ATB weekend!

It's (almost) go time!

My favourite finish line.

So, the training is all done. The last couple of weeks things really couldn't have gone any better. The interval paces suddenly got easier and I was hitting every single one. The tempos went well. The long runs felt amazing. Race pace on legs tired from cycling felt doable. I don't think I could be any more ready for this race.

Check me out, with the successful 1k repeats. woo!

I owe the City of Hamilton a thank you for keeping this street free of snow and ice all winter. It made a great track.

So it's all systems go, with the small exception that my lovely germ vector daughter brought home a cold last week, and it's been hanging around the back of my nose and throat since last Friday. It never developed into a full blown cold, but I haven't been feeling 100% this week. Just sort of head ache-y and slightly congested and not quite right. Fingers crossed it's gone by Sunday or at least doesn't interfere with racing.

I'm not above trying to work the placebo effect to my benefit...

The race plan

Around the Bay and I have a bit of a history, and that history is essentially summed up as run the first 10k way too fast, spend middle 10k in denial, hate self for last 10k. So my race plan pretty much boils down to DON'T RUN THE FIRST 10K TOO FAST, YOU DUMBASS. Even if it feels really good. Even if those 5:15s are coming up easy. That's a surefire way to do yet another death march to the finish. So.

Overall A goal is come in under 2:45. Overall goal pace 5:28/km to give some buffer room due to tangents and general GPS weirdness. Don't get too far under that during the first 5k, even if it feels really good.

B goal is a PB (last year I ran 2:52:23). C goal is if it all falls apart, at least take some fun pictures and cross the finish smiling. D goal... well, I think we all know what the D goal usually is.

Now on to the time honoured tradition of freaking the fuck out about the weather and what to wear.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... oh wait. This looks pretty decent. Can we keep this forecast?

See you on the other side of the finish line!