I slept until I couldn't sleep no more, unfortunately, that was 6am today. Then I put on another new running skirt and drove to Salem for a short run. Tapers are sweet! I only saw two men in the first .5 mile of my run so I asked the older gentleman to assess my skirt, which is navy blue with light blue shorts underneath. He said he could see just the bottom of the shorts. He said, "Don't worry, you are decent." So the champion skirt I bought for $20 at Target is a keeper, while the skirt I bought for $60 is going back. Go figure. I met up with Clay at about .75 and ran a couple of miles with him. It was so nice to be able to chat with him. I actually sped up accidentally while running with him (sorry Clay!). I feel good but not as fresh as a real taper would have made me, but I don't have the months of high mileage behind this marathon that would make a taper worthwhile. I see the marathon as being a very long tempo workout that starts easy and gets progressively harder. That's how I plan to race it. I hope to meet all my blogging buddies. Don't be shy introducing yourself if you see me and I don't initially recognize you. This is going to be so fun! Ave pace 8:10 | 