Around the Bay 30k Recap

I ended this race, blasting down York street beside Wayne screaming, "I LOVE TO RUN."

This is Around the Bay and what follows is my AMAZING day of running.

Expo and Pre Race

I had my last day of work at the old job on Friday, so I had to get to the Expo to pick up my kit on Saturday. Fergus and I went down right after his tumbling class and he quickly spotted the PowerBar Gummies and scored a few and spun the Running Room wheel to win at hat. He decided on the Blue Fibre 1 toque and John Stanton approved

I did a bit of shopping and finally got a car magnet for my car and the ATB shirt I wanted (it fits super small which is sad because I don't know if I'll ever wear it)

You can see that I picked up the closest pace band to our targeted 3 hour pace: 4:15 for a marathon. I got one for Wayne as well. They made good decorations. Dinner went well and I decided on Cookies N Cream ice cream over pretzels for dessert (gotta love looking at a race as just a training run with no real expectations)

I was unsure what I wanted to wear but after chatting with JS and looking at the weather network, I figured that the same outfit from Chilly as it had good race karma. I laid everything out and went to bed, setting the alarm for 6am so that I could shower, eat, drink coffee and settle my stomach. 

I made a last minute "training run" decision (without consulting Wayne) and I decided not to run with music at all. I left it in my car.

I got to the start in plenty of time, before 8am in fact, got good parking and then stood outside of my car with my jacket in hand trying to decide if I should wear it. I figured that I would be running an easy pace, so I had better keep it in case it got cold or windy. This is the only error I made all day and it was minor. I got inside Copps, saw a bunch of people including my clinic leader Chris (another Silver medal for him) and found Wayne while I was hanging with Irina and her husband! The four of us got into Copps and met up with the DailyMile peeps and I found the other people I was going to run with including Phil and Ali (and her husband Colin) and Jamie. After hitting the washrooms one last time, it was time to head out to the mass start.

Ali and I pre-race. Yes, she ran with spatulas again!

 We saw these guys just as someone was asking them how much they were carrying, "Depends on how much water we drink." Simply amazing!

 And then, finally, we were off!

1-10k. Colin? It is crowed. And Hot.

The start of Around the Bay is amazing. It took us over 7 minutes to get across the start line, but soon we were away. My facebook friends got double notified as I kept updating and so did Sports Stats (I love those auto updates they offer). We settled into pace pretty easily and I didn't worry about our first split of 6:08, even though I joked that we had to make up time!

So inspiring.

 The five of us were running well together and enjoying everything. Ali had decided to stay back and keep slow to keep her hip injury in check. I saw the first photog and pulled a run nerd

Even Colin was loving it.

Before long, I was BAKING in my coat. I tossed my dollar store gloves and ended up taking off my coat while Jamie held my phone. I looked at it and told Jamie that the coat was lucky that I really liked it or it would have been tossed as well. I double tied it around my waist and let the world know that my outfit had changed, tweeting and FBing out this photo:

"Coat is off hot"

We hit the second water station with Colin and Jamie heading in for water and while Jamie joined us again, I think this is where we lost Colin. I don't blame him. My "ten minute miles" were a bit faster then that.

6:09-5:59-6:04-6:02-5:52-5:48-5:47-5:48-5:51-5:44 (gu), Split 59:04, pace band (ha) 1:00:00

11-20k. You guys are really serious about this pace stuff. Jamie? Phil? Guys?

I was still having lots of fun at this point and keeping on pace. The crowds NEVER parted and so we chatted about that and Wayne and Phil compared notes from the Mississauga Half Marathon that they both ran last year. Jamie and I got to know each other in the way you do when you meet someone and hit a long distance run with them minutes later and we were all feeling good. No music was no problem for me because there was lots to listen to and look at and I felt awesome. Then all of a sudden, we saw a railroad track in the distance. 

With a train running through.

"Is that a train?!?!" "WTF?" "I think we'll miss it." "Its going to be like the start all over again, so crowded."

Turns out we DID miss the train and the  crowd didn't slow us down at all. And we kept up our spirits

Selfie FAIL!

When we ran over the 15k mat, both Phil and I commented that we were doing a great time with about 1:30 in the bank. Wayne was really surprised we were keeping such an eye on that. "You guys are really serious about this pace thing, eh?" Then we noticed that Jamie hadn't caught up to us after the water station. We figured she would eventually or maybe she had to slow down a bit.

