Because the grass absorbs more of the impact, there is less return on your forward push-off.  You should be able to run at a faster pace on a harder surface.  If you are worried that the harder surface will lead to more muscle trauma, you can work on transitioning to roads by alternating the type of surface you run on until your legs become acclimatized.

Good luck and happy running!

Jay

ps - Which half are you going to run?

If you train well and stick to a plan of gradual increases you should be able to achieve your goal.  Hopefully, once you finish your first race you'll be hooked and want to run more in the future.  Running can be a truly wonderful addiction.

Best of luck to you.

Jay

You have a great attitude towards your first race.

Running should be fun...enjoyable...and rejuvenating.

With that in mind...run on the grass! It's God's surface.

I train lots of trail runners and when they get on road/concrete they do awesome as their legs are  in much better shape than running on hard surfaces alone.

I'd certainly recommend a long run or two on the roads...but generally you should be okay on the grass.

And if you really want to take away the aches and pains from running I'd recommend...

a) Learn a running form (ChiRunning, Pose, or Evolution...I'm biased towards ChiRunning of course). Just learning how to run will help take away soooo many aches associated with bad habits like heel striking.

b) Make sure you have a new pair of shoes.

c.) Don't overtrain. Go slow.

d) Practice yoga. Do this three times a week.

All these things will work wonders. I've coached many people to do their first half marathon or marathon using these ideas.

Good luck,

Gary Smith

www.socalrunning.com

www.marathontraining.tv

Kimberly,

You've got the right idea.

Save the concrete for later.

Get some experience on it but don't spend much time at  all on concrete.

I ran 16 miles on it yesterday on the bike path next to the beach in Southern California and my body is compacted and tight today.

Forget the time.

Enjoy the grass.

Your body will be much happier.

I know about that nasty humidity.

Just try to run earlier and earlier in the day.

You can do it. Set the alarm clock 10 minutes earlier each week..

Coach Gary

Not every run will feel great, that's for sure.  Eventually, however, you'll come to a point where your day just won't seem complete if you don't get your run in.  I guess it took a few months or so for me.

Good luck!

Jay