If you’ve not done the training, the half-marathon is pretty unforgiving.
I entered the Scottish Half Marathon a few months ago thinking that even although I wasn’t in peak running form, I could run a fairly decent time. The course is probably one of the fastest in Scotland with an elevation profile which is predominantly downhill and flat. But I found out that this doesn’t mean very much if you haven’t put the training in.
Earlier on in the year I had run a few races closely packed in the calendar, including the Scottish 5k championships, a local race called the Rigg race, and the Loch Leven half marathon. I was very happy with my performance in the 5k Scottish championships, but by the time I had finished the Loch Leven half marathon my body was saying that I needed a bit of a break from racing. So training was sidelined for a while but I still stayed physically active. To be honest, it was more of an opportunity to take a rest and get my head back into the racing mentality.
I think this time off extended into the (school) summer break, with various holidays involved. And I never really got back into any decent blocks of training. I kept myself pretty fit with regular running, but nothing consistent in terms of training plans. I just plodded along really, until the race date came up.
The race itself seemed to start off well which is something I’ve encountered a few times during races longer than 10k – I’m able to sustain a pretty decent pace for the first 5k without any long distance training under my belt. But the situation changes gradually for me round about the 15k mark where the lack of HM training really starts to bite. It’s particularly challenging when you find yourself being overtaken by people at what seems an increasing reate, and you really have to dig deep to get yourself through the last 10k.
Whenever I’m in this mental state I try and draw upon various mental coping strategies to distract myself from the pain, and to silence any negative demons. But there’s something about a situation where you know you’re not in good shape that seems to compound this. The last 5k was horrible – one of those situations where you just want to get it over with. I even found myself in a sprint finish with one of the other runners that lives locally that boosted my heart rate to some ridiculous level. I don’t even know why I did it – I guess it was just the racing instinct that took over.
What did I learn from this? Well, I had a much better run last year at a half marathon where I stuck to a training schedule. But the race itself also went more smoothly and more predictably. It was an all round better experience, rather than a pure slog.
So yeah, to state the obvious, if you want a decent, predictable race – put the work in.