Half-marathon training – Week 9 – Race goals

Posted by Cecilia on Thursday, November 23, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

20/11 – Rest day
21/11 4 miles Slow & easy
22/11 3 miles Slow & easy
23/11 5 miles Tempo run, 3m @ avg 8:43 min/mile
24/11 – Rest day
25/11 – Rest day
26/11 13.1 miles Half-marathon race day
Total 25.1 miles YTD: 719.5 miles

I just got back from a tempo run and now my half-marathon training is officially over. The miles are in the bank and there’s nothing left to do for the next three days but try to relax and then give it my all on Sunday morning. I think this makes now a good time to post my race goals:

Goal #1: Toe the line and finish the race. Enjoy the experience … at least for the first 10 miles!

Goal #2: Set a new personal best, in other words finish in under 2:10:42.

Goal #3: Finish in under 2 hours.

I set that third goal about 10 seconds after I crossed the finish line in Vancouver in May. According to the McMillan Running Calculator it’s a realistic goal. The equivalent performance to my Dawg Dash 10K 54:02 in October is apparently a 2:00:14 half-marathon. To run under 2 hours I need to average a pace of 9:09 min/mile. I actually hope to run a little slower than that for the first couple of miles and then run a slightly faster even pace after that.

The weather forecast for Sunday seems to change several times a day. This is now the wettest month ever in Seattle! Take that January 1954! We’ve have more than a foot of rain this month. Needless to say, I’m going to be prepared to race in the rain. Yesterday the forecast was calling for below freezing temperatures on Sunday. I am so not into that. Ice on the road would be so uncool. The other thing that would be uncool is extreme wind. There are some quite exposed parts of the route and I’d rather not be blown off! I know that the weather is out of my control but I do like to be informed.

  • www.weather.com: Occasional showers possible. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the low 20s. POP 30%
  • www.accuweather.com: Mostly cloudy, breezy and cold with a chance for a rain or snow shower. Winds from the ENE at 16 km/h. High: 3C Realfeel: -2C
  • weather.msnbc.com: Scattered Flurries. Chance of light rain showers. High 6C and low -1C. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. POP 50%

PS – Happy Thanksgiving to those of you of an American persuasion

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