I'm trying a fairly radical departure from accepted wisdom and my own past practices in prepping for marathons. I'm going to pretty much forego the usual multi-week taper, opting instead for just a couple days rest right before the Tecumseh Trails, and otherwise maintaining a pretty steady 50-60 weekly base, with a decent long run, leading right up to the actual marathon itself.
Why? here's the thing: I've pretty much decided that, in 2010, I'm going to pursue an ultra-marathon, trail running vision for my running mantra. And to that end, I think that 26.2 is just a number, and not an altogether intimidating number to me anymore, at that. I want to treat 26.2 not as some high, extraordinary peak, but rather just a longish run, on my way to eventually running ultras. to that end, I'm going to see if I can mentally shift my thinking, by just folding the Tecumseh trails into one long, ongoing training program, a means rather than an end in itself.
Will this work? I don't know. I may be setting myself up for some severe overtraining. But I don''t think so. I think, rather, that I'm transforming myself into something more than merely a guy who runs marathons. I want to be an ultra-marathoner, and that takes a somewhat different mentality.
Nutrition-wise, I'm going to take Thanksgiving week off. I'll still go veggie, of course, but I'll relax on everything else, by way of realism during the holidays. I think given my high level of running, this is feasible, with much of a weight gain.
Kendo-wise, I want to prep for the Johnson Cup. To that end, I plan to focus on small men, kote and do strikes, and to work on my hiki techniques.
Running: 50 miles, 15 distance
Nutrition: veggie, but otherwise off week for holidays.
Kendo: make Tuesday class (no class Friday because of the holiday), home practice.