A New Race! I'll be Theseus!

We're heading to the Miramichi Rock 'n Run Half Marathon this weekend. The forecast is calling for decent temperatures (ie not hot), with rain likely. I had thought this would be my last race until the fall, until I got this e-mail from my sister Aimee tonight.

"Also just a thought for your trip to Toronto there is a 15k and / or 30k run Aug 22nd in the evening that Brian is going to run (the 15k). Below is the link if you guys are interested."

The race she is referring to is "A Midsummer Night's Run", an annual evening race in Toronto. The Brian she is referring to is her husband. Aimee also runs, be she is very pregnant right now, and by August she will be a new mother.

So how does this align with my training plan? Well, that weekend happens to land on one of my recovery weeks. It calls for 8 miles (w/ 8 x100 m strides) on Saturday, and 14 miles on Sunday. I've decided instead of these two runs, to run the 30 km race that Saturday evening, and rest (and vacation!) on Sunday. This seems like a reasonable compromise. Faith Ann thinks she might do the 15 km race. This will be my longest race to date, given that I've never run in anything longer than a half-marathon. It will also be my first race where I'll be dressed in Shakespearean costume - unlikely!

I was a bit concerned about keeping up with the training during that week in Toronto, but this will cover two of the days. I'll be sure to squeeze in the other runs between doing the touristy things - maybe I'll do tempo run up the steps of the CN Tower! Once again - unlikely!

As for the race this weekend? An improvement over my last half-marathon time (1:52 in Fredericton) is expected. I would be thrilled to finish under 1:50, and I'll be gunning for it!