Taper Madness...six ways I spend my extra time.

On my way to work today I started to think about all of the things I do when I am in this 'taper' time. Of course, that also led me to calculate how much more free time I really have now that I have decreased my mileage from my peak at 54 miles one week to a mere 12-15 miles this week. Between the time it takes to get ready for a run (between driving to meet up with people, rushing home, showering and changing after a run...etc) I would say that when I am in the peak of running mode I spend about 7 total hours running per week. Then add the before and after run organization and it probably totals about 9 hours per week devoted to running. I also am a swimmer, which I have decided can fall to the wayside in this final week before the marathon as I try to prescribe to Jack's saying that "less is more". So, that frees up another 3 hours of swimming and about 30 minutes of preparation... so 3.5 hours more of free time. Since I will only run about 15 miles this week, I have about 8 hours more of free time in this final week before the Boston Marathon. That is actually kind of a lot... so this morning I started to think about what it is I do with those 8 extra hours of time.

1. Sleep more - since I am not waking up at 5:30AM to swim, I get at least an extra hour of sleep a day, which has caused me to second guess why I ever thought waking up at 5:30AM was a good idea in the first place.

2. Spend more $$$- this happens in multiple different ways. First, I like the idea of shopping, and I usually don't really have the time to do it. Now that I have that extra hour after work, the idea of walking over to Copley on my way home seems even more appealing. Second, this is the time I decide I should catch up with all of those friends I have left to the wayside during these months of training. As it turns out, the best way to meet up with friends is either over lunch, coffee or dinner. Hence, spending more money along the way.

3. Worry more - I find that when I am at the heart of my training, small aches and pains come and go and I generally can overlook them, mainly because I have another training run lined up that I don't want to miss. Now that I have a week off, aches and pains actually seem to stress me out much more. For example, yesterday I decided to enjoy the beautiful, yet cold, spring day by walking to and from work and to meet up with a friend for coffee (all of which I did in clogs). At the end of the day, I couldn't stop noticing that my right shin was bothering me. I decided to ice it last night, ice it this morning...and then continue to think about it through until, well, right now. Knowing the marathon is only one week away, little aches and pains seem much more stressful.

4. Read more - I am just about to finish A Thousand Splendid Suns, (great book, btw, highly recommended). I started reading it at the end of my time in the Caribbean, a little under a month ago. I was one-third of the way through when we got off the boat... and I am finally actually finishing it.

5. Review past marathon results - Apparently this has become a new habit of mine. As the marathon approaches, I start to look at how I did in past marathons. How much time did I lose between the first and second half? How fast did I run the first 5K? What did I do the week before...? I'm not sure if this really makes me more neurotic, or if it actually helps calm me down with the knowledge that I have done this before, and I will do it again.

6. Stretch more - well, this is something I should do. I suppose I will add it to my list, and attempt to actually do it over the next... FIVE DAYS!!

OH, and in case you don't have a chance to check the weather yourself... the forecast as of today for Marathon Monday is:

Apr 20
Cloudy
52°/42°

Not bad, not bad at all.