Taper Time – Drew

I could not be more excited to say that I am finally entering my taper in advance of this Marathon which, incredibly, is now just a few weeks away. I was on call for my practice this weekend, which made the logistics of a 20 mile run difficult; however I was able to devise repeatable loops that would tally 20 miles while never being more than two miles away from my house in case I received a call from a patient. Needless to say it was not my most picturesque nor exhilarating run, however I felt great throughout and was able to complete it averaging 8:07/ mile. With this being my eighth marathon, I’ve done around 15 20 mile runs over the course of my life, and have never done one at this pace making me hopeful that I might put up a time I would be proud of come April 18.  My only concern is that my feet were generally tender last night in a way I don’t often experience, and I’m concerned that my Saucony Iso 2’s (which are a departure from my usual Asics) may not be up for Marathon Monday. Time will tell.

The next step is allowing my body to heal through a gradual taper, and I consulted Hal Hidgon’s website (http://www.halhigdon.com/) this morning to devise a program for this. I used Mr. Hidgon’s plans for my first few marathons and would strongly recommend one of his novice plans for anyone that is thinking about running their first half- or full-marathon. It looks like a light week this week, and while he recommends eight miles the weekend before the marathon, I have traditionally done six before marathons and felt good so I believe I will do that.