Tapering

I'm nearly a week into the taper and I guess I can't really tell yet. Well OK, maybe a little bit. the weekday six and five-milers are fours this week and will be three-mile runs next week. Midweek featured an eight-mile tempo run. So a slight change in terms of mileage, but not so much in terms of getting out of bed, getting the proper dose of coffee and on the road.

Tomorrow is a 12-mile run, which will make 32 for the week. I am far enough along in training to compare runs now to what I did a few months ago. I look moreso at heart rate, which is lower for the same effort now as compared to before. So my fitness is improving.

I am also starting to actually ponder the marathon a little bit. I can do the 20 miles, I've proven that to myself. But the old adage of how the race starts at mile 20 is what I think about. Having come (hopefully) so far and still having what seems like a long way to go. How will I fuel along the way? What will I have left? Will my legs still be attached? Will I be able to make it?

I've done the work, no question, but these are very real questions. And the race is just over two weeks away.