Reality Check

I've been tossing around "PR" in reference to my upcoming 1/2 marathon lately.  Then I thought, even better, I'm going to try to go sub-1:40.  Why 1:40?  Back in 2009, I sold a 1/2 marathon bib to a friend since I couldn't run due to plantar fasciitis.  He ran a 1:40:13, which I thought I would never approach.  Well, I'd like my online PR to be my actual PR, so sub-1:40 goal it is.  Right?

Riiiiiiight.

My current PR pace is 7:58 min/mi.  To go 1:40, I would have to drop that to 7:38 min/mi.  That's pretty steep, not to mention really fast.  And I have this mental block when it comes to running faster than 8 min/mi.  This midwest farmer's daughter was not built for speed.  My DNA is much more efficient at carrying heavy objects.

I have another mental block, which is my failed PR attempt at Austin.  Even though I know it's dumb, the bike crash in September and DNF at Austin sent me into a bit of a tailspin that took three months to get out of.  I don't know if I want to set myself up for that kind of failure again.

But what is life if not a challenge, right?  Isn't that why we all race: to put it all out there and see what we're really capable of?  And my recent running times have been good, it's not like I'm going for a 1:40 after a month of 10 min/mi long runs.  So is there even a decision? 

No, there's not.  Tonight's workout is a 5 mi tempo run @ (gulp) 7:50 pace.  Thanks for the pep talk guys, I really needed that.