Running11:57 2.59 km (4:36 / km) ahr:135 max:149 shoes: Blue Float
11 AM
Running26:37 5.21 km (5:06 / km) ahr:153 max:185 shoes: Blue Float
Running1:03:05 21.32 km (2:58 / km) +92m2:54 / km ahr:166 max:186 shoes: Hakone
World Half Marathon Championships - 60th.
Twinged my calf doing drills yesterday, had some physio and assumed it would settle overnight. It was still bad this morning though and I spent a while with Andy Walling to loosen things off around it and strap/support it this morning. It wasn't that bad but a bit concerned I'd agravate it by running as there's not much you can do if your calf goes in the race.. A bit stressful, but that's running sometimes.
Calf was fine warming up, which gave me a bit more confidence and I tried not to shoot off the line or make big accelerations at the corners. Settled into a group with Tom and Adam, clipping along nicely and feeling comfortable. A bit faster through 5 km than I might have wanted but I was still feeling ok and the calf was good. I started to slide back in the group during the second lap (of 4) but went through 10 km with the group.
I started to hurt here, legs didn't want to go any faster and a few little feelings in the calf which made me wary. I settled into a decent rhythm, slower than before, but I hadn't completely blown. The group dropped me and I settled on picking off the next one's to drop back. Each time someone dropped off I'd try to pick them off. On the first half of the last lap (a gradual uphill) the two other Brits started to come back to me. I caught them just at the top of the hill and pushed over the top.
I could see the clock ticking up over 63 minutes just as I came into the finish. Happy to run a PB, ecstatic that my calf held together but a little frustrated to just miss the 63 minute barrier.
Great race, very cool to run a lapped championship course in a stacked field.