The Last Long Run (And Piggies!)

Tomorrow is my last long run before my BQ attempt at the 20th anniversary Hartford Marathon.  And instead of spending the night plotting out my route and getting water bottles ready, I'm prepping for a race. 

The Hogsback Half Marathon

You know I'm taking the pink!

If you don't recall, I ran this race last year in 2012 and OMG was it amazing!  The race itself is very low key, but it is very well organized, at a great location, and THE FOOD!!! Great food!  So this year, having gotten into the race for free based on my first place age group finish last year, I have opted to use this race as a good chunk of my 20 mile long run.  The problem, however, is going to be deciding how to pace it.  I've decided there are three options...

Option #1: Marathon-Focused Easy Long Run
My overall goal is to use this race as a motivation factor for getting in my 20 mile run without giving up a fun local race.  My inner coach says I should run a 7:00 pace if it feels comfortable and let my legs get in the muscle memory work.  Plus, I have the extra 7 miles post-race to get in which will undoubtedly be slower. 

Option #2: PR-Focused Run
My inner coach is met here by the inner athlete that thinks that it's likely I can beat my 6:40 pace from last year.  Is this smart?  Most likely not.  But is it enticing?  Yes!  Is it possible?  I do think it is, and I would love to be able to have a new 13.1 PR.

Option #3: The Compromise
Finally, there's the compromise that I'll go out and run it by feel, keeping my pace in the comfortable range, and let my body do the decision making. 

Option #3 is the most likely to happen tomorrow, but I will also say that the race course elevation profile may help lean this decision in the direction of shooting for a PR.  We drop elevation all the way to the half way point and then begin our way back uphill which means the first half will be fast.  As horrible as it may be, I somewhat hope that I feel a little low on energy somewhere in the first 4-5 miles so that I pull back and take it easy.  Haha. 

At least I acknowledge 

that my inner athlete and coach 

spend most of their time battling

#nodenialhere

On another related note, I am on a search tonight for pink pipe cleaners.  While running a half marathon with a pig nose would be cool, I doubt I'd be able to handle it.  So I'm trying my best for a pig tail.  I think I'll be able to handle that. 

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Questions
1.  Have you ever used a race as a training day?
I've never used a race for this specific of a training day.  I've used sprint tris as speed work before, but those are different in my mind.

2.  Have you ever raced in costume?  
I was a reindeer for a 5k once and I ran with a birthday hat twice.  

3.  What fall race are you looking forward to most?
I'm very excited for the challenge of the BQ attempt at Hartford, but I'm more excited for the JFK 50 in November.


DREAM.  BELIEVE.  ACHIEVE.