Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Going Bananas

Ah TAPER...I do not like you.
Last week I was fine,  I had no crazy thoughts, no second guessing. I was fine.
Now not so much.
Now I am nervous.
I should be sleeping more, I am not.  I lay down and I think I will not get up on time Sunday morning.  That freaks me out.  How will I get ready in the dark at that crazy hour without waking the boys?  First shuttle is at 4 am. Tomorrow I will find out what time I get.  I don't want 4 am (too early) or 5:30 am (too late).  If I get that I will take hotel shuttle and pay the extra $ (mothers day gift from me to me).  This is the earliest start I have ever had so far: 6 am.  That is early.   I have to get ready, eat, take care of business (you know..), take the shuttle.  This means getting up really early...like before 3 am.  We are staying in a hotel WITH  the kids.  Oh Yeah.  I usually drink a little coffee before running including races.  Now not sure it will be possible to get some at that hour, I am hoping the hotel will have some in the lobby maybe. 

Yesterday I ran 3 miles on the treadmill.  My legs were still stiff from my 12 miles run so I wore my new compression socks all day and that helped.   
Today was rest day and I had to go to the dentist to get my permanent crown. NOT FUN.  Aouch.  They did not numb me for that, where is the love for little old me?  I am a wuss, it hurts, let's hope tomorrow is better.
Tomorrow is supposed to be my last run before my race:  3 miles on the treadmill again.
Then 2 days of rest.  

I am thinking about what to eat.  I read about it.  There's the load on carbs option or the let's not load on carbs and be heavy on race day option.  I am thinking the second one is the best for me.  I am not used to having a high calorie diet.  Being bloated on race day would not be good plus I am not running a marathon, just a half.  I am drinking more because dehydration is a problem for me during races and if it is warm then it is a HUGE problem.

So taper brings one thing : too much thinking.

Moving on to another topic.
I have a type A personality.  Yep poor Bill I know, nothing I can do about it.
I plan stuff ahead of time.  I mark everything on our calendar.  I make lists. 
I even used to earn a good living planning production for multiple plans for a large food company.  (Having an engineering degree can lead to jobs that are completely unrelated to what we learned during those 4 yrs of school).  So I am a pretty organized person. 
Well apparently not always.
I signed up for the Long Beach Half Marathon a few weeks ago. (EMZ get to it! ).  That is October 9, 2011.  I don't know why I did not look at our calendar -where everything is written down- BEFORE I registered but I didn't.  I also forgot to write Long Beach HM on the calendar until this morning.  Well guess what we are doing on October 8, 2011?  I cannot even believe I forgot about that by the way, but we are taking the kids to go see this guy at Staples Center in LA:

Picture taken by me, from front row.

What is better then a concert in LA the night  before a Half Marathon in Long Beach?  That will be interesting.  I will have to go to the Expo in Long Beach during the day on Saturday, drive to LA to see our BFFF (best famous family friend. If you are new and don't know our Keith connection you can read here ) Keith and go back to Long Beach.  Should be fun.
What ladies? More pictures of Keith? Here you go.









13 comments:

Kerrie said...

Breathe 1-2-3. Breathe 1-2-3. Works for me. Sometimes.

Kate Geisen said...

What a cool story! Isn't it funny what kids love? Your boys have maybe taken it to an extreme, but still... :)

I'm a big believer in not missing out on things I want to do in order to do something else I want to do (which is how I ended up doing a 9.5 hour race the day after my first 21 mile run). You'll have magical memories of your boys at the concert to think on as your little sleep-deprived self runs the next day.

I'm trying hard not to overdo this whole carbo-loading thing. I mean, it would be really sad to run 26 miles and be heavier than I started this week.

Nelly said...

lol at the title of this blog. I think this is pretty much everyone's experience as they taper - not a fun time, haha Your race will go great!

Michael said...

No worries my friend! Stop stressing. YOu will get there on time you will be fine! I am sick as a dog only a few days before and I'm worried to death I'm just going to be wiped out...but we'll both get there and get it done!

A concert the night before a race - yikes - I don't think I could do it.

Julie said...

Oh yea he is sexy... uh huh...I love him. :)

Love the story about you boys too that is so great and how fun they got to meet him!

You know what I bet it will all work out and you will be so pumped from the concert you will have a great race!

Emz said...

So as part of the LB marathon I get to go see KU too, right?! ;)

I say eat as you usually would before long run day. No need to go all crazy carb.

You
Are
Going
To
Rock
This!!

Chris K said...

KU is so hunky.

EMZ is right. You don't need to carbo load, per se. Just start leaning toward complex carbs from now until the race.

My the morning of the race, maybe put the coffee maker in bathroom so not to wake the kids. It'll be fine. Just wake up earlier enough to all things you need to do.

Anne said...

Wow! Chris stole my trick :) I was going to mention that I'd put the coffee maker in the bathroom so as not to wake anyone. Also, as I'm sure you've already planned, pretty anything you can before bedtime and don't worry, sleep is over-rated ;) You'll do great my friend!!! Go Caroline Go!

KovasP said...

My suggestion is to have Chris bring you coffee - just phone him when you get up and by the time you'r ready, he'll be there. Ask Bill what he wants as well. It really would be Chris' pleasure.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

BREATHE!!! Taper madness sucks!!! Trust your training and enjoy the reward for all your hard work

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

GOOD LUCK THIS weekend Caroline! Will be thinking of you!

I'm with the other experienced runners (I'm not one) but treat it as a long run. eat what you know and do what you know! :)

Pam @ herbieontherun.com said...

The dentist tried not to numb me a few months ago when I went in to have a temporary crown removed and the permanent one put on. I had to stop him midway and insist that he numb me. The temporary one was really glued on there good because it felt like he was pulling my jaw out trying to pop it off!

You're gonna rock this weekend! I can't wait to hear about it!

Unknown said...

I hope it went well!!!! :)

Ahhh - Keith Urban... he's awesome. My grandma, God love her, had the biggest crush on him! :)