While many of you will be basking in the achievement of recent marathon successes, some of us, myself included, are still plodding away at our goals. Having come late to running via triathlon, run-only races have never been very appealing. I decided the only way to improve was to throw myself into running, and have set a goal of a half marathon in June.
Having taken part in a few races over the winter, mainly 10kms, I signed up for a 15km race as part of my slow progression to the half marathon distance. I opted for the super-flat course of Dorney Lake in Buckinghamshire. The F3 Events race was the fourth in a series of winter runs and duathlons at the lake, and was a small and friendly event. The race involved three laps of the Olympic rowing lake.
While I know many people don’t like laps, I thought it would be good for learning to pace the new distance, but the third and final lap beyond 10km was definitely tough going. The course was very, very flat and I realised that I prefer a hilly run – something I thought I’d never say. Even though the uphills hurt, there’s nothing like stretching tight legs on the downhills.
Being a small event, my time of 1hr 24min earned me the place as third female – something that would not have happened at a larger event – and has really helped me build confidence at the new distance. The next step up to 21km doesn’t seem quite as daunting now.
So, how was your bank holiday running? As ever, let us know below the line.
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