Wokingham Half Marathon

I've done some good sessions recently and so felt like I was running well, but still I'd not actually laid down a great time in any race since London marathon last year! Granted this was due to marathons in tough conditions and not having the opportunity to do a quality 10k or half-marathon in the build ups, but still it played at the back of my mind and I was keen to prove to myself that I could still run fast, and I knew this race was a place to do it.

I ran this race last year and found that actually it's really quick - I ran a PB - and so incorporated it into my plans this year again. I'd not done many hard sessions in the week leading up to it but volume had stayed high. I noticed quite a wind on my warm up but a lot of the course is quite sheltered by hedgerows so I hoped it wouldn't affect times too much. Just as we all gathered on the start line I saw that Phil Wicks and Jean Ndayisenga were running, which I had mixed emotions about. I knew it was best for me to race hard and the more competition the better but also I wanted a crack at the course record of 64.48 and the more competition there was, the more chance there was of me being beaten! Still, my race plan was to stick with Phil for as long as possible as I felt confident and in good shape.

That race plan changed after about 90 seconds of the race. Phil went to the front and pushed on the pace and I knew it was very fast so I had to let him go and just run comfortably. My suspicions were confirmed after 1 mile when I looked up at the lead car and saw Phil go through in 4.32, with me following in a very-much-not-slow 4.40. I had Jean for company so just focussed on staying relaxed and trying not to lose track of Phil. Jean and I swapped the lead a few times in the first 3 miles, which hadn't slowed much after two subsequent 4.45 miles and then Jean moved past me and got about 30 yards. I knew we were shifting pretty well and that this was a surge so let him go, making sure that if the gap continued to grow, I'd make an effort to haul him in. A mile later and he started to come back to me and after the 5 mile mark I caught him and moved back past him. I was also aware that Phil's lead wasn't growing very quickly if at all and so made sure I didn't lose concentration on that and slacken my pace at all. As it is, Phil passed through 5 miles in 23.30 with 23.47 or so for me and I was really pleased with how comfortable how I felt at this pace. Just after 10k (30.00 for me), my watch battery died and so all I had to focus on was Phil as I couldn't see the lead clock times anymore. There were a few windy patches but nothing too bad. Until 10 miles that is. As soon as we turned a corner at 10 miles a huge wind greeted me head on and so I just had to push against it as much as I could. Phil was gradually pulling away from me but I just told myself to not give in and keep pushing, as I knew I'd been on PB pace until now. I didn't feel like I was fading too much in terms of fatigue, but no doubt this wind was having an effect. With my watch being dead I had no idea of my pace anymore so just worked hard. The last mile was less windy and I could hear the race organiser getting really excited about Phil taking the course record and as I crossed the line I saw it was 64.55 for me. Again, mixed emotions with this. This was faster than I ran last year, where conditions were much better, but having been on PB pace for so long it was exasperating for it to fall apart in the last 3 miles.

Phil had gone through 10 miles in 48.20 he later told me and I estimate I must have been about 48.45-48.50, so we both slipped to about 5.05-5.07 miling on average for the last 3 miles. Still, I can be positive about feeling so comfortable at 30.00 10k pace (although we actually had some tailwind obviously!) and at the Hague in a month I know I have the ability to set a new PB.

I won a lovely decanter, and £130 Mizuno vouchers, which isn't much use to a Saucony athlete, so I gave them to James Savage who was 4th and had kindly driven me to the race!

Phil Wicks - 64.10

Ben Moreau - 64.55

Jean Ndayisenga - 66.19