Mini Taper for South Downs 50

Well the past few weeks have raced by and it's only a few days until the start of the South Downs 50 mile ultra. I can't actually believe how quickly time has passed. One minute the dark mornings were still with us and now the clocks have moved forward and the lighter evenings are here again.

It's been a fantastic block of training these past few weeks and as I was wanting to go into the South Downs (SDW50) race feeling strong I started to do a 2 week mini taper last week. I was unsure whether this was a good idea as I normally take 3 weeks of full tapering to account for any illness / colds etc but with the Thames Path 100 miler just over 4 weeks away I  want to test myself see how my fitness fairs and focus on recovery before my A race of the year.

So as the last of my compulsory kit drops through my letterbox I cut back my mileage last week to just 30 miles to hopefully benefit from feeling strong and focused for this Saturday. The last training block has been the most consistent for me since I cannot remember when.

The weeks read as follows 41, 57 (including Winter Tanners 30), 30, 58, 58, 58, 43, 64, 60, 59, 62, 65
Long runs over 15 miles: 30, 16, 16, 17, 17,5, 20, 21, 28 , 19.

In terms of goals for the South Downs race I have the following goals. I am fooling myself into thinking that I can go faster than this and ultimately I need this race as it's a qualifier for the TP100.

Plan A - 8-9 hours
Plan B - 9-10 hours
Plan C - Finish safe and sound

This is my first 50 miler in several years and I am looking to banish all negative thoughts I have about running this long (and longer). It's going to be one hell of a day and intend to maximize the fun factor because after all I am going to be on my feet all day!