Taper Time!

So...what do you write about when it's time to cut back the miles?

Meredith and I went out for our last big ride last week - a three hour trip out into the countryside. Fifteen minutes in, my IT band was hurting. For anyone new to the blog, that's been my achilles heel in training ever since my first marathon. In fact, why does Achilles get his own body part? From now on, it's the Dave band.

Anyway, I did complete the ride. The soreness let up for a good portion of it, but came back by the end. I took a couple days off with ice, tried a run on Friday, and had to call it off less than a mile in. If I can't run evenly, I figure it's probably doing more harm than good, and I'm not willing to risk my race to get in one last 4 mile run.

Today, I went up to the lake for a last open water swim. It was my first time up there not in a wetsuit, and I was anxious to see how much difference it made. I was happily surprised not to feel all that much change. Maybe I didn't glide quite as much, maybe I need to concentrate a little more on body position, but now I'm more confident that I can do Saturday's swim.

Of course, now that I check their site, the lake temperature is down to 76°. Maybe the wetsuit is making the trip after all?

My swim was supposed to be a continuous swim. One problem, though? I forgot my goggles at home, a 30 minute drive away. To make the best of the situation, I swam with my eyes closed and practiced swimming in a straight line. I wasn't very good at it, ending up out by the buoys at the edge of the swimming area (or maaayybe beyond them if no local lifeguards are reading this) a couple times. Still, I think I got what I needed to out of the workout, which was more mental than physical.

My hope now is to get in a couple more light workouts before Muncie to make sure I feel okay, and to not make my Dave band feel any worse in the process. I know I'm ready - now I just need to make it to the start line in one piece!