Love the taper (8.27.08 - 9.2.08)

W- Rest
Th- 6 miles
F- Rest
S- 13.25 miles (am) / 4.75 miles (pm)
Su- 6 miles
M- 8 miles (am) / 5 miles (pm)
T- 8 miles

Total = 51

This week showed a huge drop from my average weekly mileage, far more than I had scheduled to begin the tapering process. However, due to my recent disinterest in training and the concrete that has taken place of the muscles in my legs, I decided to just kind of go with how I felt each day and take it easy. It's been nice. The 20 and 30 mile runs on my spreadsheet didn't get done but it's probably for the best, I don't really think that that those runs would have done anything but cause fatigue at this point.

Why do folks get so weird about tapering? Is it lack of direction during their free-time? Could it be that they now can't eat everything in sight because there might actually be weight gain that accompanies a decrease in calorie expenditure? Or maybe they are just that stoked to get to race day and tear it up. I know that I have been prone to the taper-blues and a mental state that looks an awful lot like extreme OCD during a taper, but I have begun to really enjoy the time. My hormones begin to balance out and my body isn't in a constant state of fluctuation of weight (due to water retention following long runs). Just ask my girlfriend what I'm like when I am pushing through the third week of a build-up phase - it ain't pretty. Of course I have it much easier than some other runners I know - I barely have to work, being in school is fairly enjoyable, and my life is without major complications. What the hell would I look like if I had more to deal with? So my hat goes off to all of you who work 40+/wk, or have kids, or have serious life issues to deal with, but can still rock out on the trail.