Tapering

Today, tapering officially started.  I did my last long run on Saturday.  The weather forecast was mixed so rather than go to the mountains where snow, low temperatures and high winds were forecast (typical Scottish summer) I headed off with Stu to run the first section of the West Highland Way just to refamiliarise myself with it.  It was as I remembered.  Very runnable but boring.  As I'll be starting the race at 1am I won't see the views but at least I know what the terrain is like.  It's really important as if I start off to quickly on the flat ground, I'll be in trouble.  I need to keep reminding myself that my target is finishing the race, the cut off is 35 hours but I'm aiming for 30.  I'm looking forward to sunrise on both days but it will be spectacular on Conich Hill looking down to Loch Lomond.  Visualising that and other stunning views along the way will keep me going.
We ran an out and back totalling 35 km but I struggled on the way back - thanks Stu for leading the way back.  I've had a very busy week with 2 trips to London with 4am starts and late finishes which was a good reminder that I need to reduce my training and increase my rest between now Saturday 22nd.  This is the "tapering" period which I have gone through many times before, but it's always a bit strange.
Every twinge or sniffle makes you think you are coming down with something.  But your body and mind are getting used to a reduced training load.  My training load has been reduced to ensure my knee doesn't flair up but I have put in some long runs.  The key for me now is keeping the runs consistent but not over 10km this week and 5 km the following week.  Plenty of rest and no travelling or late nights.
During the 30 hours my mind will wander.  It will have positive thoughts and negative thoughts.  This afternoon, after my gym session, I watched the Roland Garros final which was like a see saw.  The players emotions were up and down as was there tennis.  One minute they were happy the next they weren't and it made me think about what I will be going through in the race.
There will come a point where my legs are very painful but I know once you reach that stage, unless you are truly injured, the pain just plateau's.  I've also been thinking about the second night because running in the dark plays tricks with your mind.  My focus is going to be on the second sunrise because that will be special as the finish shouldn't be too far away. 
Next weekend I am sitting down with my support team, Beth & Stu, to go over the logistics.  It will be a tough shift for them too but we need to make sure we have all the supplies required for me as well as them.  They are also required to be my support runners for the later stages of the race for safety reasons.
Tapering is important and whist it can feel unnatural, it's essential to get me to the start line ready to go.