On February 18th I went back to Strathaven to take on the half marathon again. This was my first ever half marathon last year and I performed pretty well – coming 7th with a time of 1.19.55, setting quite a difficult target to beat in the process. I have only undertaken 2 other half marathon races since Strathaven – Alloa, which was affected by the brutal headwind along the stretch from 10k through to about 16k – and the Glasgow half where I was pacing some of the girls from the club. So Strathaven 2017 remained my half marathon PB.
Being honest, since setting that time last year I’ve had no idea how I achieved it. That was by some margin the fastest I’d ran over that sort of distance and I have struggled to get particularly close in training runs. Strathaven is an extremely hilly half marathon route and it is also quite high up – it is called “run with the wind” for a reason as the run heads up past the windfarm and is therefore quite exposed to the elements. I am also focusing more on marathon training at the moment, so didn’t really do much in particular to train for Strathaven, apart from putting in a couple of half marathon distance runs a few weeks before just to get a feel for where I was at.
So, putting all this together, I didn’t really have much by way of expectation or plan for the run – I wasn’t even really setting myself the target of beating last year’s time given the bar was set quite high. Anyway, this year I made my way up there and collected my race number in between making the obligatory multiple tips to the toilet, before going for the mile or so walk up to the start line.
I took a place at the front as usual and had already switched on my new bluetooth MP3 player and headphones but as I put in the earbuds they had both turned off again, leading to a frantic couple of minutes trying to get them to connect up and then get my gloves on, which I only managed as they got to “5” in the countdown from 10 to the start. Luckily I just about managed to get my watch started as we headed off.
Last year I remember the downhill start being fairly frantic as people jostled for position, but things were calmer this year and as we turned the corner at the bottom I was in 7th place. As with last year the first k was fast – it was actually my fastest – but in contrast to last year it actually felt pretty comfortable. After overtaking the guy in 6th position, who I recognised as the 6th place finisher from last year, before being overtaken myself by another chap who simply disappeared into the distance, I found myself, as I was last year, in 7th, as we went through the undulations of the first few k.
I was feeling good through the early stages of the race and in the clearer conditions this year I remained within sight of the pace car and the leaders for quite a while. I didn’t find the hills in the first 4k as bad this year – maybe having done the run before and having gone up to cycle the route a few times meant I knew what to expect and was able to pace myself better. I was definitely using the terrain to full effect, gaining as much time as I could on the downhills and taking the uphills steady. I knew that the major climb of the run started just after 4k and took us all the way up to 9k so I was pacing myself, still going quickly but not pushing too hard. The guy up ahead seemed pretty strong and I didn’t feel I could catch him, so I decided I was just going to keep running my own race rather than look to make up or defend places – for me the time is what is important, not the finishing position.
However, as we got through one of the hills at around 6k, just before a small downhill reprieve before we started climbing again, the guy ahead just stopped and walked. As I went past I asked if he was OK – I thought he’d injured himself. But it seemed this was part of his approach because for a while after he was right there with me – I could hear his footsteps just behind!
The next section up to the top of the major climb and the first water stop is probably the hardest bit of the route with a relatively long steep climb. As we went up here, I was slowly catching the guy in 5th place but a mishap at the water station – water was provided in plastic cups which are very difficult to grab whilst running – lost me a bit of time. I only really managed to get a mouthful or two of water but at least I was then into the nice downhill section where I could recover a bit whilst gaining back some time. A couple of fast k’s later and I was through 10k – setting what is actually my 3rd fastest 10k ever at 37.21, which isn’t bad considering I was still feeling pretty good, and bodes well for the 10k I have coming up in a week’s time.
The next couple of k are a bit undulating, with some short steep hills, both up and down. As I went along this stretch I could feel the wind getting up a bit – at this stage I was feeling a bit hot (it wasn’t as cold at the forecast had suggested it would be) so a bit of a breeze was welcome. However, at around 12k the route turns and starts climbing again and the wind was now coming from directly in front. It wasn’t strong but it was definitely noticeable and I found that stretch from 12k through to around 16/17k pretty challenging. The hills through here are fairly relentless and, having already run 7 or 8 miles, with another 5 or so to go, tiredness was setting in and the muscles were starting to stage a gentle protest. Luckily, now that I know the route better, I knew there were some decent downhill sections coming up and this kept me going, but the 14k – 16k stretch were my 3 slowest k’s.
As a result, the second 10k wasn’t as fast as the first, but was still about the same as last year – so I hadn’t lost the minute I’d gained in the first half. I hadn’t brought any gels with me and was now starting to struggle. In training runs I can get by without them, but in race conditions I am obviously using up more energy but hadn’t really considered that fact, so I think I was pretty close to hitting the wall in the last couple of k. The thimble full of water that was provided at the second water station at around 9 miles hadn’t really made any significant difference either, so I was very happy to hit the outskirts of Strathaven and be able to just let myself go on the downhill to the finish at the school.
The finish is actually pretty tricky, with a kick up and a sharp little grassy hill before the last 100 metres or so on the grass, which was a bit soft given the poor weather recently. However, I knew I was well ahead and in a safe 6th so I was able to push to the line, for a time of 1.19.01. Unfortunately the course measures a little short – on strava everyone came up at around 20.7/20.8k. I ran around a bit on the grass just to clock the right distance, but this does mean that technically the time can’t quite count as a PB. Nevertheless, I know I was faster than last year and I’m very happy with that!
Running Bug 