Taper

I've hit most of my planned runs despite a busy back to school work schedule. At first, I was disappointed that my marathon taper hit right at a three day weekend (my usual holiday plan is lots of long trail runs). My second thought was oooooh - rest! Rest I did.

Before that, I needed to complete my last semi-long run of 12 miles. Friday night, I received a phone call from one of Rebecca's friends and we planned to meet up for 5 miles of trail. Fun getting to know someone new! I combined this with 7 miles of road running, then slept for THREE HOURS! Guess I was tired.

Sunday, Buddy and I enjoyed the cooler temps with a four mile tempo run. One mile of warm-up followed by four miles of faster fun. The rest of the weekend? Sleep, food, good books, a new running magazine and lots of walking with Buddy.

I am catching glimpses of the runner I possibly could be if I were more dedicated to a training plan. Long strings of easy 10 minute miles have become normal, and during my faster 3-5 milers I see mile splits of 8:30's and 8:40's. This concerns me a bit for the marathon. Since I have no prediction for this race, I really hope not to go out too fast and then blow up. But, what is too fast? How does one know? Do I mimic my long runs? Or is that too conservative? I guess that's part of the game. To gamble or not to gamble? We'll see...