2 Weeks to race day. Let the taper begin.

My mileage has been decreasing for a week now.  This last weekend I ran 4 miles (at pace) on Saturday and 13 miles on Sunday.  My Saturday run was terrible.  I had to stop 5 times because my Achilles tendon was on fire.  I am truly seeing what 16 weeks of marathon training has done to my body.  While I am way stronger than I ever have been, my legs are just beat up.  My Sunday run went really well.  I ran a negative split ending with an average pace of 8:58 average pace, which is faster than my goal pace.  I feel ready for the race, but definitely need to let my body fully recover in the next two weeks. 

I am in my 17th week of training for my first marathon (13 days to go until race day).  It consists of:

Monday: 15 mile recovery bike ride

Tuesday: recovery day

Wednesday: 5 mile run

Thursday: 4 mile run

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 3 mile run

Sunday: 8 mile run

I will probably skip a few runs and will definitely not be running fast until race day.  This has been a wonderful journey that has taught me that our bodies can do amazing things.  The only limits are the ones that we put upon ourselves.  I started running 2.5 years ago and never could imagine that I would be running a full marathon.  I couldn’t run ½ a mile without stopping and I was really slow when I started.  Now my goal is to help others find the enjoyment that I have found in running and to do it without getting injured.