Catching up

Three weeks until Chicago. Since Sept 1st - My weekday long run of 15+ miles went well. Even pace, last mile was fastest. My 2nd toe hurt on the last lap - not sure what to do about it. Looks like that week's track work may have been my last SC training run of the season with temps in the 70's - Thank You!! Couldn't quite hit my times for that run, but it was still good to attempt it. The next run (tempo) was down to 62° and was much better. 6mi at 7:55 pace.
Then came a trip to DC visiting family and friends. Being only 1 mile away from the trails at Rock Creek Park is always a good thing and I went out for a 6 mile jaunt early the next morning after arriving. even with some residual wetness from the Lee-rains, and high humidity - it was very enjoyable. I always say this after time off the trails - but I do miss them. After Chicago - I'll be there much more often.
So that Monday - I heard from my mother-in-law about a race up in Maryland on 9/11 (Sunday). Even though it was just 6 days before my Asheville Half Marathon, I looked it up. Parks Half Marathon put on by the Montgomery County Road Runners. A point to point course from Rockville to downtown Bethesda, mostly run on a paved trail called the Capital Crescent Trail. Sounded very nice, and reasonably priced for just a week before the race, so I signed up (see next post for Race Recap).
I obviously was not going into this with the freshest of legs, and although it was technically net-downhill, it was rolling, with a steep section around Mile 4 and the last 3 miles with a constant, slight uphill. I had initial thoughts on setting a PR (1:45:35), but wasn't quite sure I was ready for that.
So - did it happen? Stay tuned!