Tapering Down To Freescale

Today, on a nice sunny afternoon, I headed out on the trails behind the house for a nice and easy 30-45 minute run. It was maybe 60 degrees or so, and nice after days of damp and drizzly weather. I cruised for 3.7 miles, mostly on dirt and gravel, with some hills, and averaged 9:14/mile on the run. It felt relaxed, and I pushed the inclines slightly just for fun. Nothing all out, but just a little shakedown cruise today. I did the full stretching ritual afterwards. Tomorrow will be 3 x 1000m with the Gazelles, slightly faster than marathon race pace. Wednesday off. Thursday is massage day and a really easy warmup and some running on the grass. Friday I go to the Expo to do all that business. Saturday is an easy 20-30 minutes and stretching, and that's it. Race Day on Sunday. Current long range forecast is lows around 45, highs in the low 60's, overcast. Sounds okay to me. 30% chance of rain. My Dr. Pepper fast has begun, and so far it hasn't been all that bad. A mild caffeine withdrawal headache this morning, but that's it. Body is feeling fine, I've actually trimmed down a couple of pounds since early January, and I'm just counting the days until Sunday. I think tapering causes a time stretching phenomenon along with all the other physical manifestations...tick tick tick tick...