Time to Taper

Decent 5K race today (well, yesterday as it's just after midnight as I write this) at the Amherst Skeleton Run in some windy and cool conditions. Fall has definitely arrived. Ran 17:19 for 7th overall and 3rd master. Top master was at 16:42. Felt ok, but a little stale, probably due to a combo of quite a few late nights at work the past few weeks and some pretty tough workouts. Definitely not as on as I was in my 16:54 race at the beginning of the month, but I felt a lot stronger than I did in the masters XC race in North Carolina. The race I've been focusing on all fall, Ann Arbor Turkey Trot 10K, is in 2 weeks (happens to fall on my 44th birthday too) so now it's time to back off on the intensity and trust that the hard work this fall will pay dividends. Peaking is always the hardest thing for me to do as I have a hard time easing up in my training.