Final Long Run Before Rochester Half Marathon

I finished my final long run before next weekend's Rochester Half Marathon in pretty good shape. I ran  pretty steady at about 10 minutes/mile, with a couple of miles at a slightly faster "race" pace. The route took me on the Erie Canal Path from Bushnell's Basin northwest through the village of Pittsford and into Henrietta.

It was cool to start, with temperatures around 50, but I pretty quickly regretted my choice of a long sleeved shirt. I was also in need of a tissue was was annoying. Halfway through I took a GU, which I had never tried before. I bought it mistakenly, thinking it was the brand used by runDisney, and wanting to try it out. But runDisney actually uses Clif brand. Anyway, the Peanut Butter GU was actually pretty tasty and presumably helped me power through the second half of my run.


I enjoy running the canal path, since it's relatively flat and I get to see a lot of fellow runners, walkers and bicyclists. I've also seen a lot of wildlife including deer, ducks, chipmunks, a fuzzy caterpillar, a loooong snail with a cool looking shell and what might have been a cormorant (but was probably just a heron).

I have a few short runs this week (3/2/2) just to keep my legs loose before the race. My only previous Half Marathon was the Shoreline Multisport Festival in July where I finished in 2:27. I was kind of undertrained for that and didn't want to risk injury so I took it pretty easy. It was also awfully humid that morning. My goal for next week's race is to break 2:15 and my stretch goal is to break 2:10. I feel like I'm in a great position to do that, which will put me into one of the first corrals for the Dopey Challenge.