Does Being Sick Count as a Taper?

Well, 5 days out of the marathon, I think my body is trying to fight off a cold. I've had a sore throat and have been feeling a bit off the last two days. I actually think my body is doing a good job of keeping this cold at bay and I think I just may be able to keep damages to a minimum. On the schedule this week for the taper is 6-7 mile tempo run today, 6 miles with 3 of it being speed work on the track tomorrow, and then a 10 mile aerobic run with some pick-ups on Thursday. If this cold persists, I might have to alter that schedule but it's OK because a taper is just rest and doing short bursts of speed, I think I have the rest part down. And well, it's a marathon so how much speed do I really need? I have to admit, even with the tight hamstring and knee injury, I've been feeling pretty dialed in these last couple of days. I feel fit, lean, rested, and have been hitting all my key workouts. And though I hope for success come race day, I have to say that regardless of the result, I've really enjoyed the process. Yes, a bit of me wants to run near my 2:39 PR, more of me wants to keep it around 2:45, my debut marathon time, but the pragmatist in me thinks a 2:53-2:56 is more likely. But let it be known that this race is just for me to get a Boston qualifying time which is a 3:15, a time that I once was shooting for at the end of an ironman...to no success by the way. So, if I just keep this in mind, I definitely should not blow up and if I do blow up, it's because my ego was chasing that 2:39 or 2:45. And boy do I feel like a dumb-ass. I spent two months saving and finally bought my Garmin 305 only to lose it four days later. I either left it on a bench while changing for a swim or it dropped out of my bag. Either way, it was after my last long hard run so I wasn't as alert and in that state, I've been known to leave many things behind. I guess it's just not in my cards to own a watch that fancy. I'm not even entertaining the thought of buying another one. I think I will just take this as a sign to wait for the technology to get better; afterall, that watch was so damn big it looked like an iMAC was attached to my wrist. I'm all about Kiva.org these days and have since found out about the Kiva Fellows Program (http://www.kiva.org/about/fellows-program/), hmmm...