Preparing for A Run Through Redlands

On Sunday I will be running my 10th half marathon, A Run Through Redlands. This will be my 5th time running this race. It is local and I feel dedicated to continue my annual tradition in a city that I love.

I am plenty familiar with the course. Besides running it officially 4 times already, I have done many, many training runs around Redlands. This course is known for it’s wonderful hills and elevation gain. This adds to the excitement and challenge.

I am not expecting to set any personal records this race. I was hoping to, but going to Shanghai set me back a ways. I came back with a strong, mysterious sickness, that put me out of commission for 2 weeks. I was not able to run or work out. The good thing is my legs got plenty rest and my runs have been strong for the past 2 weeks. But, I am still not on pace to beat my personal record. There is still a part of me that always hopes for some miracle to happen on race day, but from all my race experience I know I always run the race I trained for. My race pace stays consistently similar to my training pace.

Here’s a quick recap of the past 4 years:

 2009. The first year I ran this race was actually my first half-marathon ever. Ironically enough, it came 2 months after I ran my first full marathon, I did it a little backwards. I ran this race for fun with some members of my running group. We stopped and took plenty of pictures along the way and chatted around the course. My finishing time was 2:12 with an overall average pace of 10:08.

 2010. I ran the course this year in 1:57 with a 8:56 average pace. This was my shining year. I set my record for my fastest half-marathon ever. I was already pretty trained up for the LA Marathon that I ran the month before. I added in some speed work after the marathon. It definitely worked and I tackled those hills with a new intensity. I ran this race with my running buddy L.B. (check out his inspirational blog).

 2011. Blahhhhh. I was getting burned out on running at this point. I still squeezed in 3 marathons this year, but I was really forcing it. I was also eating like crap and not strength training like I should, I was doing everything wrong and losing steam. My time was 2:14 with an overall pace of 10:15.

 2012. This year was HOT. I was in a little bit better shape than the year before, but I started feeling nauseous from the heat the last few miles of the race. I was trying to decide between getting a better finish time or throwing up at the finish line. I decided to scale back and keep all my food in my stomach. I finished in 2:19 with an average pace of 10:37, and was so upset that this was my slowest time yet.

We shall see what this year holds in store. I expect to finish in between 2:15-2:30. I think the temps will be in the 80s, so hopefully the wonderful Redlands residents will come out and spray us with their water hoses, as they have done in years past.

Anyone else racing this weekend?