Week eight of training for the Vermont City Marathon is here!  Well, it just passed, actually.  TAPER TIME.  (Should I create a video re-doing the Hammertime video as Tapertime?  Probably.  Maybe it’s been done before?)  In addition to getting in some last-minute training, this week I also picked back up the old My Fitness Pal app to see if I can start shedding some of this weight that’s slowing me down.

Monday

• Decided to go for a little pre-work run, and ended up with about 4 miles.  Then I went to the work gym for a little lift.  I focused on heavy deadlifts and luckily didn’t break myself.

Tuesday

• 4 mile run + Orangetheory.  I was running late for OTF so I really needed to hustle there.  But my legs were so tired and my backpack felt so heavy!  Somehow I made it. Class was tough — I wasn’t able to run as fast as I’d like — but per usual it was a really good workout.

Wednesday

• Rest day.

Thursday

• The PLAN was to head out for my 20 miler. I prepped by packing two Mamma Chia pouches.  Unfortunately, at only 80 calories each, they were woefully small to fuel a run, especially after sticking to my calorie restriction on Wednesday (aka no late night snacking).  I ended up doing 11 miles.  When I got to work, my stomach was growling so audibly that a co-worker commented on it.  Lesson learned.

Friday

• After my 11 miler on Thursday, I knew that getting in 20 miles on Friday was unlikely. But I wanted to get in some extra miles, even if the full 20 wasn’t in the cards. So I headed out Friday morning. My legs felt dead but I did 9 superslow miles. That totals 20 in two days and is just going to have to me enough.

Saturday 

• Rest day visiting family.  I knew I was going to eat some goodies, so I took the dog on a nice walk in the morning.  So much for that My Fitness Pal streak…

Sunday 

• Another rest day with family.  We did hit a few balls at the driving range though.  Since I started using my core, my drives have gotten a lot longer.  Very satisfying.

Now the plan is to just take it easy, watch my eating so I can keep building on my progress this past week, and get lots of sleep.

What do you like to do during your taper?  Yoga and stretching?  Massage?  Swimming?  Last-minute running workouts?