[ This is a bit of an epic post. Summary: yes, I did my first HM today 
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OK, so I know we haven't started the vHM weeks yet, but today would have been the Great East Run and, as that's what I'd been training for, I was determined that today would be my first Half Marathon.
Now, I'm sure there are many great things about taking part in an organised event - water stations, encouraging crowds, official timing and (of course) some bling, to name just a few. One of the things that we probably take for granted is that someone else has figured out the course. They've measured it and figured out any difficulties. When you're soloing, well, then it's all down to you.
So, I spent some time poring over Google maps and experimenting. Should I go for the flattest course possible? I'm not far from the seafront so very flat is quite easy to arrange ... but it could be quite crowded. Should I try some of the local nature reserve tracks? That would be beautiful, but the chances of me turning an ankle on uneven paths would be higher. In the end I plumped for a "drop me 13.1 miles away" option. It turned out that the car park of a pub called the Unruly Pig the other side of Woodbridge would be a good starting point.
The forecast was for run day 17 degrees, rising to 20 over the time of my run, with a moderate breeze mainly from behind or across my route. I might have asked for a couple of degrees less, but that seemed pretty pleasant conditions! So, suitably laden with water and a supply of jelly babies, my wife duly took me to the car park and wished me well before driving off.
After a few minutes' warm up I cranked up the music, hit the button on Strava, and started on my way back home. I'd taken note that there wasn't a path for a few hundred metres, so I had to run on the verge to begin with as it's a fairly busy road at that point. Fortunately, that was fairly wide and level so there weren't any problems before I could get onto paths.
These first few km were a pleasant start. It was a mostly a fairly gentle downhill, so good for getting into my stride. I'd decided to run through the centre of Woodbridge rather than along the river (again, not entirely trusting myself on rougher paths!) but as this was before 10:00am on Sunday morning, the town was only just waking up and there were few people about.
Once through the town I came to the place where I'd started my first 16km run just a few weeks ago. It was a good feeling to know that I'd been able to run from there and make it home - although this time I was taking a rather different route. But one part of the route was shared and this was the first real hill of the day. On the previous run I hadn't had 4.5km in my legs already - but it was completely fine. As I started to come down the other side I'd been running for about 30 mins so thought it was time for a quick drink and a couple of jelly babies to keep the sugar levels up.
The route took me down into Martlesham and to the old Red Lion pub (I'm not a drinker, but pubs make good landmarks!) although unlike my 10 mile route this time I turned off just before it to head towards Newbourne. I knew that this was going to involve one of the other climbs and, sure enough, in a few minutes I hit a rather twisty and steep but mercifully quite brief section.
Having got up that hill I knew that the next few kms would be pretty level. And so it proved. I hit the 10km mark just after the hour and took just a moment to look across the fields to BT Labs at Martlesham Heath where I used to work, grab another quick drink and then press on.
It was getting quite warm, but 11k came quite easily and it was good to know that I was over halfway there. So I then started the easy run down to Newbourne. These are roads that I know well from driving, but had never run, so it was all a fresh experience - which had been my intention from planning the route. Next it was past the Newbourne Fox and the church and then to the bit that I really hadn't been looking forward to. I knew that there was another short but steep hill to come. And anyone watching me go up that probably wouldn't have described it so much as running as a fast shuffle - or so it seemed to me!
Anyway, I made it up and before long I was on roads that I'd driven many, many times to work. Another less challenging hill and I was into Kirton - the last village before I was onto home ground.
I'd now hit the 16km mark and so was into new territory, further than I'd ever run before. I was doing mental calculations trying to figure out what my HM time might be. I knew my pace had slackened a bit, so I upped the tempo for a while. Hmmm ... that was a bit of a mistake! 17km arrived and things were starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. I was becoming conscious of a few niggles in my right leg, so eased back a bit and, thankfully, things settled down.
18km came and it was great to think that there was only 3km to go, but I was definitely beginning to feel it. I'd tried to drink and eat enough, but maybe I'd not hydrated sufficiently? But then I came to the footbridge over the dual carriageway - the last real slope before a gentle downhill to finish. At this point my legs seemed to be on autopilot, they were doing 160bpm, and nothing was going to change that!
So, I was on the final stretch. A long straight run - just keep going, I told myself. I tried to avoid looking at Strava until after I'd heard the 20km announcement. OK, so that would be another 7 minutes or so to go ... At this point, time didn't matter, I just wanted to get to that magic 21.1k. I finally pulled out my phone at 20.4k - OK, I can do this! Just a few more minutes and then I was there - 13.1 miles - 21.1 km - my first half marathon!
Hey, I just said "my first half marathon", so I guess that means there will be more! But not for a little while yet ...
Oh, by the way, the time was 2:20:29, so not too shabby for a first attempt either.
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