2.02 miles in 16:11 – last leg stretch before Fort Garry Rotary Club Half tomorrow – feeling strong

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I did a couple miles last night on the treadmill and then 2.02 miles this morning outside. I am feeling good and strong and I am looking forward to the race tomorrow.

I haven’t had any issues with my knee or hamstrings in a while so I am hoping those don’t play a factor in the race!

My wife will be running tomorrow too – we will be each doing our own thing on the race and she will be heading out to set a nice shiny new PR at the half distance.

I am still trying to figure out my strategy for the run though – after I unexpectedly set a new half marathon PR back in May I want to do it again! …But I also don’t want to hurt myself. I have another half marathon set to go in October (WFPS Half Marathon) and I don’t want to wreck my Dopey Challenge 2015 training.

So my current plan (which could change wildly over the course of today and tomorrow morning) is to start out taking the first mile relatively easy (maybe 8:20 ish?) and then try to settle in with each mile being well under 8:00 although closer to 7:45 would be better. Realistically I would like to be under 1:44:00 for the race with a strong effort but if I can get some of my treadmill pacing to translate outdoors sub 1:40 seems possible.

That kind of highlights one of the things I will have to look after mentally during the race. Most of my speed work is done on the treadmill and I do my longer, slower runs outside. So I am not currently specifically trained to run fast outside. What I mean is cardiovascular, endurance and muscle wise I am trained up but I am also used to not having to worry about pacing myself – the treadmill takes care of it. Outside I run significantly slower on my long, slow runs where pacing isn’t as big a factor. Basically during the run tomorrow I am going to have to push myself to keep the speed up – physically I am capable but it will be a mental game tomorrow to get the time I have the potential to reach.

It is going to be an interesting run tomorrow! But now it is time to get some breakfast in me, hit the packet pickup and then make sure I have fuel ready to go for tomorrow!….oh yeah and laundry…running clothes would be a good idea.


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