Oak Brook Half is Rapidly Approaching!

I honestly can't believe how time has been flying lately. I seems like yesterday I was preparing for the expo and the RnR Chicago Half Marathon. Now we're nearing the end of August- the Cubs are slowly losing ground, my feet are achy all the time from all of my training, and the Oak Brook Half is almost here.

HUH?! You mean it's almost Labor Day ALREADY?! It doesn't really seem possible! But it is. I checked my calendar this morning- 18 more days until the race. I can say that I haven't given much thought about it. This past month my thoughts have been consumed with keeping up with my training schedule, blogging on RW, and completing my long runs. Check, check, and check. Time to focus on my next race!

I hate not racing. I was scouring the web earlier today looking for a 5K in my area over the weekend, just to have something to do. No such luck. Guess it'll be a long, lonely 16 miler around my neighborhood (Note to self: start mapping possible routes!)

As for the Oak Brook Half, I'm definitely looking forward to it. I love races, and this one is rated one of the best in Chicagoland. Plus a lot of it is run on limestone and wooded trails, so it'll be a little softer on my legs. I think there might be a hill or two, but I'm not worried. I say right now that I'm going to use it as a training run, but we both know that's not going to happen. I want to RACE! I want to lower my PR!

With that being said, here are my goals for the upcoming race:
1. To FINISH!
2. To lower my PR
3. To take water and/or Gatorade at every aid station
4. To run at a consistent 9:17 pace, picking it up near the end.
5. To finish with a KICK! (It kind of fell flat at RnR Chicago :( )