So I know I'm not going to be able to wax poetic like MilkTruck, but I wanted to wish good luck to all of this weekend's racers!  HappyFeat and mhoppe have probably already run- hope you were both able to his your goals!

Tomorrow we have three more runners lining up for a half.  I expect my race in Oregon will be a bit cooler than the ones in Florida, though!  In Oregon we're expecting low 40's and light rain for tomorrow's race.

Hope everyone's racing this weekend is spectacular and enjoyable!

Good luck all who are racing this weekend.

Zelanie enjoy your first Half Marathon, I hope you are feeling better.  In reading your posts you have trained better than I did and I can do for my Half Marathon. I see you dong a sub 2:00.  Have fun and enjoy!!

Docket Rocket and FLARunner are both fine tuned machines and I expect that you both will rock it.

My trail HM was HARD! I am soo beat ...legs very sore this morning. By my Garmin, I achieved my goal of 2:20; but it was hard won.The beginning was unusual because as we waited, the wind gusted and it began snowing!! I had worn shorts - eek! and here it was 30F and snowing for the first mile and a half! As we came down in elevation, the snow turned to rain that lasted for the whole race. I started out trying to keep up with the "fast girls" (several women I run with regularly - who obviously are faster). I tailed them for about 4 miles and that just wore me out. I struggled to keep my breathing under control and not get a sideache. By halfway, they'd left me in the dust. I had a mini meltdown of discouragement - my legs have been tired all week and had absolutely no spring in them; my left hamstring has been problematic lately and was really painful at that point along with a myriad of other leg pains. I was a mess! I regrouped and decided I would just try to "jog it in." Well once I relaxed and quit straining, it seemed things got easier.  The trail was flooded in many areas (mud-puddle lakes) which meant a lot of leaping across, leaping sideways, high-stepping through, jumping up on the banks to skirt around, that sort of thing. I think all the extra work took the load off the "straight ahead running" muscles and some of my pains subsided. Then I was left with very fatigued legs working as hard as they could go.  I ate a couple caffeinated Shot Bloks which gave me a boost.  There was a fun after-race party complete with hot food, beer, and a bonfire. Everyone was very social and I had a good time talking to people I had never met before.

One of my main takeaways is that I could "manage" some leg pains  that in training seem like "stoppers," and come out the other side and keep running, if that makes any sense.

Happy Feet congrats on your Half Marathon!!