Week before race day
Sunday
I did a 5-mile easy run this morning. Just to keep my legs moving but nothing too strenuous.
I also had my favourite pre-run meal –a bagel, one banana and peanut butter.
Monday
A 30-minute run on the treadmill on the following settings:
10 min @ speed 10
10 min @ speed 11
10 min @ speed 12
Tuesday
Today is my last run before the Half Marathon so I did a 4-mile easy jog.
From now, I will not do anymore exercise until the race day on Sunday.
Saturday Morning
I woke up in the morning and for breaksfast had:
Meal 1
50g porridge
1 scoop casein
I then got ready and headed for Cardiff. The journey took about 3 hours. In this time I had a snack which consisted of:
Meal 2
2 x rice cakes
1 tsp peanut butter
When we arrived at the hotel we checked in and then had some lunch in the room which consisted of :
Meal 3
1 x wrap
100g chicken
1 x banana
We then went to the spa in the hotel and chilled out which was very relaxing. The spa started getting quite busy so we decided to go back to the room and just chill out.
I had a snack which consisted of:
Meal 4
100g carrots
60g cottage cheese
Nuts and raisins
Later, we got ready for dinner and went to an Italian restaurant called Gios which was lovely.
Meal 5
Leek and potato soup
Lasagne
The lasagne was very yummy. There was such a buzz and you could tell it was a popular choice by the people queuing outside waiting for a table. The atmosphere around Cardiff was brilliant considering they lost the Rugby World Cup semi-finals. All I wanted to do was join in and get on the beers but unfortunately knew better the night before a run!!!
Of course I made sure I was drinking plenty of water throughout the day to keep me hydrated.
I made sure prior to going to bed that I had all my running gear laid out for the morning and also made sure my running bag was packed with my gels and energy shotz.
Race day - Sunday
My alarm woke me up at 6-45am. I had slept through the whole night which I was surprised by because I thought I would be up most of the night thinking about the run. I had a cup of tea and got ready to go down and have breakfast.
Breakfast 7am
1 x Bagel
Peanut butter
1 x banana
Cereal
1 small glass of orange juice
I came back from breakfast and had a bath and got ready for the race.
The Starting Line
We left the hotel at 8:30am and walked to the start line (about a 10 minute walk away), but just when I thought we were there, I realised the start was further away than I thought. The whole area near the Bay was heaving with runners and spectators trying to get as close to the start as possible.
At this point I wished I had got to the start line sooner because, like I always do, I started stressing about finding my starting pen. With 10 minutes to go to the start of the race, I had still not found my pen and when I looked at the porto loos, there were queues and queues of runners and all I could think was surely they should be at the start line.
It was very stressful trying to make my way through runners and spectators. I could not see any entries into the pens but was not alone. Some runners were even climbing over the barriers to try and squeeze in.
I desperately wanted to find the sub 1:45 pen, but had to do with the gap I found in sub 2:00 hours. I was one very stressed-out runner. Not a good start to the run.
To top it off, I felt very full and could feel that my breakfast had not gone down! I really wanted to be in the sub 1:45, the reason being, I wanted to run with the pacemaker because I do seem to struggle to pace myself. Thankfully though, I was in a pen when the gun went and ran and walked until I crossed the start line.
During the Run
I was frustrated because all I was thinking was that I needed to find the sub 1:45 pacemaker but I could not even see the sub 2:00 pacemaker. I found myself weaving in and around people and got trapped behind people at times, this left me feeling rather frustrated and annoyed and so therefore I probably wasted energy weaving in and around people and went out too fast.
I finally found the sub 2 hour pace maker at mile 4 and then moved on to thinking that I now needed to find the sub 1:45 pacemaker. I finally convinced myself to stop stressing and to try and enjoy the race.
After mile 5 or so, the crowds of runners started to disperse so I was able to get into a good rhythm. The weather was just fabulous. The sun was out and there was a nice breeze. I took my gel at mile 8 and I got a stitch between mile 9 and 11. I had to walk for a few seconds and then started running again.
I got to a water station at mile 10 and walked and slowly sipped some water and concentrating on my breathing trying to get rid of the stitch. I started running again but I was unable to pick up the pace because then the stitch would get more painful. I just kept focussing on my breathing and trying to press on the area where it hurt at times.
By mile 12 I had forgotten about it and just focused on trying to finish and not worry about time. I did pass the sub 1:45 pacemaker at the last water station at mile 12 though. So I managed to find him eventually!! .
The end of the course that went passed the bay was really lovely and I did really enjoy that part of the run. The crowds of spectators were fantastic at the end cheering you on. When I saw mile 13 I knew I was near the end so tried to pick the pace up and I finished the Cardiff half marathon with a time of 1 hr 43 min 36 secs.
I had plenty of water once I finished and a Powerade. When I got back to the hotel I had a powerbar recovery bar and then about an hour later, I had a chicken sandwich and some pretzels.
What I have learnt from the Cardiff Half Marathon
I have learnt to make sure I eat 3 hours before the run so I don’t feel heavy at the start.
I need to make sure I am at the start for at least half an hour before the race starts to avoid pre-race stress!
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