I chose this race for several reasons. First, I chose it because it's pretty close to where I live and it's going to be a pretty busy day for us, the race, then Tony Hawk in Rye and Jackie's (Jon's) 40th in Manchester that night. Second, I chose it because the fall colors are peaking in New England now throughout the weekend and it should be quite scenic. The third reason is because my father has run this half many consecutive years and it's nice to follow in his footsteps; he is not, however, running this year. And my final reason for running this race is because the shirt given is a long sleeve performance tee, which I'm thrilled to add to my winter running collection of kind, lightweight, breathable, sweat wicking threads.
I'm already being pretty snotty about what races I will run based on the shirt provided... cotton tees are totally lame, I mean who would ever dream of running in cotton anyway?
The race is at 9 am in the morning in front of the Eastern Slope Inn. It's named the White Mountain Milers Half Marathon and Relay. I'm running it solo. I've been getting ready for this race since I've been back from Oregon. I've thankfully been able to add mileage to my workouts, this is my indulgence!
Let us not forget the injured hamstring. This was kinda a stress injury...pushing too hard, working the same muscle without proper stretching, not warming up adequately, the stride opening too much and yanking that spot inside my knee over and over, until boom! it's just got pissed at me (that's what the sport med. guy said). In the last 3 weeks, I've also felt other stresses and aches in my neck and upper back, in my groin, and my right achilles, bottoms of both feet and even my gut.
I've been getting lots of advice from my friend Toni who just ran a NH marathon and qualified for Boston 2010 two weeks ago! She and I ran 4 or so miles together last weekend while on my 16 mile run and we talked a lot about what this marathon running is all about. I understand intellectually that marathon is at basic, not cumulative mileage, but actually exponential mileage. She agreed with me there, and as an accountant and business school instructor at a low residency program in Seattle, she has a pretty good understanding of the terms and how they relate to running distances, especially with a qualifying speed in mind. Toni has this achievement under her belt and now it's going to be my turn. We have also been working on the efficiency of my stride/gait and this will help tons in the long run.
Right now everything feels pretty loose except the neck. I am going to have to keep the icy hot and ibu gel on it and see if I can work this kink out (trying to avoid ice because of the disaster I made of my knee with the frostbite). But as far as motoring down the road, my kicks are in place and everything is ready.
I feel pretty confident that I can come in well under my 10k time from Oregon which fluctuated but seemed to hit around the 8:20 mark. The fluctuation was due to leg distances, lack of sleep, improper nutrition, leg difficulty (which seem to increase as the race went along for me) and my overall performance was just at a different pace; and these fluctuations will not be an issue here. Elijah is right now two feet away from me watching me type this and crunching SUPER LOUDLY on an apple, holy crap it's annoying OMG. (he just read that and is laughing hard now and spraying me with apple spray from his crazy mouth eeeeeew).
I have sort of a tactical plan I'm working on for this race. The key component is not coming out too fast. Unlike in 5k's and 10k's where there really isn't a ton of time to execute plan. For this longer race, I have to think about the start specifically. I've been doing lots of longer runs lately and I feel pretty confident that I will not tire. HOWEVER, I need to temper the first 4-6 miles and keep it at an easy pace, maybe 8:15- 8:20 so when the people in front of me start to feel the burn at mile 9, I can plow right over them and get me some roadkill lined up for the final 10 kilometers of the thing, like a 7:45 (?).
Or it could be possible I might suck. But I'm going to try not to. This race is part of a mission I'm on to complete the races in sequential order all the way up to something really long. So I had a 5k in Aug. in Portsmouth, then three 10k's in Oregon, now the half in Conway and then the Marathon in VA Beach in March. What's left after that? Maybe running a 50k race, who knows. I am just thoroughly enjoying my fresh air self and loving the many benefits of a healthy, fit body.
And I can't wait to see Sue LeBlanc Sydnor up there, it's been exactly many years!
Love to everyone,
Sarah