Still pretty croweded at this point (14-15k)

I stopped dead to take this photo. I tweeted it out as well.

 The lift bridge was hard due to the footing and I just ran it quickly, picking my way along it. Wayne couldn't believe the terrain. I guess I had forgotten to tell him about that. After the lift bridge we realized that we no longer had Phil. "I think he went ahead." said Wayne. I didn't think so, but just agreed. No sense in having a mini runners disagreement with half a race to go. HA.

I had gotten a text from a friend who had told me she was on Northshore after 17k so I started to look and look for her. I was super lucky to see her, right where she said she'd be. 

Remember my sentiment about loving to run from the top? Check out the fun I was having:

Just amazing that after 20k of a slightly faster then normal training pace, I was able to still enjoy it this much. I really think that this is the magic of Around the Bay.

5:32-5:59-5:48-5:49-5:48-5:43-5:47-5:41-5:39-5:34 (gu), split: 57:20, time: 1:56:24, pace band (didn't we go through this during the MidSummer post?): 2:00:00

21-30k. We are not walking up that hill. "I'm smashing this KM."

You betcha I was still having the best time! Wayne was doing well too and while I totally knew he could run the race with the time I had in mind, I think he was surprised at how good he was feeling as well. We kept chatting and passing people. We passed people the whole entire race. In fact, we passed Irina twice. Once in the first 10k and once again here (she passed us in between due to her strategy of 5k easy, 10k hard, 15k easy). It was super fun to cheer each other on along the way! 

As I had run this section three times since last year's Around the Bay, I began to use strategy on the hills. Wayne and I agreed to let the gravity of the downhill aid in our decent and to not push it on the up hills. By this time I had to dip into each water station as my supply was depleted (I had two water bottles and two of poweraid). Wayne kept trying to get me to take his, but I wanted to practice using water stations as that is my marathon plan again.  Up the hill, down the hill. I started to think about those oranges from last year and kept wondering where they were. Hmm. I could really go for an orange slice. I could go for a Henry van right now. And then... there they were. I told Wayne, "I'm getting one" and he also took advantage of the pick me up. 

We turned onto Spring Garden and I reeled Wayne in a bit. He showed some concern, and while I was feeling the pace by this point, I shrugged it off and told him that I just knew what was coming and wanted to save something. "We are NOT walking up Valley Inn." To be honest, I just wanted to get to freaking VIH, get it over with and FINISH the race! I had to put my phone away at this point. I really, really wanted to tweet and facebook out at the end of our Valley Inn ascent, but the phone was weighing me down. I shoved it in my new blue fuel belt pocket and down we went to the valley of ... Valley Inn. 

I told Wayne to take out his earbuds and listen. "Do you hear the bass? That's a little person with a boom box blasting we will rock you at the base of the hill." "Must be some boom box."

We totally high-fived our DJ and away we went.

Just like last year, the hill was not a problem. At the top, I felt my breathing was laboured and I mentally thanked the past weeks of hill training that we had done. Chris makes us continue to run for about 200 meters after the very top of the hill and this is very good practice for this hill. Then, we are on York Street and I'm looking for the reaper. I'm not talking much anymore because all of a sudden we're at 27k and I'm over six minutes ahead of pace. I feel freaking awesome! Wayne asks if we're going to get it and I tell him that we are going to get the three hours for sure and that I'm getting a PB for sure. "Where did the three hours come from anyway?" After 27km, its a fine time for Wayne to ask me that question. I can't believe the trust he has in me. "That's about where our training runs have been." "Oh. Sounds good."

And we're at the Grim Reaper and Wayne is high-fiving the crap outta him. He's getting a kick out of all of the race markers which I read out to him faithfully every six minutes or so. Again #28 tells us, "It is rude to count the number of people you pass out loud." Wayne's awesome humour kicks in as he reads the signs the Reaper puts out along York and I point out the "last aid station" to him as he chuckles away. We see Copps in the distance and I tell Wayne I have to hit the 29k sign. I do, telling the lady standing there, that "I'm smashing this sign. I'm smashing this kilometer."

And we head down York, with me yelling to Wayne to watch the turn into Copps and to put his hands up for the finish line photo and me remembering to take off my sunglasses.

Concentrating on the turn

Then, we're in Copps and I can see the finish and I can see that the freaking GUN time is just about to turn over to 3 hours! I beeline for a clear lane, throw my hands up and BEAM my happiness as I cross the line.

