I have a secret… I love to taper

That’s right. You read that headline correctly. I. LOVE. TO. TAPER. In fact, I think it’s pretty darn taper-ific. I realize this taper-love makes me something of an endurance-weirdo. I read the tweets, Facebook statuses, and articles that attest to how much people hate to taper, or find the taper as something that must be tolerated, not loved. Sure, I understand the taper-tantrums. The first time I did a “real” taper was before my first marathon. I didn’t like it so much that first time. But, on race day, I was able to run so well, on such fresh legs …

The hay is in the barn, but the bats are in the belfrey

With Ironman Lake Placid just a week away, there isn’t much that I can do that will make a substantial difference in my speed or endurance on race day. The hay is in the barn. So, that can only mean one thing: It’s taper time. For a week now, my body has been at work putting itself back together after months of abuse training. Cell by cell, fiber by fiber, my body gets stronger. For the past two months, I averaged about 18 hours of training per week, with over half of that time maintaining 20+ hours. So, I was …