Parkersburg Half-Marathon Goals

The Parkersburg race is Saturday, and I think I'm in better shape than I was last year -- and I'm going to approach the race differently. Last year, the guy helping me with my marathon training told me to go for sub-2 in Parkersburg, so I tried. (And failed miserably.)

This year, however, Columbus is my goal race -- that's where I am supposed to go under 2 hours (finally). So what should I do for Parkersburg? I could:

• Run it as a long run (10:10 to 11:52 pace)
• Run it with my friend (which would probably fall into the same long run range)
• Run it as a workout and do pace miles or a progression run
• Run for a PR (sub-2:03)
• Run for a sub-2

Ultimately, after discussing with my Hansons coach, I'm going to go for the PR. I'm going to start at a 9:20 pace (which would put me in the 2:02s) and hopefully speed up after mile 8 or so. I've never really tried to run a race like that -- especially one that long -- so we'll see how it works out. As discussed earlier, the course is not flat. And shit, I'm not sure the last time I held a 9:20 pace for any length of time! Running a rolling course at a consistent pace will be tricky as well.

The weather will play a role in my performance as well. It will likely be warm (getting hot eventually, but hopefully that will be after I'm done!) and humid. I can't do anything about my fitness at this point, so all I can do is focus on nutrition and hydration. I will start carbing up today (let's be honest: I'm always carbing up), and I'm going to start upping my electrolytes today as well.

(I'm not breaking any new ground here.)

I am excited to see what I can do. I've spent a month and a half doing more real training than I've ever done, and I am looking forward to seeing where I am. I want to feel good during the race, I want to finish strong and I want to feel motivated about the rest of this training cycle. Those are my real goals.