Week 1 - marathon training and Silverstone Half

Week 1 of training was all about ‘building a base’. It consisted of lots of steady, regular runs to build up a bit of a base and get used to running most days. In a way it felt easier than a regular week, which normally includes track, hills or other nasty sessions. But with Silverstone Half marathon planned for the end of the week I thought I’d stick with what was on the plan. I did a couple of early morning (7am) runs around St Nicolas Park in Warwick which I really enjoyed. But otherwise, it was a fairly uneventful week.

However, on Sunday, it was the Silverstone Half Marathon which I’d been looking forward to for a while! I had no idea what kind of shape I’d be in for a half marathon, with no structured training as such in the build-up. Dan was also running and was set for a big PB, based on his recent improvements, and there was a handful of other Striders there too – Nick, Caroline, Hartwig and Greg.

I started in the 1:30 pen with Nick, Caroline and Greg. I set off at what felt a comfortable pace, and that seemed to be 6:52/mile. It felt fine, so I decided I would stick with this pace for as long as I could, as if I could keep it going this would bring me close to 1hr30, or even the elusive sub 1:30!? I caught up with the 1:30 pacer and stuck with him for a bit, later overtaking him. I felt good, and even at mile 7-8 where I would expect a dip to start I was still feeling good. At mile 9, I started to think that sub 1:30 might be on the cards!! However, a head wind and uphill section which followed soon shattered such hopes. The remaining 4 miles were tough, and despite my mile times getting slower, I felt strong. I crossed the line in 1hr32.11. Very pleased with this time at this stage in the marathon training schedule as I feel that is a good base to build on.

I saw Hartwig collecting his goody bag, he’d had a great run and had gone sub 1:30 again. Nick and Caroline also had great runs, with a PB for Caroline. It was great to spot Dan sprinting for the line and taking a huge chunk off his PB to finish in 1hr54 – brilliant!