Another race, another taper, another two weeks of my life where I go slightly crazy

Here we go again.... Taper.  Why is it that tapering for a race seems like such a big deal?  Is it because it means the race is imminent?  The thing you have been focusing on for so long is now right around the corner and in a way the excitement becomes untenable?  Or, is it because it's an excuse - after a lot of hard work - to finally slack off completely relax a little bit?

Like most people (at least from what I have heard from friends and read from other bloggers), I go a little crazy during taper time.  I get a bit superstitious and I have this whole list of do's and don'ts that I follow for the duration.  So what's going on?  Am I giddy with excitement that the big day is almost here?  Or just happy to soon have this all done?

I don't know if there is a blanket reason for the taper madness, but I know for this particular race I am excited.  For the first time ever, I think I have actually trained well for a race.  I truly feel I have done all I could do to prepare, and I have no regrets about should've, would've, could've.  I have hit all my key training runs: done the long runs, done hill work, and even thrown in speed work.  I have cross-trained for general strength, done yoga for flexibility, and even done the elliptical once a week to keep things loose after the long runs.

The only thing I haven't done....wait, no, don't say it..... IS....stop - no regrets, remember?....strength training.  Ugh.  Okay, I said it.  I did fall off on my strength training a bit, ... a lot, ... pretty much altogether the past couple of months.

So, I guess I do have one regret.  But, honestly, despite that, I feel pretty good.  I still feel this is the strongest (ha! that's funny given the lack of strength training!), that I have ever been.  My runs have felt good!  No niggling pains, no feelings of having to work around something, even the shin has behaved.  (Knocking on wood.)  I am STRONG!

Really, I am excited to see what race day will bring.  I am open to all possibilities.  I will go into it knowing that I am ready, and accept that anything that happens from here on out is most likely beyond my control.  Will I get sick or catch a cold before the race like I did last year?  Not going to worry about it - beyond my control.  Will I pull a muscle getting out of bed in the morning, as has been known to happen once or twice before?  Not going to worry about it, beyond my control.  Will I trip on a trail as happens before almost every race?  NO!  I will not be running trails or cracked sidewalks or streets littered with debris.  (Some things I can control.)

So, what are my goals for this race?  I have been thinking a lot about that.  Originally, I had signed up to run the full marathon, but when my shin sidelined me for so long, I downgraded to the Half.  As things started perking up, however, I started thinking about how I could possibly run this hard.  So, my goals are as follows:

1. Ultimate, pie-in-the-sky goal - Sub-2:00
2. Realistic goal - PR in any which way (so, Sub-2:06:55)
3. If-all-else-fails goal - As always, just to finish, not get injured, and have a good time

I have found out that the Kalamazoo races have pace groups for the Half, so I think I might try to hang with the 2:00 pace group and just see what happens.  I have never officially run with a pace group before, so this would be a new experience.  So, if nothing else, it might offer fodder for another Tale to tell.

In the meantime, I am working on visualizing the race in a positive light - happy thoughts, happy feet.  Or, something like that.  And, I am working on tapering well, i.e., not doing anything stupid.  I am kind of flying by the seat of my pants on the whole taper thing, since I really haven't researched it and am still a bit unclear on the concept.  So, this week, I am doing 70 percent of my latest, greatest effort, which is what I would do every three weeks anyway.  Next week, I will cut back to 60 or 50 percent of last best effort.  I am not sure which yet.  In any case - yeah!  The big race is almost here!

Happy Running!

Do you have any tapering advice for me?  What has worked for you in the past?