m slowly starting to eat more carbs than usual, and slowly cutting down a bit on fruits, veggies and other fiber-filled delights. This is a bummer, but it’s necessary to pander to my wimpy, finicky stomach. By the time race-day gets here, I’ll be subsisting largely on various pasta and pizza dishes, like roasted vegetable lasagna and homemade pizza, and my special pre-marathon banana bread. Wait. Typing that has made me aware that this isn’t a bummer. It’s AWESOME.

I’m getting psyched about my Bib No. 5345, which I’ve decided is lucky. Doesn’t it just SOUND like a good number? I think so.

I’m also getting psyched about the expo, which I’m planning to attend on Friday to take advantage of the fact that I work at home, and get to make my own schedule. My excitement stems from the fact that I may schedule this around Bart Yasso’s appearance at noon Friday.

I’m reading things that inspire me, like this post from Amy Morris about her pre-MCM 20-miler, or this race report from the Chic Runner, who ran her goal time — and possibly the happiest marathon ever – in California. Thanks to both of them, I’ve added some new mantras to my repertoire: “This is my city and I OWN THIS!” (Applies to DC for me, of course). “Settle in. You’re here for a while.” And “Go get your medal.” Wow. Yes, please! Also, a runner-friend in Gainesville, Fla., has sent me a copy of “Once A Runner” by John L. Parker Jr., which Runner’s World has called “the best novel ever written about running.” I’ve read the sequel, “Again to Carthage,” while living in Gainesville, and I loved the imagery of my favorite routes — plus the intimate knowledge of what it means to be a runner in Florida (I laughed out loud for pages when he can’t take a shower post-run because he’s not done sweating). I got to talk to him for a Gainesville Sun story, and he was just the most humble, wry dude you could imagine, which makes me all the more excited about this book.

I’m curious: What’s your sports nutrition routine pre-marathon — not just the two days before, but the week before? When do you start thinking about consuming some extra carbs, and staying away from Problem Foods? Any other tricks or tips to share? Let me know by posting a comment!

So I guess Motivation Monday is going to be a regular, weekly thing. And since I’ve had a week of good thinking time, I can’t really blame the cheesy, alliterative title on Office Space-esque case of the Mondays. That’s OK — if we’re ever gonna survive marathon training, we’ll get a little cheesy.

So! Here’s what’s motivating me this week:

• My taper for the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 25. No joke! I’m actually motivated by my taper! I know I’ve only just begun it, but rather than feeling jumpy and antsy, like I usually do when mileage winds down, I feel rewarded. It officially started last week, but with workouts including a 16-mile long run and 5X 800s on the track with a 2.5 mile warm-up and cool-down, it was still a pretty tough week. This week, though, I really start getting into rest mode. I’m planning to get a massage (note to self: schedule massage!), and I’ve been upping my carb intake here and there, which has been pretty delightful. Yesterday was my total off-day, and today, I’m just going to put in 30 minutes or so on the stationary bike. Saturday’s long run was 13 miles, and this weekend, I only have to get in 10. Ten!
• Having a post-marathon goal. I think it’s helpful to know what comes next after a big race, to handle the inevitable post-runner’s-high letdown of the Big Day being done. I already knew I’d want to run the National Half Marathon again in March, and I’m excited about the Bay Bridge Swim in June. But now, I have something brand-new lined up: The Blue Ridge Half-Marathon April 24. It’s along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Roanoke, Va., and with wide views of the cool green-blue mountains, it looks to be the prettiest race I will have ever run. It also boasts a total elevation gain of nearly 1,400 feet and an elevation gain/loss of 2,779 feet. (Gulp).I see this as sort of a test-run for the Big Sur Marathon. I *say* I’m totally cool with how hard it is, but this will tell me whether I’m still cool with it during a 1,400-foot climb.
• Running parts of the Baltimore Marathon with the guys from Back on My Feet Baltimore. The story I’m writing about these guys for Urbanite magazine climaxed on Saturday, with the two homeless runners I’ve been hanging out with for months running (and finishing!) their half and full marathons, respectively. I’m saving details for a separate post, but their experiences exhilarated me and inspired me. Seeing thousands of other runners accomplish the goal I’m looking to achieve two weeks from now had a similar effect. While waiting to meet up with one of my guys for the last few miles of his marathon, I cheered for the other runners passing on the course. It was just before the 25 mile mark, and spectators had thinned. I yelled obvious stuff at first, telling runners they looked awesome, strong, etc. Then, I started getting kinda personal, telling them to dig deep, and to make their training count. Those simple cheers led to at least 10 runners picking up their speed, or running again when they’d been walking. Nice reminder for me: When things get tough, just remember to dig deep.

What’s motivating you this week? Let me know by posting a comment — all the interesting and thoughtful posts last week really pumped me up!

P.S. – This isn’t a motivator, per se, but I’m excited that my first-ever Running Times story, which ran in the magazine’s September issue, is now live on its Web site! It’s about how protein can help runners recover from hard workouts, and I got to talk to Kara Goucher and a bunch of fancy sports dietitians for it. One of those sports dietitians told me my own personal protein shake recipe sounded like “just about the perfect post-run recovery food.” Even more reason to enjoy its milkshakey deliciousness post-run!

I said goodbye to a good friend this morning: my beloved pool at the National Naval Medical Center-Bethesda, which closes for good tomorrow as the base becomes part of Walter Reed.

Since learning a couple weeks ago that the pool would be closing (full post here), something funny has happened: I sorta got my swimming mojo back. I’d been avoiding the pool, dreading the time and effort it would take to get in a good workout, considering I’ve been spending so much time training for the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 25. But knowing my time at the pool was limited forced me to reconsider, and I’ve had a lovely two weeks of using swimming to recover from running, rather than to beat the crap out of myself, which is my usual M.O.

Swimming is one of my most favorite things to do with my husband, and as luck would have it, he had today off work, so he was able to join me for one last swim date at our old haunt. My legs were sore and creaky from yesterday’s speed workout, short one though it was, but they loosened right up once I swam a few laps. The fact that I had such a wonderful swim stemmed directly from the fact that, rather than thinking constantly about how many yards I had left, or which set came next, I just appreciated the fact that I COULD swim at all. Totally liberating.

On the way home, we stopped at my favorite farm stand, Norman’s Farm Market, and seeing the bursts of orange and yellow squashes and the baskets of pears and apples reminded me that change is a good thing, and that it’s hard to know what kind of opportunities lie in what at first seem like obstacles.

Next up: Being a spectator at the Baltimore Marathon tomorrow, where the Back on My Feet group I’m writing about for Urbanite magazine is competing. Keep these guys in your thoughts tomorrow morning!