Trust The Taper

There’s no looking back now, it’s time to trust the taper... Since the San Francisco Marathon, I poured my heart into this season’s training cycle gearing up for CIM. I took about two weeks off of training and reflected on why my “goal BQ time” has never surfaced. My hopes and desires were there, but on paper my training log didn’t reflect a sub 3:30 marathoner.

I had to look at myself in the mirror and take responsibility for my actions or lack there of.. It was time to stop blaming my training cycle, circumstances, and work stress on why I couldn’t run a strong fast race. I needed to own up to the fact that I did not put in the work to become a Boston Qualifier. I had ran an average 35 miles per week (which is a generous estimate). I hardly did speed work on the track besides the weekly Barry’s Bootcamp. And the stress of work travel had me eating an unhealthy amount of sugar and junk which put me in a lethargic state. Ultimately I, Elysha, was not prepared for what was in store on race day.

Joining Arete gave me the tools I needed to finally get me closer to my dreams. Now, it was up to me to take those tools and turn them into action. This is all easier said then done, right? Passion and persistence played a huge part too. Every day, I reminded myself of my “Why?” Why did I want to go to Barry’s Bootcamp at 6am to strengthen my booty and legs? Why did I want to run 16 400s on the track then push on tired legs with two additional miles in a cool down? Why did I want to sacrifice my Saturday mornings running for three hours when I could be snuggling with my fiancé and dog? Answer: Because I want to run a marathon stronger and faster than I ever thought I was capable of.

Next Sunday, December 2nd, race day will finally be here. Finally I can confidently toe the start line knowing I did everything imaginable during training to get me to this point. The horn will blow at the start and I’ll celebrate all my hard work, strong race times, podium finishes, and a sharpened mindset to tackle the final 26.2 miles of this training season.

Photo Credit: ©Margaret Austin Photography