As with any specialized activity, there are lots of words that get thrown around.   Sometimes those on the outside (by choice because anyone is welcome) don’t either appreciate our vocabulary or those of us new don’t understand it.   I’m the later and once was the previous:)   I’m learning so much and still realize that I don’t know anything.   So please take everything that I say with a grain of salt.  Preferable with a Margarita!   Please also remember that I am no expert and am just a novice trying to figure it all out.

Today’s word of the week

and something that I’m still figuring out is

Tapering

Let’s go see what Webster thinks it means

Definition of TAPER

1   a :  a slender candle (not it)

b :  a long waxed wick used especially for lighting candles, lamps, pipes, or fires (not it)

 c :  a feeble light (not it)

2  a :  a tapering form or figure (not it)

b :  gradual diminution of thickness, diameter, or width in an elongated object (not it)

c :  a gradual decrease   (Bingo – we have a winner!)

Now Google Runner’s taper and you will get a whole slew of responses and ways to do it.    There are long tapers, short taper, no tapers, and everything in between.   I, myself, am doing a short taper for my marathon.   The reason being is my training has been very condensed.

Now you wouldn’t think tapering would be a hard thing, but it is.   Every person is different.   Every event is different and every situation is different.   I’m still trying to balance what my body needs.

What I do know though is this week, my running is less than it has been.

Only 4, 6, 3 and 8.

Next week it is only 3, 4, 2.

Of course that week ends with

26.2.

I’m not sure when I crossed the border where going for a 6 mile run is a short run, but somewhere that change happened.   I now need to reign it in.   The thing about running a lot of miles is that your body only begins to get into the pattern around mile 3 and then your stopping.   I will work on that.   Who knew that one day I would actually need to work on NOT running as opposed to getting out the door to run.

Life is funny that way!

One thing that I do know that I have to be mindful of with the diminished miles is that means that I need to step back on what I am eating because less miles also means less calories burned.