May 21, 2008 - The idol taper time is a blessing and a curse.

Yo run gang,

With over 4,000 runners entered in Saturdays Traverse City Bayshore events, chances are many of you are in taper mode. This week can drive a runner mad. The idol taper time is a blessing and a curse. This is a time for the body to lick the wounds and store muscle glycogen. The extra downtime can mess with your head, it gives you time to question everything from fitness (am I running enough) to food (am I eating too much) to race strategy (how fast should I start) to obsessing about the weather. Running during your taper sometimes can add fuel to this growing doubt. A short run may feel horrible, leaving you asking, If I feel this bad at 3 miles, how can I possibly finish? If this is how your week is going, I can tell you from experience that you are on the right on track, your body is peaked and ready to pop a big one, seriously. How does this work? Thats a good question!

Things to do in June, a fun month to run!

- Today: Buy new shoes at Running Fit, the bad weather is behind us and early summer shoes stay clean and looking good the longest. (Shameless Plug)
- June 4th: Come to the Head Goats swamp party and birthday run, a free 10K on rolling dirt roads, starts and finishes at his lair. http://www.runningfit.net/swampparty
- June 7th: I wish I was under 30! The glitz, glamour and paparazzi will take to the Red Carpet 5K Run in Novi. A rockin dress up run for the young and fabulous! See www.redcarpetrun.com, a fun website, a fun event (No age groups over 30)
- June 14th: Flirt With Dirt 5K and 10K Trail Run, Novi, Michigan! Yes, amongst the malls and mansions there is a wilderness loop! Enter at www.runflirt.com. To get inspired, check out the trail run video from Aprils trail races at http://www.trailmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=99. Part 2 of this video clip was posted just this week!

Taper em up, then run fast and take chances,
Randy Step, an obsessed runner with his feet up!