The next phase: Taper

The day-after aches and pain report:
* Legs: A little sore. Some trouble climbing stairs.
* Feet: No blisters. Both pinkies feel bruised though.
* Arms and upper torso: Right shoulder feels tight, but it almost always does.

In other words, everything, physically, feels normal after a long run.

And just as important, mentally, I'm still riding high from yesterday's Big 20. Here's hoping that feeling sticks for the next 21 days. I realize I hit the proverbial wall at yesterday's Mile 18, but I have seen it and can now deal with it.

Because in this next cycle of the training plan, there is no more time for reservations, hesitations, questions. I have put faith into a running plan, executed it to the best of my ability for 15 straight weeks now. I have hit some serious lows, to the point where quitting crossed my mind. But for each low, there have been twice as many, if not more, highs. One big reason is the Chicago-bound blogosphere of marathoners. Some of you support me through comments, some of you just read in from time to time, but the effect is all the same. And I think it's more or less the same in reverse -- reading, but not always commenting, about your great achievements and struggles help me understand my own quest. So a hearty thank you, and I know I don't say so enough. (Where are my manners?)

Here's just one more reason to believe:
Week 15 tally: 35.8mi/57.6K (The Big 20 is history)
Training-to-date: 375.33mi/604.04K

I greet this last phase of training with growing excitement for Oct. 22. The taper has begun. We're almost there. It's within reach. Three weeks to go and the finish line is mine. No, ours.