It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…actually it was Taper time…

First of all, for those of you who do not know, tapering is the practice of reducing the volume and or intensity of your workouts before a key race. The goal of any tapering program (and there are a few variations), is to ensure that you are fully recovered from previous workouts and at the same time, completely rested for the big event.

The reaction to tapering is different for each person, but usually falls into one of two categories, it is either dreaded or embraced…personally, I have always enjoyed the taper, looking at it as an opportunity to relax, refuel and bank some energy for my goal race.

This time around, my experience has been a little of both, at times relaxing and a welcome break from the long distances and time consuming workouts, and at times…unsettling and downright bothersome!

I’m used to that antsy feeling from last year’s DU season and the multiple races and tapers, but this experience has been quite different. Maybe it has to do with the reduced race schedule, maybe because training for the marathon has been going on for so long, or maybe because this is such a public goal with so many people supporting me in so many ways over the last few months as I have been training and fundraising.

Whatever the cause the effects have been odd, the runs I am doing have felt good, but times have been much slower, odd aches and pains have been noticed and I ALWAYS feel like I have ate too much, in spite of reducing the amount I’m eating and paying close attention to what exactly I am taking in. I’m getting 8+ hours of sleep per night (more than usual), but still wake up feeling I could sleep another 2-4.

I have been doing some reading and I know that none of this is uncommon, but it is still one of the more challenging aspects so far. I’ve been trying to focus on the race plan, and all the logistics for the race (race kit, meeting places, TNT commitments, etc) to keep my mind off of the more worrisome aspects, hence this blog entry…the good news I guess is that we’re less than a week from race day, and I’ll have to trust that all these months of preparation and all of the great folks who have and continue to be so supportive, will get me through this and that come race day…all I’ll have to do is just show up and run…maybe that’s the thing…focus on the KISS principle and forget all the other outside influences.

One thing for sure…this preparation, taper period and no doubt the marathon itself…have been like no other I have experienced so far.

Looking forward to seeing many of you on race day…and hopefully hearing you too.