Friday, September 11, 2009

Annual Trek to Asheville

This evening I'm leaving for Asheville to compete in my 4th Asheville Half Marathon tomorrow. I love this race. It's beautiful and the temperature's usually pretty nice. This year will be the first year I don't run it with my friend Jody. So it won't be quite the same, but I'm excited anyway. This is the perfect time of year to go to Asheville. The weather is cooler, but not cold. The leaves are just starting to turn, so you're not fighting for views over the heads of tourists. It's still off-season so you can get a decent hotel room at a decent price.

Tomorrow the expected low is 54 and partly sunny, with an expected high of 79. So I won't be able to blame the weather for my poor performance! My left foot, though much better, is still not 100%. I'd give it more like 65%. And it's mostly my Achilles tendon. Which means the pain is moving, which is supposed to be a good sign. I hope so. I'm really tired of it. This year they're starting the race at 7:30 and they changed the course a little. But they didn't make it less hillier. They didn't even take out the big hill! My best for this race was in 2007, the second year I ran it, I ran a 2:04. The worst I did on this course was a 2:07 in 2006, but it was also the 3rd half that I did in 4 weeks. I'm hoping for anything in between these course records tomorrow!

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