Half Marathon Tapering

Daily Quote: "It’s the 4-5 spots that are still undecided and are very closely contested. In fact, so closely contested that I’ve decided to add a 6th place for awards. Craig, Carl Wright (98), Brian Schreiber (98), Jesse Triplett (89), Sergio Ibarra (89), Bruce Robison (88), and Chris Perrine (87) are all in contention for those last two—now three—spots."  --Southern Nevada Running News, December 2010

I'm currently ninth place in the 2010 Las Vegas Track Club Competition Series and with only one more race (2010 Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Half-Marathon) I have a chance for the 4-5th place spots.  Considering the Las Vegas Track Club has 1,060 members my finishing in the top 10 would be pretty cool!  I wonder how high I would have placed if I had completed all ten races rather than just nine races due to my hip injury last summer?

Today was an easy 3 miler at about 10 minute per mile pace.  I didn't wear a watch, Garmin Forerunner, nor heart rate monitor as I wanted to recover as easily and stress free as possible.  During my recovery run wore all the clothes I'm planning on racing this Sunday...no problems with the clothes or shoes, I'm now fully prepared for the race.  I don't plan on running any more training runs until the race on Sunday, the rest of my tapering will be in the pool or on the upright stationary cycle.

My only goal for the "2010 Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon" is to have fun!  I don't plan on racing hard as my right hip flexor is still iffy and don't wish to cause further harm.  Nevertheless, I'm usually so competitive that I would get wrapped up in the excitement and race faster than I intend.  The extended forecast for Sunday is a high of 65 degrees and a low of 46 degrees with intervals of clouds and sun.  The race starts at 6:00 a.m. and I'm guessing the temperatures will be in the low 50's.  Normally I would be extremely anxious to start racing during the taper, but this week I feel surprisingly calm and relaxed.

I'm looking forward to picking up my race packet on Saturday and exploring the race expo.

I need to get ready for work (I'm a Checker Cab driver)...I'm going to wear my Boston Marathon cap, maybe I'll pick up a few marathoners at the airport!