About two months ago I requested an elite entry to a half-marathon race. At the time, I told them my PR and that I was hoping to break it at this race.
But now that it's race weekend, my training hasn't gone as planned and I'm not really in shape to race an all-out half-marathon. It would be much better for me to run this race at marathon pace and treat it as a workout.
Is it acceptable to do this, or since I registered as an elite do I have to try my best to be competitive? The matter is complicated by the fact that I represent a USATF club and I don't want to embarras our name.