Age is spelled A for Again, G for Gravity and E for Experience

First week of taper, always a challenge not to ease off too much when you're supposed to take the foot off the pedal.

I think at least this week I sort of had it under control:
Monday: Rest;
Tuesday: Intervals 400 to 1,600m pyramid, total 12.14ks;
Wednesday: Medium Long Run, 14.74ks at ave HR 140;
Thursday: Fartlek around Kings Park which included a few hills, 12.92ks, ave HR 138, max 161;
Friday/Saturday: Rest, mini-taper for HM;
Sunday: Perth HM, 21.1ks
Total for the week: 60.81ks.

The various bruises from last week's fall healed quite ok, although I hit my left thigh much harder than I had thought. I had also hit my left upper arm and shoulder and was a bit sore for a couple of days. The thigh was worse off and it was really only in the last couple of days that it cleared up.
Also have a bit of trouble in the right ankle, inner lower shins, somehow freezes when I don't move for a while.
Anyway, all good really, but gravity definitely has it in for me. Slipped on the wet pavement before the race today and hit the ground hard with the right upper thigh, but did not really notice until about halfway into the race. I blame it on old age...
By this morning the plan was to use it as a tempo run until the half way point at just under 4:30 and then see how I felt and take it from there. Apart from the stiff breeze from the Narrows onwards to UWA all was fine, so I just kept going. Took me 48 minutes for the first half and 46m 27secs for the second, so I even managed to turn up the tempo on the second half for a new pb of 1:34:27 (by 7 secs... and I set my pb at the C2S course last year which was more difficult and I was in better shape).
There were a lot of entrants, I am pretty sure must have been a record turn-out. The start was quite slow and painful and the puddles on and alongside the footpath were a bit of a pain. Lots of hooking left and right necessary. Took a little while to get across the start line and I lost about 45 secs on the first k just because of the crowd.
Tina Major won the women's race and she made a very important comment about her training, since she has just had another baby. Everything has to be well planned and she can't afford to just go out for a bit of a run as each and everyone counts. No junk miles (she didn't use the j word, but clearly that is what she had in mind). Goes for old fellas, too.
So for the next two weeks I hope that the ankle clears up and I'll give myself rest with one other good interval session and otherwise short tempo runs and strides.
I'm not sure I have the base to do 3:20, but I'll look at beating the Berlin time of 3:26. Need to work on the nutrition plan, too.