With six days left to my final race of the season, the time has come to figure out my race plan. Not counting the run legs of my half Ironman races, I’ve only run a half marathon once before. It was about 8 months ago, on a crushed gravel trail, and I met my expectations. Knowing how hard I’ve worked for the past months, I should easily be able to set a new personal record time for the distance.
My original goal was to try and knock 7 minutes off my earlier time. That is no small feat, requiring me to knock 30 seconds off my per mile pace and by itself is enough to make me a bit nervous. Then I look at how well I’ve been running the past few weeks, really without any serious run training, and I believe I can break 1:50.
Then I had my normal pre-race chat with coach Kelly. She reviewed my performance over the past few weeks and announced that I should be able to break 1:45. That is another 30 second per mile reduction, down to 8 min/mile! She has a lot of experience with athletes, and if she thinks I can do it she is probably right.
I ran 6 miles today with an average pace of 8 min/mile. It wasn’t a steady pace, there was some interval work involved, and the recovery from those intervals usually costs me more time than the speed work gains me. It wasn’t a great run either. My legs felt heavy to start with, and by delaying my run until noon it was warmer than I would have liked. Even still, I am pleased with my results.
So that’s it. My mind is made up. I’m going to finish in 1:45. And when it’s done I’m going to enjoy a cold beer, a hot shower, and several weeks of well deserved rest!
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