Race Review - Vitality Big Half 11th March 2019

If all goes to plan, the Vitality 'Big half' marathon was the first of four half marathons I will complete this year.  Two being straight half marathon runs and two being half marathons as part of half iron man (70.3) races.

My A and B races are the 70.3's, so this early half marathon was a marker and a good opportunity to get a half under my belt.  I'd been training fairly well and was feeling good on runs.  I'd done some intervals for the first time and had a couple of good 9 mile runs under my belt.  But the half would be my longest of the year so far.

So how did this first race one go? Actually pretty well.  I was running (well, at least starting) with some friends and they kindly invited me for dinner and to stay the night before.  I never turn this invite down if I can help it...home made pizza and bread sticks - its the perfect pre-race dinner.  The last  time I did the same thing before a half marathon, I had a good run, so I needed to keep that tradition going - even down to the exact specification of Pizza - the four seasons !!

Race morning was an early-ish start (a couple of hours lie in compared to some Triathlon race starts) and breakfast was of course tried and tested, peanut butter bagel, banana and a mug of tea.

Weather wasn't forecast to be great, so with fingers crossed we set off.  I was aiming to meet another mate at the start, so we could run together, but I think our typically bloke approach to arranging to meet back-fired.  Agreeing to meet at Tower Bridge probably was hoping for a bit much with 15k other runners and once my kit bag was in the kit lorry, I had no phone.  I'd have to hope, somehow, that we bumped into each other on the course.

So we set off for our start wave and by now at least the rain had stopped but the wind was still gusting, making it feel colder than it probably was.  The usual pre-start worries set in...for me, mostly, do I need the loo or not?  I decided I did, but it looked as if the loo's were all set up specifically per wave start.  On arriving at our wave, this was in fact quite a decent idea and I was quickly into the luxury surroundings of a portaloo.  All done, it was just then a matter of waiting 25 mins or so for the race to kick off.  The sun started to appear from the clouds and although the wind hadn't died down, it didn't look that bad.

And then of course, it happens....5 minutes before we start, I need the loo again.  I'm not sure if it was the luxury fixtures and fittings of the portaloo tempting me back, or just my awful timing with my hydration approach.  Either way, there were still queues, so I'd put it to the back of my mind, start running and then hopefully forget.

And then we are off, finally we'd started.  I hadn't really warmed up at all beforehand, so I eased into the run.  It was crowded and so that slowed down any ideas about belting off at a pace way above what you could sustain.  The first mile came and went and into the second mile, there was that voice again...toilet...toilet...surely not, I was in the grove now.  But, true to form, I had to stop !  Not the end of the world I'm sure...and I'm convinced it's age related and will only get worse !

Back out and up and running again, I settled into a pace.  I was aiming to keep under 8 minute miles so kept an eye on the garmin.  It was a very packed race, so progress was quite heavy going, picking your way through gaps.  The loo stop had separated me from my two mates and there was no sign of my other mate, so I just selected 'auto', sat back and prepared to enjoy the flight.

And then came the Limehouse link.  It's not often that you run through a tunnel crossing.  I'd ridden through it before as part of the London Triathlon, but never run.  Once inside, the acoustics made it mandatory for an 'oggi oggi oggi' chant to start and there was the matter of a short sharp incline to deal with.  And then, you start to notice how warm it is starting to get inside the tunnel.  There is little or no breeze and soon I felt like I was overheating...and the noise of the machinery being run in the tunnel was at times overwhelming.

It was nice, literally, to see the light at the end of the tunnel and once outside, the body temperature started to fall away a bit as the breeze came back again.  And then I felt a hand on my back and the words 'I knew I'd find you'...it was my other mate Joe..somehow he'd managed to locate me.  That  was nice and we settled in to a nice pace and chatted as we ticked off the miles.  At around mile 10, I noticed Joe had dropped back a bit and it was looking as if he was slowing.  He told me to go ahead...but I'd already said we'd run together and finish together, so that's what we did.  Those last few miles were hard for Joe I'm sure, but he dug in and finished in a PB time !  

I didn't get a PB this time, but I hadn't at all thought I was in shape for one.  As it was, I felt just as good a sense of satisfaction in helping Joe to get across the line for a PB.  

Bags retrieved we managed to find the other two in our party and headed for home, exchanging stories of times, the weather, the course and that awful gusty wind.  As we made our way back, I couldn't help but think to myself how good I felt considering I'd just run a half marathon.  I don't recall ever finishing so comfortably or feeling so good after this sort of distance.  Perhaps some of the training is paying off?!!

So, what of the race, would I do it again?  Yes, I probably would.  The organisation was slick and efficient and there were plenty of marshals and volunteers on hand to help with directions etc.  Putting toilets in each start wave, whilst that doesn't seem like a game-changer, is actually a good idea.  It meant that you could make your way to your start wave and once there, use the toilets, at which, yes, there were queues, but nothing like when you just have one set of toilets to use.  The course itself was ok, but like most routes in London, was quite narrow in places so led to some bunching and therefore the need to be careful in navigating past people.  There was a nice goody bag and medal at the end.  All in all a well presented and organized race.

At the time of writing, it's now Tuesday after the run on Sunday.  I'm fully recovered from the race, or at least feel like I am, so training picks up again today as I try to get in the best shape I can for that first half iron man race !