Blood, Sweat, Tears...and a taper

I realize I have sort of slacked off with my writing. Sorry about that. Things on the running front are going well. I am starting taper. A taper is pretty nice because after months and months of building my distances, I finally get to let my body heal itself. This requires lower distances...and suddenly my mid-week runs go a lot quicker when all I need to do is 3, 5, 3 and a mid-distance Sunday run. It's like a walk in the park compared to 5,8,5 with a weekend kicker. Just saying.

So, I can actually claim that marathon training does involve blood, sweat, and tears. The sweat part, I think, is not surprising. There have been many times when I come home with a soaked-through t-shirt...and it was not been raining. The blood part I need to blame on my own clumsiness and a bad left ankle. On two consecutive Saturday runs, I rolled my left ankle and fell only to skin (and re-skin) my right knee. I looked like a 1st grader on the playground. The first time this happened I was only about 1.5 miles from home and decided to finish my run, despite the blood dripping slowly down my leg and pooling at the rim of my sock. (I'm sure you are enjoying the graphic imagery there.) A week later, I did the EXACT same move, this time over 7 miles from the end of my run. I was prepared this time. I pulled out a bandana and wrapped it around my knee where it stayed for the rest of the run. Not bad for a makeshift bandage.

I wish the "tears" part of the triad was as amusing as the blood and sweat. It isn't...and I guess when you are running a race in the memory of your two sisters, it isn't so shocking. Despite the distance...despite the date...despite the weather...it is almost impossible to avoid remembering that I am running this race because two people that I love dearly are no longer here. Without realizing when the thoughts will overcome me, they always do. And, even if for only a moment, the tear(s) come. Often they dissipate as quickly as they appear because my mind jumps to happier memories or another topic all-together. It's a defense mechanism that my mind put in place years ago. But the blood, sweat, and tears....the affective, behavioral, and cognitive...and (forgive me, all of my pool-deck friends for the following reference) the mind, body, and spirit... have really made this real to me. There is no avoiding it driving forces behind the 26.2 miles I will run...in only 11 days.