Phantom Aches and Pains - Taper Time...

Every time I start to taper I get these aches and pains that make me worry that I might have injured myself right before a race.  I'm not sure if it's the drop in mileage or just the anticipation of the race.  It drives me nuts, but at least this time I knew it was coming...

I have dropped my mileage to under thirty miles per week and it will be even less this week (not including the marathon).  I am planning an easy recovery run today, 3 mile repeats Tuesday, easy five miles Wednesday and a short four mile tempo run Thursday.  That's it.

The hardest part of this week will be staying hydrated, getting enough sleep and eating right.  I am trying to run on my usual days, just cutting back on the mileage (that way I can stay pretty much on the same schedule for eating and sleeping).

During the taper period of my first marathon I cut out a lot of the days of training and ended up not being hydrated enough and forgetting to eat bananas all week.  This could have been the reasons I cramped up so badly at the end of that race.  That's the thing about tapering, you have to stick to a schedule or you start leaving things out that you have done for the last six months.

Now that I have all this energy from running less, I am really getting excited about the Monumental Marathon this Saturday.  Not only will I be running the marathon on my 40th birthday, but a lot of my family will be running the 5k.  All four of my older sisters have signed up as well as my wife and son.  I think one of my nieces and my great nephew will be running too.  In addition to the runners and walkers, this will be the first time my mother will get to see me finish a race!

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