The Taper?

    I understand the concept of The Taper, allowing the body to rest and recover from workouts before a pending event. I understand the concept, but have a very difficult time allowing myself to take down time. This weekend I managed some, just because events surrounding me took up much physical and emotional energy (in a great way). But now I feel behind schedule. I know I should take it easy this week, but find it nearly impossible to convince myself. Granted, my next event is a 10K race, not a triathlon, so I feel I can continue with planned swims, which I feel in serious need of, and allow myself to take time off from strenuous leg work. But g'damn, I still have a triathlon in 3 weeks that I need to be ready for, and really need to be bumping up my running and cycling. Yeah, I remember what coach said about the two reactions after a triathlon: "Wow, I sucked, I need to train harder," and "Wow, I did great, I need to train harder." Both, he assures me are wrong. I remind myself that I need to just keep moving ahead as I have been, consistent, vigilant, diligent. Honestly though, I don't know how to keep myself in check, go for slow and steady, rein in my natural exuberance. The only way I know is to keep pushing, sweat more, train harder, lift heavier. I must force myself to heed the advice of the experts, to relax, allow my body to recover, to not only understand the concept of The Taper, but to follow through. Maybe it is best that life has spun a bit out of control lately, preventing me from spending too many hours beating my body into submission. I should approach The Taper as I have approached all aspects of training, with sincerity, logic, diligence. It is just another training exercise. But it is a tough one.