Finished with training and awaiting the big one!

Yesterday finished this week's "easy" training before my first half marathon on Saturday. My excitemtent levels have been on the rise, and it is definitely hard to concentrate on much else!

Monday was an easy lunch run of 3 miles. Running alone and not pushing the pace. It was sunny out and warm, and there was quite a bit of wind. Temperature was 77 degrees, and winds were from the SW at 25 mph. I ran the "usual" 3 miler out to Kyle Park on the roads and back on the bike trail.

Distance: 3.01 miles; Time: 26:09; Pace: 8:41

Tuesday it was raining out, so I opted to run laps around the factory "track." Of course, halfway around I realized that if it rains on Saturday I will still be running outside. Whatever. I made a conscious effort to keep my pace down unlike the other week. Each mile came out at 8:51, 8:45 and 8:48. For some reason I recorded the temperature and stuff outside, but it didn't really matter (other than the fact that the rain showers drove everyone inside!)

Distance: 3.00 miles; Time: 26:09; Pace: 8:48

Wednesday was the last run of the week (before Saturday), and it featured a shortened tempo run. Of course, my recent history of tempo runs on the treadmill has been kind of horrendous. I wasn't sure how this was going to work out. Plus the goal pace was faster than usual, probably because the distance was shorter at 3 miles. I found that running outside is definitely better for me! I was able to sing to myself and force my pace to keep going, instead of the pace pulling me along (the way it felt on the treadmill). I blew away the goal pace! The weather was also perfect for faster running. Temperature was really moderate at 53 degrees, overcast sky kept the sun from shining down to make me hot, and the winds were quite negligible at 7 mph from the east. The run took me to Kyle Park, around the ball fields and all the way to the nature center for the total over 5 miles.

Total Distance: 5.33 miles
Warm up Distance: 1.01 miles; Time: 8:33
Tempo Distance: 3.14 miles; Time: 23:06; Pace: 7:21
Cool down Distance: 1.19 miles; Time: 10:44

Now the excitement! Getting prepared! Leave tomorrow for Indy, and plan on getting really into the festivities. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep well tomorrow night. I've got a checklist of when to get up, etc. And then I am trying to focus on keeping my pace down to a dull roar on Saturday morning! I want to enjoy this plodding! The weather is so far looking iffy for rain, which isn't really a bad thing except for the spectators and post race festivities. Either way, the temperature looks perfect for me. Should be a fast race for everyone else. I'm just excited about getting to participate in such a huge event! I may report some tomorrow, or maybe not. Definitely afterwards! Until then, keep plodding on!