That time of year

Every year about June I start to look for a fall race.  This year there has been the added challenge of finding a race for both my dad and myself.  He is a brand new runner, new to fitness in general, but he's determined to do a half marathon in November/December.  I sent him a long list of possible races that would be the best in regards to travel costs, time of travel and weather.  I had my fingers crossed for the Death Valley Trail marathon, however he picked:

Santa Clarita Marathon

The race is course is relatively flat and a small size overall. The ratings I've seen have been really positive - though I am a little apprehensive about such a small marathon.  The only other small race I competed in, though well established, seemed disorganized and mediocre compared to races like Houston or Philly where the course size is much larger.

Speaking of that disappointing smaller race,  well I'll be running it again, even though I swore I wouldn't.  Why?  Because it's a half marathon distance one month before Santa Clarita - I know it will be a good benchmark as to how successful my training has been. Speaking of training, I'm going to try and post my weekly training schedule to help me stay accountable and push myself along more successfully then in previous years.  I think like with so many things health related that we estimate when we should be counting.

Regardless I'm aiming for a sub 4:30 this marathon, the closer I can get to a 4:00 the better - the goal is to be looking like this, as for the time these amazing people posted, that's not on the table at the moment: