Two half marathon questions

[boston340]

My half marathon is next Saturday, June 7.  I'm SUPER pumped about it!  I'm still evaluating my goals for the race (which will be different now than when I set them).  My two main questions at this point are:

1. I don't really know what taper should look like.  I'm planning a 6 mile run this Saturday.  I usually do yoga on Mondays and Wednesdays and was planning to do that, is that okay?  I usually do cycling class on Tuesday - should I skip that?

2. I have another half marathon on late September.  Any tips for maintaining my long run base all summer?  I was thinking about alternating between 10 miles and 12-14 miles every other Saturday.  Would that work?  

3. Not a question, but help me feel better: I didn't do my last long run last weekend (was supposed to be 14 miles) because life got in the way.  I'll be fine at the race next weekend, right?

[Deleted]

1. Your taper plan sounds fine. Sometimes I like to do a 2 mile "shake-out" run the day before a half.
2. I think alternating between 10 and 12-14 sounds like a little too much. I usually stick to 10k distances on weekends until a couple months before my next half, then I starts ramping up again
3. You'll be fine. I PR'd my last half and my longest run in the months prior to was 11 miles. I rarely do beyond 20k in training for a half.

[gt7301b]

1. I usually take the two days before my A races off, but am still pretty active at the beginning of the week. Some folks like to do shake-out miles the day before a race, I don't. I think you just have to experiment and see what works for you.

2. I don't see the need to do 12-14 miles for your long runs when not training. I stick to the 8-10 mile range.

3. Don't worry about it, you'll do fine.

[shauni27]

As everyone else said, your plan sounds good for taper. Do a couple of runs in there, just to keep your legs loose and keep your self sane.

I think sticking to 6 or 7 mile runs during the weekends over the summer is fine. Then about 6 weeks out before the next half just add to it--it will be a lot easier to add mileage at that point and you can easily go from 6 miles to 13 miles in no time

What was your last long run? You will be FINE! Not doing a 14 mile run will not kill you. This will be great, you've got this!

[Mushe]

This is probably sufficiently covered, but I like to do 8-10 (whatever feels good) the weekend before a half. Like GT said, I'll only take it easy the second half of the week, and more so if it's a race I'm hoping to PR.

I like the idea of just varying your runs before the Sept half, anywhere from 6-12 or more. If you want to do 10+ each weekend, go for it, but you'd be fine with less.

[boston340]

Thanks gals - you're advice is always helpful. I will try to stay calm.

[skwcm80]

You've gotten good advice, so I just want to say good luck!

If they hadn't moved the race around I would have been running with you.