Stupid Move?

So one essential part of marathon training is the taper. Well I have been tapering for a few weeks not by choice. On Feb. 18th I had a GREAT 17 mile run and planned to take the next week "off" with just 12-13 miles and that was a wonderful plan. We had a strong 12 miles and were prepared to knock out 20 miles on Feb. 3rd. That would give me one weekend of taper before race weekend. Well my stomach revolted! I was shut down at 12 miles and could not finish my 20 mile run. I did finish it the next day and I can say that a 20 mile weekend is almost as hard as one 20 mile run.

So that left me with a taper run on the 10th and race day on the 18th.... well I am stubborn. I told my running partner we were going to run 13 to 14 miles. But without telling him I woke up early and had ran 6 miles when I got to him that morning. I kept my secret for the first 7 miles but around mile 15 for me but mile 9 for him I was starting to slow. I told the guys I was actually running 20 and asked them keep it slow for me. I was able to finish 20 miles at a 9:10 pace and felt pretty good until the last half mile.

Stupid move? Physically I am not sure what it will end up doing to me. I recover quick to be honest and I promise to keep it really easy this week. I am also getting a massage so that should help out. Mentally it was the best thing I could have done. I feel like I completed my training and I have never felt so relaxed on a 20 mile run. I am hoping the mental edge will take over. I need to work on the mental aspect of my training much more than the physical part.

The weather is looking warm for Atlanta with a mid 50 start and mid 70 finish. Hopefully the 30% chance of rain will decrease and just give us some cloud coverage to keep us cool. The goal is to have fun, treat it like training and come back home on a mission to train my butt off for Derby. Then this girl is changing it up! Going to get a gym membership for the summer and work on not being a weakling as well as keeping 3 to 5 pounds off!