About the taper run?

So here we are at 6 am at Tim's. This morning I found that I did not take my own advice and by choice stayed up late, did not get enough sleep, and so paid for it. Although I am going with the thought that if we are running a half marathon next week that maybe a taper run is in order for today. These are two articals I found about the taper:



scientific research have both come to the conclusion that a period of enforced rest before racing significantly increases the athlete's level of fitness and boosts his performance by an average of 3%. For marathon runners three per cent boils down to being about 5-10 minutes faster over their racing distance. http://ezinearticles.com/?Running-Advice---The-Importance-of-Tapering&id=484591

Many runners fail to realize that one of the most important aspects of marathon training
is the taper phase. Reducing weekly and long run mileage during these final two weeks is vitally important so that you will be fully recovered from previous workouts while at the same time, be completely rested for the big event. http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_taper.html



So this is all I need to convince myself that today's run was still considered acceptable and that I can continue on with the long distances. I enjoyed the articles above knowing that the professionals do this as well. Although I'm not as worried about timing as I am working on distance, with a realization that there are time limits to the runs that I would like to do. So this week I am going to take some of this advice and attempt some shorter runs at a higher intensity (intervals I believe) to see how this helps me next week.

And with all that being said...... Check out this sunrise!
Have a fantastic day!

Nicole