Local half-marathon today.
Started early (8am) because of the potential heat and humidity at this time of year, which meant I had to get a ferry from the island where I live at 5.45am and wait for my ride. I was feeling very lethargic and also slightly worried about the hamstring issues I'd had in the last two 10k races. As it turned out the weather problems were completely different than expected. Far from being hot, it was cloudy and raining lightly, which turned into driving rain at about the 16km point. I'd intended to run a steady 4.15 pace, aiming for 1.30, but not to push it too hard and not worry if I as actually a few seconds off that - better be slow and finish than get injured. However, I found myself running with another guy who was clearly on a 4.10 pace and it seemed to be fine. I kept that up until the turn (this was an out and back type of course) but then I realised I couldn't keep up that pace. So, along with another guy who'd also started too fast, I continued at near 4.20. This was fine until he had to stop with some injury problem (he did eventually finish), and then the rain started to lash down. And it was right in our faces too - we'd had the wind behind us all the way out, which probably contributed to how easy it felt running at 4.10. So, the last 5k was just a hard slog into what was now driving rain. I got overtaken by an amazing woman who is training for a sub-3 hour marathon, but I also overtook another guy who was suffering worse than me in the conditions.
With my shoes saturated and feeling like they were about 5 pounds heavier than when we started, I tried to pick up the pace again in the last kilometre and a bit and at least my finish looked determined! I didn't quite meet my target, but in the circumstances, 1.30.54 (and 10th overall) was pretty good. It was actually a PB too - just because I don't run many halfs. (The winner ran 1.18...).
