Taper Time

Well, all of the hard work is done. I started my three week taper before the marathon today. Over the next three weeks, I will decrease my mileage until the marathon on January 30. Hopefully, my muscles will recover, and I will become stronger. That is the theory behid the taper. Muscle glycogen, enzymes, antioxidants, and hormones are depleted during high mileage training. They will return to normal during this time. Also, muscle damage that occurs during sustained training is also repaired.

I'm going to struggle during the coming weeks with wanting to put in more miles, but I know they will do more harm than good at this point. This evening, I did my 40 minute easy run, and I couldn't believe that was it. Oh well, it's part of the plan.