Race Week! Half Marathon This Weekend!

The second race in the MDRA Grand Prix is this upcoming weekend. I had some great long runs over the past month (including a confidence-boosting long run 9 days ago), but I haven't done much since, and that has zapped any confidence built from those recent long runs. I'll just ease into the race this weekend and see what I can do.

Last Tuesday, Pharmie and I headed to the Metrodome for some intervals. We brought Henry again, and he hung out with one of us as the other ran hard:

Blogger buddy Steve Q was finishing up his run when we got there, so he hung out with Henry too:

I love their matching smirks! ;)

Here was my workout:
(remember, the Dome is about 600 meters around)

- 2 lap WU: 2:52, 2:55

- 10:19 stretching while Sarah did 2 laps.

3 x 1800:
- 2:03, 2:04, 2:03 = 6:10
- 3:11 rest
- 2:05, 2:04, 2:01 = 6:10
- 2:54 rest
- 2:04, 2:06, 2:00 = 6:10

- 4:51 rest
- 2:46 easyish 1-lap CD

Talk about consistent!! Each 1800 was 6:10 on the nose, and that equals about 5:29 / mile pace. AND that was 12 seconds faster (on average) than when I did a similar workout 2 weeks before!

Henry with Pharmie after she finished her intervals!

So Saturday is the half marathon! I'm still HOPING to set a "WINTER half marathon PR" of sub-1:28. I think I'll start out around 1:30 pace (6:51 / mile), and hope I can drop in with a negative split. Who knows. We'll see.

Oh, and here are 2 bonus Henry photos from this weekend. Pharmie had to work, so Hank and I hung out together all weekend long. Saturday was DEFINITELY a "sweatpants" kind-of-day for BOTH Henry and me:

And here's Henry sitting on the kitchen floor as I put the finishing touches on a pot roast I was making:

Race this weekend!! Back with my "Securian Run" half marathon report in a week!

Giveaway in a day or 2! There's some sweet stuff hopefully coming your way to help cure you of the "winter blahs" shortly.... so check back for that!