Paranoia!

Well, its taper time, so that means its Paranoia time!!

I find every worry possible starts creeping into your head - have i done enough training, have i done too much training, have i done enough long runs, did i do them too fast/too slow etc etc !!

I feel that at the end of the day, over my 16 weeks training, i have done my best and thats all anyone can do. It really is trial and error i find, getting the training/nutrition/rest/ ratio right. As each marathon comes and goes i do learn how my body reacts to situations, what works, what doesnt, but it still hard to get it just right, as you continually push yourself that bit more to achieve your own personal targets and goals.

I have been resting more recently, well, by rest i mean, not running, ive still been cross training in the gym, to still get in some cardio. I have been advised by my physio that to keep my achilles functioning reasonably well, i should run every other day, not consecutive. To be honest, i have found that my energy levels have then been better on the next run, having that day "off" in between.

Did my final long run today - 18m, i was expecting it be dreadful, but was pleasantly surprised and pleased that it was quite successful. Felt strong the whole way and my achilles behaved.

So the countdown is now on, not much more can be done now i feel training wise, ive done all i can do now, im going to focus on stretching and 4 runs next week, one of those being 12m.

Shall be working on my "head" too, trying to get into the "zone" and keep telling myself i can do it and that i will achieve my goal and generally trying to keep positive about it all!!

Try to push away the dreaded paranoia!