Half Marathon Countdown

With my half marathon coming up in four days, it's time to sit down and figure out my goals for it, not to mention some plans leading up to it. This way, I can approach the race with as little stress as possible!

Goals / Plan of Action
* Finish in under 2:30:00. I would have tried for a PR at this race, but taking into consideration that it's a race I've never run before, my injuries, and my recent bout of illness, I will be happy finishing around my average time. It will still be a challenge, but it will be an achievable challenge.
* Run the first mile in 10:00+. One of my biggest problems with running races is that I always start too fast. If I can pace myself to run the first mile at the pace I hope to keep for the majority of the race, I will be happy.
* Walk through every water station. This has always been my tactic for running races longer than 10km. I have a hard time running and drinking, plus it gives me a little bit of a break every two miles.
* Eat a couple of gels at miles 5 and 10. This will have me re-energizing about every hour. I have the PowerBar raspberry-filled gels, and I will be packing 5 of them.
* Finish strong and with a smile on my face. This is absolutely my most important goal. Regardless of how anything turns out, I have to remember that I trained as best as I could in spite of everything and that not three years ago the idea of me completing a half marathon (and my third one) was not anything I ever dreamed.

So, for the rest of the week, here is what I plan to do:
Wednesday: RBRC 3K run/walk in lieu of the weather and my illness. I want to get out there, but I don't want to provoke my cold more. No drinking tonight! Complete Week 2, Day 3 of the sit-ups, push-ups, dips, and squats challenge
Thursday: Easy run of 2 miles. If it's raining, snowing, or near or below freezing temperatures, this will be on the treadmill so that, again, I can keep my cold under control. If I have to run on the treadmill, I will run easy hill intervals.
Friday: Rest day!
Saturday: Some light stretching, maybe some easy yoga. Bedtime: 9pm for a good 7 hours of sleep.

As far as my meals go, I don't plan on changing much. Keep up my current diet with a heavier focus on carbs Friday and especially Saturday. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Luckily, my being sick will help make sure I get plenty of rest. There is a silver lining to every cloud!