Is this really a taper?
Today is just another taper day and so was yesterday. Oh wait I forgot that coach Kevin’s idea of a taper is still a three hour brick workout. So yep that’s what was on my agenda for last night. After a somewhat boring day at the office (I’m still in training mode at the new job) I headed home and began my workout. Okay I thought. A one hour bike and a two hour run all in zone 1 and 2, how bad could it be. I took off on the bike feeling good and the hour was over before I knew it. I took a nice long transition and took my time heading out the door. My hip flexors were awfully tight I thought as I started my run. They didn’t get much better but I made sure to stretch really well afterwards and I’ve been stretching all day today at work. Anyways, I got to my one hour turn around and headed home. I picked a rather easy course for the run. Only a couple roller’s and no significant climbs which is hard to believe around here.
On my way back I ran past my old high school cross country coaches house and to much surprise he was sitting outside on his patio. I had to stop. I figured, easy workout, coach Kev wont be too upset if I take a 10 minute break. I hadn’t seen him in about 10 months and trust me when I say nothing has changed, nothing has changed. Let me tell you, this guy was one of my favorite coaches of all time. He really knew how to make you work. He’s also a little nuts to tell you the truth. Okay, nuts is an understatement. This guy is crazy. Always screaming, arms always flailing out of control when he talks, you know one of those guys where you're lucky to get even a single word in when you talk to him. We chatted mainly about how he’s no longer coaching cross country. I guess the parents said he was too rough on the kids. But that was the thing that was so unique about him. He was “old school” and made you work for success. He understood what it took to make winners out of runners. My three years of high school cross country, we never went without a losing season. Thanks to him I fell in love with the sport of running. He went on to say that the last 15 years he coached, he had all winning seasons….and guess what happened this year? The first year without him….yep a losing season! Coincidence? I think not.
I proceeded on with my run. By the time I made it home I was ready to call it quits. My legs were a little tired, tight and sore. Jen wanted to head into town to Romano’s (this local Italian pizza shop) for dinner, so that's what we did. Our friends Drew and Sandy met us there for dinner, and by the time we got home I was beat. I texted Kevin later that night asking if I could skip the swim this morning, and he quickly replied “Yes skip. I want you fresh for the weekend”.
So it’s Thursday afternoon, and quitting time is in about 90 minutes. As long as it’s not still raining out I plan on heading to the bike oval for another interval ride and then it’s home to pack for our Lake Placid Training Camp. Okay, its not really a training camp, but all my tri friends are away at training camp this week so I’m calling it a training camp whether you like it or not! The Xterra leaves at
posted by Chad Holderbaum @ 2:32 PM
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