How Do You Taper When You Had A Weak Build-Up?

Sort of in a taper-cutback mode which seems weird right now. Even though I'm more or less feeling great/wonderful thinking mmm maybe I didn't get in enough hours during January to be ready to sustain a good 50K. I didn't exactly taper for the 30K last week--but didn't work through it either. And this week was about recovery. I still got in about 8 hr each week, but seems kind of paltry for a skier. I know that a lot of athletes my age put in more hours. Today's workout was okay-so-so. Did 27.5K in 1:50. Pushed the last 12K but still didn't get my HR up all that much, peaking in the 150s. Finally, saw that APU's Holly Brooks won the Birkie, the USA's premier ski race. I think she's beaten me twice at the Tour; I'd like to keep ahead this time (we get a 2 min head start), but if she's leading that girl train on the Coastal Trail, I'm latching on and do not plan to let go.