As I said earlier this week, I really hadn’t planned on tapering before the Broad Street Run on Sunday (visit my DC Running Examiner site for my race preview).
But with orders not to run for a few days until a cortisone shot in my ankle has a chance to work, I entered into a sort of accidental taper on Tuesday. To that end, I took today off. Like, totally off. No abs. No push-ups. No nothing. It will be one of three off days this week, as I’m not planning to run the day before the race.
I’m not going crazy as I usually do. I am, however, amazed at just how much my running and swimming workouts dictate my daily routine. Like, when do people who don’t work out shower? (Answer: If I have to ask whether it’s time to take a shower, I should probably do so). What do you do when you need an energy burst, or an anger release? When do you eat when you’re not timing your meals around your workouts?
I realize all this planning may seem borderline depressing from the outside, like a burden I should be happy to shed. But I’m eager to get back to my usual routine. A quote from George Sheehan, my favorite runner-philosopher, sums it up this way:
“The more I run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am.”
Sheehan, from my home county of Monmouth County, New Jersey, also referred to running as a “self-renewing compulsion.” Cool, huh?
Amy Reinink 
Great quote! I have a friend who just started running and he was telling me how he really liked that it was forcing him to live a different lifestyle, like not going out on a Friday night because he had to get up early for a Saturday morning long-run. I agree, running is not only good for you while you are doing it, but it is good for you when you’re not doing it.