Who is tapering ...

Taper time!

My marathon is next Sunday .... so I have entered the love/hate time that is called the taper.

Taper time is suppose to be great because you are decreasing mileage which means more sleep, less soreness, and simply just more time ... but taper time messes with your mind!

I have trained for this marathon for months ... but for the next week, no specific run or mileage can help me run a better race ... so I just have to sit and wait. I have no control anymore ...and that is hard because I want to try and do everything I can to improve my race ... but at this point, I can't really do much!

I am in love with the above "Checklist" ... I have run 8 marathons and I have experienced every point in that above checklist personally!

• Phantom pains - Days before most of my races, I SWEAR I have a stress fracture ... I may have even gone to the doctor to have an x-ray before a race because I was positive something was wrong!
• SO HUNGRY - Yupp ... I am running 2 miles a day ... but I am always wanting to snack!
• I am SLOW - I have had some amazing morning running partners over the years, and I always think the week before a marathon that our pace is so fast and my legs feel so heavy! 
• Moody ... I remember the night before my first marathon, B came over to eat with me and I was a mess. I was mean to him, and then just randomly started crying and he had to make the whole meal. 

The point of this list is to let you know that you are normal. If you are tapering and are positive that you broke your foot and also can't keep your eyes open ... you are normal! It is all part of the process AND it shows how hard you have worked in your training. All of the crazy side effects of tapering show that running this marathon is a BIG deal ... and it is more than a race!

SO .... trust in your training .... take a deep breath ....and be proud of yourself for working so hard!!