5:38-5:41-5:24-5:43-5:38-5:37-5:42-5:44-5:27-5:13-0:56 (last 150m), split: 56:43, total : 2:53:07. You do the pace band math. Did you notice that we freaking NEGATIVE SPLIT AROUND THE BAY?!?!?!

Gun: 3:00:11
CHIP: 2:53:00 (6min, 51 sec PB)
W35-39: 207/537
W: 1144/3328
Overall: 3328/6849

After

There was the food line and more photos:

And meeting up with Running Room peeps and DailyMile peeps and then I had to head to my car to get home to my family. I totally indulged in my new post-race ritual.

 And then, I continued to keep the runners high with the following (shared with my husband). I don't know any better way to celebrate an amazing race, our new home,  turning 36 and staring a new job. One thing I know, I've set the booze bar high for post marathon! 

 Next up? Mississauga Marathon. I can't wait to race with Wayne and I hope he feels the same way. What a wonderful day! If you ran Around the Bay, I hope you had at least some of the special moments that I did. If you're considering it for next year, I highly, highly recommend it!

Photo Friday/Posts from last night

Because you only turn 36 once



Around the Bay Race Goals!

Much like last year the goal for the 2013 Around the Bay race is to run it as a Long Slow Distance run. Wayne, Colin, Phil and I are going to start together and aim for a 5:55-6:00/km pace and enjoy ourselves along the way.

I do feel that if the day is going well, and I'm within the target to get a PB at sub 2:59:51 after the hill at Valley Inn, I will go for it for sure. That part of the race is all downhill to Copps and I really had a blast passing by people along the way last year as well.

Other goals include tweeting, Facebook updating and generally having a great time on this catered training run. For those who haven't seen this yet, check out the elevation map my friend shared on her facebook. It is hilarious!

I'll be bib number 6235 and I'll be in the open corral at the start!

Good luck to everyone running this event and remember to have fun with it.

Mississauga Marathon Training Week 11!

Sorry I haven't blogged much in the past week. You'd think with a mere five days left at my current job, I'd have more time, but alas, I did not. I did manage to hit all of my planned runs this week, and after a few weeks of stalled weight-loss, I lost a whole pound! Nine more to go to get to goal race weight!

Monday: Rest. My legs felt great on Monday despite running for three hours the day before and moving boxes from my garage to my basement for 3 hours after that. I really think that the active recovery worked super well as I did not have time for an ice-bath. I was starving all day, which my fellow long distance runners told me was normal:

Tuesday: I woke up nice and early at 0500 to get out the door for an out and back tempo run. I had decided to go with a 1k warm up, 4k tempo (which should take me 20mins) and 1k cool down. I got a solid C on this run. I got the first two tempo paces done (5:01-4:58) but then my breathing and mind took over and I freaked out about my erratic breathing which caused my heart rate to skyrocket which caused my breathing to go crazy and I had to walk to settle that shit down (5:15-5:22). Live and learn. I REALLY, REALLY prefer to run tempo on the treadmill. 6.01k, 32:47

Wednesday: Hill nights. MyGodWhenWillTheseBeDone? WooHoo! Daylight savings caught up to me big time on Wednesday (hello naps on the train into and out of work!) and I was just BLAH while running up and down (and up and down x 8). I started to think about the fact that I HATE running! I had to turn that into I BigPuffyHeart LOVE running and just get those hills done even if the paces were.... meh. Oh, did I mention the headwind? No? BAH! 11.5k, 1:08:48

Thursday: Finally! An easy run night. Our clinic chat was about Around the Bay strategy (the marathon group and Around the Bay group are on the same nights and all but one of the marathon group is running the race on Sunday). Wayne and I set off for the 10k run and chatted the miles away. It is so nice to meet people who share the joy of running. 10.5k, 59:30

Friday: Rest. I got taken for a farewell lunch and the pub was handing out St. Patrick day hats:

Photo may have been taken post 3 pints of Harp

Saturday: I set my clothes out the night before and my alarm for 6am to enjoy the beauty silent morning again.... and then I didn't get out of bed. HA! The day was busy and I wanted to run before noon due to our LSD run on Sunday, so I fit it in around 9am. 6.01k, 33:49. Then we went to the Marlie's game because Alasdair had been selected to play during the first intermission as part of the TimBits hockey program. He took the faceoff!

AlMac's in blue!

Fergus enjoyed the thundersticks and pizza!

