The taper begins...

We had a busy Bank Holiday weekend. On Saturday we drove nearly 400 miles South to meet all of Pete's family for his Grandma's 90th birthday party. After a social stop in Manchester, a toilet stop on the M6 Toll and an emergency petrol stop 5 minutes later, we arrived at about 5.30pm. Then it was straight off to a fancy restaurant for dinner. The food was lovely, but I was aware that I didn't want to overdo the gluttony, as I'm about to cut right down on running mileage. I've been eating like a pig for the last few weeks, and have managed to put on a couple of pounds, despite each long run burning about 2,000+ calories! Our usual holiday custom is to stuff ourselves with cake and chips while proclaiming '..but it is a holiday...' over and over again, so I knew I'd be up against it.

Anyway, the party on Sunday afternoon was a good old family knees-up. Robbie and Emma had a great time with their cousins, Pete had a few drinks with his siblings, and I even had almost 2 whole glasses of wine before going back to the hotel with the kids. Here they are in their party clothes...
















On Monday morning, I got up before breakfast and snuck out for a 3-mile jog. It's always nice to run somewhere different, and there were lovely views of fields and farms. Then it was an all-you-can-eat breakfast, so again, I tried to reign in my greed. I did have 3 sausages though - delicious! Another 6 hours or so in the car, and we were home!

So I ran 20 miles last Friday, and 3 miles on Monday and today is Wednesday. Why are my legs aching so much then? My thighs are killing me, and I really don't know why. It's Jog Scotland tonight, then a short run on Friday, and this weekend, I'll just be doing a tiny 10 miles or so. Shouldn't even break a sweat after all those long runs. I'm quite looking forward to 3 weeks of taper (as long as I can eat reasonably healthily), I hope the reduction in mileage should leave me feeling fresh (and non-achy) for the marathon. Fingers crossed...