Scottish Half Marathon - Run Report

[sTrongFuse]

So, given that as recently as Tuesday, I wasn't sure if I'd be fit to even start the event, my goal was really just to try and ease myself round without aggravating my back which had, thankfully, pretty much settled.

The "easing" bit, of course, went out the window as soon as I passed the start line, and I quickly settled into my familiar internal shouting match where I kept telling myself to slow down and get a grip of my pace.

It had been predicted to rain, but thankfully that heald off and the conditions were almost perfect, about 15°C, dry and only a light head wind for part of the second half of the run.

The event bills itself as "Fast, flat & picturesque". Depite that, there are a few gentle inclines. The "picturesque" I can't argue with as it's the part of the world I live in and the start is less than 3 miles from my front door, but, to be honest, I wasn't really taking the scenery in as it all went past in a bit of a blur. Fast? Well, judge for yourself...

My official chip time is 1:59:06, which is 5 minutes fater than my previous PB. I wanted to go below 2 hours, so this ticked that box handsomely.

Along the way, some of my other PBs also fell and so, thanks to this run, these now stand at:

- 5k - 26:20

- 10k - 53:43

- 10mi - 1:28:57

All in all, absolutely delighted with this run. My first "official" HM but my 13th time over the distance and it certainly wasn't an unlucky one.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Wow! That's amazing!!! Massive congratulations 👏👏👏

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to linda9389]

Thanks linda9389 . You always did say I needed an event to get me under 2 hours and you were right.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to sTrongFuse]

Race magic will do it every time! Race magic is too strong to be beaten by that internal shouting match in my experience 😂. So glad your back held out too!

[ForbiddenPlanet Half Marathon]

Look at those times?! 😍 Congrats on an excellent run. Sounds idyllic too - apart from the internal dialogue!

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to ForbiddenPlanet]

Thanks. To be fair, I'm always telling myself to slow down, especially in the early stages of a run where it's all too easy to get caught up and swept along. Oddly, the more I make myself slow down, the more I relax and, perversely, I actually go quicker, but much more sustainably.

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon]

Well done - great time…and I am loving the look of that elevation!🙂

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Sandraj39]

The compression of the map make it look greater than it is. There are stretches where it is noticible, but it's just about as flat as it claims to be (which for this part of the world, is a definite plus)

[Frenc Half Marathon]

Oh brilliant sTrongFuse! And some big old boxes definitely ticked there 😊. Flat and picturesque sounds fab, and that 13th time was certainly lucky for you. Hurrah 😃.

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Frenc]

Thanks. Yes, everything just aligned, clicked and fell into place and I couldn't be happier.

[Decker Ultramarathon]

Brilliant race! I am well familiar with that internal shouting match 😁. 🙌🙌🙌

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Decker]

So long as it stays internal, it's generally all good.

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

Wow that’s a fantastic time, no wonder the picturesque passed in a bit of a blur

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to SueAppleRun]

Just fortunate I live here so I can see the scenery any time

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon]

Great work! 👍🏻💪🏻😁🎖 definitely not unlucky for you!

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

And no complaints from my back either. My legs, however...

[Sandie1961 Half Marathon]

Fantastic run and a brilliant time. You are right to feel chuffed with that 🥳🥳

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Sandie1961]

Yup. Kind of a "job done" moment, until the next one of course...

[Week7 Half Marathon]

Brilliant run. Must be si exciting getting under the 2 hour mark.Congratulations!

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Week7]

I always believed I had this run in me, but after having a bit of a twingey back earlier in the week, it was even more satisfying to actually achieve it.

[Cmoi Marathon]

Fabulous run sTrongFuse , congratulations!

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Cmoi]

Thank you.

[RunWillie Marathon]

Well done sTrongFuse 👍🏻

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to RunWillie]

Thank you.

[Dups Half Marathon]

Wow! Huge congratulations! That finish time and those PB’s are amazing 👏👏👏👏

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Dups]

Thanks. I think my legs have finally stopped swearing at me.

[Doris8]

Well done have watched that race before at longniddry very picturesque along the coast there. Think it was was windy that year 👏👏

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Doris8]

Despite living just a few miles up the road, I've never appreciated just how "long" Longniddry actually is until yesterday. That bit seemed to go on forever; I've never been so glad to finally leave it behind. Gutted I couldn't stop at Alandra's though; they do the best fish supper ever.

[Dexy5 10 Miles]

Wow that is fast sTrongFuse ! How lovely to have such perfect conditions for your HM but you must have put the work in to achieve a time like that. Whoop whoop!

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles in reply to Dexy5]

My previous best was 2 hours 4, but that was back in May 2020. Since then, it's been more about getting the distance in the legs combined with the odd bit of speed work over shorter distances. I've been averaging a shade over 12k per run this year, typically doing 3/4 runs per week. Just shows that putting the miles in the legs pays off.