Pittsburgh Half Marathon prerace thoughts

Greetings from Pittsburgh!

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I flew in last night and am very excited to be here. (BTW - I cut the time so close I was sprinting through the terminals and was literally the last passenger to board the flight. This is a story for another day!)

After three months of incline training, countless prior-year race recaps stalked, and two weeks of weather monitoring, the time has finally come to run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon this Sunday.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about the hills. However, I am happy with the training effort I put in over the past three months. Could I have done more? Of course - we can always do more. But at this stage of the game, I feel as prepared as I think I can be.

Truthfully, that isn't saying much, as I am realizing the full extent of the challenges that await me. Allow me to elaborate.

Last week, I showed Adam the course map and elevation chart. Here is the elevation chart. Note the giant incline starting after Mile 11:

For my contribution to today's episode of the Hill Running Horror Show, here is a nice, terrifying close-up:

Since Adam is a Pittsburgh native, I asked him about that hill.

His verbal response: "You'll be running through Duquesne University? Oh wow. Uh, yeah. [brief pause, momentarily averts eyes to the side] You're going to do great. Really, you are!"

His nonverbal response looked like this:

What do they say - 80% of communication is nonverbal, 20% is verbal? This is not good at all.

OK, OK, I kid. He didn't ACTUALLY look like that. Let's be clear, he wasn't really wearing a Blackhawks jersey when we had this conversation. But you get the idea.

As you might surmise, this was not exactly the reaction I was looking for. This is what my nonverbal response looked like:

I asked Adam if we could drive over to see that part of the course in advance. As bad as it might be, I do want to know what to expect. His response:

"Are you sure you want to do that? I think you'd be better off just going out there and running it on Sunday. Don't you want to be surprised? The element of surprise would be good!"

Sigh.

To make matters even worse, Adam talked to our friend Julie, who has run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon several times. He told me Julie also advised NOT going to see the hill in advance. Something about not being able to get a true sense for the hill from the car?

Please allow me to reiterate:

Allright, I get the idea. It is what it is, and there isn't anything I can do about it at this stage in the game. If I have to walk the entire debacle from start to finish, so be it. I think the course time limit is 3.5 hours, and all that matters is getting to the finish line. There's a reason why we all get the same medal, right???

Unfortunately, the weather is not looking great for Sunday. The current forecast lists temps in the upper 50s and low 60s with periods of rain. The precipitation would be a bummer because I am hoping to take a lot of pictures on the course. But again, it is what it is. All I can do is get my stylish garbage bag dress ready to go!

From the 2015 Rock N Roll DC Half Marathon

All of these things aside, I am genuinely looking forward to the experience this Sunday. Here are my five goals for the race:

1) Enjoy the course, entertainment, and the spectators
2) See Adam on the course a few times
3) Take full advantage of getting to tour so many of Pittsburgh's neighborhoods and bridges on foot
4) Stay confident when tackling any hills
5) Cross the finish line healthy with a smile on my face

I have heard so many great things about this race and I know it will not disappoint. I am going to have a good time even if (borrowing a great expression from my dear friend Xaarlin) I end up finishing DFL. =D

Here we go!

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Linking up with Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney for the Friday Five.