I’m a tapering cliche

I’ve turned into a cliche. I know all about “Taper Madness” but it’s not me. I love tapering. As much as I love running, I also sometimes love not running. I’ve raced hundreds of races in my life, and I know how to get to the starting line ready to go. So what’s this? I’m running the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon this weekend. And suddenly …

– I’m stressing over little aches and pains that have suddenly popped up
– I can’t tell if I’m eating too much or not enough
– I can’t seem to focus on my work and keep flipping to the race website to double-check details
– I’m not sure if I’m running too much – or not enough
– I go out with a friend and have two glasses of wine. Wait – was that smart 3 days before my race?
– I’m not as tired as usual with less running, so I’m not going to bed as early. Am I getting enough sleep?
– Should I stop doing core exercises 4 days out? 3 days out? At all?

Good grief! I didn’t know I cared that much about my performance here. Truth is I’m going for a PB, but I always am and will always be disappointed with less than that, even if it’s not realistic and I haven’t put in the training (which may be the case in this one.) Logically I’ll fall anywhere between my goal time (1:21) and 2-3 minutes of it. I’m straddling the line between being logically realistic and being optimistically confident – the two are not perfectly aligned. I know I’m over-thinking this and there’s nothing I can do now but show up on Sunday ready to give it my all. A glass of wine and 25 sit-ups aren’t going to make a difference either way. Deep breath, stop thinking, … here we go!