The time has come.  Twelve weeks of training is about to pay off on what should be a beautiful morning to race around beautiful Lake Minnetonka.

Yesterday I published a course preview and I must say that I think it is a pretty ideal course.  Point to point, a few hills, and nice scenery.

My goal is to break 1:30:00 in the half-marathon.  This equals a 6:52 pace for 13.1 miles.  I always say this – but my plan is to go out slow and finish faster.  I’d like to go through the first mile in about 7:15 and then slowly pick up the pace throughout.  I don’t often do this part successfully (although I did it too successfully at the Mid-South Half Marathon, going out 8:05 which was a little too slow!).

I’ve been able to nudge my times down.  My official PR is 1:33:22 set at the Rochester Half Marathon last year.  However, during the City of Lakes 25k I came through the half-marathon in 1:31 something.

I just need to relax, go out slow, and not get over-psyched about the race and I’ll let my training speak for itself.  A Sunday morning race, will make for a pretty low-key Saturday (hopefully) and I should be able to get and stay hydrated and eat good pre-race foods.

About the Race

The 2009 Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon in its 29th year of running filled and closed again this year.  As suspected this is NOT a closed course (if you look at the map you’ll see that some of these roads are the only way in and out of the area) but you are allowed to wear headphones!  They are offering awards in 10 year age groups.  There isn’t much race history to be found on the website.  Wells Fargo is the “title” sponsor for the event starting in downtown Wayzata and finishing in downtown Excelsior.

About Lake Minnetonka

From the Lake Minnetonka website:

Lake Minnetonka (meaning “Big Waters” in the native Dakota language), is located twenty miles due West of Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota. Formed by glacial melting following the last Ice Age, Lake Minnetonka is one of the largest lakes in the state, boasting 110 miles of shoreline (officially). Other estimates have placed the figure closer to 350 miles, but any way you slice it, it’s a BIG lake.

Various Native American tribes inhabited the area for centuries before the lake was discovered by portagers in 1822. Ancient Indian burial mounds are visible in many locations along the shoreline, and one village on the western end of the lake was originally christened “Mound City” for this reason (known today simply as Mound).

In 1852, a dam was built on Minnehaha Creek and a logger’s settlement grew into the village of Minnetonka Mills. That same year, a fellow from New York City by the name of George Bertram, after a brief visit to the lake, returned to the east coast and recruited a number of his friends, establishing the “Excelsior Pioneer Association”. They returned to Lake Minnetonka in 1853 and founded the town of Excelsior on the southern side of the lower lake.

Wayzata (Dakota for “North Shore”), was founded in 1854, followed by Deephaven, Orono, and nearly a dozen other townships and municipalities.

[tags] Lake Minnetonka, Half Marathon, Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon [/tags]