OK...as much as I hate some of the made up words that this winter has brought about (i.e. Snowpocolypse, Stormagoedden, etc)...then I go and throw a word like "Run-cation" out there? Seriously?? Oh well.
In a couple of days I'm scheduled to fly out to Phoenix for this weekend's Phoenix Half Marathon. I haven't got all of my plans for site seeing lined up quite yet, but have made plans to get together with my cousin Brittany and her fiancee for lunch one day while I'm there. There are a couple of other things that I'd like to do while I'm in Phoenix, and of course, I've got the race to run on Saturday morning.
Saturday looks to be an early day with the race starting at 6:30am Mountain Time. The Runkeeper app on my phone is now set to track my runs in real time, so friends and family should be able to watch on a map as I move along the course. I used a similar app for my last half marathon, but I'm hoping this works a little better. The one thing this won't do is post splits at different points along the course, but while live tracking, it will post my current and average pace.
This week is a taper week for me, so the couple of runs that I do are just to keep the muscles loose and give them a chance to recover from the training leading up to this week. I was very happy with today's run. Although I felt that I was running at a nice easy pace, just trying to stay loose and get some time in, my pace was much faster than it felt. If I'm able to harness that same feeling on Saturday I could end up with a PR. I don't want to put the cart before the horse, and I'm not sure what it was about today that made the run go so well, but it does make me optimistic and allow me to take the chance and dare to hope for a PR already this early in the year.
So my goals for this race would be:
1 - Finish in under 2:04:21. That was the time it took me to finish Myrtle Beach in February of last year. That time was on a fairly flat course, run early in the morning, so basically I want to better my time on a somewhat similar course. The difference here is that Phoenix is more of a downhill course than Myrtle Beach was, and that should help with this goal.
2 - Finish in under 2:00:00. I've only finished a half marathon in under two hours one other time. It was a time that I originally thought was unattainable. Prior to finishing in under 2 hours at Philadelphia last Sept. I thought I had peaked. But knowing that I was able to run it last fall, and knowing how comfortable I felt running earlier today at a pace that would put me well under the 2:00:00 mark. If I can keep that same comfort level for 13.1 miles, I'll be in good shape.
3 - Set a PR. My current best time for a half marathon is 1:57:37. That would mean running an 8:59/mile pace throughout the half. Again, that is right about where I was at on today's run. As I commented on Runkeeper, if I knew what the magic elixir was that made that run feel like a nice easy run, I would be drinking it every day.
I'd like to try and make it down to Tuscon to see the airplane graveyard at Davis-Monthan Airforce Base. Don't think a trip up to the Grand Canyon is going to work, as it's a little far for the amount of time I'll be in the area. But the purpose of running in all of these other locations is to see the country, and that's what I hope to do.
If you want to follow my progress in the race, watch my facebook page for the link to live tracking on Runkeeper. That link will also allow you to cheer me on by sending cheers, etc. directly to my phone while I run. By clicking here you can see a map of the half marathon course and compare it to the live tracking map so that you'll have some idea of where I'm at on the course.
The race starts at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Time or 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The nice thing about these app features is being able to have active support on the runs, even during times when friends and family aren't right there on the course showing support.
But if you're not interested in watching a little dot crawl across a map, my unofficial finish time should post to facebook and twitter when I'm finished.
In a couple of days I'm scheduled to fly out to Phoenix for this weekend's Phoenix Half Marathon. I haven't got all of my plans for site seeing lined up quite yet, but have made plans to get together with my cousin Brittany and her fiancee for lunch one day while I'm there. There are a couple of other things that I'd like to do while I'm in Phoenix, and of course, I've got the race to run on Saturday morning.
Saturday looks to be an early day with the race starting at 6:30am Mountain Time. The Runkeeper app on my phone is now set to track my runs in real time, so friends and family should be able to watch on a map as I move along the course. I used a similar app for my last half marathon, but I'm hoping this works a little better. The one thing this won't do is post splits at different points along the course, but while live tracking, it will post my current and average pace.
This week is a taper week for me, so the couple of runs that I do are just to keep the muscles loose and give them a chance to recover from the training leading up to this week. I was very happy with today's run. Although I felt that I was running at a nice easy pace, just trying to stay loose and get some time in, my pace was much faster than it felt. If I'm able to harness that same feeling on Saturday I could end up with a PR. I don't want to put the cart before the horse, and I'm not sure what it was about today that made the run go so well, but it does make me optimistic and allow me to take the chance and dare to hope for a PR already this early in the year.
So my goals for this race would be:
1 - Finish in under 2:04:21. That was the time it took me to finish Myrtle Beach in February of last year. That time was on a fairly flat course, run early in the morning, so basically I want to better my time on a somewhat similar course. The difference here is that Phoenix is more of a downhill course than Myrtle Beach was, and that should help with this goal.
2 - Finish in under 2:00:00. I've only finished a half marathon in under two hours one other time. It was a time that I originally thought was unattainable. Prior to finishing in under 2 hours at Philadelphia last Sept. I thought I had peaked. But knowing that I was able to run it last fall, and knowing how comfortable I felt running earlier today at a pace that would put me well under the 2:00:00 mark. If I can keep that same comfort level for 13.1 miles, I'll be in good shape.
3 - Set a PR. My current best time for a half marathon is 1:57:37. That would mean running an 8:59/mile pace throughout the half. Again, that is right about where I was at on today's run. As I commented on Runkeeper, if I knew what the magic elixir was that made that run feel like a nice easy run, I would be drinking it every day.
I'd like to try and make it down to Tuscon to see the airplane graveyard at Davis-Monthan Airforce Base. Don't think a trip up to the Grand Canyon is going to work, as it's a little far for the amount of time I'll be in the area. But the purpose of running in all of these other locations is to see the country, and that's what I hope to do.
If you want to follow my progress in the race, watch my facebook page for the link to live tracking on Runkeeper. That link will also allow you to cheer me on by sending cheers, etc. directly to my phone while I run. By clicking here you can see a map of the half marathon course and compare it to the live tracking map so that you'll have some idea of where I'm at on the course.
The race starts at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Time or 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The nice thing about these app features is being able to have active support on the runs, even during times when friends and family aren't right there on the course showing support.
But if you're not interested in watching a little dot crawl across a map, my unofficial finish time should post to facebook and twitter when I'm finished.
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