The Big News...

No, Pharmie isn’t pregnant.

No, I’m not pregnant.

No, we’re not getting a parrot (but good guess, Sarah).

Pretty much on a whim, I decided to sign up for a half marathon THIS Sunday. I’m still looking for that PR!

This conjures up mixed emotions. There’s some good news, some bad news, and some neutral news:


The Good News:

• I’m still in pretty good shape after training for the Winter Carnival Half Marathon (which was shortened to a 10.25K because of the cold) a few weeks ago.

• It’s supposed to be around 20 degrees for the race: GREAT winter running weather.

• It’s a cheap race. I just dropped $25 on this race.

• I’m heading to the race myself, which means I can be SUPER early. I’m paranoid on race mornings. There are those people that get to a race on time, those that have plenty of time, those that are really early, and then those that are me. I might wake up at 4 am and decided to hit the road. When I race alone, no one else has to suffer through my paranoia.


The Bad News:

• I’m not in QUITE as good of shape as I was 3 weeks ago. I focused all of my training to be in great shape for the half marathon 3 weeks ago. After that (as I had promised myself), I started swimming and biking a lot more, because that April 5th Half Ironman is just around the corner! So my running has worsened, but I’ve gotten in better shape for a triathlon. Here, I made a chart:

(So even though my running is a little worse, I hope my improved “tri fitness” will carry me through. Oh, and because I made you suffer through that boring chart above, here’s a fun chart that made me giggle:)

• The course is really “loopy,” and I prefer an “out-and-back” race. Here’s the map of Sunday’s race:

(The race goes out, turns south, turns around back north, loops around that little lake TWICE, heads back south [right past the FINISH LINE at mile 10!], then turns back to the north.)


The Neutral News:

• We’ve had melting temps for the last 2 days. That means the course SHOULD be clear of packed snow. But it also means that there could be rivers of melting ice/snow that have re-froze on the trail. Those of you in similar climates know what I’m talking about (and how much that sucks).

• It’s going to be a small race: maybe 100-200 runners. Usually that’s good news (if I’m looking to place well). But here, I’m just looking to PR, so I want to have a good-sized group out in front of me to pull me. I’m not sure what kind of runners will be there.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So I’m going to take it easy the rest of the week and call that a “taper.” Then, I’ll hope to bang out a PR at the half marathon. I won’t be crushed if I don’t PR, but I’ll really be shooting for a speedy race. I’ll be pushing hard through mile 6-9, and I hope I won’t crash and burn at mile 11. Here’s to hoping!!....