Lisburn Half Marathon 2012

Wednesday 20th June 2012

Swimming
01:04:02 –  2500 Metres

The normal Wednesday morning session.  I felt a bit sluggish for the first 200M or so and then got in to a good rhythm.  What can I say? It was dead on.

Cycling
00:31:53 –  7.85Miles (14.80 MPH / HR Zone  / 72% Max / Cadence ??rpm)

I took the opportunity to test out my new Road bike – which I got on Monday. (Thank you Cycle to work scheme.)
It is a Kuota Kharma and is my first Carbon framed bike and it is a beauty.

I just wanted to get out on it to see how it rides and make a few tweaks to the set up – and this process will continue for a wee while until I am happy with it.

It rides really well and feels very light and nimble – just like me. NOT!
Not really counting this as training as it was not for that purpose.

Running

01:50:56 – 13.18 Miles (08.25 per mile / HR Zone 3 / 87% Max)

Tonight was the Lisburn Half Marathon and as many of you who red the blog will know, I had been having a debate with myself as to whether I should go for a new Personal Best or just take this as a training run.

I decided that it would be best not to risk injury by pressing too hard for a PB (personal best) and so I settled on it being a training run.

The conditions on the night were absolutely perfect and I felt really comfortable and strong and just went out at a pace that felt right but that was within my Heart Rate zone.

I knew things were going well as I started quite near the back of the field and just seemed to keep passing people in the first 4 miles or so which is either a good sign or a warning that I am going too fast and will blow to pieces at some point.

With that thought in mind I was watchful of my Heart rate but also though about how hard the run felt and was I comfortable and breathing easy enough.  Check – on all counts, so I kept on.

Without a doubt the Ironman training has made me stronger rather than faster and it was this strength that seemed to come through.  I barely noticed hills that in previous years have had me struggling and panting like a dog in the summer heat.  I just seemed to cruise up the hills and passed a hell of a lot of people, especially on the hills up Sprucefield and the Waterloo Road section of the course where lots of people seem to go in to meltdown and walk.

I got to the top of Waterloo Road and knew that the next 2 miles or so are downhill and then flat through to about mile 11.  At this stage my friend Jim pulled up alongside me on his bike having ridden over from Greenisland.  It was great to have his company as it was nice to chat to someone and also it meant that it I was talking I was not pushing the pace too hard, which is always tempting down that stretch.  Miraculously Jim did not have any punctures for once.

I know that when I got to mile 11 that I was making really good progress and that a PB was on the cards and it was at this stage that my plan of holding back sort of went out the window.  I was feeling really strong and pushed things along a bit for the last 2 miles, which if anything would be slightly uphill to the finish.

My last 2 miles were cranked out in 8.02 and 7.13 minutes respectively, which is very impressive for me.  I would struggle to run a flat 7 minute mile as a one off never mind at mile 12 in a Half marathon, so I am well chuffed with myself.

I got to the finish chute and was delighted to see the clock and realise that a 2 minute PB had been achieved.  Even more pleasing for me was that I ran the 2^nd half of the course nearly 3 minutes faster than the first half ( a negative split in running parlance) and this was a reflection of good pacing and the strength of my running at the moment.

The only disadvantage of finishing fast was that Keara nearly missed me at the end as I got in ahead of when she was expecting me.  We always joke about things like this as she has had a couple of nightmares in the past, missing me finish a couple of Marathons because of traffic etc and in the last Half Ironman she nearly missed me because I was faster than I thought and it was nearly the same here too.

Erin and Ben did the 3K Fun Run at the event too and did well.  Erin came in at about 22 minutes and Ben flew round in 13 minutes.  I’m glad I wasn’t running with him as that is pretty nippy for an 11 year old.  Maybe he will fancy the 10K next year.

 
On the whole I am delighted with the result but probably even more pleased that it is a vindication of the training so far and that my approach to the race worked well, even if it led to an accidental PB