On Tapering

I'd be hard-pressed to identify any aspect of my life with which I have a more love-hate relationship than tapering.  (Chocolate?  The Mets?  My progeny?)  As I start approaching the end of a big training block, the cumulative effect of volume starts to take its toll, and there are days when I long for a reduction in mileage.  Last week, finishing up an eight-week, 850+ mile buildup for Cayuga Trails, I had at least two days where I barely had the motivation to put my shorts on.  On those days, the idea of a taper feels like a godsend.

Invariably, though, a few days into the taper, doubts start to creep in.  Sleeping seems to get harder.  Little aches and pains that otherwise would have been dismissed as the byproduct of hard, sustained training take on an outsized importance.  Every physical sensation is dissected and analyzed, usually with depressing conclusions.  Rather than feeling energized, I often start feeling more sluggish.  Even good days, where energy levels are high, leave me feeling twitchy and on edge.

This is certainly not new, and I'm certainly not unique in this way.  Almost everyone who's been through a taper for a big race has similar complaints and conflicted feelings about it.  Much of the problem is that there is no single formula for tapering.  Everyone reacts differently to a reduction in training, and every individual taper is a little different, based on the length and intensity of the preceding training block.  Some people like a three-week taper, some one or two.  Some even eschew it altogether.  Personally I prefer a 10-14 day taper; anything longer than that for me and self-doubt really starts to creep in.  Some other general rules I try to follow:

Drop the volume by about 30% each week.  In a two-week taper that means cutting mileage to about 2/3 of what I had been running previously, then about 1/3 in the week leading up to the race.  This has to be adjusted sometimes, particularly if the volume has been high.  The last three weeks of my training block this time around were 115, 130, and 115 miles; a reduction of 1/3 would take me from about 120 miles to 80 miles.  Eighty miles is still a fair amount, though, and I'll probably wind up with more like 65 or 70 this week, before dropping down to about 35 the week before the race.

Cut back on volume, not intensity.  In my younger days I would reduce not only the workload but the "quality" of my runs as well, sometimes eliminating hard workouts in the ten days leading up to the race.  I can unequivocally say this made me feel much, much worse.  Now I'll continue to do workouts during the taper of similar intensity to those previously, usually just with less mileage or fewer repeats on the track.  I like the concept of "race-specific" workouts as I get closer to an event, but this is difficult for an ultra, where goal pace is aerobic and not terribly taxing in short intervals.  Instead I'll run a low-volume, moderate intensity marathon-pace workout in the week leading up to the race.  Last night Laura and I ran 4 x 800m with 200m easy jog recovery:


(and if you think this whole post wasn't just an excuse to show that video, you're crazy.)

Hydrate.  I don't eliminate caffeine--I'm not sure how functional I'd be, particularly on overnight shifts at work--but I'm more cognizant of drinking water in the several days beforehand.

Don't do anything stupid.  This mostly applies to overdoing it from a running perspective.  Now isn't the time to chase KOMs on Strava because I want to take advantage of my fitness, even if they are short ones.  It also refers to the myriad other ways I can damage my race without thinking about it.  I remember injuring a toe playing barefoot volleyball in a neighbor's yard a week before the Vermont 50 in 2010.

Don't overreact when you feel bad.  This is the hardest one to follow, since invariably several times during the taper I'm going to have runs where I feel sluggish and out of sorts.  It's very easy to let the self-doubt creep in.  You have to keep reminding yourself of the training that preceded the taper, and that you're not all of a sudden out of shape.  It sounds easy but it isn't.

Right now, for example, I'm actually freaking out over how I felt this morning on my last "long" run (a relaxed 14-miler with Phil).  My legs are fine, but over the second half of the run I got very achy, in all my muscles, particularly my back and arms.  I'm trying not to overreact, but this is how I've felt in the past during my two episodes of Lyme disease, and the achiness has persisted throughout the day.  Hopefully it's just the taper blues.  I know my fitness level is very good; my confidence in my training is high.  But you can bet your ass I'm on doxycycline right now.  Fingers crossed.

