Hoping for another half-marathon PR

Because of all the ice we've had lately, I've had to push my runs from the morning to the evenings when I get off work. I am running the Lake Benbrook Half Marathon Saturday so on Thursday evening's run, I just wanted to get out and move my legs for an hour. Comfortably hard. But not really push things. Keep the heart rate below 85 percent. Here are the stats:

 

8.32 miles in 1:01:56. Pace: 7:26. Avg heart rate: 79 percent

 

1 - 8:09 (warm-up)

2 - 7:29

3 - 7:08

4 - 7:12

5 - 7:07

6 - 7:22 (slowed down purposely. didnt wanna turn my training run into a race.

7 - 7:22

8 - 7:42 (warm down)

8.32 2:24

 

So, it looks like I may be ready for another half-marathon PR. I ran 1:38:59 at the DRC Half Marathon in early November. The only problem is the Lake Benbrook Half Marathon has worse hills than DRC. How much will I have in the tank at Mile 9? Mile 11? Mile 13? I'll soon find out. But I feel confident, especially since running sub 7:30s doesnt take a whole lot of effort. The slowdown on Mile 6 during Thursday night's run actually began in the middle of Mile 5 when I looked at my Garmin and noticed I was doing a 6:50 mile. It didnt feel like I was running that fast.

 

My goal Saturday is to run 7:20 miles. That would get me across the finish line in 1:36.