Half marathon goals!

Race day is almost here. I'm getting very excited and, I admit, a little nervous. Fortunately, the nor'easter that threatened to muck up my travel plans never came to be so we should be fine for our drive south to the race. And the weather for tomorrow looks good, but that doesn't mean I didn't overpack with three potential outfits. Hey, you never know!

Now, what of my goals? Since this will be my first half marathon, I wasn't sure what goal to shoot for when I started training 12 weeks ago. Add in that I was still building up my mileage post-baby and at first I thought I would just shoot to finish. Then I got smart, channeled my inner Kara Goucher and decided that no good comes from sand-bagging.

So, after a solid 15K and many fast long runs and strong mile repeats, I've come up with three goals:

C Goal: To finish in 1:59:59 or better. There's no reason that I should run slower than 9:09 per mile. 

B Goal: To finish in 1:55 or better. Totally reasonable.

A Goal: To finish in 1:51:17 or better. Based on my oh-so-scientific calculations, I should be able to hold an 8:30 per mile pace for 13.1 miles. I think I can . . . I think I can . . . I think I can . . . 


So, there you have it.

Now, I'm off. It's going to be great to tackle the half marathon with my great pals Bridget, Janis, Amanda and Suzy! I can't wait.

Good luck to everyone running and racing this weekend -- especially my running pals and all of you Half Marathon Challengers! Have a great weekend!

~ Felice