I should have "get extra sleep" on this list, but I can't in good conscience include it.  Not because I think it isn't important--it's likely more important than anything else I have on here--but because though I'd like to make this a focus of my taper, the unpredictability of my work schedule means this is usually out of my control.  Working a mixture of 12-hour day shifts and night shifts with a 35-minute commute, with the kids' activities crammed in, means that 8-9 hours of sleep in between shifts is often an impossibility.  Instead I'll try to increase my nap frequency when leading into a race, which isn't ideal but at least makes me feel like I'm being mindful of my recovery.

Race Report: Spring Dual Against CF Kids' Race

The girls had their second go at the Spring Dual Against CF a couple of weeks ago.  They learned their lesson after going out a bit too hard last year, and both of them tried to pace themselves.  Dylan was easily the youngest one there, which made it difficult for her to keep up, but she did take home the win as the only finisher in the 7-10 age group (though Lexi is 10, USAT rules dictate she race as an 11-year-old, as she turns 11 in November).

****************************************************

This was my second time doing the duathlon, and at the beginning, I was really exited, but also a little nervous. - I was really nervous, but also a little excited. - At the beginning, I was falling behind everyone, but I kept a steady pace. - Me too, but I was having a little trouble keeping a steady pace, because I wanted to be a little more ahead. - I felt pretty good during the biking, and I passed a few people. - Same. - During the last run, I started feeling exhausted, but I didn't sprint until the end. - Me too, but I was feeling a little more exhausted, and I couldn't sprint at the end. - After the race, I was feeling pretty good! - After the race I was very, very, very tired. Dad said that I was hyperventilating.

--Lexi and Dylan

Gunksrunner Ultra Rankings: First 2016 Update

Women's #1 YiOu Wang
photo: Trail Runner Magazine

With the first third of the year gone, and summer racing season just around the corner, it's time to check in with the Gunkrunner Ultra Rankings.

Regular readers (what are you people doing with your lives?) will remember that the GUR began last year as my attempt to provide an objective ranking of the top ultrarunners in the US.  Using the World Golf Rankings as a model, I devised a formula that accounts for field size, field strength, race prestige/importance, and head-to-head competition.  How successful it was is open to debate, but I was pleased with the results the first time around, and so I continued it with some minor tweaks for 2016.

It's a little early in the year for the results to be very meaningful as yet.  Many of the top runners have barely opened their campaigns; neither of last year's UROY (David Laney and Magdalena Boulet) has raced an ultra yet this year, and most of the biggest races on the calendar are still to come.  But with the Golden Ticket races completed, as well as the first major showdown of the year at Lake Sonoma, some early trends are taking shape.

Men's #1 Jim Walmsley
photo: Ultrarunner Podcast

To nobody's surprise, Jim Walmsley is dominating the men's ranking to this point, with more than double the points of second-ranked Ian Sharman.  Jim has won four races already this year, including major wins at Sonoma, Bandera, and Moab.  The Sonoma women's winner, YiOu Wang, also comfortably leads the women's rankings.  The men's point totals in the top 25 are easily outpacing those of their female counterparts, reflecting that many of the top-ranked men have raced more often, and more frequently against each other, than the leading women.  (This effect disappears among those ranked 26-50, where the point totals are nearly identical for men and women.)

You'll notice that the point totals are much higher this year than in 2015.   The reason is twofold.  First (and most importantly) the point values for level 4 and 5 races have been increased significantly from 2015, lending these races more weight.  Secondly, I'm using last year's top 50 to calculate field strength (as opposed to only the top 10 last year), so the field strength multipliers are more frequent and more robust.

You may also notice there are no more international runners in the rankings.  I've decided to limit this only to North American runners.  I've been trying to be more inclusive of overseas races this year, as many of the top US runners are travelling abroad to compete, and the UTWT takes on more importance domestically.  However that exposes me to many, many more international runners, and keeping track of them was becoming untenable.  Plus, it wasn't like I was doing a good job of capturing their results last year, and the rankings that Killian, Francois, Gediminus, etc. were receiving was not at all reflective of any sort of reality.  So, North Americans only right now, though I'm still using Gediminius' ranking (and Emma Roca on the women's side) from last year to calculate field strength when he shows up.

A side benefit of this fact is that the GUR are now a little more in sync with the Ultrarunning UROY criteria.  I'm thrilled that this year I've been able to partner with Ultrarunning; the GUR now has a permanent home on their website, so you can view updated rankings in real time whenever you feel like I'm being too slow publishing them.

