This weekend I'll be racing in another "first annual" Half Marathon in Raleigh. The Midtown Captrust Half Marathon will take place on June 3rd as the Raleigh spring racing season comes to a close.
Weather: The weather forecast is much better than I had hoped for when I signed up for this race with temperatures probably in the low 60's at 7:30am. It'll be humid for sure, but there is no way around that in NC in early June.
Course: 11.6 of the 13.1 miles of this course are on the Raleigh Greenway system which is flat apart from a "bump" (short steep hill) near the turn around. The first 0.75 of a mile is downhill and the final 0.75 of a mile is up hill. The hill near the start/finish is long and steep in places with about 180ft of elevation change. It is going to be a challenge getting up that hill at the end of the race for sure!
Training: I've been in maintenance mode since the RunRaleigh Half Marathon. I've been sticking to my 4 workouts a week and running at least twice a week at 7:10/mile or quicker for my tempo runs. The temperatures and humidity have been increasing, but I think I have acclimatized as much as I could have hoped for early June. I ran a 5K PR 20:14 just over a week ago, so I know the speed is still there.
Goals: My goals are about the same as they were for RunRaleigh.
1. A finishing time of 1:34:30 or better for an average speed of 7:10/mile
2. A finishing time of 1:36:39 or better for a new PR
Thoughts: The up hill last 0.75 of a mile is going to be a challenge. I have been out and practiced on this course twice and I know for sure that the hill is really going to slow me down. I think I'll need to be at least a minute ahead of my goal pace when I get to the last mile to have a chance of hitting my goal and it is probably going to take everything I have to run a 8:10 last mile with 180 feet of elevation gain, but I am ready to give it a try!
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