A1A: HM Race Preview

On Sunday, I'll be running my 5th A1A HM. 

Well, technically, it's my 5th.

I first ran it in 2007, just a few weeks after completing the Disney Marathon, after which I was suffering from a bad case of ITBS, but I was pretending that I wasn't.  So, I started A1A that year, but only ran about 2-3 miles before bowing out, shamefully.  It is one of 2 races where I DNF'd.

Since that 2007 embarrassment, I've returned to the race and successfully finished it 3 times.  My fastest time on the course was my first time; I ran it in about 2:09.  Last year, when Caleb was almost 9 months old, I ran my slowest course time; I can't recall specifically what my time was, but it hovered somewhere around 2:27.  I had an awful race last year where I just completely bonked around mile 9 and never found the hutzpah to recover myself.

This year?  Who knows what's in store.

The weather is promising (for runners), as the temp is supposed to dip tonight into the 40s, and the current forecast predicts it will be right about 50 degrees at the start on Sunday (maybe colder, depends on which weather forecast you trust).  For me, that bodes well.  I run best in that "perfect" range of temp. 

My one contemplative point about the weather is whether (like that word play?  aren't I clever?  do clever people point out their cleverness?) or not to invest in a pair of arm warmers, which can probably be easily snagged at the expo this afternoon.

Otherwise, my training has been solid -- nothing that promises that I'll run an awesome, PR-setting race, but solid.  And, I've been pleased that I've been able to maintain my streak while also doing the HM training.

So, the training is under my belt, the weather should be pleasant for a race (perhaps, too windy, but that's always a risk for a beachfront course), my Forerunner 110 once again resurrected itself (zombie Garmins!); thus, I think I'm all set.  Now, we'll just see how race day plays out.