Notes
Today I finished my final 20-miler before the Rock N' Roll New Orleans Marathon (NOLA), and felt fantastic. Having come off of a hard effort at the Cedars Frostbite Half Marathon last weekend and another 50+ mile week this week, I wasn't sure how I would feel this morning. While I could definitely feel some fatigue in my legs, the run was smooth and a consistent 8:15 pace throughout. It was fun to run with the Nashville Striders for the first 15 miles. Also great to run with Marc and Jenny for 8 of those miles.
I thought about going farther than 20 since I still had gas in the tank, but Sean from our group talked me out of it. He said that with only two weeks to go before NOLA there was nothing to be gained from going farther than 20 miles but the possibility of injury. This made a lot of sense.
Anyway, it was encouraging to have a great 20 miler after the awful 20-miler two weeks ago when I was coming off a stomach virus. Now I start my two-week taper leading up to NOLA. This will only be the second time that I've done a two-week taper leading up to a full marathon. The other time was before the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville last December when I set my current PR. Before that I always did a three-week taper.
I'm not looking forward to having all of that nervous energy that comes with tapering, but I am going to take advantage of the opportunity to get some extra rest before NOLA.