It's a weird thing this running. I'm obviously training for the London Marathon and entered the Berkhamsted Half as a stepping stone to the big event but somehow you get caught up in the "should I race?", "can I get a PB?", "what if I just go for it?"
It's mentally draining, honestly. I spent the week preparing and running through every scenario under the sun. Fortunately I'd had a disaster 4 years ago in the same race and as part of the same build up to London. That time I went for the PB and tore a calf muscle on one of the last downhill stretches.
Having already lost 7-10 days in January to illness I couldn't afford an injury. Should've been a no-brainer but up until this morning I was still unsure.
Eventually, thanks to the wisdom of Richard "the mousse" Bruce, I held back for most of the race and only tried to step it up on the last 3miles.
The week has been easy, although I still racked up 18 miles by the end of Saturday. I was feeling strong and the adrenalain was pumping.
This morning, after my porridge, I was off over to Berko. I arrived with 40 minutes to spare and used the time to get a decent warm up and stretch. I was glad of that and didn't feel the cold with only a PHAB vest for the race.
At the off I was caught up in the 1.30-1.45 crowd and as it's a bit narrow at the start everyone was pushing on to get under the railway bridge and out of the town. By the time we were out in the country I was easing off the pace to keep my heart rate below lactate threshold and my effort at around marathon pace. That meant keeping the heart under 170bpm and staving off the build up of lactic acid in the muscles.
Mile 3 was up a hill and I was pleased to just hold with the group I was in. After that it was another slightly up mile followed by a serious downhill. The course is up and down with 4 decent inclines along the way. I held the heart rate and let the pace follow.
After completing mile 10 I decided enough was enough and pushed on. I targeted runners ahead and picked them off one by one. Passing a good few and getting the pace and effort up a bit. Funnily enough even with the increase in perceived effort the heart rate didn't really increase until the very last sprint finish.
At the end it was a 1:38 finish which is my best time at Berko but a good 5 mins down on my Half PB. So there's a bit of frustration, knowing I could've put in a greater effort but at the same time it's a good stepping stone to London.
Aferwards I did another short run and stretch before the drive home. Once home it was another 2 miles to keep the legs from seizing up.
The agony wasn't over yet though and I jumped in an ice bath for 10 mins to really do myself some damage. Not so worried about my legs after that I can tell you.
The next 3 weeks are all about increasing the volume. I'll be building up the mileage to 70 per week and seeing if I can do a 24 miler at some point.
Thanks so much for the financial sponsorship. I'm over £1100 towards PHAB with about £500 to go.
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