Half-Marathon Fever Grips Me

 

Enough complaining about my sad preparation. The race is upon me. On Sunday I will run my first half-marathon since, oh, 2007? I reject all my negative thoughts and embrace the challenge. The Rose Bowl has been my training ground for over 20 years. I'll be on home turf.

My goal: break 2 hours and 30 minutes. 

Make that 2 hours and 45 minutes. I double-checked my times. There's no way I could hold the above pace for 13.1. That's a half-marathon fever error

Half Marathon Training Update

 A Runner Forgets

Yesterday I ran 5 miles for the first time in a few months. Since I was at the historic Rose Bowl, I decided on a little video at the end detailing my run. Nothing so chipper happened. The day was a bit hotter than I'd planned and by mile three, my mind was glutted with thoughts of walking, or better yet, quitting entirely. Left to its own devices on a run, that's where my brain defaults.

I ran it in, but was overheated and uninterested in anything other than basking in my car's air conditioning. Clearly, I'd been neglecting my mental training. The mind can only hold one thought at a time. Why not an upbeat, positive thought? That—and water—are what I require most on hot day running a course with very little shade.

As a general note, I am considerably slower than last year. If that's the way it rolls, so be it, but I'd hoped to ace January's Rose Bowl Half Marathon in under 2.5 hours and LA Maraton in March in under 5 hours. But time and serious training will tell.

And a little focus on the metal effort.

Yes, I'm Stll Running v.2

 Not lately, however. Between illness and vacation, I've fallen out of my exercise routine. But nothing fires up the running engines than a goal. And so I signed up for the Rose Bowl Half-Marathon in January and am considering the LA Marathon in March. 

But first, I need to blow off the dust and cover a few miles. 

RunningGearLab