The Taper

I'm less than a week away from running the Huntersville Half Marathon!  This morning my husband asked me if I was ready for the race.  I automatically answered no.  One minute I think I'm ready, and the next I'm kinda freaking out. I ran my last long run of 12 miles the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  From there until race day on 12/12/15, I'm in the phase of training known as the "taper".

What is a taper?  According to Runner's World, tapering means reducing the volume of your weekly training mileage during the final two to four weeks leading up to the race.  Tapering allows muscle glycogen stores to return to peak levels. Metabolic enzymes, antioxidants, and various hormones, depleted during training, return to their optimal ranges. Muscle and connective tissues repair and strengthen. And, the body’s immune system improves dramatically too. In short, tapering allows your body to prepare for peak performance. One study concluded, “The primary aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue, rather than to attain additional physiological adaptations or fitness gains." Makes sense when you read it, but I keep thinking that I should run more! Train harder! I've been training for 12 weeks now, so I think that I can do it, but it's just overwhelming to think about it.

Last week I only ran one day, for 4.26 miles.  I did 2 days of 9Round Kickboxing and then felt incredibly sore in my hamstrings for 3 days.  No more 9Round until after the race.  Need to save those legs.  Today I ran 6 miles.  It felt pretty good, but not my best run ever.  I was only planning to do 5, so I didn't take any water with me.  That was a bad decision; I really could have used a drink by mile 4.  I passed my friend Angela a few times on my route today, or rather, she passed me while we were running uphill!  She's running the half marathon too.  She's much faster than me, and in much better shape.  I really appreciate all the tips she has given me on speed work and running those darn hills!  Maybe someday I will be fast enough to run with her.

5 days to go until race day!  There's no turning back now!