In three days I will be running the Skunk Cabbage Half for the second time. This wil be the first time I have run a race with a very specific time goal I want to achieve. I have been training hard ever since the last time I ran this race and I am in the best shape of my life. That said I am still nervous. What if I fail?

I have only run four official half marathons, but I have run many half marathon or greater distance fun runs or training runs. I ran a recent training run where my Garmin reported a half marathon PR of 2 hr 2 min. So I know this goal is within my grasp. I think that is part of what makes me nervous about this race. I feel like I should accomplish this. I have this expectation of myself now.

I have worked harder and ran more miles in the last three months than I ever have in my short running life. But the training has not been for a half marathon. The training has been for a trail 50k with 6,000 ft of elevation. Will that kind of training translate into a half marathon PR for me. I guess we will have to see. But I think it will.

I think it helps that my actual official half marathon PR is 2 hours and 15 minutes. So, if nothing else I should at least PR. I rarely run a half marathon distance in that time frame these days unless I am intentionally running at a slower pace. So my A goal is a sub 2 hr half at Skunk Cabbage and my B goal is to at least PR which I believe is a gimme as long as I don’t get hurt. I am probably jinxing myself right at this moment typing those words.

The other issue I have been debating in my head is do I want to bring my camera? I have been documenting and photographing as many races and training runs as I can and have been increasing that as part of my 50k training documentation. If I bring my camera I don’t want to get distracted taking photographs and lose time and cost me my chance to reach my goals. But it would be nice to have my camera in case the race does not go as planned. It will be easier for me to enjoy a race that goes off the rails if I have my camera with me and I can at least take some photos and find other ways to keep myself positive.

So I think the conclusion is bring the camera but commit to only taking it out for pre-race and post race photos unless something goes wrong and I will not hit my goals. Then I can take out the camera and document what is going on. That seems to be a good compromise that will not compromise my goals.

I will likely write a race report after the race. Look forward to reporting back. Wish me luck.