Race weekend!

It's been too long since I raced. Glad it's here, even if it means getting up at 5 (shudder) 30 (tremble) AM (Noooooo!) on a weekend. And the Portland weather is actually going to cooperate, knock on wood: this weekend is forecast sunny with highs in the mid-60s. Of course, when we start running at 7 it will be dark and 45 degrees. Still. It's better than dark, cold, AND rainy. My friends (and fellow Newport racers-to-be) Tina and Dan are running the 5k, which starts half an hour after the half. If Tina gets near her 5k PR, she could easily be one of the top in her age group – go Tina!

I'm giving myself two rest days, as usual. It's worked for me before, and given how worn-out I've been feeling it can't hurt. I checked out the course and the aid station maps. No water belt necessary, and I'm debating whether or not to wear my watch (if I forget it again, the issue is obviously moot). I don't want to obsess about my time, so I think I might skip it. There is an 8:30/mile pace group in this race, which I'm going to join at packet pick-up. 8:30 is two seconds faster than my PR in the half, so if I can stick with them I'll PR by 26 seconds (it still counts!!), and if I feel good at the half I can try for a little negative split. It would be awesome to get something in the 1:40s but I'm going to listen to my bod and not push things too much. Particularly since my schedule has me running on Monday next week.

As much as I'm looking forward to this race, I'm also very frustrated right now. I KNOW I was on track for a PR before I got sick – I ran a 13-mile training run at 8:22 and felt dandy. The desire to PR is still extremely strong, even though I had to dramatically scale back my speed in training. I'm really trying to be positive and not beat myself up over it, but dangit, I want a PR. Oh well. The noble truth of suffering is good for my spiritual health.
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I think I need new shoes. I made the mistake of not tracking the mileage on my current Mizunos, but I'm pretty sure 500 has come and gone. I'm even thinking about running the race on Sunday in new shoes. I know, I know – bad idea. But I've been wearing the same model of shoe for three years. And it's only 13 miles, right?...