Running with Jack

Well the first week of tapering is a nasty one, a chest cold in all it’s furry. No fever, just a dry, scratchy throat and developing cough. I ran on Sunday, so decided to take last night off. This evening I want to go out for a test run and find out how bad my cold really is. My wife thinks I’m nuts, but I know my body – either the run will start clearing the cold or it will bring it on harder – whereas I can get rid of it sooner.

On the positive side my energy level is high, my legs are pretty well recovered from last week’s high mileage week, and my diet is in check. I have a lot of work at work, a 50K to plan for and lots of odd jobs to do around the house – so hopefully I can get through taper madness without being a casualty.

My marathon strategy has remained unchanged since my original goals at the beginning of my training: Run four 60-minute 10K runs, then run 2,2K as fast as I can. If all else fails, finish! Oh, and don’t forget to smile crossing the finish ;-)

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support. Don't forget to send some positive vibes my way on race day. A marathon is still a long run in the park!