The (usually dreaded) taper

This is the first time in my (albeit short) marathon career that the prospect of tapering sounds quite lovely. Less miles, more free time, and less exhaustion on Sunday afternoon.  Ahhhh.

Why is this happening?? Well, as it turns out, actually running two workouts per week with the intermittent hard long run thrown into the mix will do the trick.  My workouts were by no means grueling track workouts or insane tempo runs, but they added up week after week.  Secondly, my taper is shorter than ever before. I did a long run last week (21 miles), and will do a 10-miler this weekend…er, once I get over the food poisoning…then Boston is NEXT WEEK! The two week taper has dramatically minimized the panic that usually sets in mid-taper. Example typical taper thought pattern:

“Omg! I’m-going-be-out-of-shape-for-my-race-because-I-haven’t-done-a-long-run-in-7-days-and-I-have-so-much-pent-up-energy-that-I’m-on-the-verge-of-running-out-the-door-right-now!!!” Repeat repeat repeat.

Overall, my body is ready for the down time. Running Starfish can attest to this; she’s drug me through several easy runs in the past few weeks.

About Boston being ridiculously soon: I’M SO NERVOUS! AND EXCITED!

eeeek!

I’m nervous before every marathon, but typically they’re not such a…big deal. I’ve wanted to run this race from the moment I decided to run my first marathon, and although I qualified once before, I missed an opportunity in the madness that was the 2010 registration fiasco. This year is my chance to go run a race that everyone says is super amazing and one of a kind.  

There are so many reasons to be excited. Here are a few:

- My family and my boyfriend will be there to cheer me on.

- I get to meet a few other Oiselle racing team ladies that live far away from me!

- I have an excuse to go to Boston.

- I get to see what kind of time I can run after a solid training cycle with ZERO injuries.

- I get to run an iconic race!

- I get to rock a super cute Oiselle outfit!!! (More on that in another post)

And now…a shout out to a few edible products that have made my training jive:

Picky Bars! The perfect snack. They are tasty and not filled with weird ingredients.  I eat them as an afternoon treat most days.



Such a yummy packet of deliciousness!

Note: The package shown above is being

repurposed for almond transport.



Justin's nut butter: This stuff has been especially life-saving while traveling. They make small packets of nut butter that can be taken on the airplane.  If there's one thing I miss while traveling, it is my beloved jar of nut butter.

Addicting

 


Nuun: A low calorie electrolyte replacement drink that tickles the taste buds. Banana is my personal favorite flavor, but I will drink any flavor available. I drink this stuff at work to make sure I'm getting enough fluids down.  










Nuun I won during a nuun pong tournament. Most hydrating experience to date.