1 Week until the Half Marathon
Distance: 4.02 miles
Time: 34:06 minutes
Avg Pace Per Mile: 8:29 minutes
I'm a swimmer, not a runner. And I was a pretty good swimmer in my day. I considered myself a sprinter so my coach made me swim distance. Lap after lap after lap. I was pretty lazy and generally distracted. So for me, the best part of the swim season was always the taper. Tapering is the time during the season when you pull back on the frequency and intensity of your work outs and prepare your body for the big race.
Tapering is as much about your head as it is about your body. Even a lazy swimmer like me felt strong during the taper. I also was happy to get done early and not feel like my arms were going to fall off.
Enter the running taper. Tapering has been messing with my mind. One minute I feel good about it, the next minute I'm sure that I'm going to have to walk the last 8 miles. But Sunday's run made me feel much better. I ran fast and strong. My body didn't seem to be objecting the way it has in the past and my head was in the game. I love tapering (just for different reasons now!).
Part of the psychology of the swimming taper is the "taper and shave." Shaving your arms and legs (girls and boys) the night before the race was a ritual. As a shout-out to my aquatic roots I've been growing my leg hair (that's drag) and will shave down before the race. There's nothing that says fast like shaving your legs after 20+ weeks of training! Wish me luck! See you after the race!
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