Counting the days until my taper....

This cute house is on a favorite road running route of mine.

February 1st...my next race, Iron Horse 100 is on the 18th.  Just 18 days away.

This is the time in my training that I'm counting the days until my taper. I've been on a tough schedule for months... back to back long runs on the weekend, a recovery run Monday, then double runs & speed work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Friday a recovery run. Then the week starts over. 7 days a week, high mileage... no break days..train...train...train.

Making a small change in my schedule is impossible. It is written out perfectly to give me the most miles and speed-work, while allowing the proper easy runs to let my muscles repair to work them hard again. I dream of having a perfect race. This is what I work towards every day. This is why I choose to follow my plan exactly, every day.

This last Peak week of high mileage is the toughest. This is the week of training that I run, work and sleep.  I do this while taking care of my house, family and job. I happily do this because one day I'm going to have the perfect race. My best chance of this happening is to train to my personal best.  Every day I remind myself get through this run, rest is coming. 

This is the time of my training I doubt my abilities to keep a solid pace for 100 miles. I'm so tired now that even my easy pace is tough. Every run my legs are tired and heavy. I still have speed work outs that require me to run a certain pace. Somehow I manage to move my tired legs fast enough to finish the work outs. 

I have to remember what it felt like to run the last time I was tapered and fresh. I have to trust that my training is working, that I will be rewarded at my race. I work hard to give myself the best chance at showing up race morning, having the race of my dreams. The perfect race! It will happen for me one day, I trust this.

I love this quote from Ben Nephew, "Miracles rarely occur on race day; your training should be at a level which makes your race goal a logical result, and not dependent on a vast improvement on race day, "



My favorite road route is around a lake, this is where I usually do my speed-work