Pre-race analysis

Okay, so maybe all I manage with this is to demoralize myself ahead of time, but I'm thinking about Chicago on Sunday, and here's the thoughts concerning my time:

Cons

1. I'm sick. Yep - no fever, but hacking phlegm is a bad sign for running. It might clear up before then, but it's not certain.
2. Sleep? What's that? Between a teething baby and a toddler who keeps getting up in the night to wander into my room, I haven't gotten as much as 4 hours of continuous sleep in several months. 6 hours of continuous is a dim and distant memory.
   
3. It's going to be hot. Damned hot. Right now, it's looking like there will be near-record highs, with a low that is more than 10 degrees higher than my ideal running temperature. (Actually, my ideal is close to 40, so a probable temp of 75 at the start is bad.)
4. I'm not sure my training has been wholly up to snuff.

Pros

1. I know that I have been getting faster, and last years time would have been great (for me), or at least tolerable, had I not wrenched my knee somewhere about the 25k or 30k mark.
2. That's about it, really. . . .

At the beginning of the year, I had hopes for a BQ at Chicago. As late as last month, I was hoping to come close to a 3:20. I'm still thinking that a 3:30 is doable, and if the weather co-operates, I might even manage to get down towards the 3:20, but it's not looking good right now. . .

On the plus side, I don't need to worry about having extra clothes to keep warm before race time, though a couple of fans to keep cool would be nice.