Ten weeks ago I decided I ought to have another race as an objective and chose to have a second go at the Chelmsford Half, having set a PB there last March. I promptly strained a leg muscle and had multiple weeks with no running, reduced intensity running, or reduced mileage, or a combination, as it struggled to recover. Indeed, it’s still not entirely happy but I seem to have stopped massively aggravating it.
So training was more limited than envisaged when I picked this as my target, and at one point I toyed with the idea of dropping out and doing the MK Half in May to give the leg more weeks to recover, but fortunately that ended up not being needed.
I parked in the same car park as last year 90 minutes before the gun, got myself ready, and then went to the library building to use the toilets. There was already a fair queue but it ended up being less than 10 minutes, and so I decided to join the back of the queue again.
Primal needs taken care of, I moved on to the Marconi building and dropped off my bag, then moved to the start area where I was there at 8.42, ready for the 9.00 start.
Last year’s Chelmsford time had been 1:50:27, when I’d then bettered at Peterborough in October with 1:48:31. So my gold target was an overall PB, and my silver target was to beat last year’s Chelmsford time. I’d programmed my watch to get me round in 1:48:15.
I was in wave 2 (scarily close to being in wave 1) but after wave 1 started, we all just surged forward and followed them – I’m not sure whether that’s what was supposed to happen. It was certainly described as a “wave start” but this wasn’t what I associate with that term, which requires a pause (even a brief pause) between waves to allow more time for the runners to spread themselves out. Personally I favour the deliberate pinch-point approach just short of the start, so that not so many can get to the line per minute.
Apart from that confusion, just beyond the start is a bit silly, with what seemed like a nice idea of looping around in front of the library building presumably conceived when the event was much smaller. It’s too narrow and twisty a start, and in particular the footing is unsatisfactory with kerbs requiring steps up and down which could be dangerous in the crowds of the start – there’s a reason it is broad roads beyond that for several kilometres before the pavement sections start. But the library kerbs safely negotiated, I had my planned slightly more gentle first kilometre (allowing for the twists, crowds, gentle uphill and a warm-up) before accelerating to more like race pace.
I had my usual self-doubts by the end of the second kilometre that this felt very fast – sustainable for 5km, but a half-marathon? That’s the challenge of training – running fast for shorter distances and slow for long distances, and it is only really on race day that one tries properly to draw on both elements of the enhanced physiology resulting from the training. But not only does the body have to cooperate, but the mind too.
I gradually gained a few seconds on my target pace, so allowing me a short walk at the drinks stations, to the alarm of a number of other runners who seemed to think I was wilting or giving up, but I stayed between 10 and 30 seconds ahead for the first two-thirds of the run.
I was in the zone of just keeping going, looking at the surroundings and my fellow runners, but paying attention to my pace and that I was remaining slightly ahead, rather than distance. I was slightly startled to notice the 8-mile sign and thus realise that was 13km and I was further than I’d realised. Maybe I could sustain this pace.
I was able to ease off slightly on the little climb into Chelmer Village, but then press on, and quickly made up the time from the next drinks station walk. Going through the town centre along the riverside I was now more than 30 seconds ahead, and this is where I struggled to get the pacing quite right, feeling it was increasingly hard and difficult to sustain, so my brain pushing my legs extra hard to compensate and actually gaining me more time. With less than a kilometre to go, I had 50 seconds to spare and, really struggling, decided I could now allow myself a short walk break, which got me several encouraging slaps on the back from fellow runners.
I resumed my run after my carefully monitored run and finished in 1:47:35, some 40 seconds ahead of plan and knocking 56 seconds off my personal best.
I staggered a bit after crossing the line and getting my reassuring large medal, and was escorted to a seat where I recovered for a couple of minutes with a large cup of water I was brought, before rising and pressing on to claim my Titan bar and banana, which I ate at a picnic bench, before collecting my bag, drinking my protein shake and returning to the car, where I had three electrolyte capsules, three sausages and a chicken roll plus another protein shake.
It took quite a while before my legs and in particular toes would stop cramping enough for me to judge myself fit to drive the car, and there was a good deal of hopping around the car park and stretching. I set off but managed about 4mph around the car park as I was wracked with cramps and had to stop again, waiting until I decided I could probably manage to go a bit further, though still in some discomfort. At a set of traffic lights I removed both shoes, which helped somewhat, and gradually my feet started to behave themselves. The self-driving cruise control of the new car helped a good deal too, as there was little need to use the pedals on the way home, where I got back in time for a hearty portion of chicken parmesan for lunch.
So another new PB – very pleased with that. Perhaps my last half-marathon PB, who knows? My attention now turns to my next scheduled race, the Jungfrau Marathon in just under 27 weeks. Over the last fortnight my mental focus has been rather shifting from Chelmsford to Interlaken and Eigergletscher, and though I was determined to give of my best today, a part of me had already moved on, and I’m eager to start the next phase of training in earnest.
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