Taperness

I guess I am in full blown taper mode for the Chisholm Trail Marathon!  I tried to find balance in my running plan for this phase; remembering I want to have fresh legs on race day, but also being mindful that I have 14 weeks until a bigger goal marathon and need every bit of fitness I can gain between now and then.  I know I can't have it all, but sometimes I try!

I am currently making my own training plan, which I admit historically hasn't been the optimal situation for me, but in February it was what I really needed, then I kept rolling with it from there.  For awhile I was just running whatever I wanted to every day, but once I began writing down a schedule I started being less likely to be crazy over-do it and I have enjoyed the flexibility.  For example, I may decide I'm going to run two 4 mile doubles during a week, but then I can do them whatever days work best vs. having them set.  I also plan my workouts on specific days, but if I am just not feeling it, I can move them (this hasn't happened yet, but I like knowing it's an option).  This is pretty ironic because historically I've also been super rigid about training schedules.  Bringing this all back to my taper, the actual topic of this post:  I have a taper plan but it can be somewhat fluid based on how I'm feeling!

As with most tapers, I am ready to just get it over with and fast forward to race day!  Often when I'm marathon tapering I look back over my training cycle and try to "do the math" on what my workouts, long runs, and mileage have been, and how they might equate to certain race times.  While I looked at my mileage this time, I don't feel like I can compare it to anything because of how unique this build was.  However, often my most recent running most colors my opinion of my current abilities.  Sometimes when I'm running well it seems like I will always keep running well; when I am running poorly I feel like I will always run poorly.  Neither is true, and I know that cognitively but still fall victim to the trap.  This time, it's a good thing because I've been feeling really good on my runs lately and my fitness seems to be making a comeback.  I'm not delusional enough to think that a few solid weeks can replace months of consistent training, but I sure feel better about this race than I did a month ago!  I hope I am not being overly optimistic, but worst case scenario I will learn for next time.  I am also hopeful that this will jump start my build for Grandma's Marathon!

Here's to a week of checking the race morning forecast every few hours, feeling like I'm running nothing (despite running more than I ever used to), and double-checking that I've packed everything!

Cue slacker status:  I ran 12 miles on March 16
& Amy ran 22!