In all the pre-marathon excitement...

...it's easy to forget that I still have a few more training runs to get in. I'm definitely not alone on this but I have been seriously lacking in motivation this week. The "Taper Blues" are pretty common, apparently, if there's a nickname for them in running circles. The first week of the taper I felt phenomenal, probably because I was so damned relieved to have my peak week of training over. This week? Not so much. The weather was crappy all week and that didn't help. But there's a mental component to it as well. I'm ready. I want to get this done. I don't have it in my brain to do 4- and 6-mile runs, I have it in my head that I finished the hard part of my training and I want to get going on this marathon.

I read that there's nothing you can do during the last 10 days to help your performance but there's plenty you can do to hurt it. I thought about doing the hilly course today but I decided not to. I don't think one more hillwork session is going to make any difference at this point and with these phantom knee twinges I've had all week (again, totally not alone on this either, it's part of the Taper Blues), I'd probably mess my knee up coming down one of the steep hills with my rotten luck. So I did the treadmill today. Tomorrow I'll run 3 on the trail, Sunday I'll run 8 around the lake. Then next week it's just 2- and 3-mile runs.

Just bring it on, already. I'm never going to be more ready than I am now. Impatience. Another huge characteristic of the Taper Blues.

As of today's forecast, high of 57, no rain. I wish there was a way to lock that in! I check the forecast twice a day and I'm sure it will be every hour the days before.