The TAPERING HAS BEGUN!!!

That's me 12 years ago when I wish I had the inspo to train for a marathon. I was great at smoking occasionally and being as away from fitness as I could. Hindsight is great isn't it.

  O MY LORD. Almost made it. 2 and a bit weeks left, and with incrementally less training too! I already feel so much more rested after the last few workouts, and it's probably a psychological thing too - when I know I am doing less, I compute that therefore I am more rested!

But the kids starting school has kicked me in my shins. Who knows me well knows that I am not a morning person by any stretch of imagination; The summer lax routines may have stressed me a bit, but the Holy Grail has been being able to sleep in a bit.. A lot. I had never got to the point of switching my body clock to matinal settings, because, yeah, summer, things to do, people to see (and the boys taking after me- waking fairly late and wanting to sleep very very late). 

It's time to start packing up my stuff for the trip. This is and FEELS as important as packing the hospital bag for the birth of my kids. I'd rather not miss a thing, as I'll be on my own there, and would prefer to just rest up before the marathon, rather than go shopping. 

The consensus is that the training has been done, nothing else to add to it, all there is to do is maintain it - but NEVER cram more as like before an exam, because the body doesn't work like that. Maintaining it is fun - I already feel I have somuch more energy during the day after the training sessions, because they are shorter/slower. Also I need to remember to eat - a lot of carbs, a lot of snacks, a lot of stuff; and drink H2O- a lot of that too. I need to plump myself like a goose , so the stomach is used to loads of food, the glycogen reserves are high at all times, the GI index nice and safe - so it can all be spent on the 25th of September.  

I feel a bit self centred and narcissistic now with my family as I really am having a good go at putting myself first - delegating loads of sh&t and not going out of my way to buzz up the energy around here. They're fine, it's all the same for them - so that's a lesson for me, to stress less. 

I am extremely happy with my OTHER new running shoes - Nike Zoomx Invincible something ( something like that)- they feel like walking/running on clouds and I can't wait to try them on my 25km run this weekend. By comparison, the Adidas illegal ones feel like I've wedged my feet between two bricks. On they go for the washing and reselling on ebay. 

I am preparing my racing kit with the concern I'd give to a wedding dress, very thoughfully and ceremoniously. Sadly, the Place2Be running top is rubbing at my skin in all the wrong ways- but I have a solution : will DIY a running top with their logo (because I really want the Logo on me).. will cut it off the charity tshirt and sew it on my favourite running top, and I might iron on it some message or at least my name.  I just hope that I won't do this the night before my flight to Berlin or in the morning before the run - I've been known to pull such stunts on myself. 

I still can't grasp how I'll be after km30. I am hoping the training is in the bank and it will all pay off. August was meant to be the heaviest training month of all, but with the heat and all the commotion around here I feel like I've skipped more workouts than I should have. I am banking now also on my previous HIIT workouts, and the spirit from during the volleyball times. 

I can glimpse at the life after the race with a lot of excitement and relief; I am looking forward to immersinig myself into the mundane routine of life, focusing on other things , and I am curious to see if I have , mentally, another marathon in me. I have gotten the bug though, and will definitely do half marathons and 10ks from now on. I also want to resume playing volleyball for fun, although that's not too compatible with long distance running, but why not, with balance. I also want to go back to workm I am so excited about that. And about Halloween, and Christmas, and trips here and there, and rekindling friendships and taking life moment by moment. 

But first, I have to boil the pasta, warm up the sauce, coax the kids to eat their vegs, don't give in to demands for sweets or TV, fold the laundry, put the washing on,  clean the cats litter, have a minute for our visitors, etc etc.