The Taper Period

It's accepted in the running world that when you run long distance, you should have a period of tapering.  What does this mean exactly? Well, it means that during the past couple of months you have trained pretty hard for a particular race and so the week or two before that race, you can relax a little, knowing that the hard work is behind you and all that's left is to reap the benefits. Before a race like Comrades, normal runners might take the week before just to eat, put there feet up and try to mentally prepare for the mammoth task that lies ahead.  At this stage, the physical preparation is done and whatever runs you might do in that last week, is really just to keep your muscles moving.  Elite athletes who have trained intensively for 4 to 5 months out of the year for a gold in a particular race, might start to reduce their mileage two or three weeks ahead of time, allowing their bodies enough time to recover from the training and to ensure that they are on top form on race day (or so I've read).  But what about average runners who have been training as hard as they can for a few months for lets say...a 32km race....like me for example.  32km isn't exactly an impossible distance, but its far enough to make you tired and when said race is called The Tough One...well, average runners like myself may feel somewhat nervous just thinking about it.  So how much is too much before a race like this? Surely I haven't earned the right to taper as much as an elite athlete might, or even as much as I'll taper before Comrades next year.  But at the same time, should I really do a 25km run just a week before? Didn't I read somewhere that it stays in your legs for at least 10 days? So many questions! And what are the answers? To be perfectly honest, I have no idea! Some say cut your mileage down by a third two weeks before and then in half a week before, others say there is no need to taper at all before a 32km.  In fact, my Comrades training program by Don Oliver reckons all I need is one rest day before the race.  So what have I done? Well, I decided to apply the same principals for this as I will to the rest of my Comrades training (because The Tough One is just a part of that I suppose).  Body Sensing...those are my two favourite words in my running vocabulary! I've continued to run this week as I would any other week (although rain in Johannesburg has provided somewhat of an unwanted taper on some days).  Is this the right way? Again, I'm clueless.  But I guess I'll find out on one of the many hills come Sundays big race!