1 - Don't pick up any injuries
2 - Try and get round under 2 hours !
This was to be my first standalone half since October 2011 when I managed a 1.48 in Worksop. A succession of niggling injuries following last years calf buster at the Relays meant that my preparation hadn't been great for today, but it could have been worse - so I was treating this as a bit of a long slow run in truth as it fitted in with week 20 of my Ironman training plan.
The weather in Cambridge today was very cold with sleet in the air. For the first time ever I even elected to wear a bin bag to the start in an attempt to keep warm ! Boy, it was freeeeezing !!!!!!!
I chose the 1.30 to 2.00 pen which was rammed, which was not such a bad thing as there was a lot of body heat in the crammed conditions to keep everyone warm whilst we waited the ten minutes for the start. Start we did at a smidge past 9.30 and it was away from the warmth of the mass hug, and out into the wind and the sleet of the race !
The first mile was a mish-mash of weaving around people and walking pace bottlenecks which was a little frustrating to say the least - indeed, because of the congestion I found myself on the path a lot of the time ! A 9.07 first mile then, and I thought that this had maybe set the tone for the rest of the race. but a second mile at 8.25 coupled with a trot through Cambridge city centre brightened me up no end and I settled into a race that I was enjoying despite the conditions. It didn't matter what the course threw up - be it bridges, cobbles or even the boring bit that zig zags through Jesus Green - I just enjoyed it. The first lap came to an end and my Garmin said an average of 8.36 m/m which was quicker than expected - mind you, I still had the 2nd lap to negotiate and a further 6 miles - so I just kept calm and took each mile as it came.
The course was a lot better second time around as there were less people around and the field had strung out ! The sleet had stopped and it felt a little warmer - I was also still ticking off miles at a steady 8.30 something average - with each passing mile I was postponing the decision to take the last few miles a little easier and by the time I took the water from the very last aid station at 11 miles I had decided to just go for it the whole way. After one last diversion through the boring part of Jesus Green we were heading across the main road to the finish on Midsummer Common. Mile 13 passed, and then mile 13.1 passed - by this point it was obvious that the course was long as I turned down the finishing chute and whilst all around me were tear arseing in a sprint finish - I was content to amble down safely making sure I didn't get too giddy and tear something.
1.53.58 for my first half marathon in 18 months and the furthest run I've managed in 9 months - not a bad mornings jogging all in all.
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