THE TAPER CAPER
Eek. The day before the day before the Yorkshire Three Peaks Race 2016. Rightly or wrongly, probably wrongly, my last truly punishing run was a distant seventeen days ago when I decided to go out and bash a half marathon distance quite hard on the road before going away on hols. Whilst away in the welcome warmth of the Mediterranean I managed to get a few glorious coastal runs in and yesterday was still only the fourth day this year without slipping on a pair of running shoes. I've not done more than six or seven miles at a time though lately. A nuisance-value head cold has put the reins on things. This week I'm pottering with steady three or four milers. It feels wrong. I feel like I should be out there getting more miles in. Last Sunday I felt fresh and in pretty good shape and so once again, Warning: Boring stat attack...  I ran five miles inside 35 minutes with such enjoyable ease that my recovery was pretty much instant. From the heady (for me) average weekly mileage of 46 I have slipped down to 28 and then 25. This week I will have run a paltry 13 miles or so going in to Saturday's race. It's difficult knowing what to do really. Have I dropped off too much? Should I really have been scrambling up and thundering down Mearley Clough as recently as Monday night? Have I done the miles but not done the sessions - only twice surpassing the twenty mile mark and nudging in to double figures on only nine other occasions? Should I have done more climbing? The endless if's and but's. It's not just about getting round around the course for me. I'm confident of that. It's the goal, two goals in fact that are making me tetchy on Three Peaks Eve-Eve. I want to beat my course best of 3.44 - I want to get in to 'first class' certification which requires a sub-3.40, frame that little scrap of paper that would say so to once and for all put this race to bed. But what I actually do need to do right now is just shut the bloody hell up and relax!