Taper

Two weeks until I toe the line for my second marathon. I'm currently in the taper mode of training which means the long runs are over, the total weekly miles should decrease, and my diet should improve. How do I feel this time compared to last spring? Well, physically I'm in better shape and haven't experienced any major pains. Mentally I know I can finish the race which is good, but I have higher goals. My first goal is beating my previous time of 4:13 and second goal is beating the 4 hr mark. The second goal has me a bit worried...how can I make up 13 minutes? Will I go out too fast and crash around the 20 mile mark? Overall, I must say summer training has been much more difficult than the winter training mainly due to the hot humid weather and busy schedule. Although I've hit my long run targets I don't feel the overall consistency was there this time. We'll see what happens. It has been great to run with a partner and I look forward to crossing the finish line with Dan totally exhausted with a great sense of accomplishment.