RunRaleigh Half Marathon Preview

I will be running in the inaugural RunRaleigh Half Marathon this Sunday with a PR as my target.

I started out the year with a Half Marathon PR on my mind and was torn between a return to the Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon and the RunRaleigh Half Marathon. I really didn't want to run the Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon again as it is poorly organized and expensive but with the close ties between NCRC and the organizer of the RunRaleigh Half Marathon, I wasn't sure whether I'd be needed in a volunteer capacity and be stuck with Raleigh Rocks. In the end, Raleigh Rocks clashed with the Umstead 100 and there were plenty of volunteers for RunRaleigh, so I registered in late February.

Here are some of the things I have been thinking about:
1. I have been in great shape this year so far, with PR's at 5K (20:27 - 6:34/mile), 8K (34:43 - 6:59/mile) and 10K (43:43 - 7:02/mile) and nothing more than a couple of aches and pains during training. My Half Marathon PR is currently 1:36:40 (7:22/mile) and I feel that if everything goes my way on Sunday, I'll be able to run 7:10/mile and finish in just under 1:34:30 - so that is my "A" goal.

2. The course is flatter than Raleigh Rocks and doesn't have any long, steep hills. The last couple of miles are slightly up hill, but nothing major and the middle part of the course is relatively flat. It probably is about as flat is as possible in Raleigh!

3. The weather might be a factor as Sunday is forecast to be a warm day and I certainly prefer the cooler weather. The start time is 7am, so it will still be cool then and hopefully it won't warm up too quickly. If it does warm up I might be forced to focus on 1:36:39 for a new PR, which is my "B" goal for the race.

4. This will be the first time that I run a race longer than 10K in my Nike Free V3's. I have done numerous tempo runs and long runs in them, but running a Half Marathon at race pace is an unknown.

5. I am also considering running without my handheld water bottle and using the water stops - which will be a first for me in a Half Marathon. If I carry the water bottle I don't have to worry about when the next water stop is coming up and I also have something to carry my GUs and S-Caps in, however, it is relatively heavy and annoying to carry. If I don't carry it, I have to work out some other way of carrying my GUs and S-Caps and also will no doubt stress about hydration.

All that being said, I am excited about this race and can't wait for the challenges that await me on Sunday morning. Hopefully, everything will go my way and I'll run an intelligent race and come out with a new PR but if they don't it will surely be an experience that will help me in future races.