Platte River Half in an hour and a half? (Taper time!)

This Sunday is the Platte River Half, my target Spring half marathon. I’m looking forward to it, in a weird calm way.

When I finished the Denver Rock and Roll Half in 1:33 in the fall, I’d barely wiped the sweat off my brow before wondering how much harder 1:30 would really be?

And that was before I started training with the Running Republic of Boulder, which I know has really made a difference in my running. I pulled off a surprising race in Houston, faster than I thought I was capable of (although exactly what my coach predicted). (According to the McMillan pace predictor, a 1:30:02 is the equivalent to my 3:09:52 marathon)

My coach and I set the 1:30 goal back in January, but I even feel as though I’ve made improvements since then. One of the guys I run with most frequently in group runs recently pulled off a 1:27 half (granted, at sea level). If anything, I find that I have trouble holding a 6:51 pace in training and often end up slipping closer to 6:45 pace.

Last week we had a few 10 minute intervals in training that were supposed to be at HMP, and even with varying terrain I ended up running exactly at 6:52.

So in all, I’m feeling pretty confident going into Sunday. While the weather looks less than favorable (the forecast is for showers, with a high of 45), I don’t have any concerns about my fitness. Work has been a bit crazy this week but it’s keeping my mind off my cutback in mileage. The hay is in the barn, and I can’t wait to burn it down!