Committing to the Race

The Race is coming up, May 17. The last fee increase deadline came and went and I still lack the dedication to sign up. But the questions arise; will I have time to finish up my training or will I be trained up enough to run well? I haven’t kept the overall distance up in the past few weeks that would give me the running confidence that I’ll do ok.

Fortunately it’s not the target race, just a check up. A pre-race if you will that will take my training temperature and provide me with a sense of how to finish preparing for the “real” race, the Seattle Rock & Roll Half Marathon at the end of June. It wasn’t until recently that I considered the benefits of a check up race. For someone that races only a couple times a year generally I’ve found that it gives me a better sense of how my training is preparing me. I can make final adjustments then in the weeks leading up to the target race.

The check up race does something else…it’s a confidence builder. Without the stress or pressure of the target race, the months of training, the hours of running, it allows me to run relatively hard and go through the motions of racing. I’m able to get mile splits, run through aid stations, and most importantly run with a crowd in advance of the real thing.