Wasting away

This is a running post, for all of the imaginary readers who have been demanding more updates on Shifter's exciting running career. I am officially on taper. Woo hoo! I have done four 20 mile runs and one 22 mile run in the past 7 weeks, which is a lot. In the past I've done more like 3 of those runs before a race. My pace is still fairly strong, but I've been much more tired the past few long runs. I was talking with a friend today, who has loads more running expeirence than me, and he was saying I should definitely taper to let my muscles rebuild. Which is when I remembered "Oh yeah, long runs like that eat up your muscles." Which is sadly true. I was noticing last night that my arms have shrunk noticably. I've never been a stick kind of guy, but I have like no biceps. This is kind of sad! I like having biceps. I don't actually like losing muscle mass. I like running faster, but losing muscle seems, well, unhealthy. So this is a dark side to running - you shrink. I've seen runners who really looked skeletal, like scarey. Fortunately, I have no self control with food and eat like a horse when I get to this point, so I don't turn into a skeleton but I do, well, reduce a bit. Sigh.

But the good news is now I' m on taper - I've got a 17 miler in a few days, then it's nothing more than 5-7 mile runs until May 31, when I do the first marathon of the season. And that 17 miler is going to be a FLAT 17 miler, by god. I tried a new route last weeken for my 20 because I was tired of the damn hills. Turns out I should have driven the new route before I ran it, because it had MORE hills than my old course. Including one O.M.G. hill that was like running straight up a wall. I was literally thinking "You've gotta be kidding me" haflway up that thing. And when I was coming back the other way and was at the top of that hill, I could see all of two different cities (suburbs) spread out before me. That part was actually pretty cool, but the running up it part Sucked.

But this marathon on May 31 is going to be it. The one. The sub-four. I've been trying to get one for 2 years and now it's gonna happen, damnit! And I'm really, really hoping that I'll feel a lot more rested and ready when I do it than I do right now, cause right now all I feel is really freaking tired.