Saturday Taper...and now they are dropping like flies

Saturday an early morning jaunt from Wayland. A couple wrong turns and Caitlin and I were finally there and ready to rock. Caitlin's knee was still sore from the 15 from two weeks previous, and I admit to feeling a little stiff in the joints and a lot of lazy in the mind. Thankfully Saturday was supposed to be a taper run, rather than an up in distance--suggested mileage of 12-15. We decided on the minimum (I know, I know, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valor!) at 12. Waterstops being were they were and the both of us opting to go maybe just a little bit further...we ended up turning around at a waterstop (equipped with Gatorade! And red Twizzlers!) that would bring us in at about 13 or 13.5. Caitlin had wrapped her knee, then discarded the Ace bandage a few miles in, and was starting to hurt by the way home. She ended up grabbing a lift home with 3 miles to go.

Sadly it appears that there are suddenly people dropping. Or maybe it's just the women I run with? Caitlin ended up asking training guru (and former Boston champ) Jack Fultz his advice, and it does look as though she'll be able to run this weekend's scheduled 18-20. Brenda, on the other hand, still has no prognosis, and looks to be out of running for an indefinite period of time--forced to crosstrain only. (Those of you who run will surely recognize the mental and psychological agony of the interminable hours ahead of her--you keep going and going, but never seem to get anywhere. Perplexing.) I find myself becoming...perhaps a little paranoid? Do my knees really ache a little? Are my shoes too tight? Is stiffness in joints X and Y going to fade in a few miles? Of course. I am lucky thus far to find that my assorted aches and pains are what I assume must be normal for the mileage I'm putting on my bones and muscles. My legs are strong, my lungs are with them, and everything else is holding up just fine. Now all I need to do is remind myself to keep my head rolling along with the rest of me. :)