After 11 marathons the thought of just half the distance was going to seem bliss but the last 2wks have seen me getting knackered after just a couple of miles so today was either going to be a breeze or tough…
Weather forecast had suggested heavy rain so normal dress code i.e. vest & shorts but no longer in the charity top and instead club colours…
On arrival at Bexhill, Mr Fish & co were right on this occasion and the rain was falling with no sign of letting up but everyone was looking up for that break in cloud and then on cue it arrived just before the start of the race…
After a quick mingle amongst the pack and no sign of other known club runners it was to be a solo effort and with a definite lack of speed I’d set myself an optimistic 1:35 but you never know…!!!
The course was made up of 4 laps at around the 5.5km (approx) and split times were to be recorded so it was to be a good test of whether or not I could run a steady pace throughout..
The race started and after a quick injection of speed to get past those who prefer to start at the front but then decide to walk after 100m, I was in a position to run my own race… The course was basically flat but the promenade was covered in shingle, from recent high winds, so some care was needed along this section but other than that it was fine..
Lap 1 past without incident as with Lap 2 but by now I was starting to get into my stride and if anything beginning to pick up the pace… Early thoughts may have considered a possible PB but the heavy rain that came from nowhere put pay to that… The route in places was like running through a stream but other than a pair of trainers that felt like lead weights I was fine…
By Lap 3, I was beginning to past runners on a steady basis but also starting to lap others… By the time Lap 4 arrived, though I was glad to be nearly there, I knew I still had some life in the legs and again pushed a little harder crossing the line in 1:33:48…
This was not a PB but one thing it did prove was that despite the miles covered over the last year, the legs still have some pace left in them… I’ve 2 more half’s before the end of year but all which are to be used to prepare myself for next year and possibly another challenge…
For those interested in the split times were;
Lap 1 0:23:50
Lap 2 0:23:33
Lap 3 0:23:21
Lap 4 0:23:15
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