Taper Madness

I've forgotten how a good taper makes you go a little crazy. The past couple of weeks have been good. We had a really good 13 miler and then the last 5 miles of speed work. Then on Saturday we had a 10 miler. It was really a struggle. Isn't that just how it would be? Since then all of my confidence has seemed to slowly be fading away. And NOT running hasn't really helped. I had a nice 3 miler with some strides toward the end yesterday that was really good, but in my mind I kept thinking that it was only 3 miles. Nothing like 26. I have one more 3 miler before the marathon on Saturday. I know I need to wrap my head around positive thoughts. I'm just having a hard time today. The weather reports aren't helping either. Last Saturday it was predicted that it would be 56 degrees on the marathon day. That sounded just perfect to me. It meant I could still wear my vest with all the pockets and not be too hot. It would also be the temperature we've been training in. And it's my favorite temperature. Yesterday I checked the weather. It was up to 62 degrees. And this morning it's at 72 degrees. 10 degrees overnight. By the time the actual day gets here it will probably be 92. It seems like every single time I run a marathon in the spring, it just happens to be the hottest day of the year so far. And if you know me, I don't like the heat. I know I sound like a negative Nellie right now. I know I need to change my thinking. But past bad experiences at marathons are creeping in. I've been telling myself that this one was going to be different but now I'm not so sure.

So here's my plan for not freaking out:

*Spend 10 minutes each day focussing on positive thoughts. Some ideas to focus on; the great 20 miler we had, how it feels to feel good while having a good pace, the speed work, and the progression of endurance from beginning to end.

*Visualize the day of the marathon being a good run. I'm going to enjoy myself and feel good while running. It will be a good experience.

*I will not check the weather again until the night before and only then to see what I should wear. I will not freak out about warm weather.

*Focus on the things I am grateful for; a great training companion, the blogging community, the ability to run, not being injured, a supportive husband and family, the beauties of nature that I get to see while running, and the life lessons I learn from running.

Well, here we go again!