Thanks
@DopeyBadger for the suggestions. Moderate hills in Front Royal ?!!! Not sure that is possible, it's the beginning of Skyline Drive where the leaf watchers come out in the fall to see the trees change colors.
I'll have to consult with my "coach" to make sure these dates don't disrupt the training plan!!!
October 8-9 would be the ideal date.
LOL! I think your "coach" would tell you that the Oct 8-9th race weekend is 5 weeks prior to your "A" goal marathon. There are Pros and Cons to racing this close to a goal marathon.
Pros
1. If you were to race one of these choices, then you'd likely score a new half marathon PR.
2. It allows for a fitness test to more reliably predict what your upcoming marathon time will be.
3. It allows for race simulation practice. Practice marathon nutrition strategy (while not necessary to race the half marathon, it's a good time to practice), race strategy (patience, Pac-Man, start slow, progressively faster, kick at the end), and running blind in a race setting (trusting the training process and listening to your body and it's cues to perfect today's race effort).
However, by racing 5 weeks in advance of the marathon you'll introduce two new negative factors into the training plan.
Cons
1. You'll miss out on 1 of the 3 max long distance training runs in preparation for the marathon. While you could "make up the difference" with additional mileage either before or after the race, it doesn't quite elicit the same benefits since the pace will likely be dramatically different throughout the training run.
2. You'll increase the need for recovery after the half marathon. By virtue of racing it, it would probably necessitate taking the next few days easy to elicit sufficient recovery. Thus, you will miss out on the beneficial gains made during the long run, the strength (or kick training run), and it will probably have some residual effect on the following Tempo run.
In the end, it's a matter of choice. You can race more and it takes away some from your training, or you can race less and maximize your training for your "A" race. I have used both strategies. Unfortunately, it would be revisionist history if I were able to tell you if I were able to race an "A" race better if I had not done "B" races in the weeks prior. It's an unknown unless I had actually done it. In the past I have raced many times leading up to races and done well. For this particular training cycle, I am only racing my "A" race this fall with no other "B" races. It's the question of, "Do I want to put all of my fitness gain chips into one basket?"
). I was down ~70 lbs last November, and I have put about 8-10 of them back on. I still have about 50-55 that I want to lose... well, 60-65 now. 
