It’s funny to say that I am officially in Taper mode.

I started training on August 15.  In those 12 weeks, I have run 2 half marathons.  I also have had long runs of  10, 10.5, 12, 13. That’s six 2 digit runs!!!

On the surface, it appears that I am so much better prepared for this half marathon than my first two. (1-16-11 & 4-23-11)

Not so!!! 

It’s deceiving because  all of the long training runs this time have been mixed with walking.  All except the last half marathon (10-23-11) have paces over 12 min/mile. 

I feel that because of my injury, I have been tapering during all of the training runs. 

I am pain-free now so I am okay with that.  Running slowing is much better than not running at all.  (I will repeat this to myself often.)

So today was my last long run.

We had some snow on Thursday and some yesterday.  Yes, it’s still October.  Those are the joys of living in the Northeast.It was unseasonably cool today (in the 30’s) but at least it was not snowing or raining!!!

So I headed into town to do at least 8 miles.  However, the sidewalks were still snow-covered and slippery so I decided to go some place new.

I heard that the Corning Trail was an awesome place to run – flat & scenic.  I usually do not feel like doing extra driving but today I had the time.

I parked at Riverside Park and headed toward Troy.  The whole way you had a view of the Hudson River.

It was chilly but I definitely was overdressed.  I started with a hat & gloves & jacket.

The trail was indeed flat. The sun came out and melted the snow on the trail.

It was neat to see snow on the ground & leaves still on the trees.

I turned around at the 4 1/4 mile mark and little by little took off my hat, gloves, & tied the jacket around my waist.

I haven’t reached a verdict about the new shoes – yes, they have more support & the bottoms of my feet don’t ache but they are heavier & it feels like running in cement boots (unless I was just tired & hungry).

When I got back, the weather was so nice & the scenery so beautiful that I continued in the other direction.

I wound up doing 9.5 miles (though there was walking at the end & lots of photo stops). I’m definitely going to add the Corning Trail to my list of running routes.

I’m not sure how much or if any running I’ll get done this week.  Tennis 2x, yoga, nails, hair appt, flight to LA …NO TIME!!

Happy Running! Do I need to run this week?