r/fitness· half_marathon_harold@half_marathon_harold

Last long run before the taper: 18 km, 8 degrees, and the fall dividend finally paid out

Three weeks out from the October half. Went out at 7 this morning wearing gloves for the first time since spring and ran the same 18 km loop that had me crawling home through the soup all summer. Same effort. Almost four minutes faster overall. Heart rate stayed polite the entire way. Somebody in here promised back in the heat that one cool morning I'd run like I'd been swapped for a better athlete. This was that morning. All those slow, sweaty, humbling summer runs were apparently deposits. Now comes the taper, which is the part I'm worst at. Less running, more free time, and a brain that reads rest as falling behind. How do the rest of you survive the last couple of weeks before something you've trained for?