Not preparing for a 10k is one thing, but not preparing for a half marathon is just plain stupid. I know this to be the case, but yesterday I found myself lining up for the start of the Cardiff Half Marathon having prepped with a massive 3 runs (4 miles, Swansea 10k, 8 miles indoor), but for some reason I was feeling pretty good at the start in my new bright yellow running top, Nike+ strapped to my arm just after queueing for 40 mins for the toilet... and boy was that toilet grim when I got in there.
I didn't fly it, I picked a sensible pace (for me) averaging between 10:30 and 11 minutes per mile but I was very pleased with the results. I kept on going I ran the entire distance without stopping and got round the course in 2:22:06. No injuries to speak of (although my knee started doing something at around 10 miles) so it appears to be all good!
One advantage I have is I've learnt some things though practise, when to drink, when to eat, what to drink etc, that probably drove me on a bit, but I was very happy, especially considering the course isn't the flat PB buster it once was. It was still mainly flat, however sections involving the link road were long and uphill and as there was no crowd up there, eerie and quiet... but I thought to myself, if I can run up all this uphill bull, I can run the rest, so I did!
Best part though, was the buzz of finishing something like that quite well. It's got me well and truly interested in keeping a bit fit again which my interest had drifted in before, I'm today signing up for the Llanelli half marathon (doubtful for charity this time, it's too soon to try n bleed people again) which is in March, a target is a great motivator!
The photos will be out on Thursday so I'll have the chance to see how rough I looked at the end, if they got me this time, they missed me on the Swansea 10k completely. Which isn't a shame really...
I also ended up with £185 for charity which is more than I expected, my page is still open too... anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment