"Complete" collapse

Years ago my parents shared my grandparents' beach house with my uncle. My uncle had a proudly-earned reputation for ten minute "power naps" and the beach house had a lovely big porch glider perfect for them. It was also perfect for longer nocturnal sojourns. One hot New Jersey afternoon both he and my father wanted to rest there. Uncle Lowell got there first, said he would take one of his quick naps and then turn it over to my dad. However, atypcial for Uncle Lowell, he fell fast asleep. After about an hour of floating in and out to check on the availability of the glider, my father was heard mumbling, "Someone should tell Lowell the difference between a nap and complete collapse."

This past week began my taper, that three week period of decreasing mileage and effort. However, I should have been reminded of the difference between a taper and complete collapse. I ran a paltry 7.2 miles this last week, training again becoming a casualty of work and travel schedules; and "of too much getting up by candlelight" as Dickens mused about sleep-deprived folks. It wasn't all bad: I rested; and on the weekend visited my sons in Boston in their new, beautiful house rental. But training discipline paid for it.

While it would be easy to be dispirited, that really serves no purpose. I made choices that excluded training. There is no one to look at but myself. That said, "taper time" is not the time to "make up" missed workouts. The experts agree: the level of training one has at this point is what one will have on marathon day. Training in this time is for the purpose of keeping that level while, at the same time, allowing the body to rest. In the resting it grows strong for racing. If that sounds like rationalization, so be it. Authors wiser than me attest to it.

One sage has written, "Work outs are not to be 'made up.' Your body did what it could do, or what you were willing to push it to do, on that day. The point is to resume your schedule after you have left it." Which is precisely what I began to do this morning with a 4 miler at 6:15 a.m. before an 8:15 a.m. meeting. It wasn't a great run, but it was an okay run. So the collapse was not at all complete, despite my feelings along those lines. The run felt good, and tomorrow's run will feel better.

On the fund-raising side of the aisle, we continue to grow beyond our $20,000 goal with your generous support. Our gifts and pledges totalling $21,165.70 makes me worth $807.85 per mile on October 9th. If you'd like to give, see a previous post for how to do that or go to www.ccgb.org and click on "How to Donate."