I did it! I ran a half-marathon and in a pretty decent time too – 02:02:28 for anyone who is still interested! Not too bad for someone who was barely coping with 5km at the start of the year. I just want to do it all over again. I want to get sub 2hrs… I want to run a full marathon. I’m a mixture of suffering from post-race blues and still on a high and wanting to talk all things running with anyone who’ll still listen to me ramble on.
When I signed up for the race, I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of how I would do. At that point, I’d have been happy to just complete it. In terms of preparation, I stuck pretty much to the 12 week beginners training plan which was given by adidas (the race sponsors). This was based on two short runs during the week and one long run on a weekend working right up to a 12 mile run 4 weeks before race day. I definitely recommend sticking to a plan as much as possible. If I’d have just done haphazard running and building up my distances with no thought put in, I don’t think I’d have done as well as I did on the race day. I also found that it didn’t interfere too much with a social life either. I could still manage to fit these runs in without having to say no to big nights out or events.
I invested in a little bit of new running kit. I already had a pretty decent pair of trainers and sets of sports bras (M&S do great sports bras in cup sizes). I went to Primark and got a bright pink waterproof (which has been great), a couple of tops (which have also been great) and some leggings (not so great – they fall down a little bit and don’t have pockets). The running leggings I did swear by were a pair of Karrimor ones that were reasonably priced from Sports Direct. I also had a little waist pouch from h&m that fits in a couple of cards, keys and an energy gel. Rather than using a running watch, I used the mapmyrun app on my phone which works brilliantly. I have my phone for music when I’m running anyway and this gives me a recap at each KM of the time, distance, pace and split pace.
I didn’t want to end up spending loads of money on kit and equipment only to not enjoy running and/or only do one race. It would have just been a complete waste of money and also even more unused things when I'm trying to drastically de-clutter. Now that I know I want to carry on, I’m happy to start investing a little bit more of my hard-earned cash. New trainers are the top of my list.
I did a little bit of research of what to eat before running and how to fuel myself but it wasn’t a strict diet. On a normal workday, I’d have breakfast which was either cereal, cereal bar, yoghurt, fruit, a lunch of pasta, sandwich or soup and then a banana at around 4pm. It always seemed to work. I’m much more of an afternoon/evening runner/exerciser anyway. I’m just generally not a morning person at all. On long runs, I would usually have porridge mixed with some fruit about 2hrs prior to going out. This served me well. I had to be careful to leave enough time between eating and running. The first time I attempted to do a 10 mile run, I ended up having to walk a big chunk as I started to suffer with bad stomach cramping, almost like period pain. Lesson learned – but I guess that’s part and parcel of training, learning to know what your body responds to both positively and negatively. I used one energy gel on long runs and I’m still unsure as to whether I did need them or not. I think it was more a psychological thing more than anything else. I felt I could go on more if I had them. I used the SIS GO ones purely because they were easy to get hold of in my local Tesco.
Silverstone Race
The race was the adidas Silverstone Half at the F1 race track. It was a three lap route. In terms of the venue, on the plus side, it was pretty flat the whole way round with a few slight inclines which makes it great for a first race like mine. Also, if you're an F1 fan, you may also relish running on such an iconic route. On the down side, it’s slightly out of the way making it difficult to get to unless you drive. (although there are buses put on specially from Birmingham and London). I think this combined with the layout of the route meant that there were large parts of the race with little or no spectators. I’m only speculating here but I’m guessing with races through city centres, you end up with a lot more accidental spectators…. The organisation was faultless though and all in all, it was a great day. We were also blessed with gorgeous sunshine which definitely helped! Not sure I’d have enjoyed it as much in the pouring rain.
For the first half of the race, I was keeping pace with the 01:58 pacer. I was even a little bit in front at one point. My target finishing time was 02:10 and there was no way I was expecting to get sub 02 hours. However, there was the voice inside my head just saying “What if…. What if?” I pushed myself at this pace for a little bit longer, but by 08 miles I knew I had to slow down. I still tried to push myself in certain places but my legs were getting tired. I’m still pretty happy with my time and know that with some work, I will be able to get sub 2hrs which is more than I dreamed of when I first started training back in December.
Right, now to go and find some more races to run!!
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