Taper hell

It's just 3 days until the Brighton marathon.  So, how am I feeling?? Well, I am very excited (I might actually run my first sub 4hr), I'm a bit nervous (I might mess up & not run my first sub 4hr)...and I'm absolutely hating the taper!!

My taper started a little earlier than anticipated due to my body pretty much shutting down on me, so it's very clear that it has been a necessary evil, but although I've pretty much followed my schedule, kept up my intensity while reducing mileage etc, I really feel that it would have been better if I'd run the marathon last week!  The couple of runs I've had so far this week have had me feeling slow and sluggish, with a thousand different niggles and although my runs have clearly not been helped by the ENORMOUS amount of chocolate I've been consuming over Easter, I am blaming the taper for making me lose faith in my ability to run long and at a decent pace.

Also, when I don't run, I find it really affects my mood and how I deal with everything else.  For the last couple of weeks I've been feeling really stressed at work, I think I've been less patient with people, and generally I'm just not feeling it - which is such a shame, as when I am running a lot, my life seems to go a whole lot smoother!

Anyway...it's just another exercise in mental strength - I know I'm capable of running the marathon at the pace I want...and I know that I should trust in the advice of a thousand running professionals who all follow the taper - it's just been harder than I expected and I've let it affect me more than I should.