Half Marathon Training Check-in

As hinted a few posts ago, this fall has been tumultuous, which is part of the reason I haven't been writing a whole lot. But this is not a post about that.

The other part is that this time around, I have so much more experience and so many more tools to help make this training successful.

However, I thought it might be helpful to do a check-in at the halfway point of my training for the Richmond Half Marathon.

I have been less than perfect with following this plan...but have also surprised myself with my dedication to speedwork.

And I have been surprised with how well I've performed during my speedwork! Last week I clocked a 6:51/pace for one of my sprints. Didn't think I had it in me...

I've been toying with the idea of signing up for a pace group this time around. I'm waffling because on the one hand, I'm excited about making this goal, but on the other hand there's a small part of me that worries I won't get the same race experience. That my senses will be distracted by the other people in the group. Racing has always been about the minutes between start and finish for me...setting goals for exactly how many minutes it will take just makes it interesting.

I don't want to lose that heightened and yet blurred sense of time, where sounds are more layered, sights sharper, and feelings more visceral.