Top 50 (as of 5/5/16) below; check out the full list here.

	Men	State	Points	Women	State	Points
1	Jim Walmsley	AZ	159	YiOu Wang	CA	94
2	Ian Sharman	CA	72.5	Bethany Patterson	VA	56.8
3	Mario Mendoza	OR	59.9	Kaci Lickteig	NE	47.9
4	Paul Terranova	TX	58	Cassie Scallon	CO	45.1
5	Christopher Dennucci	CA	55.675	Anna Mae Flynn	CA	44.3
6	Tim Freriks	AZ	55	Ellie Greenwood	Can	40
7	Dylan Bowman	CA	47.6	Keely Henninger	OR	38
8	David Roche	CA	47.5	Jodee Adams-Moore	WA	37.5
9	Jesse Haynes	CA	46.7	Caroline Boller	CA	35
10	Andrew Miller	OR	45	Sabrina Little	TX	35
11	Matt Flaherty	IN	42.6	Amy Rusiecki	MA	31.1
12	Chris Mocko	CA	41.625	Emily Peterson	CA	31
13	Brian Rusiecki	MA	41.55	Devon Yanko	CA	30
14	Michael Daigeaun	PA	40	Megan Roche	CA	30
15	Masazuma Fujioka	WA	39	Denise Bourassa	OR	28.8
16	Ed Ettinghausen	CA	38.4	Sarah Schubert	VA	28.6
17	Ryan Bak	OR	37.5	Julie Koepke	TX	28.175
18	Zach Miller	CO	35	Nicole Kalogeropoulos	TX	28
19	Daniel Metzger	CA	34.5	Rachel Ragona	CA	27
20	Jorge Pacheco	CA	32.8	Bev Anderson-Abbs	CA	26
21	Stephen Wassather	CA	31.5	Amy Sproston	OR	25.5
22	Jared Burdick	NY	28.5	Camille Herron	OK	24.7
23	Charlie Ware	AZ	28.5	Janessa Taylor	OR	24.5
24	Jorge Maravilla	CA	28.5	Kathleen Cusick	FL	24.5
25	Caleb Denton	TN	27	Amy Clark	TX	24.25
26	Karl Meltzer	UT	24.3	Anne-Marie Maddon	Can	24
27	Jeremy Wolf	WA	23.675	Kelly Wolf	AZ	23.2
28	Nicholas DiPirro	VA	22.5	Laura Kline	NY	23
29	Sage Canaday	CO	22.5	Amanda Basham	OR	22.5
30	Jeff Browning	OR	21.5	Brittany Goicoechea	ID	22.5
31	Dominick Layfield	UT	21.4	Natalie Larson	CA	21.5
32	Chikara Omine	CA	21	Corinne Malcolm	WA	21.25
33	Brett Hornig	OR	20.65	Maggie Guterl	PA	21
34	Troy Shellhamer	KY	20	Traci Falbo	IN	21
35	Zach Bitter	CA	19.7	Alicia Hudelson	GA	20.475
36	Chris Roberts	DC	19.2	Katrin Silva	NM	20
37	Yassine Diboun	OR	19.2	Jennifer Pfeifer	CA	19.2
38	Darren Thomas	VA	19	Heather Hoecsht	PA	19
39	Mark Hammond	UT	19	Kaytlyn Gerbin	WA	18.875
40	Ryan Neely	CA	19	Kait Sheridan	NY	18.5
41	Benjamin Koss	CA	18.9	Kathryn Drew	Can	18.2
42	Ryan Ghelfi	OR	18.5	Jameelah Mujaahid	GA	18
43	Jason Friedman	NY	18.05	Rebecca Watters	GA	17.3
44	C Fred Joslyn	NY	18	Deysi Osegueda	CA	17.1
45	Brian Miller	CA	17.75	Alissa St. Laurent	Can	16.5
46	Coree Woltering	CO	17.5	Megan Stegemiller	VA	16.5
47	Michael Owen	OH	17.25	Christina Clark	Can	16.3
48	Kevin Moore	CA	17.2	Alician Rich	IN	16
49	Aaron Saft	NC	17	Cait Morgan	CT	16
50	Jeremy Humphrey	ID	17	Sarah Bard	WA	16
	Will Swenson	MA	17
	Ryan Atkins	Can	17