I’m so excited!! The Nike Women’s Half Marathon is on October 16, 2011, less than two weeks away! Two of my friends (Becky and Clarissa) are running the Nike full, and Christy is running the Portland full the week before. You rock, ladies!

I must admit that I haven’t been training as much as I probably should be. Following my last half marathon in June, the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll, I took the entire month of August off from running and working out. I was just burnt out. Since then, I’ve been good about getting runs in especially all through out September.

Am I ready? Perhaps. Ah! Who am I kidding!? The hills are going to kill. I plan on training hills a few more times between now and then to prepare myself for the SF hills. Below is a map of the half marathon course elevation:

In comparison, the other races I’ve ran (Seattle Half Marathon and Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon x2) are much lower in elevation. Yikes.

Also, the past two half marathons that I’ve done have resulted in 10-12 minutes faster each time and a PR. I have a feeling that I won’t be PR’ing this race, but I’m excited nonetheless to feel the energy and the excitement in the air.

20K women (and men!) running this in beautiful SF, experiencing the scenery, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Mile, and of course… who can forget that we’ll all be receiving Tiffany necklaces handed out on silver platters by tuxedo’ed SF firefighters?

Anyway.

Onto my essentials when it comes to an outdoor run:

1. Moisture-wicking hat: For all that sweat coming off my head!
2. Water bottle: This is a must to keep hydrated during the run. I take this out even when it’s a short 4-mile run. For my race, I might bring this or wear my pink hydration belt. I bought my hand-held bottle at REI, product page is here.
3. iPod Nano: Refer to my favorite things post here. Thanks to my bf, Joe, for gifting this to me! Rocking out to my favorite tunes during a run is essential.
4. Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver with HRM: I bought this on Amazon after researching extensively (product page here). With over 2,000 reviews, overall 4.5 star, and a stellar price of just under $150, this GPS watch really cannot be beat. It’s highly motivating to see my pace, calories burnt (accurate via the HRM), and total mileage during the actual run. A GPS watch is a must-have for any runner out there. Highly recommended!
5. Nike gear: I’m a total Nike girl. Head to toe Nike, baby!! That makes me fully ready for the NWM race, right? Right.

As a side note, I’ve been incorporating quite a bit of weights into my workouts the past month or so. Can you tell?

Now onto my playlist for the race…. Do you guys have any favorite upbeat songs that you deem a must-have for a running playlist?!