Sunday: We had our long run! I wore green as it was St. Patrick's day, but it was so cold, no one saw it because I had to wear my coat over top. Yan (who was leading the Chilly Half Marathon clinic) joined Wayne and I for the 29k run. We paced pretty perfectly on this run and our first 10k we so steady, it was amazing (1k at 6:05, 6k at 5:50 and the others around 5:47-5:53!). Like last week, Henry met us at 19k with a van of delights and I ate two orange pieces and settled in for the last 10k, home. I'm sure that Wayne and I are ready to Around the Bay as the goal is not to race it at least not until the last 3k. 29.01k, 2:50:11

Total KM: 63.03, Total Time: 6:05:05, Average pace per KM: 0:05:48

Another great week in the books! This week brings the excitement of the Around the Bay Race Run race? I can't wait to enjoy myself again! Look for my twitter updates while on route at twitter.com/nicmac

Mississauga Marathon Training Week 10!

Well, I think it is pretty easy to avoid the training blahs when you can build races into the schedule. After the brilliant half marathon I was able to avoid the pitfalls of not feeling like running and put in the highest mileage week yet!

Monday: Rest. My legs felt great!

Tuesday: 0515 out and back run from my house. Everything was easy, including my pace. These pre-work runs make me so happy! 6.01k, 34:36

Wednesday: Hill night in Streetsville. The entire group showed up and we hit the hills in pleasant weather. This run felt hard in the middle as it always does. Even though I was third to finish the hills (behind Chris and Wayne), I decided not to do another half hill at easy pace and just hung out and chatted with Chris before our group headed out together for our cool down. 7x500m hills. 10k, 59:23

Thursday: Easy run night. WooHoo! Except Wayne was on FIRE and Chris caught us at 5k and pushed the pace up. Oh well. Wayne blazed through the end but Chris stayed with me chatting away. Another lovely night. Spring is in the air. 10.01k, 56:30

Friday: Drink! Rest!

Saturday: I set the alarm for 6am and enjoyed this:

6.01k, 34:19

Sunday: Long run day! It was a great day for a long run. So warm, but not hot. Peter joined our group and Peter, Wayne and I ran together through the usual 29k route. We chatted and kept our pace perfectly at the higher end of our LSD recommended speed. At 19k, the very best thing happened! Henry was at the base of our longest and steepest hill to offer us all of the delights of a van of goodies! We all ended up at his van at the same time and were able to enjoy the various goodies while he wished us well on the last 10k of our run.

Mannish, Paul, Henry, Peter!

Mannish, Paul, Me, Peter!

Henry actually spent his down time running up and down our Wednesday night hill which is something he LOVES to do. Wayne, Peter and I finished strong with Peter picking it up in the last three km while Wayne and I stayed consistent. We celebrated Wayne's personal distance victory and then I went home to spend three hours moving more crap. Amazingly, my legs felt awesome the next day. Guess the active recovery really helped (or maybe all of the beers the night before). 29.01k, 2:53:25

Total KM: 61.04, Total Time: 5:58:13, Average Pace per KM: 0:05:52

Another great week of running and Around the Bay is only 13 days away! Hope you're training is going well too!

Photo Friday!

Got my hair did as I start a new job on March 25th. I needed to look younger. And cool. And smart. And... cheeky!

Chilly Half Marathon Race Report

This race was one of my favorites last year and brought me my half marathon PB of 1:57:10. I was hoping that I'd finally crack the 1:55:00 time in this race and figured that the course would be my best bet to do so.

Pre Race

Well, I had decided to take both Friday and Saturday off running in order to ensure that I was as rested as could be before the race, while still sticking the plan of marathon training. It meant that I ran six days prior to Friday, including a 26k run, but I was okay with that. I had to go into work on Friday for an important meeting so I couldn't even spend the day lounging around the house in sweat pants (the humanity!). Unfortunately my husband and I also had to head to his home town on Friday evening as a friend of his had passed away suddenly and we met up with friends for a remembrance dinner. With everything going on I ended up with 4 hours of sleep on Friday night. 

Saturday was typical with lessons and hockey. I picked up my race kit with Fergus who charmed everyone at the expo except for the dude handing out pace bands (grump). We came home, hosted my best high school friend and her family for lunch and the afternoon (and showed off our new place) before we settled in for a pasta dinner and relaxation. The Leafs weren't playing so I went to bed around 9:30. Oh, I forgot to mention. I was having trouble with the washroom and not to the good. It was feeling like Niagara Falls all over again. I decided I would drink a coffee in the morning and hope for the best.

