A non-race race that I want to race
I apologize for the headline that seems like a bunch of mumbled, jumbled words … as well as for the rest of this post.
I’ve had a hard time writing this week — if it weren’t for my Twitter Q&A and my monthly 11 things posts, I probably wouldn’t have written anything else.
I thought it was writer’s block, but truth be told, it’s me avoiding setting a goal for this weekend’s Lynchburg Half Marathon — a race that I’m not approaching as a “big” race, but instead focus on it being a training race.
In the past I’ve called it a “non-race race,” but those aren’t the right words anymore. “Training race” has a better ring to it.
This race fits in perfectly with my training schedule for the Baltimore Marathon. It’s exactly at the halfway point of my training — it’s a big test of where I am fitness-wise for a speedier long run. It’s about putting enough on the line to “race” it without being sore for 3 days after and messing up next week that should be even higher mileage. There is a fine line here with how hard to run this race.
Ideally, I’d like to run this slightly faster than my marathon goal of 3:45. An 8:36 pace — a time of about 1:52 — for a half marathon seems too slow of a goal. I think — and I say think because I may change my mind as soon as I wake up — that a goal of 1:49 is realistic for this race.
Last year the one major hill in this race — probably about 3/4 of a mile long — zapped me coming down. Yes, down, but knowing the course better will help this year. The weather is also supposed to much nicer than a year ago and considerably cooler than the past few weeks.
One thing about this race is that I’m realizing how important it is for me to do this. Otherwise I feel like I could fall into this cycle of “just another long run.” I have to push myself to set the tone for the second half of training. I’ve had an unbelievable first 8 weeks of training and I want the next 8 to be even better.
I’m probably no more clear about this than I was went I first started this post. Honestly I’m eager to get out there and see what happens. And, more importantly, to have fun.
Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Have fun Dave. You should tempo the last half to see where your fitness is and push yourself a little. But above all, enjoy it!
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Thanks for the tip. The toughest thing about this race and setting a pace or tempo is the crazy giant downhill around mile 9. Last year my legs had nothing left after that, but I know that I'm much stronger now that a year ago.
Nice post. I you made some good points.
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Actually, that's perfecting wording for it, and I think this post helped me decide how to go about my half next weekend, the "Just another long run" part. I think with the forgiving weather you might surprise yourself too, you'll probably feel really good out there.
I think you have a good idea of what to do. You don't want this to be LSD, but you don't want to kill yourself, either. Maybe "comfortably hard" is a way to put it. Challenge yourself, but don't go looking for a PR. And, like you said at the end, the more fun you have, the better the race will be.