Friday 22 March 2013

Alloa half marathon

It went really well.
I ran 84.17 which is my fastest for a long time.
As usual, I could tell within half a mile what kind of a day it was going to be and I felt OK.
The start was pretty packed and as it turned out it took me 18secs to cross the line.
The 1st mile was spent getting comfortable and passing people.
After that I fell into a comfortable lope and had no problems.
Normally the long straight between Tillicoultry and Menstrie is against the wind but it was behind and that helped. The mile markers were well short which is annoying but the reassuring chirrups of the garmins around me reassred me that my watch was right.
The hill between 10 and 11 came and went without any problems. I was keen not to eat at all and see if I could cope with the distance. The last 2 miles were hard but OK and I managed a 6.30 pace at the end which was OK as quite a bit is uphill.
The last mile was long of course but I saw the finishing line and crossed in 84,35 and the chip was 84.17.
What pleased me most was how strong I felt. I really had the feeling that with more distance training there was quite a bit more to come. However this could turn out to be my peak this season, you just never know.

Saturday 16 March 2013

Why am I doing this?

Tomorrow it is the Alloa half which I have entered. I have not trained for it but have done a fair bit which would be better for a 10K.
I have no real expectations for tomorrow which is always a good way to do a race. I don't know what sort of shape I am in but suspect I can do a decent 8-10 miles but might struggle after that.
Last year I did 86 but with the start of an achilles prob and the year before 84 which was a nice surprise. If I can run comfortably and enjoy it tomorrow that will do for me.
3 weeks ago I did our club 5k in just under 19mins but felt horrible the whole way round.