Cardiff Half Marathon 18 October 2009
Weather cool>cold, sunny, light breeze in parts of the race. Ideal conditions.
Intended to run 10 minutes per mile and get round in 2:10 to 2:15. After the first split I just carried on and hoped I’d not run out of energy. I knew if I could keep that early pace I’d get in in under 2 hours.
I grabbed water at all but 1 if the water points, a quick gulp and splash on the head. Also had a gulp of Powerade half way round.
At 4 miles I was doubting I’d be able to keep the pace, and by 8 miles I was just thinking ‘bring it home’, take it steady and get round. So I was surprised at the consistency of the times.
Felt a blister on my arch/instep after halfway. Also, just before the 12 mile marker my ankle went over on an uneven path in the park – it was crowded and didn’t see a hole. Didn’t hurt at all at the time but later after the race I was limping a bit as if it strained a few things.
Mile splits:
Mile 1: 9:36
Mile 2: 9:07
Mile 3: 8:46
Mile 4: 10:02
Mile 5: 8:55
Mile 6: 8:57
Mile 7: 9:00
Mile 8: 8:47
Mile 9: 8:43
Mile 10: 9:00
Mile 11: 9:07
Mile 12: 9:20
Mile 13: 9:00
Last 0.1 mile: 1:00
Total watch time: 1:59:20
Official chip time: 1:59:21
BRILLIANT!!!!!
I was aware I was on schedule and checked my watch on the home straight, and it was 1:57:something, so put a spurt on and was very relieved it was 1:59:something crossing the line.
October 20, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Awesome run Steve. Well done!
Your pace was only 4sec/km slower than Sheffield – running on your own!
October 21, 2009 at 9:02 pm
There was a lot of crowding and parts where I could not easily overtake runners on a slower pace, very frustrating. If not for that I’d have done the same pace as Sheffield, probably. But need to think carefully about the pace for the P**** marathon – could be very difficult to keep that high pace up for 26.2 miles.
My left foot is still sore but it’s not bruised or swollen. Just uncomfortable. Good job I’d planned a short break from running, eh? On the plus side, my thighs have recovered and I can use the stairs again now 🙂