Time to Taper

It's a little surreal. While I've been training for the Chicago marathon with the lofty goal of completing the run -- no illusions of grandeur, I'm a 1/2 miler not a distance runner by nature -- I have put many other things aside as my Saturdays have been consisting of running ever increasing distances and then doing my best not to nap the rest of the day away. My wife and daughter are tiring of the routine and I must admit I am too.

That, however, is going to change. We just completed our longest run, and after mapping it, the route was 21 miles, not just the 20 we were targeting. I could still walk and my knees didn't quit. By Sunday evening I was actually believing I could do this thing without serious long-term injury -- although stock in an ibuprofein company might be a good call.

So, with that, our next couple of weeks taper back seriously, giving the body a good chance to heal before the main event. Of our training group, 2 have sustained injuries that they can not heal from in time for the race and a 3rd is still wanting to try. That leaves 2 of us (myself included) who are complete newbies to the event to get lost wit 40K of our closest friends in downtown Chicago.

That was the easy part, now we have to find a hotel room.