I got up at 0630, had a shower, had breakfast of toast with peanut butter along with that small coffee and apple juice. That did the trick. Praise the heavens. One last photo opp and I was ready to go and meet my DailyMile friends

KM 1-7. This guy is the best pacer. Ever.

The meet up went off without a hitch and soon, we were heading down to the start. We left Patty, the 2:15 pacer and found Andrew the 1:55 pacer. Sam, Phil and I lined up together and just before the start, I told Sam (who was aiming for a 1:52 PB): You'll know right away at the end when you see me cross. You'll be able to tell by my face if I've got it. Or maybe I'll be with you. HA-HA. Just remember that. The gun went and so did we. The crowds were crazy. I was in constant fear of being elbowed in the face by a giant in front of me. Our pacer, Andrew was shorter so I kept an eye on him and an eye on those elbows through the out and back behind Joseph Brant and just kept running along. The pace felt easy and fine. The fear of black eyes and bloody noses was more pressing.

5:25-5:26-5:27-5:30-5:26-5:15-5:20 total: 37:49, pace band: 38:09

KM 8-14. It is feeling easy. I guess I'm going.

At 8k, I tapped Andrew on the shoulder and told him: This is my seventh half and my third time trying for this time. You're the best pacer I've ever run with. Thank you. He was appreciative and told me that now was the time to settle in and enjoy the run. He said to control any racing heart rate by keeping calm and focusing on the monotony of this part of the race.  It is good advice really. I totally zoned out and was able to forget all about running as I watched the leaders coming back toward me. I spent so much time looking for Peter that I was hitting the 13k turn around before I knew it. I was ahead of pace and ahead of the pacer. I decided to start to speed up a little with only 8k to go. I was feeling so wonderful that I knew I'd get the 1:55:00 (thank you poo gods!); it was time to try to better that.

5:28-5:20-5:23 (GU)-5:23-5:12-5:23-5:16 split: 37:25, total: 1:15:14, pace band: 1:16:18

KM 15-21.1. A Vision in Pink.

When I made the decision to surge ahead I had no plan really. I figured I'd just run and not check my watch at all. This got through the 15th KM and then I saw something familiar. A small pink runner. Sam. For the first time, I realized that a 1:52 finish was within my grasp (I had no doubts about what she'd do in this race). As the crowds around her cleared, I realized that she was still running with Phil (they had left the 1:55 group in the dust early in the race) and I decided to try to catch them, but to not kill myself in the process. Slowly, slowly I began gaining on them. When we passed the 16k marker, I yelled out: That's it! 10 mile run, 5k race. Here. We Go. By the reaction of the runners around me (including MR. TallOrangePants), I was the only one feeling quite that good. I was still gaining on Phil and Sam and I actually thought to myself, She's like a vision in pink. At just about 18k, I put a spring in my step and caught them, tapping Sam on the shoulder and telling her: Okay guys, pull me in! Can't talk. Too fast. Can't slow down. Just chased you from 16k. I think this put a spring in Sam's step because she kept running right along, but Phil decided to stay back and give the glory to the ladies. When we hit 19k, I told Sam that she had her 1:52 easy, she just had to run two 5:25ish KMs. I told her to get going and not wait for me as I had my PB for sure. She got going. I didn't let her get too far ahead though. At 20k, I SMASHED the sign, I was so freaking happy about this race. I was beaming. I saw my old running room manager walking back along the course and yelled "Hi" to him. He asked how my day was going and I screamed, I'm getting a f&$king PB today! I had looked at my watch and realized that I was within range for the 1:52 as well. I was having a pure adrenalin rush and for once, I totally gave into it and sprinted up the hill on Brant to the end, nailing a time I hadn't even dreamed of:

5:20-5:12-5:16-5:03-4:57-5:05-4:56-0:56 (pace 4:50) split: 36:45,  total: 1:51:59, pace band: 1:55:00

Gun: 1:53:46

Chip: 1:51:54

Place: 904/2833

F35-39: 45/212

After

After the race, I caught Sam right away who had finished a few seconds ahead of me and Phil who had finished a few seconds behind me. As we were getting water and medals, we saw Peter hanging out to cheer for friends. We chatted, got food and cheered other friends in to their finishes. It was a good mix of PB's, excellent training runs and pacing gigs gone well. We headed to the Queens Head with Peter for our free chili and beer before making the long, cold 1k walk/run back to the cars.

