This week’s marathon training involved a much lighter week with no long run, culminating in an all-out effort at a local half marathon.
I had done the semi de Tournefeuille twice before: once in 2018 with little DD in the buggy (my first ever race with the stroller) and again a year later, when I dipped below 90 minutes for the first time post-kids.
I was signed up last year, but had to withdraw due to treatment on my knee. The organisers kindly invited me to participate for free this year as their guest (the first time this has ever happened to me!) so I did feel a little extra pressure in the build-up, but also lots of excitement for what is one of my all-time favourite races.
The weather has been extraordinarily (worryingly) warm lately, so on Sunday I was able to warm up ready to race in just shorts and my club vest. I did my usual: a couple of gentle miles jogging, some light drills and four accelerations, then it was time to join the crowds on the start line.
The race was sold out, with 2200 runners in total split roughly 50/50 between the 10km and the half marathon. The start is also slightly downhill, so I knew I would have a quick fast kilometre being carried along by the sea of runners. The trick after that is to settle into a manageable race pace, without slowing down too disastrously.
I did indeed have a fast start, then settled into a decent rhythm to go through the 10km point in 39:19. I was comfortable at this pace, but also conscious that there was a long way to go.
I grabbed a cup of water at each of the feed stations (5km, 10km and 15km) and munched an Overstims jelly sports sweet at roughly 8km, 11km, 14km and 17km. I was very glad of these and would have eaten more had I stashed more in my pocket! I really felt the energy boost after each one, without any gut issues.
The toughest part of this race is the sections on gritty tracks in Parc de la Ramée with a loose, slippery surface. I lost a fair bit of time in these sections, but my splits nevertheless stayed fairly consistent in the second half (I slowed down, but not embarrassingly so). The winds were strong, but when I am racing without the buggy I truly do not notice!
In the end I finished in 1:25:31 which was good enough for fifth overall female and first in my masters’ category. This took three whole minutes off my previous best post-babies time and is in fact the fourth fastest half marathon I’ve ever run (and I’ve done a LOT).
The aches and pains in my quads on Monday told me I’d tried hard. A job well done and a good little confidence boost for this point in autumn marathon training.
