9.6.14 Aarhus City 1\2
Training summary: week of easy recovery running around south Lund and the Hardebergaspåret, no hard sessions at all. Paced Katrine to sub-19min 5k at Brabrand parkrun as a pre-half marathon warmup on Sat.
Main sessions: Race only.
Races: Nykredit Aarhus City Halvmarathon, 40th, 1:17
Very much a race too far! Recovering fully (or even well) after a hard 27km in just under 7 days was always going to be an impossibility, but I'd quite wanted to do this race (esp having watched injured last year) and I'd obtained a (semi-)free sponsored number courtesy of In Sport
So it was more a case of giving it a good go. I felt a lot better at the start than last week, although unsurprisingly quite a bit more tired. After warming up until 10 minutes before, I had to make a bit of a sneaky move through a gap in the fences to actually get in the front group - as is usual at big races, there are always a few 'excessively ambitious' runners who find their way to the front.
There were a number of people planning to run a steady 3:30\km pace, including many of the 1900 M\L group, so I stuck with them for the opening. The first 5km of the route were somewhat hilly and I thought I'd be done in by the top of the botanical garden, but even on the descent back into town I felt pretty ok. From 7-8km I even ran 10-15s ahead of the group, who dropped off the pace in the twistier sections through the town. Getting to the more exposed harbour at 9km, however, I felt the headwind and decided to sacrifice a bit of time and drop back into the group rather than expending lots of energy battling into it alone. We crossed 10km at around 35:20, not too bad on pace.
Past half way, up the hill back into town...and then it really kicked in...suddenly my legs were back on the hills in Silkeborg, finding it harder and harder to get back on the pace after every corner as we ran through the town centre. By the time we got onto Spanien, I was 10s down and dropped right off the back of the 3.30 group. I took on a bit of energy drink at 13k to see if that would help a bit, but no joy. Even worse, drinking gave me a stitch, which I had to run through going up the hill to the stadium. By now I was going backwards and it was really about running through it and getting finished. Being on such familiar territory for races certainly helped - imagining I was running the Nytårscup got me through the sections around the stadium.
I put on a good shift in the final 2km, nice, flat (slightly downhill) Frederiksalle, the good crowd and a few even more tired legs ahead of me a good incentive to push a bit.
Although not the greatest of times, it has to be a put in perspective. Last year, I couldn't have even made it through the first 5k with my ankle. This year, I ran the whole thing, in an ok time, after 2 weeks of brutal trail racing. June is also bad hayfever time, although thankfully this didn't really hit too badly (or too obviously at least). The race is very late in the year for a half marathon and a lot of those at the front wern't really going for it hard. For me, this was effectively the 'end of season' race, where now there are now few races until late Aug\early Sept (and really no very serious ones until autumn).
I don't plan to race again now until the Wallanderloppet in Ystad on 8th July - time for a rest!
Training summary: week of easy recovery running around south Lund and the Hardebergaspåret, no hard sessions at all. Paced Katrine to sub-19min 5k at Brabrand parkrun as a pre-half marathon warmup on Sat.
Main sessions: Race only.
Races: Nykredit Aarhus City Halvmarathon, 40th, 1:17
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| Knackered at 20k! Photo: BS Sports & Media / Brit Sørensen |
So it was more a case of giving it a good go. I felt a lot better at the start than last week, although unsurprisingly quite a bit more tired. After warming up until 10 minutes before, I had to make a bit of a sneaky move through a gap in the fences to actually get in the front group - as is usual at big races, there are always a few 'excessively ambitious' runners who find their way to the front.
There were a number of people planning to run a steady 3:30\km pace, including many of the 1900 M\L group, so I stuck with them for the opening. The first 5km of the route were somewhat hilly and I thought I'd be done in by the top of the botanical garden, but even on the descent back into town I felt pretty ok. From 7-8km I even ran 10-15s ahead of the group, who dropped off the pace in the twistier sections through the town. Getting to the more exposed harbour at 9km, however, I felt the headwind and decided to sacrifice a bit of time and drop back into the group rather than expending lots of energy battling into it alone. We crossed 10km at around 35:20, not too bad on pace.
Past half way, up the hill back into town...and then it really kicked in...suddenly my legs were back on the hills in Silkeborg, finding it harder and harder to get back on the pace after every corner as we ran through the town centre. By the time we got onto Spanien, I was 10s down and dropped right off the back of the 3.30 group. I took on a bit of energy drink at 13k to see if that would help a bit, but no joy. Even worse, drinking gave me a stitch, which I had to run through going up the hill to the stadium. By now I was going backwards and it was really about running through it and getting finished. Being on such familiar territory for races certainly helped - imagining I was running the Nytårscup got me through the sections around the stadium.
I put on a good shift in the final 2km, nice, flat (slightly downhill) Frederiksalle, the good crowd and a few even more tired legs ahead of me a good incentive to push a bit.
Although not the greatest of times, it has to be a put in perspective. Last year, I couldn't have even made it through the first 5k with my ankle. This year, I ran the whole thing, in an ok time, after 2 weeks of brutal trail racing. June is also bad hayfever time, although thankfully this didn't really hit too badly (or too obviously at least). The race is very late in the year for a half marathon and a lot of those at the front wern't really going for it hard. For me, this was effectively the 'end of season' race, where now there are now few races until late Aug\early Sept (and really no very serious ones until autumn).
I don't plan to race again now until the Wallanderloppet in Ystad on 8th July - time for a rest!
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