no running for me as my achilles heals...
barton's amazing run was bound to generate a thread like the one he got--sort of a rite of passage. i chime in on threads like that, futile as it may be, just on the chance that some of the readers may actually be swayed by logic and perspective, even though i know full well with some of the posters you shouldn't look crazy in the eyes...
glad to see KP, MF, and igy toeing the line again--i'd be happy to start a race right now, let alone finish it...
on tapering: as a coach, i've had some success with something called the "carolina taper," which involves doing lots of 400s at 5k pace leading up to a race. i only use before a championship level race, so if my athletes have league finals on a saturday, monday i may do 8-10x400 with around a minute rest, or 1:1 recovery depending on group size and disparity of talent (ultimately recovery time is not that important as far as precision goes); tuesday we may do 6-8x400; wednesday 4x400; thursday short run + strides; friday 1-2x400. the range of quantity is based on whether the athletes are going too fast or too slow; in either case, i decrease the number.
personally i've used the carolina taper maybe once or twice with some success, but i hate getting on the track by myself; my best tapers have generally been when i focus on training routine and frequency, but cut down volume and some quality. since i normally go long on sunday, track on tuesday, and sometimes tempo on thursday, i try to keep that schedule leading up to a big race, but instead of 10-14 on sunday with the middle 8 tempo-ish, i may go 8 with the middle 6 at about the same pace as what my middle 8 would be; tuesday's track session would be more like 3-5k's worth of reps at 5k pace; thursday's tempo would be 2 miles instead of 4 (i've done variations on this leading up to the carlsbad 5k, a sunday race, almost all of the last 12 years i've run it--the exceptions were mainly the years where i've gone in less fit or coming off an injury). as we all know at the point where you're trying to rest up for a big culminating race, physiological benefits are minimal to non-existent; i try to remind myself that maintaining fitness is easy while advancing fitness is hard, so be ok with easy...
carpe crepusculum,
cush