Taper tantrums

Ugh! I am in the thick of the taper for the SLO Half which is in 4 days! Because it wasn't long ago the I was lost on most if not all running lingo I will explain the taper and why it sucks. 

After months of building a solid running base and another series of months specifically training for an event (in my case a half marathon) in the weeks prior to the race you slowly taper off the amount and intensity of your runs to make sure your body is recovered fully and fresh come race day. 

The theory is sounds but what it leave me with is a bunch of doubt, full of jitters and cranky. 

I keep thinking about my last long run in training and how it was hard but not all out hard to hit a 10:31/mile pace. I keep thinking ain't how that is actually faster then my goal A race pace but doubts are creeping in. I keep looking at the elevation profile for the race and even though I know the hills they have me a little worried (I didn't manage to get in that training run on the hill I wanted to). I just keep thinking!

Monday I did my yoga class and they did a 4 mile "race pace" run which I actually completed at a 10:27/mile pace. I didn't feel like death at the end so I guess it's a win! The plan from here on out is a Centergy class on Wednesday night and some very easy miles. I may take Charlie running with me to make sure they are kept easy and short. She tends to just stop where she is if she feels like she has gone too far or too fast. 

On a happier note my sister threw an awesome Easter get together on Sunday. All 5 kids and our plus ones were there as well as the nieces, nephews, my dad and other family members. It was nice just chatting with everyone. My oldest sister made awesome little quiches which were baked in cupcake papers and the next oldest sister made a couscous salad with feta and grapefruit, yum! 

Additionally there were two Easter egg hunts. One for the kiddos which was fun to watch and one for the grown ups. Our eggs had numbers inside and at the end we added them up and in order from highest to lowest picked either a sealed envelope or an African Violet. I picked an envelope and lucked out with an iTunes gift card. I put it to good use expanding my running play light just in time for the half. 

I kept threatening Chad with making him take Easter picture while he was holding one of my sister chickens (yes she has chickens and yes I am very jealous!) but he lucked out because I forgot to make good on the treat ;) 

I did manage to hit one of my yoga goals this past weekend!

Yup full on Bakasana! I can now hold it intermittently for a few seconds. What fails my is my wrists, particularly the right one which I had surgery on 3 years ago to repair damaged cartilage and ligaments. The wrist doesn't feel unstable it just winds up hurting after a while of putting all that pressure on it. I'm still working on holding it more smoothly and for longer but I was stoked to get this far!