(Photo Illustration - Pace Negotiations by Art Smith)

If you have spent your summer training for the News and Sentinel Half Marathon, good for you. You are likely in the best shape you have been for a while.

Now it is time to take it easy until Saturday.

Tapering off for a big race helps your body recover somewhat from the training that you have put in.

You are not going to get any faster between now and Saturday by pushing yourself, so give it a rest. By “it” I mean your legs, your arms, and even the bottom of your feet. They all need a rest from the pounding that you have given them, and this is the week to do it.

You should not, however, convert back to being a couch potato.

The taper has a lot of benefits for those preparing for a long race, and it is important that you use the week to your advantage.

The miles that you have been running have zapped your energy reserves. Taking it easy this week will help build them back, giving you more energy on race day.

Taking it easy this week will help the muscles you have damaged repair themselves. The pain you feel after a long run is your muscles yelling at you. The rest allows them to repair themselves stronger than they were before.

Your muscles store a lot of carbohydrates. Covering long miles depletes them. Rest allows the carbs to return to normal levels. The pasta that you enjoy at the Friday night dinner is meant to do the same thing as are the carbs that you will consume all week.

All the training that you have been doing has increased the amount of red blood cells in your system. This is why you have had more stamina. Taking a rest for a few days will not significantly reduce this, and working out hard this week will not increase your ability enough to make a difference.

This week you should continue to eat as you have been. Don’t eat any more or less than you normally do and don’t eat foods that you know might upset your digestive system.

You should also continue to exercise, just do it like a normal person, not a half marathon runner. Go for a light jog, go hiking, do yoga and remember to stretch. When you think you have stretched enough, stretch some more. It can really make a difference, especially in the first few miles of a race.

It’s not too late to join the fun.

Running or walking the News and Sentinel Half Marathon or Two-Mile Race will not only give you a chance to get a great workout, but it will also let you join your friends and family in two of the area’s largest and longest running events.

Art Smith is co-director of the News and Sentinel Races and online manager for the newspapers. He can be reached at asmith@newsandsentinel.com.