My first Half Marathon

I did it! I ran my first half marathon yesterday at Thorpe Park and feel amazing.

To say I was nervous the few days before is an understatement. However, once the day arrived, I began to feel excited and couldn’t wait to get going. I was quite overwhelmed by the number of people running – 3220. Nowhere near as many as will be running in the London Marathon but this was my first experience of a race and, more to the point, running with other people. Would I get trampled by the faster runners or would I get in the way? These were questions which made me apprehensive at the start but I soon realised that neither of these things was going to happen.

My plan was to run easily and steadily, not go off too fast and not feel that I had to keep up with faster runners. I was happy to let people pass me and, later in the race, was very happy to be passing other runners. I thought I was going to have to walk some of the way, especially the inclines, but I was able to run the whole way. And to see that I was nowhere near the end of the field made me even happier.

I teamed up with another runner, Angie, and we just steadily worked our way through the miles, chatting and enjoying ourselves. To be perfectly honest, it didn’t seem like 13.1 miles and I never broke out in a sweat nor was I ever out of breath. Amazing.

It is probably naive to think that the London Marathon will be like this but I will prepare just as diligently and follow the same training, nutrition and hydration plan. I really think that having a very light week of running leading up to the half marathon was a great help. I felt fresh and not in the least bit fatigued.

Another worry was how I was going to feel after the race. Well, I can say that apart from a few muscle aches, I feel absolutely fine.

Now down to the figures. It took me 2 hours and 47 minutes to cover the 13.1 miles. 3220 entered the race (2 of whom represented GB in the 2016 and 2012 Olympics). There were 85 women who were slower than me (and all of them younger) so I feel I have gained some bragging rights!

All in all, a really enjoyable day. And I got a medal – very large and blingy!

Click here to go to my About page where you will find out why I am running for Prostate Cancer UK and also to make a donation via my Virgin Money Giving fundraising page.