Half way

Yesterday I blazed through two half-way points of my training: 

1. I ran the Watford half marathon, and
2. I reached a total of 262 training miles – approximately half of my training mileage.

The Watford half marathon went really well.  It was very well organised: we turned up, followed the signs and announcements on the PA systems, it started on time, lots of friendly marshals, the water stations were cheerfully manned by local Scouts and the post-race funnel of water station, t shirt collection and timing chip return was a slick operation.  The course itself was undulating closed roads and the people I chatted to en route were friendly.  The weather was cloudy with a light wind, no rain and approximately 4 degrees.  All in all, it was the perfect setting for a great race.  Here I am waiting to start:

And a great race I had!  I deliberately kept my pace slow at the beginning, although it was difficult to go any faster with the number of people bunched in at the start.  I paid attention to how I felt and ran at a comfortable pace, trying to remain calm and relaxed but also making sure I wasn’t slacking unnecessarily.  The first four miles slipped by amazingly quickly.  The hills were good for building strength (I suspect many of my fellow runners don’t train on hills, judging by the number I overtook).  After mile seven I was running strong, passing people but with no-one coming past me.  At 12.5 miles I turned into Cassiobury park and smiled for my photographer (see below), pushed through a final lap of the park (I was reasonably tired by that point) and finished in 1:51:27.  I was *really* pleased with my time.  I wasn’t sure how long it would take - I’d guessed somewhere between 1:45 and 2:30 and I was very happy to be closer to the quick end of that range.  It’s been a huge boost to my confidence.

Special thanks to Chris for being an excellent support “team” yesterday.  He patiently dealt with my pre-race wittering, drove to and from Watford, carried my bags, took the photos, was in position when and where I needed him – and was a great supporter throughout the day.  Thank you.