Seacoast Half Marathon: the preview

For those of you keeping track, the last couple of months have been quite active for me running-wise. Here's the list:

1. AppleFest Half-Marathon - 10/4
   
2. 48 Miles in 48 Hours - 10/18 - 10/19
   
3. Seacoast Half Marathon - 11/9

I sign up for this race in late August because friends would be running it with me. And unlike the AppleFest Half Marathon, the friends will actually show up this time.

I ran with Liz on segment 1 of 48 Miles in 48 Hours. She's a gifted former Division 1 athlete. She says she'll run with us, but I suspect she'll want to break loose.

I ran with Karl in segment 2 and segment 5/6 of 48 Miles in 48 Hours. He's one of those natural athletes that can just wake up that morning and run 13.1 miles. I don't like those kinds of people. They make me insanely jealous.

Either way, I've had some foot problems since the 48 in 48 race two weeks ago. I stayed off of my feet for two weeks and then just recently started to hit the roads again, albeit lightly. I ran 2 1/4 segments twice this week and I'm going to run about 4.5 - 5 tomorrow. If I'm feeling good, then I'll run it. I've since given up trying to prove something to myself. After 48 in 48, I proved everything I need to prove--to myself and others.

The course

The course itself looks like it will be pretty as we'll be running along the seacoast (hence the name). The hills don't range any higher than 60 feet and most of the course is quite flat with a large hill at the very end.

The headphones

As usual, they're nutso about headphones. I got a question from Terri about how much they're enforcing the headphone ban. Unfortunately, Terri didn't have an email address or blog, so I had to respond here. Hopefully she'll read it.

They're being the typical nutso about headphones, blaming it on local police, etc. I also talked to the race director and she said that they'd disqualify people if they saw people running with headphones. Again, I'm not sure what "disqualifying" really means. The race director suggested that my time wouldn't be posted. Clearly she doesn't understand that watches also have the ability to keep time, but I didn't want to ruin her fun.

The answer for me is easier. Since I'm running alongside two other people, I won't be wearing headphones since we'll be talking the entire time.

My goals

At the end of the day, barring any injury prior to or during the race, I expect that I'll run a 1:54 and some change. I run almost all half-marathons at this time, and I'm fine with that. If I run slower, that's fine, too. It helps when you're not as competitive, I guess.

So, I actually don't have any running goals for this. I'd like to feel good running it and not get injured. I guess those are my goals, come to think of it.

Stay tuned for a race report on Sunday/Monday.