And now? Well, of course I've plugged the results into McMillan. I have lots of time to make a final decision, but this race has likely set up some more aggressive goals for the Mississauga Marathon. For now? Now I just bask in the glory of the AMAZING race executed to perfection.

Mississauga Marathon Training Week 9!

Well, it was a super packed week as I wanted to get two days of rest before the Chilly Half Marathon, but it sure payed off in the end!

Monday: I looked at my monthly totals and noticed I was at 170km. I decided that I could get 30k in before the end of the month on Thursday and so I forewent a rest day and ran an easy 5k on the treadmill during lunch hour. 5k, 31:14

Tuesday: Fergus was home sick again (he's on the mend, finally) but once my husband got home, I got out for the planned THURSDAY run of 10k as Ken had errands on Thursday. It was windy. CRAZY windy and I may have cursed the wind numerous times during the run. The wind did make it interesting though as I ran from our new house and kept turning and weaving to avoid it. 10.01k, 57:49

Wednesday: It slush-snowed all day on Wednesday. I was texting with Steph in the afternoon to see if she was still keen on hitting the hills as she was the only one I could count on that night (our leader was on vacation, Wayne was away on business and other members only come sporadically on Wednesday's). She basically guilted me into going to the hills:

Yes, it is true, I showed up around 18:20 and I was super worried that Steph wasn't going to show when 18:30 hit. She pulled up just as I hit send on that message. We took it very slow and really enjoyed the super mild weather (but not the wet feet). 6 hills, 9k, 1:04:32

Thursday: I missed clinic night as Ken was supposed to go do some construction on our old place (part of the sales agreement). His contractor friend fell through, but I still got my lunch hour treadmill run in to hit 200km for the month of February! 6k, 36:06

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Chilly Half Marathon. Oh, nothing. Just a 5min16sec PB! Report to follow! 21.19k, 1:51:54 (chip).

Total KM: 51.2, Total Time: 5:01:35 Average pace per KM: 0:05:53

I'm really happy with the way things are going. My goals for March are to ensure that I actually track my diet and lose some of that weight I gained in the off season. I've got 10lbs (still!) to go to get down to race weight and putting down the wine and chips is the only way I'll do so.

February Recap!

February brought its own challenges in terms of the weather (snow! ice! slush! snow!) and moving into our new home, but I continued to make time for running, even if it meant waking up at 0455 on a Tuesday morning to get a tempo run in before work. I'm well on my way in terms of marathon training and some realistic goals are starting to form in my mind.

# of runs: 19

Longest Run: 26k LSD run completed with the lovely Wayne from our Marathon clinic. It windy, but a perfect day otherwise (for the February we were having) and it was a personal distance record for Wayne. I'm starting to LOVE my red delicious apples post run again.

Races: None!

Highlight run of the Month: Running the Around the Bay hills with Ali from Running with Spatulas. Unfortunately it was her worst run to date but it was nice to see her again and I got to run with Ali's husband Colin as he experienced the infamous Around the Bay hills for the first time and got a personal distance record for the day. And we looked great at the start!

Total KM: 200.48, I ran for six days in a row to get to the 200km milestone! That's a run streak for me.

Total time spent running: 20h21m39s

Average pace per KM: 0:06:06 - with all of the long runs in this month (four were 19k plus!), it makes sense that my average pace will drop a little.

March started with an amazing race at the Chilly Half Marathon which I detail as soon as the photos are ready.

Chillly Half Marathon Race Goals!

Yes, it is that time once again! The first Spring race of 2013 is here and I'm ready to run it and (finally) go get the PB that I've been trying to get for two half marathon races now.

While old man Winter may try to wreak havoc on my plans, I'm still going to go out there and go for it. After all, last year I had a most amazing race which brought me the PB that I still hold to this day.

So, without further ado:

A+: Sub 1:55:00

A: 1:55:00

B: Sub 1:57:10 (my current PB)

C: Sub 2hrs

D: Not to crap my pants, literally

My plan is to go out with the 1:55:00 pacer and stick with them for at least the first 10k (There will be a 1:55:00 pacer, right?!?!), after 10k I will see how I'm feeling and let it rip if I'm feeling good or hang on for dear life if I'm not.

Bib is 1858

See you on the other side!