Race Preview - Biltmore 15K

Blog's been quiet lately - it's been crazy busy at work but not to worry - the mileage hasn't slacked. I'll try to post April totals after this weekend.

This Sunday we'll be up in beautiful Asheville NC to race at the fabulous Biltmore Estate for the 13th Annual (and last) Biltmore/Kiwanis 15K. With a 7:20 am start, it'll be an early morning but the weather should be crisp and perfect for 80 minutes of racing.

The Course: The race starts at the winery and climbs to the Deerpark Restaurant (about a 1 mile hill at 2-3%). The course continues down to the main road, ducking under I-40 twice through stone covered passages before heading up the next hill on the Approach Road (about 1 mile at 2-3%). Topping out in elevation as you wind through the parking lots at 4 1/2 miles, the worst is over. The Approach Road then approaches (ha!) the estate manor, following the u-shaped drive that passes by the massive front doors and lion statues at mile 6. From here on, it'll be easy breezes downhill as the course winds through the walled garden and past the Bass Pond at mile 7. The final stretch of the race will be on the flattened Approach Road back to the winery parallel to the river. At mile 8 the peaceful lagoon will be on the left before coming across the finish line with spectators cheering loudly.

To summarize: 9.3 miles with two challenging hills with a mostly flat-to-downhill second half. It should be a great run if I don't get too distracted by the grounds and estate! In terms of a goal time, I've left it pretty broad on this race because I'm not very familiar with the course and won't be acclimated to mountain air. 8:30-9 min pace would put me at 80-85 minutes. With the infrequency of 15K races, I'm not too worried about PRing anytime soon in this distance so I plan to just go out, run hard and have some fun. The in-laws will be there as our personal cheering section and are allowing us to take them out for a epicurious exploration of Asheville's vegetarian/vegan restaurants afterwards. I love Asheville and don't make it up there enough considering it is less then 2 hours down the road. After this crazy week at work, I'm excited about getting out of W-S and playing in the mountains with the hubby!