What: bath half marathon
Where: bath
When: 02 march
Organiser: running high
Course details: two laps on the flattest bits they could find of bath
Distance: half mara (13.1mi)
Closed Roads: yes, leading to amusing traffic chaos in and around the city
Marshalling: tons
Facilities: loos, changing tents, bag storage, water, lucozade, jellybabies
Technical: chip timed
Freebies: Medal for all finishers, goodie bag (t-shirt, some weird sponsor stuff), and ample water/lucozade.
three years and a few tris (including IMSE) since i lat did this race (2011) and i finally pulled my finger out to do it again. and at an rather eye-watering £42 for entry i assured myself that a sub-1:30 finish would mean i didn't have to do it again. unless someone gives me their spot for gratis.
the biggest change since i last did it, and romped home in a very respectable 1:31:20ish, was that i think i've become a runnner. last years focus and regular interval/rep sessions really paid off - i went under 40mins for 10k for the first time and consistently hoverred around 19mins for 5k. my half pb looked like it wasn't right in those contexts, so i was keen to give it a good crack and try and get it under 1:30. on paper, no problem.
reality of training was another - the autumn was a tad relaxed in running terms, and even over christmas i was struggling to give a toss. i certainly wasn't doing consistent interval sessions and hitting 20+km most weekends. the couple of hard efforts i did demoralised me as i knew what i had been capable of 6months previously.
january came and i gave myself the promised kick up the arse. hill reps once a week and a slow return to intervals. i got my weekend long mileage up to 14mi. lingering illnesses (sinusitis of some sorts that i'd had for a few months, perhaps even the highworth tri in sept) and then pulling my hip/lower back out smashed a 10 days hole in my running. it felt like back to square one again, and while i thought my goal was achievable still, if only on latent improvements, i wasn't as confident as before.
i got back to regular sessions, my intervals slowly improved, and i ran a very unexpected 1:33ish 2 weeks out from the race. it wasn't planned, i was running off feeling good and just got on with it. my confidence came back, and in the week leading up to the race i set myself a 5mile racepace session looking for 6:35min/mi ish. it went like a charm.
then on the friday evening as i rode home, and despite doing as i intended and riding the whole commute in the 34t, i felt my left hip starting to tighten again. saturday was spent desperately trying to keep it moving, a couple of hot baths, heat pad on my back as i went to bed and crossed fingers it would be ok in the morning.
i binned my planned 'ride in, race, ride home' because i didn't trust my hip to survive the cycle. i took the car, parked at work and walked in with a colleague. a couple of miles of light, brisk walk as warm up. my hip felt fine - i did a few light jogs and there was nothing massive there to worry me, but it wasn't 100% and i knew it.
got to the race area, dumped my bag, went for a mid fart pee and then hung around the start area to get cold in the chilly morning drizzle. like three years ago i was in the pen behind the fast kids and affiliated club members, not all of whom were fast kids. just like three years ago i crossed the line at a bare jog and with about 1,000 runners in front that needed overtaking. it was a bun-fight, crowded, lots of slower runners happily in groups of 3 or 4 strung across the road. i did my best grumpy face and skipped round them where i could.
i did a fair job of avoiding too much stop-start and as the field thinned out there was more space and less plonkers. the course is flat with some minor undulations and is superbly supported (in this case despite the persistent, cold drizzle). i had a fair time, kicking along at what felt like a hard, but maintainable, pace. it was consistently 6:40ish and that was fine. my hip was holding out - every once in a while i'd get a twinge on a breathe or if i missed my footing, but i did my best to avoid thinking about it and keep relaxed.
the first lap gave me a 10km split under 41mins (43 off the gun), which was fine. i slowly took a gel at about 50mins and grabbed a bottle of water for a mile or two to sip from. the last 4 miles were hard, i knew i was under my target but it didn't stop me wanting to press on my hard work and set a good time. the last mile, up the hill to the holborn museum, was quite tough and when a marshall shouted that we should get a move on to beat 1:30 i ignored him, knowing i was a good chunk under.
he meant the gun, though, and so when i tried to crank up the pace for the last couple of hundred metres i was too late to get under the banner - i crossed 1:30:04. my chip was at least a minute quicker, but in hindsight i wish i'd just paid attention. even so, i ran my legs off pretty well and i can't be unhappy with 1:28:40, especially if it means not having to run round bath for £40 again.
2009 - 1:50:and change
2010 - 1:38:and change
2011 - 1:31:10
2014 - 1:28:40
as for the rest of 2014 - i need to book into the white horse and royal wootton bassett sprints in may. they should be a laugh. then... err... an oly or two? i dunno. i'd like to provoke my 10km time down under 39mins, but i think it will mean making myself quite uncomfortable.
and if jack gets his way, the hotw.
first up - might need to get that hip/back looked at by a grown up.