My Next Two Races...

For the record, South Carolina is hot in the summer. After spending several months running either so early in the morning that I was leaving for my AM run before some of my college age neighbors were getting home from going out the night before or starting my runs so late at night that they actually stretched over two calender dates, the temperatures have finally dropped enough that I actually feel like I can run in daylight. Southern race directors seem to have had the same idea about running in summer, and as a result there are fairly slim pickings for any road races longer than a 10k in my neck of the woods during that season(ultras and trailruns oddly being the exception). With the advent of fall, I suddenly have a lot of races to pick from, however. Mrs. RQ and I have elected to run two decidedly different races to start off this season. One of them presents a very real opportunity for a speedy race, the other I'm just hoping to get through.
The latter race is actually the first one on our plate - The Asheville Citizen-Times Half Marathon. This particular race, set in the mountains of North Carolina, should prove to be a great experience, but to be frank, I'm going to be using it as a training run and going rather slow. Why you ask? Because I pulled the elevation profile, and it truly may be the first race I have ever seen that has no flat portion at all - you're either running up hill or down. The profile looks like the blade of a tree saw. I have a feeling it will be a great experience, but I'm not looking to do anything spectacular.
The next race is the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon. This one promises to be flat and fast, like all the Disney races. Unlike the Goofy, however, I won't have to run a full the next day. It's also being run in the middle of the night (starts at 10PM). It's a different course than the Disney Half - it takes you through 3 of the parks in 13.1 miles - there should be plenty to look at. Disney knows how to throw a race, and it's during the middle of the Food and Wine Festival. It should be fun.
There was a time when two half marathons in two weeks would have scared me to death. I'm really looking forward to these two, though. Mu.