Tomorrow morning, I’ll toe the line for the Air Force Half Marathon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. As has been my habit over the past couple of years, I am running a half marathon just about a month before the full marathon A-race for the year. While I certainly enjoy training, it’s nice to put on a bib every now and then and see where my fitness is under race conditions. The results of the race (assuming decent weather) allow me to adjust the final month of my training to work on any weaknesses I find.
My current PR in a half is 1:38:29, scored at last year’s Indianapolis Monumental, and I think I can beat that this year. My plan is to go out a little conservatively at 7:40s for the first two miles, then drop under 7:30s up through mile 10. With a 5K left to run, I hope to be able to drop down to 7:20 or better, depending on how I’m feeling.