Last weekend I did the adidas Silverstone Half marathon, my first race since going plant powered!
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| The starting straight, feeling good |
I picked this particular race as I thought it was quite unique, set on the Silverstone F1 racing circuit. I pictured myself tearing through the track, kissing the corners and zigzagging through the chicanes. The reality was much more sedate than that, averaging 13.5km/h rather than 135 :)
The race itself went really well. The new-improved-plant-powered Matthew entered the race feeling good and a full 7 kg lighter than when I did the Royal Parks Half. I felt really strong throughout and my only enemy was my own mind. I realised that you need to train mental strength just as much the physical, which is something I need to work on. Since this wasn't an A race, I had to push myself to keep up a good pace, with a constant inner struggle of "slow down, no one will mind!" competing with "run faster you lazy bastard!"over and over.
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| Just before the finish line, smiles all round |
Made it through strongly in the end, finishing with a personal best of 1:34:58. Since my target was 1:35, I'd call that a success. Based on that performance, my marathon should be 3:30 or less. I need to get down to a 1:30 half to target a sub 3:10 marathon (and entry into the London Marathon)... Which gives me something to aim for in any case.
Really happy with everything on my first running test, so a big thumbs up for vegan athleticism!
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