Signing up for Niagara Falls was kind of my consolation for not being able to do SeaWheeze for a variety of reasons (next year! Going to make it happen!). I did two half marathons in a relatively short period of time last year so figured I could do it again - this year I actually have an extra week.
This event just looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. Relatively flat course, apparently a fabulous race kit (last two races I got my bib and a shirt so not hard to improve on that). Smallish race (capped at 2500) and from the comments on Facebook, lots of people doing this as their first half marathon.
My goals:
A. 2:30 of course
B. Sub 2:33 for a new PR (I do realize that at some point, not every race will be a new PR. Not looking forward to that day).
My plan:
- Stay hydrated and avoid overheating. Forecast at the moment is low 15, high 22, feels like 28, isolated showers. I'm liking the showers part, not so much the rest of it. The course goes up and down the Niagara Parkway which I remember being a bit shady (I hope). Hoping for some mist off the falls.
- Start out with 2:30 pace bunny but have a back up plan. Learning from Goodlife - set my Garmin for 10/1's so I'm not relying on other people and have a pace band ready.
- Be careful with eating on Saturday. This is my first "away" race so I'm a bit worried about making sure I'm drinking enough water and eating properly on Saturday. Temptation will be to have a beer on a patio - I'll try to leave that to post-race. I am bringing breakfast foods with me and healthy snacks.
- Don't spend too much time walking around on Saturday - rest the legs.
Goodluck!! I am keeping this race on my radar for next year.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Andrea! I'm sure that you'll have a blast!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear how it goes! It can be tough travelling for a race because you totally want to have fun beforehand but save it for after the race as a celebration and then that beer and patio will be that much sweeter! Oh and good call on the paceband, I'm a huge fan of them. I also like to write down the average pace & key times for a few different finish times so that if I'm not on target I can switch to a different goal and still have some guidance...
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good plan Andrea! And good luck!
ReplyDeleteFrom what I'm told, the course is very straight and rather boring, so try to think of some distractions to keep you from thinking about the heat!