The taper demons...

You would think that after eight marathons, I would (1) anticipate the taper demons, and (2) shrug them off. But no, once I again, I put myself through the mental anguish of worrying about them. OMG, am I losing my strength and endurance by cutting back my miles? OMG, why is my knee sore? OMG, did I pull my glute muscle without knowing it? OMG, am I getting fat because I'm not running enough? OMG, how am I ever going to finish the marathon??

As marathoners know, it is very difficult to go from alot of miles per week to not so many miles per week, from speedwork to no speedwork, from double-digit mile runs to eight mile runs. Keeping yourself in the game mentally is very difficult during this time. For me, I find that by running less, my time is now spent realizing everything that I have put off for running, things that need to be done. I have to keep reminding myself that I cannot, nor do I want to, do everything right now. I need to rest and get prepared. I know I'm ready and that I'll be ready on race morning, but those damn demons keep sneaking back into my mind!

This week I plan to get in a couple of 4-6 mile easy runs, then I'm off to Chicago on Friday. Yes, I am still nervous. Yes, its still forecast to be cold. Yes, that is great news.

I keep getting asked if I'm going to try to qualify for Boston in Chicago. My goal from here on out is to do just that. There, I said it (knock on wood). I've got three solid sub-4's under my belt, so the next step is Boston or bust. It is going to be very difficult for me to run a 3:45, and next year might be my better shot since I'll be in the 3:50 qualifying time age bracket, but if I wake up on Sunday and feel a good run coming on, I will go for it. Oh hell, who am I kidding, I'm going to go for it regardless. But it hasn't escaped me that going from a 3:52 PR to a 3:45 is not an easy task at all (its not just 7 minutes, its 7 very fast minutes), and honestly, I'm quite intimidated by it. But I've trained well and feel good, so we'll see what happens...

Happy Happy Birthday to my niece, Sorennah, who turned one yesterday!! She is definitely a princess in training!