The countdown has begun.

This past week began my recovery/taper period. A taper is when you start to cut back on weekly mileage to allow your body to fully recover from the weeks of vigorous training. For the last 5 weeks, I have felt as though I have been verge of being sick and getting injured. This feeling gave me confidence that I had been training properly and to the maximum my body would allow.
This past Saturday I decided to take a nice easy run into Chino Hills State park and explore some single-track. After the rains, the hills have become beautifully green and the once dry streams are now babbling again. The single-track I eventually ended up on was awesome. With the sound of the stream running next to the trail, not a sight of civilization anywhere, and critters frolicking all around, I felt like I was hundreds of miles from home. I had so much fun running this trail and was delighted at the occasional wet and muddy section. I finished up my run at about 10 miles and felt very refreshed. Sometimes when I am training, the focus is so much on the end goal that I forget about the fun runs and that is the big reason for a taper.
Sunday I took the day off. I actually felt strange to not have run a marathon or further, but my body needs to rebuild. Monday I ran an easy 6 miles. My legs, knees, lungs, everything felt great. I will continue with my recovery and taper until race day. I look forward to posting stories on some fun runs coming up.