I am in that crazy taper mode for the NYC Marathon and I’m starting to feel a little batty!  I dressed for a run the other day, went out the door, started walking as my warm up, did one running interval for 30 seconds and then walked the rest of my time on the road.  I just didn’t want to run!  What’s up with that???

Marathon Tapering

When I trained for my first Walt Disney World marathon in 2013 I had gone through the same thing.  The taper crazies.  You cut back on your mileage after several months of putting in a lot of running and start to feel like you are missing something in your life.

I have been wandering around the house looking for food as if I was starving.  But I’m craving protein and fish, clams on the half shell and shrimp!

What is Tapering?

Tapering is the period of time where you reduce the amount of exercise before a competition or a race.  It is important to give your body the rest so it can perform at its best at race day.  The time you taper is usually two to three weeks prior to the event.

My training is pretty good.  I could have done better; but I am happy with the mileage I was able to get in.  I got up to 20 miles done in my training.  I usually go up to at least 23 miles with the Jeff Galloway training plan.  But I had fallen a little bit behind in my training this summer; so I re-evaluated my goals and decided that my longest mileage would be 20 miles.  I know that most training plans call for that.

I am feeling an issue with my hip and the muscle that runs along the outside of my hip and towards my side.  I have been seeing my chiropractor and I am going to have a massage on Monday.  So I’m taking care of things so that I am in top shape for this race.  This race is important to me.

Logistics

I have a lot of logistics to figure out.  My own transportation from CT to NY on Saturday.  Getting checked into the hotel and heading to the expo.  Then hoping to meet up with people after the expo.  Finding dinner, and relaxing in my hotel room.  Then there is the whole packing and pre-race preparation I need to do.    I have to figure out what I am going to pack for fuel to have at the village prior to the race start.

Course Map

Looking at the course map and having viewed the video of the course, I imagine this course is going to be absolutely amazing.  From what I have been told, it will be best for my spectators to see me at mile 18 and then they can go over to 5th Avenue and see me again at mile 23.5.

The Medal

I look forward to seeing this beauty at the end, finding a place for some amazing pizza and a nice cold beer!