Richmond Running Festival Half-Marathon, or How You Can Learn from Every Single Race
Today, I ran the half-marathon at the now well-established Richmond Running Festival. With the exception of the entrance fee (!) I really love this race. First of all, because it is scenic, with the first few miles within the beautiful Kew Gardens to then follow the Thames Path. But also because, being flat, it has great PB potential.
I approached the race with the usual nerves, but without having the goal of a PB as I have just started my training for next year’s Edinburgh Marathon, and I need to work on my leg speed. The freedom from pressure was a refreshing change from my usual races. Ok, I’m saying that but I’m probably not 100% truthful. I still wanted to be under my slowest half-marathon time ever of just under 1:55. But I also knew I wasn’t fast enough to get near my 7-yr old and pre-kids PB of 1:45.
I didn’t have a great start as I parked near the wrong entrance gate (caused by me skimming through the race instructions instead of reading them properly), which meant I nearly missed my starting wave after having to queue the usual 20min for the loo (I spent most of these wishing I was a man for this very reason).
My coach had advised me to start at a very comfortable pace for most of the race and then run as fast as I could for the remaining few miles. I agreed to it but once the race started I quickly realised that I just couldn’t not race - competitiveness is something I just cannot tune down. So I compromised and try to keep to a fast-ish but sustainable pace.
The only catch: I had decided to run the whole race ‘naked’ (=GPS free, refer to my previous blog post). So the race mile markers were my only feedback whilst running the race.
So how did it go?
Well I did experience a running belt malfunction during the first mile, which saw me drop my gels and have to go against the running crowds to try and pick them up. I eventually had to stuff them all in my bra as I had to pockets. But apart from this small hiccup, I had a thoroughly enjoyable race. I was overtaken by a number of runners over the first two miles, but I had the race experience to know I would likely pick them up later in the race, which meant I didn’t feel the need to keep up. Not been glued to my GPS stats meant that I could instead focus on how my body felt, and enjoy the scenery.
One happy finisher
As I was running I did wonder whether I was running too fast or too slow. The pace felt relatively fast but my breathing was telling me that I could run the whole race at that pace, which brought some confidence. Sure enough, from half way I started to overtake the people who had previously overtaken me (I had made a mental note of what some of them were wearing so I could recognise them later on when hopefully overtaking them!). I felt inspired by some people along the way, like this older lady that was running at a pretty good pace. When I overtook her (with great effort!) I felt pretty certain that with that pace she would arrive first in her category. What a role model. I also noticed the variety of body shapes and reflected on the extra effort people with extra weight would have to put in. I have lots of respect for people who don’t have a natural athlete’s body or have committed to get fitter and challenge themselves to these endurance type of events. That thought definitely gave me a boost. I ran the entire race with a big grin on my face for just being there, doing the thing I love on a nice Sunday morning, in these gorgeous surroundings. And also for being lucky enough to have a husband who understands my running addiction and supports me 100%. I was due to run the Family Mile with my son in the afternoon, and knowing he may one day be catching the running bug gives me a huge sense of purpose as a sporty parent.
But how did it REALLY go?
Right, so you would have understood by now that I was very much “in the flow” during the race, but what does it mean in terms of hard race statistics? I still ran with my Garmin and turned it on because ultimately no matter how much I now enjoy running “naked“, I am interested in how this affects my pace and my race time. When I crossed the finish line I had my first look at my watch, which indicated 1:50:26 (with an actual chip time of 1:50:18). This is just 10 seconds more than last year’s race (my post-kids PB of 1:50:08) where I constantly monitored my pace but it felt incredibly easier and more enjoyable than last year. Also interestingly my pace was very stable over the entire race, which I found very reassuring given that most recently I ironically found I had lost the ability to keep to a consistent pace / Rate of Perceived Exertion whilst wearing a GPS watch. This was probably due to mental factors, e.g. when the watch would tell me I was going too slow I would try and speed up but it felt hard mentally.
What are the key race lessons?
As per this blog post’s title, I genuinely believe there is something to learn from every single race, even if like me you have been racing for about 20 years.
So what did I learn this time?
Check the race instructions thoroughly, even if you have run that race before. The start/route/finish may have changed since last year, don’t be caught out!
Allow more time that you think for the loo, especially if you are a woman. At least until someone comes up with a practical solution to this!
Check your kit before the day, and make sure it does what you want it to do. My running belt was definitely not designed to carry the gels in an accessible way. I will ensure I find something better prior to my next long race in October. Being nearly trampled over when trying to retrieve you dropped gels doesn’t need to feature in your race. And more generally, your running kit is the last thing you want to worry about on race day.
Enjoy the race! High five the kids on the side of the road. Cheer on your fellow runners. Thank or smile at the race marshals, who are doing such an awesome job by just being there!
Happy running!