Last thoughts before race day

As of yesterday my training for the New York half is officially done! Today and tomorrow are rest days and then it's time to race!

Monday was a 4 miler. It was rainy week so I did both my runs on the treadmill. I warmed up for 1/4 mile at 6mph then did another 1/4 at 6.5 mph then settled into my run at 6.6, which is a 9:05 min/mile pace. When I hit the 2 mile mark I went to 6.7 mph, 8:54 pace, and when I got to three miles I pushed it up to 7mph and did the last mile at an 8:34 min/mile pace. For the last 1/4 mile I went to 7.5, 8:00 min pace, and ran hard. My finish time was 34:48 minutes for an overall average pace of 8:42 min/mile. I was a sweaty mess and definitely could NOT sustain that pace for 13.1 miles, but it's always fun to push yourself on a shorter run.

After that run my shins were hurting me, so I took Tuesday off and then decided to do a nice easy 3 miler on Wednesday. My shins still hurt so I started out conservatively, at 6mph on the treadmill, but there's something about a short run that just makes me want to go faster. So I kept cranking up the speed until once again, I was a running hard. I finished in 26:25 minutes, for an average pace of 8:48 min/mile. My shins were definitely not happy so I did an ice massage after and I think that helped. I'll do another one today and won't be running again until Saturday so hopefully with more ice and two days off running my shins will be a little happier :)

Sadly my friend who I originally signed up for the race with has been injured and just told me today that she won't be going down with us. I'm bummed that I won't have my running partner but I know how it can be with injuries. Luckily another friend decided a few weeks ago that she would try running it so she'll be there. We run at different speeds but at least I'll have company for some of it : )

And here's the good and bad for race day:

The bad:

-I won't have my running buddy. I was secretly planning to use her as my rabbit, since her pace is just a bit faster than mine, I was hoping she'd pull me through to a faster finishing time! Oh well..; )

-This is the inaugural event for this race, so I'm not sure how well it will be organized. Also, contrary to the misleading pictures on the website, we will NOT be running in Manhattan, but in Queens. Not sure how I feel about that yet.

The Good:

-Taber and the girls will be cheering me on at the finish line!!

- The weather is supposed to be GORGEOUS!!

- my iPod is up and running again and full of some new awesome songs to help me out just in case...

- I feel really confident about my last month of training and whether I beat my old time or not, I know I'll finish strong!

-The post race party tent has tons of cool stuff for spectators and kids to enjoy as well. Looks pretty promising : )

So that's the latest and greatest. We're taking off in the morning and looking forward to a fun weekend away!