halfway there

Sometime this past week, a coworker told me about the Roding Valley Half Marathon that he planned to do this weekend. He finished his inspirational speech with these ill-chosen words: "You're gonna run, aren't you?" Of course I wasn't, was my response. I'm not a runner, I'm just slowly getting ready for a marathon. The week was cold, and the weekend didn't promise to be any better. Kick-off was nine o'clock, a time when I tend to just be waking up on a Sunday morning. Three valid reasons to chicken out.

And yet, my radio went off at 6:30. I had a quick breakfast, packed my stuff and walked to the tube. Three quarters of an hour of sitting on my butt would get me to the start. That's indeed an opportunity too good to pass on. My timing wasn't brilliant. I arrived pretty late, just in time to register, get my number and relieve myself of the great fear lingering in my bowels. Short of a little duathlon ages ago, I have never done a race on foot.

I had no idea what to expect but my Polar to pace me. The plan was thus: First third easy at 80% max. Second third finding my groove and approaching 85% max. Last third all out, as hard as I dare. As sensible as the plan was, it fell apart the moment we were sent off. My heart rate shot up into red and never looked back. The average over the entire race was 87% max. Not surprisingly, this translated into a decent time, just a nick below 1:25 and narrowly meeting the target I'd set. Still, the whole experience was a bit weird.

It wasn't painful, it didn't hurt, and I wasn't miserable. The sun shone and it was warm. My friend complained about the howling winds that killed him on the downhills, but I felt the whole experience was as close to lounging in a spa getting a Thai massage as you're likely to get without lying down. The second big lap was a bit frustrating as I saw runners ahead of me that I just couldn't manage to come closer to, but as no one passed me outside the first ten minutes I must have been doing all right.

Besides the exercise and the early start into a beautiful day, the morning was most useful for giving me an idea of what racing is like and how my body reacts. The conclusions are: First, I can run beyond 85% maximal heart rate and not break down instantly. Second, I must avoid excessive drinking during the race because it kills my pace. Third, I need to become stronger mentally to stick to runners that are faster than I am, especially towards the end. But what's most important, today gave me the confidence that I can do the marathon (at the end of April) in a good time. I now feel comfortable announcing to the world that any finish with a three in the front would be a complete disaster for me.