First race of the year!

Well it went pretty well. I did the Eastbourne Half Marathon for the first time last year when I ran my Half PB and enjoyed it so much I decided to run it again. This year though, it's part of my marathon training.

I really couldn't decide how to approach the race - should it be a long training run at slow marathon training pace? Or at marathon goal pace (whatever that is, I'm not sure)? Or should I just race it and try to get a good time?

I never really made my mind up, but realistically I knew that I'd find it very difficult, once in the race, to run at a slow pace. So I tried to keep around 9 min miles, thinking that would be around 2 hours - not quite a PB but a good racing effort.

This course includes a very steep hill around miles 2-3, which is followed by a long enjoyable downhill, then flat along the seafront. So pacing cannot really be consistent for that first stretch. Today was also very windy, with a headwind from about 4.5 miles to the 8 mile mark.

Saw a photographer I know!

Anyway, I finished in 1 hour 59 min 23 seconds - just 45 seconds slower than last year! I'm going to put that down to the wind and my marathon-specific training...

I forgot to switch my Garmin on for the first minute or so (duh), but according to the stats I did record, I ran a great negative split of a race. It went like this:

Mile 1 - 9.08
Mile 2 - 9.04
Mile 3 - 9.38
Mile 4 - 9.39 (the steep hill was between these miles)
Mile 5 - 8.13 (downhill!)
Mile 6 - 8.56
Mile 7 - 9.10
Mile 8 - 9.13
Mile 9 - 8.43 (out of the headwind)
Mile 10 - 8.51
Mile 11 - 8.58
Mile 12 - 8.46
Mile 13 - 8.34
0.1 - 50 seconds

I'm quite pleased with those numbers, and indeed amazed about the last 2 miles as I started to feel really weak at that point. I felt strong until the 11 mile marker, and then just after that I suddenly felt really tired. I wasn't expecting it and had to push myself on, but I did manage to sprint across the finish line - yay!

Medal

This doesn't tell me anything about the marathon, other than that I won't be able to run it at 8.59 min/mile pace (which I definitely already knew). I enjoyed it though, and it's made me think that later in the year, when I've recovered from all this longer running, I should find a Half to target, and aim for a new PB.

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