Short version of the question: I want to run a spring half. I am not sure which one and don’t have to register immediately for either. If I start a 16 week plan this week in Hudson’s Run Faster book, it would finish May 9. Conveniently, that is when half #2 falls. Half number 1 is March 28, so 10 weeks into the plan. I would likely be tweaking the early parts of the plan as it seems to regress a bit from what I am already doing (my long runs are slightly longer & I have been doing 10-15 minutes of faster running at the end of the them).  Does it seem reasonable to start the 16 week plan with the caveat that I may only go 10 weeks into the plan? Worst case is weather is predicted to suck both days and I don’t register for either race. I’d be looking at registering week of the race, whichever one I do.

More details if you care to read. Race 1 is an out and back. The first (and last) .6 miles is on country roads with rolling hills, then the rail trail has a slight uphill on the way out and downhill on the back. It is shady and a packed surface. The last weekend in March can be any weather imaginable in Maryland (snow, ice, torrential rain, heat, cold, etc). This is a pretty no frills race. Gun timed, not certified, but also only $45. There were about 150 finishers last year. Snow, ice and nor'easter are deal breakers, and this is in the cold zone of the county.

Race 2 is May 9. I’ve done the race before, it has 1,000 feet of climbing, but seemed “easier” in comparison to the Baltimore half, which has less elevation gain. Early May weather is also unpredictable in Maryland. I’ve done early May races in 45 degrees and 80 degrees.  This has more frills—chip timed, certified, Under Armour shirt, but $75. There were 850-ish finishers last year.

My last half was a miserable experience all around, starting with the hell commute home from the expo. What should be a 30 minute drive took 1.5 hours. It took me 30 minutes to go about 3 blocks. The race wasn’t any better. It was a really humid day and I spent miles 6-10 debating making a turn off the course to head north & call DH to pick me up. About the only thing that stopped me from doing that it would take me less time (and toll costs) to finish than to have him pick me up and somehow have to get my car parked south of the city.

I would like to have a better experience. Logistically, neither have red flags and both are far smaller than the Baltimore Running Festival, which is just too large for my liking. My primary goal would be to PR, which is anything under 2:10:03. I incorrectly assumed after running that on less than optimal training (think multiple weeks of zero running prior to the race), that the PR was super soft. Um, no. The PR was at race #2 3 years ago.

So, should I just start the training plan even if I am on the fence about the races? Are there any drawbacks?

I prefer 10 weeks for half marathon training but there are many others who go longer with great success.

Depending on what the plan has for quality work the weekend of the first half marathon, you could perhaps run it in lieu of speed work then continue on training for race 2 as that is plenty of time to recover.

 

I'm going for a solid 18 as practice for the real deal (marathon training!), haha.

 

I'm with Moth, though - pick one or the other and go for it. If you decide to go for the March HM and weather proves to be inhospitable for a PR attempt, you could probably just modify that into continuing on for a PR attempt at the May HM.

With the weather, if it's lousy (as in snow, sleet, heavy rain, ice, lightning), I am not doing any race, pre-registered or not.