Last night was my last run of any distance before the AFC Half Marathon on Sunday morning. I got home from work around 8p, took Reggie for a quick walk and then headed out for a five miler. I was speeding along for the first couple and then slowed my pace a bit, ultimately finishing in just over 45 minutes. I am still optimistically hoping to finish the AFC in under two hours but will have to fight through the last couple of miles, which are uphill. My long runs generally stopped just after the 10 mile mark which means I’ll need to run on fumes to hit the 13.1 mile mark.
The other thing that gives me pause about Sunday’s race is the 7:00a start time. I wouldn’t have a problem if I could show up at 7:00a and run. However, the race is a point-to-point starting at Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma and finishing in Balboa Park, after a steady two to three mile climb up from downtown. The race instructions I’ve read so far really emphasize that the last bus to the starting line leaves from Balboa Park at 6:00a, meaning people need to arrive no later than 5:30a. This indicates my wake up call will come around 4:45a in order for me to make it downtown by 5:30a. Eek. Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze in a power nap on the bus. At least we shouldn’t have to deal with hot sunny weather as I’ll be all wrapped up with running by 9:00a.
