Week 15 is in the books.

Well this week I start my taper, I thought I would never make it, but its here at last.Yesterday was my last real long run, 20 miles, and it kicked my butt. I got a real late start and it was 82 degrees out at the start and dark when I got back home. I was tired, dirty and a little dehydrated by the end. I got lost, crashed and twisted my ankle and when I asked for directions they laughed at me, they said “Son, you a long way from home, hop in and I will drive you home”, and when I said, thanks, but no thanks, they thought I was crazy. I got myself into this; I will get myself out, but thank you for the offer. My course was a hilly one, much hillier that the marathon course, but I am ready to run the Mt Everest Marathon, kidding, but the hills on the stretch were killer, and because I got lost I got to run them twice. JI thought I was going to crack, I was tired, lonely and lost, it was getting dark and I thought about calling my wife and asking for a ride. I was filled with self-doubt, I didn’t think I had it in me, I was a looser… I never made the call; I thought about my form, drank as much water as I could, shot a gel and dug deep. It was dark with about 5 miles to go, I was beat, and the last 5 miles are on some long rollers and it’s mostly uphill. This was my worst long run yet, the last few miles I was doing a drunken shuffle, and my legs were toast. A N D - I - L O V E D – E V E R Y - M O M E N T – OF - I T.Really, I am not crazy, well maybe a little, I love this felling, I was in pain, my feet felt like they were going to explode, my quads were gone, my groin was tight and my calves and hams felt like someone peeled them off the bone. At this point I started learning things about myself, this is where I learned I was strong and true to myself. It would have been so easy to quit, at times I wanted to quit, but I stayed strong. Sure I had to walk some, I really had nothing left in the tank, but that doesn’t matter, I did what I set off to do.During my taper: I can get all my weekday runs in at lunch and my weekend long runs aren’t so long, I really need to spend some time with the family and catch up a bit, I have been spending too much time away. I need to lay on the floor with the kids and watch a little Sponge Bob.

Run long and taper,

-Brian