This is it...

Taper week used to always make me feel a bit uneasy. With the significantly lighter workload, one can feel really anxious as to whether any more hard sessions should be squeezed in just to make us feel a bit more confident, better in our minds. I admit that I have been compulsively checking my weight this week, glad to see that I'm still keeping under 60kgs despite not cranking up the long training hours. But I also have faith in the training plan that Bill has set out for me, so I stuck to it and didn't do anything extra, as that can be counter productive.

The taper did make me feel a lot fresher. Saturday's long ride was only 2.5 hours. I rode from UWA to Shelley Reserve and back, and did a loop in Dalkeith towards Christchurch Grammar School. I had my race wheels, including the rear disc on, and I tested the aero helmet. I probably looked like an idiot riding in these on the road, but I had to test them out to put my mind on ease. I met a few familiar faces on the ride, including Bill himself (twice) and John Cooke who was already doing his brick run on Mounts Bay road. The winds were reasonably strong and despite having to slow down at the many U-turns and tight corners, I still managed the same average pace as I would if I have ridden on the freeway path.

On Sunday, I had a 70 minute run on the program. I was planning to do a 4:30 average pace but the moment I started, I felt I had it in me to drop it down to 4:20. After the first 4.35km lap around the neighbourhood, I surprised how well my legs were holding up, so I pushed a bit harder but not crossing the red zone. In the end, I covered 16.35km, an average of 4:17 pace. Pretty satisfied with myself :) And I guess the magpies must have really missed me not going back to the freeway bike path, as this one in our neighbourhood came swooping down on me on each lap! I think my heart rate went up 10 beats each time I pass by that particular place.

The bike's been sent to Phil at Runner's World for a service. And I had a full body massage at Central Tafe massage clinic. Li-Ann's back from her trip to the USA, she has pretty much gotten over her jet lag. I get to eat a decent home cooked meal this weekend. We also attended a house warming with our friends, there were plenty of food, so my stomach is well taken care of, and there were plenty of laughter too, good for my soul.

Not long now, everyone... I'm as ready as I ever could be. My next blog post shall be the race report. Let's hope it'll be a good one! ;)