Taper Taper Taper

Tuesday was one of the worst runs I've ever had. It was a 5K at race pace (9:00/mile), which should have kept my heart rate in Z3 (158-165 bpm) for most of the time. However, the weather was hot and muggy. My body felt "off" from the start, and my heart rate was in the 170s before I was done with the first mile. I slowed my pace down a bit for the second mile but my heart rate continued to rise, and by the final mile it was in the high 180s. Once I finished running it took 9 minutes to get back down into the 120s. This was supposed to be a "confidence booster" run for the race on Sunday, and it sure had the opposite effect.

Right now the weather for race day is predicted to be the complete opposite: low of 44, with a 40% chance of rain. As a prolific sweater I do great in colder weather, but this has a chance of being downright hypothermic. I might get a chance to wear my Shamrock Marathon long-sleeved dry-fit shirt for the first time.

I took Wednesday off and did an easy 10 mile bike ride on Thursday. I wanted to keep my heart rate in the 130s, but that didn't happen. I really struggle to go super slow on my new bike; my legs always want to hammer it on the bike, especially if I know I'm doing a shorter ride. I guess that's a good thing? My body refuses to go at a speed lower than "Awesome".

This morning I bit the bullet and signed up for three 2013 races:

• Shamrock Half Marathon: March 17
• Monticelloman 70.3 Triathlon: May 5
• Williamsburg 70.3 Triathlon: June 23

$500 blown in a 10 minute period, but I was scared that some of them would sell out, especially the Monticelloman which has a limit of 500 athletes. I also decided to not do the Shamrock Full Marathon, since it would interfere with about 3 weeks of training for the Monticelloman, which is my top race priority currently. So I'll just treat the Shamrock like a normal long-run training day.