Stratford Half Marathon 2010

I’ve not done this event for a few years and was surprised by how many people now participate.

When I first entered the start was near the canal basin and theater; this year it occupied the entire high street!

As per the Leamington 10k I had undertaken a long ride the day before but felt fairly fresh. Ironman training is pretty amazing for recovery times.

I was going to meet Mark at the start but his sat nav took him to the wrong end of town and I had little chance of finding him amongst the throng. I entered the start mid pack so I could keep an eye out. I set of with the aim of treating this as a training run. My plan was to keep the heart rate steady and to keep a constant pace.

The heart rate turned out to be so settled that the pace was quick. I allowed the rate to go from 155bpm to 160, as this was a race, leading to a pace around 7:10 minute miles.

The middle of the course features a long steady climb that slowly saps your energy. Adding to this the sun came out and I started to feel the heat. Mentally I thought that this was brilliant, acclimatisation training thrown in! The heart rate peaked a little up the hill as I gradually caught people. All the hill training has paid off.

With 2 miles to go I knew I was on for a personal best, previously around 1:44 if memory serves me correct (see posts from years past). I finished with a little sprint in a time of 1:33 putting me 98th out of 1765. The time was a bonus as the main thing for me was running a controlled pace and finishing feeling like I could go on. Not quite ready for the 26.2 but if push came to shove….