Enter Taper!

Just because the toughest run of the season is behind us doesn't mean you go back to sitting on the couch, eating chips, and watching television.

That being said, taper is about dialing back the mileage, the crosstraining, and allowing your body an opportunity to heal, recover, and get ready for race day in a couple weeks!

Rest assured that you will NOT 'lose' any fitness you've gained these next few weeks as you taper for race day. This is NOT the time to 'make up' runs, 'make up' workouts, or 'cram' for race day. YOUR BODY DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!

In short, I've done everything in my power to get all of you ready for conquering 13.1 miles. The best thing you can do at this point is simply savor the taper, take care of yourself, and take that extra day off if you need to!

While I've done everything in my power to prepare you 'physically', preparing 'mentally' is important as well. These next couple weeks you may find yourself feeling anxious, nervous, and questioning whether or not you can run 13.1 miles. Did missing that one workout hurt my chances of running 13.1? I felt really crappy on that last long run, I don't know if I can make it a couple more miles on race day?!!?!

EVERYONE feels this kind of anxiety to one degree or another. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Try to remind yourself of all the hard work you've done over the past weeks! The early Saturdays, the Tuesday runs, the Thursday workouts, and all the days of crosstraining in between.

You've suffered through ALL OF MY LONG WINDED EMAILS AND LENGTHY PREAMBLES! If that doesn't prepare you for enduring 13.1 miles, NOTHING will! ;)

In all seriousness, now is the time to remind yourself of what you have done to prepare. For many of you, this will be your first time running a half marathon and you're venturing into the great unknown, but I PROMISE if you've stayed fairly dedicated and committed to the training thus far, you have everything you need! At the end of the day, this is 'just' another long run with a few extra people ;)