Taper Question....do I run 6, 7 or 8 miles today?

The Myrtle Beach HM is next Saturday, the 14th, and according to our training plan today is rest or easy cross-training, and tomorrow is a 6 mile run. My dilemma lies in the fact that I never did last Saturday's scheduled 8 miler. Cold, dark, tired, excuses, excuses, blah blah....whatever, I was just lazy and didn't do it. I did this weeks 3 easy (3-4 mile) runs. Since my friend gets here tonight, I don't want to have to get up and run in the morning, so I'm planning on doing tomorrow's run today. So, should I stick to the schedule and run 6, or run 8 since I keep beating myself up over skipping it last week, or split the difference and run 7? Please someone tell me that missing that 8 last week won't hurt me too much in the race. I think it's mostly mental for me. I know I didn't do it so I don't feel as prepared as I should.

A rambling, multiple sentence fragments and runs on sentences recount of the morning thus far. Rich was up and out the door at 5am this morning to head to the airport for his weekend in Ohio, so I had all the "get the kids ready" duties. While I get up and in shower they are all 4 jumping, running, barking, growling and acting like fools playing in the bedroom. I have to confine them to the bedroom with me until I go downstairs to take them out so they don't decide it's just easier to go pee on the rug than wait on me to come down and take them out. After I've showered and dressed it's time to go out. They can't all 4 go outside together because Fiona jumps the fence and Emmy has to be on a leash. If Fiona jumps the fence I can't go after her if I have Emmy, plus when they are both out together Emmy wants to play and run with Fiona and ends up dragging me around or pulling me down. So first I let Dickson and Tanner out while I dry my hair, had to break out the frozen discs of ice in their water bowls, tried to use the hose like a dummy but of course that's frozen too. So it's back in the house to fill up pitchers of water for them. All the while the cats are by the back door howling because they are hungry, but I can't feed them now because as soon as I go back inside the dogs would eat it. Back upstairs to get ready some more. Then later back down and in with Dickson and Tanner out with Emmmy, while making Fiona sit and stay inside. With Emmy, you have to walk up and down and up and down the fence until she finally decides that it's a good time to relieve herself. I have to put on rubber boots every time we go out when it's dark because she likes to go to the very far corner of the yard and hide behind our palm tree to use the bathroom, and the porch light doesn't reach that far so invariably I wind up stepping in a land mine or two. So then it's boots off, back inside with Emmy. Let Fiona out, boots back on, go stand in the middle of the yard so you can keep an eye on her in the dark and make sure she is pottying and not fence-jumping. Back inside. Cats really pitching a fit now, oops, back out to the sun room (the sunroom is the go-between for the house and yard, there is a doggie door and person door from sunroom to yard, and a person door from sunroom to house. The cats stay outside and use the doggie door to come in sunroom, but can't come in the house because of foster dog Emmy. Feed cats, they are happy and quiet now. Time to feed dogs. Go in the garage, pour D, T and F's bowls with their own specific amounts of food. Make them sit at the door, tell them "ok go get it" watch D and T scarf their food down in 0.5seconds and bring them back in so they don't eat out of the food bag or steal F's. Shut the door from house to garage so F can eat in peace, it takes her about 5 minutes so I run upstairs and put on some makeup. Run back downstairs to let her in, pour Emmy's food, let her in garage to eat. Run upstairs to finish makeup, run downstairs to let her in. Gather up toys and beds to put in their crates for the day. Fold random load of laundry, start another load, put leftover pot roast into tupperware for lunch. Put empty wine bottle (a lot of it went into the roast juice, not all in my belly) in the recycle bin, grab $2.25 out of change bucket to pay the parking garage today because it's too cold to park and walk my usual half mile in to work, realize I left my glasses upstairs and that the place on my knee I knicked shaving has left little blood dots all over my light grey pants on the left knee area. Run upstairs, grab glasses, rub pants with wet towel, run out the door, realize I have 16 miles to empty, mentally calculate that distance to work and back is probably about 20 miles, drive to nearest gas station, while pumping gas rifle frantically through purse looking for work ID badge, find it (score!), look down at my pants to see that the left knee area is now a blend of light grey and that pale sick off-season tomato color of the Subway tomatoes in winter. Drive back home, leave car running so it will stay warm, run up driveway to front door. Doh, it's locked, keys in ignition, run back to get keys, get in house, run upstairs, find cleanest pair of black pants, change, pour hydrogen peroxide over blood on grey pants. Back to the car, drive to work, clock in a mere 15 minutes late thanks to our 7 minute window (ie clocking in at 7:08 is the same as clocking in at 7:22), make beeline for Starbucks for a venti coffee, begin blogging about morning instead of actually working. Aaaaaaand, exhale. Have a great weekend everyone! Did anyone actually make it to the end of that rambling mess?

To my dear friend Lynette who can't be here this weekend, be fast fun and friendly at the big T this weekend, save some lives, stock some hair gel and wart remover, give all the guys their friday pill, aka Viagra, counsel some little old ladies, don't give anyone their vicodin early, and know that WE WILL MISS YOU!!