Tracy’s Half

I was undecided about entering: worried another “slow” time would demoralise me, I knew it was hilly, would probably be hot, & highly unlikely I’d finish in under 3 hours.

I had been very fortunate to go on a Thursday run with Andy a few weeks ago who suggested that I should follow his pace, which was faster than I had ever run in my entire life, all the way to Hemel and back. It was probably the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done, but it showed me that I was capable of more than I thought and it gave me the confidence to push myself harder and have more self belief.

Anyway, I decided to give it a go and put into practice all the skills Andy has taught us:

• Cadence – I have been working on this for a while now and found an app that changed the bpm on my favourite playlist. After the first few km I cranked it up to 175bpm and kept there; it definitely helped me pick up my speed and keep a steady rhythm.
• Buckets & balloons – I tried to remember to use my glutes / bucket (I found this a useful technique on the hills) and also tried to avoid stooping by keeping my “balloon” attached to my head.
• Counting – I could never reach Paula Radcliffe’s 100. But managed to count smaller sets.
• I even managed to “pull the road” briefly!
• Elbow drive to get up those long hills.
• Leaning forward to go down the hills (still need to work on downhill method).
• Energy – I refuelled early and often with my trusty supply of jelly babies (orange/green only!) and a couple of gels that I had practiced with beforehand, especially in anticipation of any big hills coming up.

And I sprinted with all my might at the end when I reached the park and knew the last half mile would lead me to the finish!

The end result…

I managed to knock almost 20 minutes off my previous half marathon time in less than 3 months, so I was well chuffed!!

It was so lovely to see Cheryl, Mandy , Chetna and Andy at the finish line as we collected our medals and hard-earned lollies and to be cheered on by Jeanette, Caroline and Liz along the way too.

I was so glad I did it!

THANK YOU ANDY!