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Ready To Go...

Just wanted to get in one last post before heading to Houston this weekend. Tapering's been going well, and I had my last workout of this season on Tuesday: 4 x 1k at tempo pace (I averaged right around 3:05, which is near 5:00 pace, which is near goal half marathon pace). Nothing too crazy for that workout, just something to get the legs turning over and feeling race pace.

Like any diligent racer, I've also been religiously checking the weather in Houston. It looks like, compared to the past couple weeks here (highs in the single digits, below-zero wind chills), it should be just about perfect down there. A nightly low around 45 warming up to 65 by mid-day (so it should hover right around 50 degrees for the race), with no precipitation in the forecast and winds below 10 mph? Can't ask for anything better than that.

And of course, what pre-race post would be complete without the shameless self-promotion? The race starts at 6:55 am Central Time, so for everyone in the east that's basically 8 am Sunday morning. The best part? You can stream the race on USATF.TV starting at 7:50 EST. I probably won't ever make the live stream, but you should watch it anyway.

So anyway, I'm excited to get down there and see how it all plays out. This is the culmination of my fall racing season, and I know I'm in very good shape. After a breakthrough 1:05:28 in November, this is going to be my best chance for the next few months to drop 29 more seconds and hit the Olympic Trials qualifier. Why no go for it with the best in the US?

I'm psyched because I've got no pressure on this race. Of course the goal is sub-1:05 -- that's everything I've been dedicating my training towards. If (when) I get it, I'll be ecstatic. But even if I don't, I can't be disappointed. This past year -- and especially this fall -- has been a tremendous improvement in my training, and it's shown in many of the races I've run. I've set road race PRs at every major distance from 5k to half marathon. That's a testament to the progress I've made towards the Trials standards, and so hopefully this race will be the realization of that progress.

But if not, hey oh well, no big deal. That doesn't take away from the strides I've made in the past year. And I'll still have another year to nab that sub-1:05 / sub-2:18. So what the hell, I can't pick any better time, weather, or competition to go for it.

I'll only be disappointed if I run between 1:05:00 and 1:05:15. To be so close and yet so far...that's just agonizing.

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