My taper has begun ...

I discussed my upcoming tapers and recovery for pre-Clinton, post-Clinton and pre-McNaughton with Marvin, my "coach" at work last week. We agreed that this past Saturday would be my last long run, about 10 miles, but a little faster than usual. Then shorter than usual, quicker runs on Monday and Tuesday. Well ... with Caleb out of town, Debbie and I slept in on Saturday, went to a few sales, and just hung out all day long. My knees ached and my ankles were screaming from the long miles I'd put in the previous 4 weeks (185 miles) so I cancelled my run Saturday. Today (Sunday) I decided I better not only run, but step it up a notch. I decided to run my 6 mile course and try to go for a PR. I absolutely shattered it. I won't be winning any road races anytime soon, but for me, I'm very, very pleased. I ran 6 miles in 51:25, for an 8:34 avg/mile. I ran a negative split for the 2nd half of the run (3 miles in 24:47). I don't know if that says anything about how I'll run my 2 upcoming ultras, but training-wise, it shows me I'm making progress. People also tend to get out of my way when they see me coming ;-)