Early season check

I have a reasonably good sense of my level of fitness most of the time. And today is no exception.

Yesterday was the First Half half marathon. While it has been three years since I last ran a half marathon - on its own, it was the 12th time that I've run the distance - at least as best I can determine.

When I ran this particular race in 2009, I was about 10 weeks into training for Ironman Canada and I was becoming race fit. I was super motivated. I was working hard on the treadmill to increase my foot speed. I had just run a super fast 10k and I ended up running a PB of 89:06. It was a huge confirmation of the direction I was heading.

In the intervening years, I've focused on triathlon for the most part and adding some year end marathons (Bellingham in 2010 and Victoria, plus the Whistler 50 miler, in 2011).

I still haven't found the key to success at the half marathon distance. Consistency, yes. But I struggle to get faster in part because I haven't really focused on it I suppose.

I wasn't expecting to set any records yesterday. I am fit but I don't feel anywhere near race fit. In my case, it's not just a question of confidence. I took weeks off training after the Whistler 50 and I eased back into training with 12 sessions of Bikram yoga in December. And I'm slowly becoming a triathlete again. Today marks my return to structured sessions.

My objective was to take it out slow and build mile through mile. I'll run the splits here in a moment. I knew I wasn't going to set a PB but of course I always eye the 90-minute mark as a solid read on where I am at. I was thinking 91-92 was more realistic.

7:21, 7:04, 6:58 (some downhill), 7:05, 7:04, 7:08, 7:04, 7:07, 7:07, 7:10, 7:21 (those hills in reverse), 7:11, 7:10 and then 39 secs for the final dash.

My net time was 93:30.

My analysis is that I need to train more. Ha!

And so I will. I'm happy with my level of fitness. I am fit. But I also know that I want to be MORE fit and it's time for me to invest the time and effort to become so.

***

The guy who won my age group ran 1:12. I was 22nd out of 123. My pace was 4:26 per kilometre. It took me 11 seconds to cross the start line.

***

Margreet ran a superb race. Not unexpected and yet you never know until you cross the finish line. She's been logging some huge volume the last six weeks and her endurance shows.

We were chatting about it on the way home after the race - she ran a PB of 87:27 and came second in her age group.