Run > Race

Birmingham Half Marathon

I was unsure how this race would go as it was three weeks after Berlin and I had not done much training (weeks of 6, 31 and 15 miles (pre-race)). I had a bit of cold the day before, but it seemed to have gone by the Sunday morning (elderberry??). Got up and had breakfast three hours before start (3xweetabix and 2xtoast). Drank plenty of water the night before and the morning of the race and had no stomach issues at all. Managed to find a portaloo just before the start for a number 2 and was fine for the race. I tried to drink water during the race and despite the cool and wet conditions I was still quite dehydrated at the end - need to try for even more?

Race conditions were pretty perfect as far as I was concerned (overcast and drizzly, but not too cold). I decided I would be happy with a PB and plan was to set out between 6.20-6.25mm and see how I felt at 10 miles.

Start was pretty disorganised with loads of people in the wrong pen. I was quite far back from the start line and it took me about 1 minute to get over the line, but I decided that it might be a good thing to force me to keep the pace down. First mile was pretty much all down hill and even with the crowds it was sub 6 - Garmin was a little out on each mile and beeped approximately 10-20 seconds before the marker. Having learnt something from Berlin I had my splits on my arm (based on 6.20mm) and I checked my time at each mile marker (having also set my watch so that it showed seconds, even when it got over 1 hour!).

I felt pretty comfortable for the first 5ish miles, but as usual I can't remember much. Course seemed to be pretty flat for these miles and the crowds started to thin out. Between 6 and 7 miles there was a pretty nasty hill which resulted in the slowest mile of the race. The next few miles seemed to be quite up and down, and there may be some time to be shaved off on a flatter course.

I only planned to have one gel, but I forgot to take it at 6 miles as planned (probably because of the hill). Anyway, I had a gel at around 7 miles and at around 9ish I started to get a second wind (I don't know if it was connected to the gel). At first I noticed that I was picking up a few places and then I realised it was because I was speeding up. I felt good so I decided to go with it.

As we approached the last couple of miles I knew I was definitely on for a PB and I felt good about getting under 83 minutes (sub 6.20mm). I had been working my way through the women's field and knew I was in about 7th place at 11 miles. Approaching the city centre I could see two women in front and made them a target. The last mile and a bit was uphill (to make up for the downhill first mile) and it was pretty tough. It was also deceptive as I knew we were close to the finish and then it went off on a loop. I caught the two women in the last mile and then I could see 4th place up ahead.

After one last hill we made a right turn and into the finishing straight. The crowds filled both sides of the road and it was pretty noisy. I couldn't see Carolyn and Scott, but fortunately they could see me. I caught the 4th women in the finishing straight and put in a spurt for the line. A guy came up on my shoulder but I pushed on to beat him and he didn't react. My last 0.25 mile (as measured by the Garmin) was at about 5.45mm pace, which was pretty good.

After the finish line we were funnelled around the road and collected our medals, goody bag, t-shirt etc. It seemed very well organised, but that might have been because I was near the front. I made my way back round to meet up with Caz and Scott and found them easily.

Overall, very pleased with my time and performance.

124th out of 10042 (top 1.2%)

Split Summary

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1) - 1m - 5:49(5:49/m) - 177bpm avge - 207bpm max - 128cal

2) - 1m - 6:11(6:11/m) - 182bpm avge - 184bpm max - 135cal

3) - 1m - 6:22(6:22/m) - 181bpm avge - 183bpm max - 135cal

4) - 1m - 6:16(6:16/m) - 180bpm avge - 183bpm max - 134cal

5) - 1m - 6:22(6:22/m) - 181bpm avge - 183bpm max - 136cal

6) - 1m - 6:21(6:21/m) - 181bpm avge - 182bpm max - 134cal

7) - 1m - 6:32(6:32/m) - 183bpm avge - 186bpm max - 136cal

8) - 1m - 6:08(6:08/m) - 180bpm avge - 184bpm max - 136cal

9) - 1m - 6:16(6:16/m) - 181bpm avge - 184bpm max - 134cal

10) - 1m - 6:02(6:02/m) - 179bpm avge - 183bpm max - 134cal

11) - 1m - 6:13(6:13/m) - 181bpm avge - 183bpm max - 134cal

12) - 1m - 6:11(6:11/m) - 183bpm avge - 186bpm max - 134cal

13) - 1m - 6:31(6:31/m) - 187bpm avge - 189bpm max - 134cal

14) - 0.25m - 1:23(5:31/m) - 189bpm avge - 193bpm max - 33cal

Heart Rate Zone Summary

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HR Zone: 43-151bpm (Sub 70%): 0.3%

HR Zone: 151-159bpm (71-75%): 0.1%

HR Zone: 159-166bpm (76-80%): 0.1%

HR Zone: 166-174bpm (81-85%): 0.7%

HR Zone: 174-182bpm (86-90%): 56.8%

HR Zone: 182-189bpm (91-95%): 41.3%

HR Zone: 189-197bpm (96-100%): 0.5%

HR Zone: undefined: 0.2%

Pace Zone Summary

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Pace Zone: 4:20-4:39/mile: 1.1%

Pace Zone: 4:40-4:59/mile: 1.7%

Pace Zone: 5:00-5:19/mile: 4.1%

Pace Zone: 5:20-5:39/mile: 9.1%

Pace Zone: 5:40-5:59/mile: 16.7%

Pace Zone: 6:00-6:19/mile: 18.6%

Pace Zone: 6:20-6:39/mile: 17.9%

Pace Zone: 6:40-6:59/mile: 12.9%

Pace Zone: 7:00-7:19/mile: 7.7%

Pace Zone: 7:20-7:39/mile: 3.4%

Pace Zone: 7:40-7:59/mile: 2.1%