I ran the East Retford Half marathon again this year on 22nd March. If you saw my post from 2007 you will have noticed I was pleased how far I had come in a year because in 2006 I wasn't fit enough to run the 13 miles, but instead did the fun run.
This year I have progressed again, and improved on my time by 12 minutes. It shows how much fitter I am this year by the fact that I was disappointed with the result, and thought that I could have run at least 5 minutes quicker. Never mind, I am constantly getting fitter, avoiding injury well, and doing consistently well in races.
I have been updating my Fugespeaksblog with reports on my races.
A key point for me in avoiding injury has been stretching well after every run. I no longer stretch before a run, but instead start off slowly then get faster as I run. Before a race I will run for 20 minutes or more, plus do some strides so that I am ready to start running from the gun.
In 2007 I had cold baths every day of the week, and became fanatical about it. I felt at the time that this helped me to avoid injury. This year I haven't been having cold baths, but have been stretching well, and I am running faster and feel fitter. I have also been having a sports massage at least once a month.
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, September 23, 2007
East Retford Half Marathon
I ran the East Retford Half marathon today. This is a small race in Retford, Nottinghamshire. (In England -- just in case you were wondering.)
Anyway, I had a good time particularly because I wasn't straining to go too fast early on, and had the attitude that this was just a training run. I would run steady for the first half and speed up later on. I did not want to push myself too hard -- that is what my coach, Mad Dog, said to do as I am running a marathon in a few weeks, and should save my energy for that.
It was a good feeling speeding up towards the end and not having anyone pass me -- I think after 9 miles nobody passed me. Some had passed me earlier on, but I caught them up, and passed them again! Finishing time was 1 hour 43 minutes exactly.
Last year I wasn't in good enough shape to run this half marathon, and had to do the fun run instead, so it just shows how far I have come in a year.
Anyway, I had a good time particularly because I wasn't straining to go too fast early on, and had the attitude that this was just a training run. I would run steady for the first half and speed up later on. I did not want to push myself too hard -- that is what my coach, Mad Dog, said to do as I am running a marathon in a few weeks, and should save my energy for that.
It was a good feeling speeding up towards the end and not having anyone pass me -- I think after 9 miles nobody passed me. Some had passed me earlier on, but I caught them up, and passed them again! Finishing time was 1 hour 43 minutes exactly.
Last year I wasn't in good enough shape to run this half marathon, and had to do the fun run instead, so it just shows how far I have come in a year.
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