(Taper) Week in Review

60 miles
1 double
1 day off
3 runs in Palm Springs
5 AFDs

Well, friends, I challenged myself to keep this week's mileage at 75 or below, and suffice it to say I knocked that goal out of the park. Looking back in the archives, this is my lowest weekly mileage total since the week of August 23rd. I hadn't intended to go quite this low, but taking Friday off (and omitting a planned Thursday evening double) was the smart decision for several reasons. I can only hope I will reap the rewards of my infinite wisdom come Saturday.

If nothing else, this sharp reduction in mileage has allowed me to focus on the ancillary factors that had all but fallen by the wayside during my 100+ weeks. Excluding the day of our red-eye flight I've averaged 9+ hours of sleep each night, and I've been able to fit in 20-30 minutes of core, drills and strength almost every day. And trust me, I know how crazy this sounds, but Jordan and I actually had time to watch a movie one night. Although I would be lying to say it doesn't feel a little bit strange to not spend literally every waking hour of my free time in running clothes, I suppose it's not half bad.

Looking ahead to next week, it appears as though--holy shit!--I'll actually be racing the Olympic Trials marathon. Pardon me for sounding surprised, but although intellectually I've known this day was coming, some part of me never comprehended that the race would actually happen in a real, tangible way. But as it turns out, Jordan and I will be getting on a plane Thursday morning bound for my home state for the express purpose of running this race. Of course the weekend will encompass a flurry of other activities--reunions with far-flung running friends from literally all across the country, lots of free food from the hospitality suite, technical meetings and pre-race massages and event dinners and a promised evening of post-race revelry and merriment--but I'd be kidding myself if I didn't acknowledge that the race itself doesn't loom larger in my mind than the broader "experience" of the Olympic Trials, at least as I sit here typing this less than a week out. I'm full of excitement and nervous energy at the culmination of a year's--some would argue, a lifetime's--preparation, all for one single moment. If you can consider an event spanning almost three hours to comprise a single moment, that is.

Time permitting, I plan to check back in with some real time snippets of next weekend's activities. Of course I always hope that people enjoy reading this blog, but I originally penned "greenlightningrunning" over three years ago as a record for myself, a time capsule of a a journey of miles and trials that, at the time, I had no idea would lead me to the present moment. I want to document as much of the Trials experience as I can, knowing full well it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity despite my hopes to the contrary. I want to preserve the details of the weekend for my readers, but more for myself, and of course for my hypothetical (and I mean extremely hypothetical, Suzanne) grandchildren who will one day stare in disbelief as their wrinkly old grandma waves her cane this way and that while animatedly describing the glory days when, believe it or not, she ran pretty darn fast.

More to come from Houston in just a few short days. See you there!