Goals for Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon

Happy Thursday, everyone!  It feels a little weird that today's Thursday because I had to stay home sick yesterday.  It kinda feels like a Monday--that'll make tomorrow that much more exciting!

So, this weekend, I'll be running a half marathon!  I'm participating in the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon, a local race that raises money for the local high schools' athletic programs.

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I'm excited about this race because I had a great experience at last year's race.  It's a good size for a local race, each water stop is manned by students from each of the high schools in the county, and the post-race party has lots of great foods!

Today, I wanted to share my goals for this weekend's race with you.  I've had a hard time coming up with my goals due to a number of factors.

When I first signed up for this race, I was really excited because of my poor performance last year due to IT band issues.

I wanted right away to be able to "redeem" myself on this course, as it should be a very easy course to run a good race.

Then...I neglected to train for this race.  I've run every now and then since the ZOOMA Chicago Half, but not nearly as much as I should have by any means.  I'm feeling very similar to how I felt before the Lake Minneola Half Marathon, where I knew I was undertrained and set my goals with low expectations.

Despite PRing the last time I felt like this, there's a big difference between being undertrained for the Lake Minneola Half and this race....I'm 17 weeks pregnant!  That REALLY affects my mindset going in to this race.  I know I need to really listen to my body and make sure that I'm not overdoing it for Baby Fish's sake.  However, this isn't my first pregnant half marathon!  I was actually pregnant during ZOOMA Chicago, but I didn't know it yet!

So, taking all of those things into consideration, here are the goals I've decided on for this weekend's race:

A Goal:  Run until the starting line pack thins out, then complete the race using 3:1 run/walk intervals (dropping to 2:1 if needed)
On my runs since finding out I was pregnant, this is what I've been doing.  It's worked for me, but those runs have only been about 3 miles.  Hopefully it'll continue to work for this half marathon!

B Goal: Beat my Lighthouse Loop 2013 time (3:01:08)
Even if it's only by a second!  I think this goal is very realistic and doable, considering I walked the last four miles with an injury.

C Goal: Cross the finish line.
If I have to walk more than I'd like, I need to just be ok with crossing the finish line, no matter what the time is.

These goals are very similar to my Lake Minneola Half goals, but I know this is will be a very different race since I'm pregnant.  I'm looking forward to it, though, and hoping that the race is just as much fun as last year!

Some articles of possible interest:
Transitioning from the Half to the Full Marathon from Amanda at Run To The Finish
Your 10 Biggest Fitness Class Mistakes from Shape Magazine
Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Bake from Stephanie at My Freckled Life

Question for you: How do you come up with goals for your races?