The taper is on for WUU2K next weekend! It feels like AGES since I’ve run a race when in reality it’s ONLY been 7 weeks (who else feels like this, it feels like an eternity when it’s only been weeks?!) 😀
My new training program is going well though and I’m feeling well rested, well fed, and ready to tackle the hills of Welly and meet some cool running peeps out there.
But let’s be honest, tapering is always hard, I miss the running (that’s a good sign right?), and a quick search for Running Taper Memes gives a pretty accurate outlook of what most of us are feeling in these final weeks and day before a race.
But with that said, I’ll admit, it is nice to have a weekend day off as they don’t happen too often! So for the taper weekend, we had a fun short run in the hills, @Ben Jam then worked his magic with some sports massage and dry needling, which was then followed up by some good old Netflix, and some enforced downtime.
Fair to say neither of us is great at relaxing, and there were moments watching a movie where we both went to reach for our phones or computers. We laughed at each other and made each other sit through the movie with some scheduled rest time #CantStopaTypeA ;P
I had a moment this weekend as well where I looked at our house through another’s eyes and had to laugh …our home is 100% that of the obsessed runner…though Bens’ shoe collection way trumps mine….hmmm, I think I prefer the gender stereotype of girls having more shoes than boys. 😉
I know we aren’t alone in this so I’d love to see your shoe collections and tell-tale signs from your house of the obsession that lurks within. …I’ve already had someone reach out with the descriptive list of his EIGHT pairs of shoes – looks like we have some competition haha!
And surgery! yeah, that happened too this week. It had been booked in a while ago and crept up on me, but on Monday I went in for a bilateral radiofrequency ablation…it sounds like something from a Spiderman sci-fi movie, but basically, it’s a surgery to treat varicose veins in my legs.
So with surgery Monday, I was anxious to hear that I could be back out running on Tuesday (with the Doctors blessing!). But before I had this news, the pre-surgery conversation went a little something like this:
Doctor: Some people describe the discomfort after the surgery as similar to the discomfort in the muscles after working out.
Me: DOMS? haha, well that’s the story of my life so I’m all good with that.
Me: When can I run again Doctor: As soon as it feels comfortable. You can’t do any damage by running, it just may hurt and feel uncomfortable.
Me: Cool, I’m good with pain, as long as I know I can’t do any damage I can pretty much run through anything!
Doctor: Shakes head and says I’m crazy
Me: [internal high-5]
In reality though and all seriousness the surgery has gone really well. I have been left with a bit of bruising which is a little uncomfortable running – but nothing that would stop me moving. Time will tell how the veins will heal up and it’ll take about 6 months for them to disappear. But for anyone thinking of having the surgery or addressing their varicose veins, I would say go for it!
As an interesting aside, I’ve had to wear compression stockings for the last week to aid recovery of my veins and my calves have never felt so good!! I’ve never really tried compression gear before. I know a lot of people swear by it, I’m definitely keen now to get some calf compression sleeves, and maybe some quad one …hell, can I get a whole body compression suit??! 😀
Next week we will be hitting the road and I’ll be hitting a big training week – sandwiching 62kms at the Wellington WUU2K trail ultramarathon between two long runs for some good miler training ..can’t wait!
After that, I’m taking my very first trip to Taranaki to make some new friends and hopefully get up close and personal with that bad-ass mountain!!! Looking forward to seeing some of you out there in Welly and when we get up to Taranaki. Happy running 🙂
