Sport: Seattle Marathon

Tomorrow morning at the crazy time of 7:30 am in sub-zero temperatures (Celsius) I'm going to attempt the Seattle Half Marathon (13.1 miles).

I've run a few shorter events as part of my training, including the Winter Pineapple Classic, a fun event which is 5 km, running and completing obstacles while carrying a pineapple in a team. I made it in 26 minutes, 46 seconds.

I also did a 10 km trail run which was held in a forest and managed that in 48 minutes, 28 seconds.

Yesterday I decided to go and try running some of the course to see how I'd manage this particular run. I did about 11 miles (from a bit past mile 5 to mile 11 and back with a few wrong turns) and found it pretty challenging. I found out later that this is the hilliest section of the course, which makes me feel a bit better.

Half Marathon Course.

I think my biggest concerns are not my aerobic fitness but:

• my legs - I have tight hamstrings & hip flexors and I feel them on longer runs.
  
• my stomach - I have been getting 'stitches' (pains) in my left side when running long distances. They go away as soon as I stop, but it makes it hard to keep running.
• the cold - starting at 7:30 in potential drizzle and cold weather will make it challenging to run in. After my run yesterday I know I need gloves and a couple of layers at least.

I'm aiming to make it in under 2 hours, which means a pace of just under 9 minutes per mile.