Taper Time

I really have done a poor job of keeping up with my posts here.  I have been training well.  I made all of my long runs and now am entering my first of three taper weeks.  I honestly cannot believe how far I have come.  I never thought I could train my body to run.  I never thought I could run alone so far, getting up so early, sacrificing my one morning to sleep in during the week, Saturday, for a super long run.  But I made it.

I wanted to post a couple of things here about my 20 mile runs.  First thing, I did them completely alone.  Two weeks ago was my first one.  I got up and had everything ready to take.  I drove up to a park near a lot of running routes people use around here.  The night before I had mapped out a course on Map my Run, but kinda lost my bearings 3/4 of the way through.  Let me just say it was very humid that morning.  I used my car as a base and kept most of my gatorade and gu there.  I took along my hand held bottle and a back of cliff shot blocks.  I struggled from the get go.  My training week prior had been pretty brutal and I think I ran 39-40 miles that week.  My legs were tired and I was dragging.  By mile 17 I was struggling.  I almost lost it emotionally.  But I struggled through the final 3 and finished.  I spent the rest of the day on the couch.

Yesterday however, I did a little bit of a different route.  The temp was so cool - mid 50s when I started.  I loved it!  I had to intentionally slow myself down the first 8 or 9 miles.  I could have gone so much faster.  I didn't get all my weekly runs in due to my schedule so I only ended up doing 31 miles this past week.  So my legs were fresher as well.

My split comparisons are here:

Miles	Sept 1	Sept 15
1	10:05	10:10
2	10:12	9:52
3	10:04	9:41
4	10:07	9:24
5	9:55	9:31
6	9:54	9:17
7	9:49	9:24
8	9:38	9:30
9	9:49	9:37
10	10:06	9:27
11	10:00	9:13
12	9:49	9:26
13	10:05	9:31
14	10:11	9:18
15	10:07	9:39
16	10:12	9:45
17	10:13	9:33
18	10:24	9:49
19	10:17	9:37
20	10:26	9:30

This gives me so much confidence heading into the taper weeks.  I am hoping to shed a few pounds by watching my diet the next couple of weeks.  That way I'll be lighter for race day.  I am so excited about the marathon and hope those last six miles aren't too brutal.  If yesterday was any indication, I think it's gonna be a blast!  3 weeks from today!!