Tapering

Tapering involves the gradual decrease of running mileage, and subsequent increase of weight, in the weeks leading up to the marathon. A lot has been written about these last few weeks before the big race, but regardless of what the professionals write, this is the most rewarding part of the training. You have time to rest your nagging injuries, start preparing mentally for race day, and you get to spend time some with the people you have sacrificed their time for your training.

The majority of my time these last days are going to be spent checking the weather in Austin and trying to figure out what I am going to wear on race day. Lucky for us, we have some non-runners who will be at the race to help carry our pre-race clothing and return them to us when we finish. Temperatures are predicted to be in the 45-65 degree range on race. Perfect weather conditions for running a marathon. It also happens to be what I spent the majority of my long runs training in, which means I have spent many miles figuring out what clothing works best in what temperatures. It is always best to start a race of this length on the cold side especially since your body will be warming up considerably in the first few miles.