Taper - a Lovely Word!

December 30, 2007. The hip is feeling pretty good thanks to some exercises and the cortisone shot of two weeks ago, and I was able to get in all my workouts this week. Now I have a Christmas cold, but I have still gotten my miles in. We are in our three week "taper" period, where our mileages decrease each week up until race day. For example, I did 28 miles this past week, a far cry from earlier weeks of 40 miles. That also means I am missing a little less sleep, which helps with the cold. Marathoners LOVE to hear the coaches say it was time for tapering. There is a huge difference between doing 7 or 8 miles before work and 4 miles. For us walkers, that means 30 – 60 more minutes of sleep. All of the pounding we take gets a little chance to heal.

Yesterday was supposed to be a 12 miler, but with one of my teammates injured and it pouring rain much of the time, we shortened it to 10 miles. Everyone on the team was soaked to the skin, and especially having wet running shoes and socks is miserable. But at least it was not a 20 mile day, and at least we were all healthy enough to be out there doing 10 miles in the rain. It surely felt great to get home, put on some dry clothes, stretch out, drink a couple of mugs of hot tea, and get a shower. With the race only two weeks away, I am hoping that this cold is gone soon.



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I've been in Arizona once before. It was 2000, and cancer was still nearly two years in the future. Neither lymphoma nor marathons had crossed my mind as I explored a bit of the awesome Grand Canyon. Yet, more than seven years later, I am preparing to return to Arizona as a lymphoma survivor and as a marathoner to do my third marathon for Team in Training. Thanks for helping to make this endeavor a success!