Taper-Ready Edition
Weekly Recap: April 14–20, 2025
Some weeks remind you that growth doesn’t always show up as speed. It shows up as honesty, as awareness, and sometimes, as letting go of the numbers.
This was one of those weeks.
“Effort over ego in running: when the body speaks, the wise runner listens.”
Thursday: A Pivot in Progress
I opted for an extra rest day on Tuesday, giving my body a bit more breathing room before tackling a more demanding session later in the week. Thursday’s plan was ambitious: warmup, then 4 × 3 miles at Tempo effort (top of Zone 3, target 6:01–6:11/km) with 1.5-minute recoveries.
I set out with the best of intentions. The first two tempo intervals went down, but not without a fight. By the time the third was due, I could feel the fatigue mounting—not just in my legs, but in my head. I made the call to shut it down and pivoted into a longer Zone 2 cruise instead. It wasn’t what the plan said, but it was what the day required.
Sunday: When Effort Outpaces Outcome
Then came Sunday. A long run with 3 × 15-minute Half Marathon Pace (HMP) intervals, neatly placed after a 30-minute warmup and a set of strides. The plan was clear. The fueling was flawless. The execution? That’s where things got interesting.
The first HMP segment was solid. Heart rate climbed into the expected range, effort felt appropriately spicy. The second segment, however, revealed a truth I couldn’t outrun: fatigue. My heart rate stayed high, but my pace began to slip. By the third segment, it became clear that my legs were talking louder than my watch. That final rep never truly happened—or more accurately, it happened in spirit, but not in structure.
The Real Win: Awareness
This run wasn’t a failure. It was a mirror.
The numbers showed strain, but the decisions showed growth. I didn’t force it. I listened. I respected the cumulative fatigue from the previous weeks of training and chose to coast into cooldown rather than chase metrics.
Fueling Like a Pro
What did go exactly to plan was the fueling strategy. From a banana and toast combo at 6:00 AM to a Maurten 160 before warmup, followed by well-timed Gel 100s and Nuun hydration throughout the workout, this was my cleanest execution yet. Post-run? Chocolate milk immediately, then a bacon and cheese sandwich with black coffee thirty minutes later. The body may have been tired, but it was well-fed, well-fueled, and cared for.
Reflection
If Thursday was the show of strength-in-progress, Sunday was the show of smarts. My training age has taught me that the real wins come when you know how to read the room—and the body. The gap between effort and output this week wasn’t disappointing. It was instructive.
Recovery is the mission now. I’m embracing the pivot. Because when the body whispers, the wise runner listens.
Recap. Recover. Relax. Ready.