Why the Pittsburgh Half Marathon?
In the middle of my 2nd year of business school in 2009, I heard that Pittsburgh was bringing back it’s marathon and half marathon after a 5 year hiatus. At the time, I was stressed, had gained some weight, and needed something other than school to focus on. So, although I hadn’t really run in almost 3 years, and even then it was only a mile of two, I decided to sign up. I staggered my training, starting with Couch to 5k, then doing a 10 week plan I found in Women’s Fitness. That race finish was my PR until last fall.

I returned to run it again in 2010, when as I approached mile 13 they rerouted us, twice, due to a bomb threat on a side street. I ran up and down stairs in the train station and around to finish with the marathoners because of that reroute. And it poured the entire 13.1 miles.

I learned to run here. I recovered from a terrible IT Band injury here. The life I have today started here. Pittsburgh will always have a place in my heart.

My Goal Mindset
It’s been a really crazy month. While I’ve had some really good runs, my diet has suffered, my cross-training has been non-existent, and my stress levels have been through the roof.

I’m going into the race with some good goals, but if at race start, it’s not in me, I’m going to just enjoy it. Pittsburgh has great crowds, and the weather is going to be near perfect, it is the perfect opportunity to just run.


The Goals
1) Run negative splits. Regardless of how I’m feeling, I want to make sure I don’t go out faster than I should.
2) Leave it all out there. Even when I push hard, I know there’s something left. I’m afraid of what might happen. This is my goal race this year, and I will regret it if I don’t give it everything.
3) Run a big PR. I’ve been training to hit about a 10 minute PR. While I don’t know if that’s in the cards for me tomorrow, I know a big PR is within my reach. My body has been running faster than ever, and my legs have been well rested this week.
4) Enjoy every step. This is my last day not being “The Boss” and out on the roads I’m just Bib 16500. I need to enjoy every moment of just being part of the running community.
5) Be supportive. My favorite races are those where I’ve had fun, cheering on the other runners and drinking in the fans along the way. This needs to be my focus.

So there they are!


What are some recent race goals you’ve had?
Have you run the same race multiple times?
Advice for a large hill at mile 12?