I was going to call this post: It’s always “runny” in Philadelphia, but more cooler heads prevailed and you get the simple “preview” title. This weekend is the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon that I mentioned a few weeks back. I’ll be running it with Team Chocolate Milk, which I am a Captain for and it will be my second of three races with them. I’ll be shooting for a PR and since I just missed it a couple weeks ago in San Francisco, my confidence is high and I’m looking forward to a much more flat course for me to attempt a 1:35.

A 1:35?

Yep. My PR is currently a 1:37 on a flat RnR San Jose course and I finished the Giants race in 1:38 with several SF-ish hills… so I’m leaning towards aiming for a 1:35 which is roughly a 7:20 average pace. It’s not far off from what I was keeping at the Giants race and if I run the same race, I should be able to come within reach of it. The only downside may be that my legs might not be recovered from my previous race… but let’s not focus on THAT. Let’s keep the positive thoughts and go get that PR.

Friday: Shake-out Run

Team Chocolate Milk and RunWestin will be teaming up for a fun shake-out run Friday afternoon. I’ll be there and so will Chris, the RunWestin Concierge. It should be lots of fun and includes the “Rocky” stairs (#PHOTOOPP) and the first mile of the half marathon. We’ll end at the Westin (which is a half mile away from the expo) and I’m guessing the route will be around 3 miles. Afterwards we’ll have a “happy hour” in the Lobby/Lounge area at the Westin with water and Chocolate Milk, of course

When: Friday at 5:30 pm
Start: Chocolate Milk Booth at the Expo
Finish: Westin-Philadelphia

November Project SF grassroots gear, PRO Compression socks, Nike Pegasus 31

Saturday: 5K

On Saturday, I’ll be running the RnR 5K. It’ll be like a second shake-out run and I have ZERO aspirations in doing this fast. Unless of course an elite athlete needs someone to run with, of course, but even then I might have to “think” about Sunday’s goals. Deena Kastor will be leading the 8 min pace for the 5K, so there is always THAT option. Kara Goucher will also be running the Half on Sunday. Really, I’m just saying that I’m here to help if the elites need someone to slow them down the day before.

Sunday: Half

As I mentioned above, the goal is 1:35 if everything goes according to plan. I’ll be running in Team Chocolate Milk gear (shown above) and using the same shoes and playlist I used at the Giants race – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Other than a whole lot of running and probably taking a bunch of selfies and drinking chocolate milk, probably just your typical race weekend activities.

What are your plans this weekend?