Monday, October 25, 2010

Long Live the Taper!

Well it has arrived...the rejuvenating taper period.  For those not familiar with the taper, this is the lead up to a race where you let your body heal from all those training miles logged over the last several months (2 to 3 weeks depending on which program you follow).  Translation...less running. 

If you sign up for a half marathon or marathon you obviously like running, but after months of training, the break is very much welcome both mentally and physically.  While I have had the benefit of forced reduced running miles over the past several weeks, I welcome the mental taper more than the physical taper this year.  For me, I am happy to know that there is literally nothing left to do at this point (well almost nothing there is still some running and I won't be going to Golden Corral anytime soon).  The next couple of weeks is all about getting rest, eating properly, and running just enough to stay loose.   Bottom line...I know that I have trained as hard as I can to get me to the start line healthy.

Does this mean that I am going to get a personal record at the monumental marathon (PR)?  Well there is a chance I could go slower than the 6:08:58 I posted two years ago, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that yes I am going to PR on the 6th. 

I have also set a PR for fundraising with this event.  My previous experience with fundraising takes me back to my Little League years, and selling those delectable Crunch and Carmel candy bars.  I can still remember how sick I felt after gorging myself on like a thousand of what I thought were free candy bars (sorry mom and dad...I am sure I still owe you some cash for those). All kidding aside, I want to thank everyone that donated to DII and Camp Delafield. 

I think the take home message here is clear...set the bar low on your first attempt or suffer the fate of Hootie and the Blowfish.

Scorecard:  Hit the road Jack...I logged 34 running miles this week, with a long run of 16, and 15 miles on my bike.  All things considered, I am feeling quietly confident.

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