Race Day Challenges and Preparation

If you read my post about straining my thigh less than a week before Run Cheltenham or my post on mastering the Run Cheltenham Half Marathon then, you’ll understand why my race day experience wasn’t as challenging as others.

Run Cheltenham, Cheltenham’s Half or whatever you want to call it, has always been a back-loaded course. Any half marathon that makes you run up to and around the roads within the race course in the second half is going to be a tough one.

The weather forecast was for sun and temperatures generally increase as you go further into the race so, combined with the route elements, this race was always going to punish those who started too fast. 

Setting a Target Speed and Dealing with the Thigh Strain

I had set a target speed of 12-12.5kph (5:00-4:48min/k). 

This was based on the route, the heat forecast, and the fact I had no idea how my thigh strain was going to deal with the distance. I’d had a good warm-up but the thigh, I’d strained with the single kick of a football 7 days ago, was now aching, and the race was delayed.

I took the opportunity to do some breathing exercises and kept active with gentle stretching and massage of the thigh and other running muscles.

A Strong Start and Monitoring Heart Rate

If you look at the first 12k of the race you’ll notice I was enjoying myself. 1k split times kept between 4:40 and 5:04 on a mostly flat or declining course meant I was happy to high-five the young supporters, thank others with a wave, and keep a good amount of attention on my form and rhythm.

My average heart rate through this first half of the race: just 158bpm.

Navigating the Honeybourne Line

12k is when you hit the Honeybourne line. It was a little bottlenecked approaching the Honeybourne line thanks to the 10k runners, but this just slowed me down more and got me hungry for a fast finish. I averaged 4:41/k on the Honeybourne line, and my average HR increased to 172, but my race was just getting started.

Climbing Challenges Begin and Encouraging Fellow Runners

Tommy Taylor’s Lane, Albermarle Gate, and Evesham Road took me to kilometer 16 and the start of the climbing. I averaged 4:33/k for these sections, and my heart rate broke 180bpm, but I was tailing another runner who led me through the crowds, saving me from the hassle. I overtook two club members who were walking alone and encouraged them to #keeprunning but didn’t wait to see if it helped.

Combating the Heat

I managed to take a cup of water at each water station and my use of this was the same each time. 

A short sip to wet my mouth, to avoid choking, around a quarter cup in my hair and the rest went down my back. I was hydrated before I started and knew the biggest threat to my performance was more about body temperature than hydration. 

The wet hair and clothing helped to prevent overheating for around 20 minutes each time so while I was certainly affected by the heat, it wasn't really an issue until the race course.  

Descending to the Race Course

The 17 meters of descent into the race course helped me claw back 1bpm and increase pace to 4:26/k as I mentally prepared myself for the right turn onto the race course, inner roads. I’ll admit to really suffering through this section. My speed dropped to 4:42 and 4:45/k in the 19th and 20th kilometres with a heart rate of 182 and 184bpm.

The Ultimate Push and the Thrill of a Race Well Run

The average speed for the final kilometre was 4:16/k, the fastest of my race and led me to a peak heart rate of 190bpm in the final 330m of the race.

The race was hot but no worse than the Cheltenham Running Festival and water stations were frequent enough for me to keep my race vest wet and my mouth from drying up. I was ecstatic at the end of the race. You couldn’t see it, but to have finished with an average speed of 12.6kph or 4:44/k with no further damage to the thigh was a huge win.

Comparing Run Cheltenham Race Data

In my next post, I’ll be looking at various people’s race data to figure out what happened so we can look at what can be learned from the good and bad race day experiences.