Race preview: Bud E. Bee Boo!Run

WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Cleburne, TX

WHEN?
Saturday, Oct. 30

WHY?
Bud. E Bee Boo!Run Half Marathon

NO REALLY, WHY?
My marathon training plan gives me the option, six weeks out, for one last send-off, and since I like racing way more than training, that's a no-brainer.

WHO ELSE IS GOING?
Hardly anyone. The inaugural event last year was probably the smallest half in the Metroplex, with only 24 finishers (EIGHT men). The organizers have announced that registrations are running well ahead of last year, but that may well be for the 5K/10K. The debut apparently had numerous issues, chief among them being that the course was long and not all finishers got medals. Those have both been remedied, I'm told.

WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
Low 50s start/~60 finish, no chance of rain

HOW DO WE WIN?
The McMillan calculator equates a 3:15:59 marathon to a 1:32:56 half. My PR is 1:33:14. I really need to be within shouting distance of that number to boost my confidence. The weather will cooperate and I believe the course will also. This is not my target event so I need to remember not to kill myself trying to run fast -- but I do want to run fast. Winning in the literal sense is not far-fetched, either. Last year's winner ran a 1:36:00 -- again, on a long course, though I don't know how long. Because the race is so small, awards only go to top 3 by gender, but the 3rd-place male went 1:48:08 last year, which is 7 minutes slower than my slowest half, run at the '09 3M on a broken foot. I expect bling.

WHAT'S THE PLAN?
Core work Monday, 5 easy Tuesday, 5 tempo Wednesday, 5 easy Thursday, rest Friday. Stepping back the weekly mileage from 44 to 28 should feel lovely.