Strategy for my race on Saturday

[Michelle Lowry]

Hi All,

So I am racing the Provo 1/2 marathon in two days and I am concerned about how to race for this.  I had a break out race in January, the Painter's Half, but since then my training and fitness has been on a gradual decline.  I was wondering what those of you who watch my blog (sorry, there are fewer and fewer of you out there, it's been rather boring and sometimes whiney during tax season) think I should do Saturday.  I was thinking to go out conservatively (like 6:45 or even 7:00 for the first mile if I feel like going faster is strenuous).  I will likely feel good at the beginning but have a high potential for crash and burn.  I haven't done any races or long tempos since Painters.  However, the winner gets an automatic in to St. George Marathon and $250 so I would hate to let any other women get too far ahead of me.  Hmmm.

[AndyBrowning]

Your training hasn't been as bad as you think.  You have been running over 200 miles per month with some good long runs.  I wouldn't go out any slower than 6:30.  You are the best judge of what you should do but don't sell yourself short.

[Sasha Pachev]

Try running it watchless. Or at least bring a regular watch instead of a GPS. Then you will run the right pace.

[Paul Petersen]

A progression run would be a nice way to run it. Don't worry about auto St. George entry, because you can probably get that anyway just by asking the race director. Money is nice too, but if it's meant to be, you'll be in the hunt.

[jtshad]

I agree with Paul, a good progression run would be a good approach (and you WILL get an automatic entry into St. George if you ask based on last year's performance).

Good luck tomorrow, you will do fine.

[Michelle Lowry]

Thank you for your comments!  I am excited!

[Jon Allen]

And you did awesome!