We have a race on Saturday, which brings up the proverbial question of just how much tapering to do.

The race is the Blue Bell Fun Run. It’s a triathlon —  port-a-pot line marathon, run a few miles and then eat free ice cream till your brain seizes up from the cold and you waddle back home. (Do they make a tri suit for serious ice cream eating? I’m not sure lycra is a good look for this particular discipline.)

But what should the taper be? This obviously isn’t a key race, just a fun weekend. I’m torn.

I had my last serious training session Saturday. A really tough two-a-day. We were celebrating Ma’s birthday and we had a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Because we’re in Texas, and that’s what Texans do. The problem: The cake was frozen solid, so the slices ended up being about a pound each. Eating that beast was a workout indeed.

After we got home, there was some ice cream left in the freezer. This is such an unusual event that I ate it. Even though I was still reeling from carrying most of a DQ store in my belly. This was a day of classic overtraining, going much further than the actual race will call for. I didn’t sleep well (the problem with being lactose intolerance is the intolerance toward lactose), but nobody said training was going to be fun.

Sunday was Easter, so I finished off a little bit of another pint in the back of the freezer. Just a shakedown after the previous day’s effort. It felt fine.

I had no ice cream yesterday, but simulated a port-a-pot run by standing outside the bathroom for 45 minutes and then pretending there was no toilet paper.

I suppose I should run at some point, but I am inclined tomorrow to get in one last brick workout. A brick of  banana nut maybe.

Either way, the taper goes well. I think I’m on the road to a good run. Rocky road, to be exact …