The joy of tapering

It is an absolute joy to have entered the tapering period. The gradual winding down of legs and miles and easing the body back to a lull before the storm of the event. Some would say it is so joyous that there is an argument for tapering all the time, and never running again. This is to forget that part of the joy in the rest is having earned it, and its contrast with the hard work that came before. There is also a clear satisfaction to being able to 'wind down' to a half marathon or some such distance, demonstrating the achievements that have been made to make this distance seem suddenly so manageable. Not that running will come to a complete halt - I'll still be running three times per week, but the distances will drop as low as four miles at the end, allowing the body to prepare itself for the long distance to come. Now it's time to batten down the hatches, avoid illness and injury at all costs, and come out blazing for the trail in two week's time.