Still Tapering.

Because, in case you didn't know, this madness lasts THREE WEEKS.  The first week of taper is in the books with 45 miles total.  I had some good running this weekend.  Yesterday was trail run day, and probably my last trail run before Eugene.  It was me, Wes, dad, Scott, Emily, and Russ.  We did the Three Lakes Loop.  I'm glad we did it, as it also serves as the course for the half marathon Run with the Foxes, which I intend to run the end of May.  It's also just one of my favorite trails.  The pretty parts are beautiful, and the tough parts are really challenging.  It's a good mix of enjoyment and suffering.

I was supposed to run 9 miles, and the last time I ran this loop it came out to around 9.3.  However, before we started, Wes, Scott, and Russ informed us that the trail is actually more like 10.4 miles.  Dad and I delayed the start waiting for our Garmins to lock in.  Russ said "Oh, you don't need those GPSs, I know exactly how long this trail is."  He clearly doesn't know who he's dealing with.  Dad and I, even knowing that our GPSs will be wrong on this course due to all the switchbacks, would never dream of running without them.

It was a good run.  I wore my TENS, and got a few jolts of extra power during the creek crossings, but other than that I felt pretty good.  The pain broke through on the right one time, but quickly settled.  And I'm still only counting it as 9 miles.

Today was "long run" day.  I use quotation marks because there really are no long runs left before Eugene.  Just 15 miles today.  Interesting how that seems SO short.  It was me, Tim, and dad today.  Dad is gearing up for the Indy Mini and I really think running a 15 on this course three weeks out is a really good move.  He's going to benefit from the hills.  We didn't have nearly as many hills as we do on a 20, but we still managed to work in the twin towers.  And Slaughterhouse, of course.  My effort was very low the whole run, but my legs didn't feel that great. Kind of dead.  Truthfully, I had more spunk on the 22 than on this run.  Tim says this is normal for the first "long" run during taper.

I wore my TENS again, and it covered up about 80% of the pain.  I'm making myself wear it every run just so that I get used to it.  Another thing--I only took one gel with me. I thought, "Oh, 15?  That's nothing."  Well, by four miles my stomach was growling.  I took the gel and that helped for about three miles, when I became really hungry again.  I ended up taking an extra gel of Tim's and that saved me.  I also didn't get to eat breakfast because I got up too late.  Bad move.

This next week I am only running 30 miles.  Now that is tapering. 

I see Dr. Stowell tomorrow.  He is the doctor who delivered Rowan.  I'm going to tell him about my pain and see what he has to say, specifically related to the possibility of endometriosis.