>
thebittenword.com/flickr
Week 16
Total Mileage: 32 miles
Weekend Meal: Baked ham, egg and broccoli casserole, roasted potatoes, fruit salad, green salad, bread, brownies, banana pudding, and ice cream cake
I didn't mean to have 25 people over for Easter brunch. The guest list started small. My parents were coming to town for the weekend, and I suggested that instead of going to a crowded, overpriced restaurant, we eat at home instead, and maybe invite my roommates. Then I thought it might be nice to include some friends from church. Then my roommate Amber asked if she could bring her eight family members who'd be in town for the weekend. Then I spread the word to my college friends in the area. And before I knew it, our refrigerator was filled with two hams, two dozen eggs, a sack of potatoes, and enough unsalted butter to make Dr. Atkins blush.
I could attribute this burst of hospitality to my joy at the Easter season and the coming of spring and my desire to introduce my family to all the wonderful people I've met since I moved to D.C. last winter. But really, I was just twitchy from tapering.
The last three weeks of marathon training are the hardest. The challenge isn't physical—in this final stretch you decrease your mileage, a process known as tapering, which helps the body heal and rest before the race. I did my last long run at the end of Week 15—a 20-mile ramble through upper Northwest D.C. and Rock Creek Park—and in the weeks since have been running less and less: 12 miles at the end of Week 16, and eight at the end of Week 17.