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Half Marathon Race

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10 Mins WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 2)

13.1 Miles @ HM Pace (RPE: 5-8)

Stick to your goal pace early on and it should feel easy. Dig deep in those final 5km to achieve your goal.

Henfield Half! My trusty pace sheet is saying 2:20, but that’s for a road marathon. So given this is on the trials, my advice is run to feel and if you can clock as many kms in the 6:ss that would be a good target without ever getting too caught up in pace. Plus this isn’t a goal race so no need to push too hard. Very best of luck Sarah, have a great race.

simon-linklater

Coach Simon

FEEDBACK

ENJOYMENT

RPE

🤬 Way off pace today

PACE

What’s not to love? A trail route, sounds scenic, only a half, pleasant weather…. BUT IT WAS GRUESOME! One of the toughest half marathons I’ve ever done. My mission was to finish – speed was not essential, just testing my recent injuries and helping me qualify for SGP. Just finish. I chose shoes which I thought would help my Achilles pain but they felt heavy, made my soles sore and forced me to run flat-footed. My left Achilles felt stiff throughout and both feet felt very sore on the soles. I did not have my usual energy and certainly did not have my usual enjoyment of a trail run. Flat shady sections along old railway track were not too bad but the topping of loose gravel did not provide good traction and every km felt effortful. It was very hot and that effort was 10 times worse along the narrow, rutted riverbank paths which were exposed to the full sun. I was SO glad to finish (2:42:35) and will not be tempted to run it again. It’s true the 2 sleepless nights before the race may have affected my energy – I just was not feeling it today. I’ll be interested to see how the Achilles are tomorrow but fingers crossed. Otherwise the Amble may be off the agenda. Added later: It’s now Monday am and on a brighter note the heels just feel a bit stiff!
Sarah Marzaioli
Hi Sarah, firstly really well done for completing this. Having seen some of the comments from the other runners who took part, it was a really tough one. The combination of the heat with the challenging terrain. I hate the idea of the rutty ground and the risk it involves. I saw a lot of runners saying they turned their ankles on multiple occasions which is far from ideal. The one benefit to this run and Sunday’s Amble is we have very little running in between. So again a chance to rest up and Sunday we know offers plenty of opportunities to approach it in whatever way works best for you. Run, walk, sit on the bus. It’s all about having a fun day out this weekend and doing what you can. So hopefully that helps with the mindset. Let’s bin this one and move on. Better runs and races ahead. The fact the heels are ok is the best news possible.
simon-linklater

Coach Simon