Run > Race

(Final split is for 1.1m). St Neot's HM. Late place, so hadn't trained properly - didn't feel I'd done nearly enough long runs in preparation: hoiked up from 10m to 13m in 2 weeks, and hadn't gone over-distance as I normally like to do. So, used this as a benchmark, just to see where things stand. Also, experimented by running watchless. Well, that's not strictly true: I took my split times etc, just didn't look at the watch until I'd finished. Overall, really pleased: 1) this is a course PB 2) my actual running time (1-46.24) is my second fastest HM ever. (I'm ignoring the chip time, as this included a 47s diversion during mile 2!!) 3) I really tuned in to how my body felt, rather than allowing my head to do its usual trick of telling me there's no way I'll finish if I keep up the current pace etc. 4) I didn't feel confident approaching the 11m mark, having run further than that only once since the return from injury. And beyond 12m really was no-man's land for me! Turns out I didn't need to worry: I was able to pick up the pace and had a storming finish. 5) Pretty sure I ran a negative split - those are like gold-dust for me! 6) I never reached a point where I'd lost the will to live, which is really unusual for me in a distance race. I think there was probably more to come, but I'm content with this for today.