Well, it's the day after my PB and I'm still really pleased. I'm trying not to overanalyse it too much, as I went faster than I thought was possible for me on the day. However, after my Exeter Half 3 weeks ago I posted a few questions and frustrations I had, and I'm going to update a bit on that below on a few items that I think helped me get my PB.
Fuelling. In Exeter, I ended up feeling a bit hungry on the start line which can't really be a good thing. In the run up to Bideford, I had two lots of pasta on the Saturday as well as teacakes and plenty of water throughout the day. On the morning of the run, I had my usual shredded wheat plus I added a couple of pieces of toast. During the run itself, although I didn't particularly feel that I needed them I forced myself to eat 2 or 3 of the Jaffa Cakes I was carrying with me.
Water. I had plenty of water in the days leading up to the event and also around 1.5 litres on the morning of the event (plus coffee). This all obviously had the effect of me needing to go to the loo a few times before the start but I didn't feel thirsty on the run itself. In fact, I probably only had about half of the drink I took with me. It was quite a cold day though and I did take a couple of sips from the water that was provided on the course which was very refreshing and cold.
Understanding of the course: I think spending time understanding the course profile by looking on Garmin Connect as well. I had some key bits in my mind and even though it wasn't a hilly course, knowing where the major inclines were helped even if it was only a rough estimate.
Resting and B&B. It was a bit of an extravagance as I know that many of my Club mates travelled up to Bideford on the morning of the event but I think travelling up on the previous afternoon and staying in a B&B less than 2-minutes walk from the start line helped with my nerves a bit, It also meant I could go about my business on the morning without worrying about getting to the start line.
Negative split. This is obviously the main thing to take away from this event, and it is something that I promised myself I would attempt after Exeter went so wrong. I remember purposefully slowing myself down when I saw a few people I know run away from me in the early miles and I purposefully stuck rigidly to my plan. This is clearly shown in the splits from yesterday, and is something I am definitely going to do again. This is the massive "lesson learned" from this race.
Regarding the negative split, I am still not really sure that size of a split is totally the best thing. Could it be that I was slightly too conservative in the first half? I really don't know, but finishing strongly is a much better way to feel than blowing up at mile 10 which I have done many times.
Also, I'm not really sure how it translates into a smaller event (i.e., a 10K for which I have at the end of March) where I feel I could (and probably should?) go out quick and try to hold on. For my full Marathon in May I am specifically training for a fairly comfortable 9 min/mile pace but the same "negative split" rules still apply, except I think they are even more important in the marathon. For example, getting to half way and pushing on probably isn't really advisable; if (and it's a big if) I'm feeling okay at mile 20 or 22 maybe I could look to step it up a bit then if I feel able to.
When I look back over the last few months, I know I have made some big improvements to my training and also (more importantly??) my alcohol intake. In June 2012 I struggled to a 2hr+ Half Marathon at the Torbay Half, on a route I know very well. I joined the Trotters in September and then in October 2012, February 2013 and March 2013 I got successive PBs culminating in yesterday's 1:42:02 time. So, since June I have knocked 18 minutes off which is nearly 1:30 min/mile! As I mentioned yesterday, my focus is now directly turning to the LSR miles for my marathon at the start of May (apart from a 10K I have at the end of March, which is not a priority), but I confess I have half an eye on seeing if I can sneak under 1:40 at the Torbay Half in June. That's a long way off yet though.
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