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I am entering the last few days before I start tapering for my next race, which couldn't come soon enough. I am so anxious to start racing again, to see my payoffs from the off season. I am also looking forward to my taper week because I am currently going through the "FULL BODY" fatigue phase of training. After my race in Puerto Rico I had about four days of easier workouts before I started getting back into the harder and longer days. Since, that point the workouts have just been building with volume and mixed with building intensity, which has finally caught up to me this week.
I really noticed it in my running performances, my mind would say :go faster" and my body would say "no I think were good right here at this pace." I would try to swing my arms more to get my legs to move faster, I tried to lean more over my feet to try and get my legs to move faster but nothing seemed to work. I would even notice it after workouts just milling around the house, especially going up the steps. My legs would feel fatigued and would even get out of breath a little bit, and I would say man I feel out of shape (partly joking). It wasn't just my legs though it was the "FULL BODY FATIGUE." My whole body felt spent. My whole demeanor changed and was starting to get frustrated. When I get frustrated I tend not to relax and try and push through workouts which for me doesn't work. I need to relax a let my body do the work. Then I consulted my coach and we altered my training for the the past two days to try and revive my body a little bit before the taper officially starts. The past two nights I have been trying to log more hours in bed to allow my body to naturally heal itself and it seems to paying off. Today I feel like I have more energy in my whole body and more juice in the legs. I have a long swim today so I will see how that feels. So the plan is to push hard through the weekend and then start to shut it down in preparation for the White Lake Half in NC next weekend. REST, REST,REST is critical during these hard long weeks, so don't forget to REST!!!
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A couple weeks ago my coach suggested a little change of pace and had me sign up for a few 5K runs to help get some more speed work into my routine. I said sure and was kind of excited about getting back to the roots of endurance sports. So he had me bike an hour and a half before hand, then run the course hard before the race and then race followed by a two mile cool down. It was a good race and was for a good cause "Tots for Trykes." Raising money for kids with handicaps that can not ride bikes. They have to special trykes made custom for them so they can ride outside and enjoy the outdoors. So this was to raise money to provide children with these special bikes.
After the race they had a "Kids Fun Run" and my two daughters love to run. They completed there first 1 mile fun run a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it. My son I felt was to small to do the 1 mile loop so we kept him in the cheering section. So after this race my kids were so excited to see that there was a fun run, and my son had a glimmer in his eye, that said, "just gimmie a chance dad." I bent down and asked him, "do want to try." He looked at me with a big smile and shook his head. I signed all three of them up and headed down to the start line to set them all up. I explained to Boo Boo that he was going to run until they told him to turn around and then he will head all the way back. He was licking his chops, he was ready to tear up the course and I thought look out here comes my 3 year old terror. The whistle blew and they were off. Boo Boo's sisters were off now, pros at this stuff since they have one under there belts, and left him in there dust. I was watching and saw his little legs motoring as fast they could move and he started to lag pretty far behind at about the 200 meter mark so I ran up to him to help him out. I get up to him and the glimmer was gone in his eye and was replaced with hot rosy cheeks and tears. I said whats wrong, he looks at me and said "They all left me." I said, "Its OK lets do this together." So we held hands and tackled the rest of the one mile course together. We did the run walk combo and cheered on all the other runners that passed us, and really cheered when his sisters came cruising by. We made it the turn around and headed back toward the finish and Boo Boo's spirits were turning up. When we rounded the final bend we could see the finish line and the crowd noise picked up which really motivated him so I slipped my hand from his and let him finish by himself. After I let go of his hand, his two sisters slipped in and ran next to him, yelling words of encouragement to him. All three crossed the finish line together, with a final time of 15:08. Isn't this what all this is for, moments like this. As a parent I could not have asked for more. I was the proudest father there on Saturday. My son completed his first mile run, I was apart of it, my daughters were there rooting him on, and he ended up really enjoying it. They were talking about it all the way home. I hope this was the first of many races we do together. GREAT JOB SMITTIES So this is a little over do since my San Juan race has been over now for about two and a half weeks but just wanted to post a comment or two on this subject. I was simply amazed at what I saw at the race especially on the grueling, heat baking run course. The paratriathletes that competed in this race were simply amazing. To see the grit and determination in there eyes, and the strength in there voices was simply humbling and awe inspiring. Yeah it was great to see all the Pros, all the elite level amateurs, all the hustle bustle that goes into a huge race but I was simply taken back by the abilities of these strong and determined athletes. These athletes were so inspiring, and I was in such awe of them every time I saw them on the course. To see them climb the hills on the run course and see how the crowd reacted to each of these athletes was amazing. They truly have a gift deep with in them and I am proud to say that I was able to race against these athletes and sweat on the same course with them. Great job to all the paratriathletes that competed in San Juan and GOOD LUCK on the rest of your seasons.
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AuthorKenrick Smith - Be a part of the K17Sport Lifestyle. Categories
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February 2014
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