Its race weekend!

Its finally here!  The Colfax Half Marathon!

I've been running pretty fast lately, which is bizarre.  I'm not used to running fast and not dying.  My last 4-mile tempo effort was at a 9:58 pace with an average heart rate of 154 bpm.  I'm still not convinced that was me running.  And then last week I had 30 minutes of tempo, where I ran the bluffs and beat my friend Ryan up the hill and he couldn't catch me on the top rollers.  So apparently, I'm ok with running now!

Physically I feel pretty strong.  My SI joint was out of whack and causing some hip pain, but I got that worked on Tuesday so hopefully all will be well by Sunday.  It hurts a little bit, but things have definitely improved.

I had my coach pep-talk/race strategy call today and here's the plan:

• Mile 1 & 2: do NOT get excited and run fast.  This will be hard because we're running through the zoo and it will be fun and exciting.  must.not.get.excited.  !!!
• Miles 3~7: keep heart rate around 160, creeping up to 165 towards the half way point of the race.  This is the uphill portion of the course, which according to the interwebs is a whopping 150 feet of climbing.  Still, I need to keep things controlled and in check.
• Mile 7-10: heart rate around 165, push where I can but don't burn too many matches.
• Mile 10, 11, 12: evaluate how I feel and see if I can pick up the pace.  This is downhill and hopefully I can fly
• Mike 13: run hard.  do not die.  simple!
• Nutrition is going to be pretty simple.  I'm going to eat ~400 calories of some FeedZone rice cakes on the way to the race. I'm leaving at 5 AM and the race is at 6:45 AM, so that gives me plenty of time.  Then I'll have some SunRype with me and try to get in ~200 calories/hour.  I'll have 1 scoop of Osmo in my handheld and probably just refill with plain water when that runs out.

My PR is 2:17, which is from the Oilman Half Ironman last November.  Yes, I PR'd with a swim and a bike. I don't have a specific time goal for this race, mainly because I have no idea how fast I'll be able to run.  This is a pretty flat course and my fitness and strength are pretty good right now.  I'll just run fast, hope I don't die, and see what I can do.  (is it too much to hope for a 2:10???)

Oh, and the big goal is to not break my heel this time.  The last half marathon I did was the 2012 Colfax race.  I broke my heel during that race and spent the next 4 months in a boot.  That won't be happening this year.