This is a race I like doing as it's fairly local, and usually means a relaxed start to the day. It's also around the time of year where it can easily be cold, or wet, or both, so it can be very difficult to predict what the conditions will be like on the day. For the week leading up to this day we had a lot of rain, but we also had days where there was also sun that was uncharacteristically warm for October.
As always I parked on the road near Victoria Park for free. This year the University had also granted the use of their shiny new car park around the student accomodation for £2.50 with an overflow carpark elsewhere. So even if I'd not managed the on-street parking, it wouldn't have been too bad. I started off with a gentle jog from my car to the race village and then past it onto the University campus to get half a mile done as a warm-up. Quite often I'd do a full mile, but wanted to keep my legs a little fresher today to see if I could match or beat last year's time.
I met up with a few other runners near the information tent, all of them pacers for this event, and we stood around talking until it was time to make our way to the start. The pens for this one were roped off to divide up around 3,000 runners between the half marathon and 10K. Apparently around 1,300 people would be doing a half marathon for the first time today, which if true, is a very impressive number! There was a slip nip in the air, but it was warmer than it had been for most of the previous years. In the sub-1:30 pen with me was a postman as well, in full uniform with his bag for letters. I could imagine he'd be overheating before the finish.
At 09:15 the race started, and I’d started far enough back in this pen so I wouldn’t feel pressured into running too fast too soon. My target was to stick around the 06:20/mi - 06:50/mi region as it would be another sub-90 under my belt. With the first mile being downhill I couldn’t decide whether to use this to gain some time, knowing I could lose it later for the final mile, or to stick to plan. I did stick to the pace plan for the most part, but the indecision early on did mean I ended up doing the first mile in 6:19. I found myself thinking this time of what this route would be like for someone who hasn't been to Leicester before. I guess the train station we pass looks okay, but so far it definitely wasn't very scenic at all.
I was fairly consistent with a slightly slower pace as I left the city centre, and ran along The Golden Mile into Belgrave. This area was at the time full of lights for Diwali, which at night look pretty impressive. Even with them off, looking at them is something to keep your mind busy for a short while. Maybe not quite long enough though - I’d forgotten there’s a bit of a hill along this road, but as with gravity, what goes up must come down, and it's only a small bump really. There was a water station somewhere around the 5K mark, but I fumbled the cup and dropped it, startling the poor person that was holding it as they'd not expected it to fall in front of them. I wasn’t prepared to stop and go back for another cup, so, without fuel, and now without water, I carried on into Thurmaston. For a while we’d had half the road closed off, and through this village it was just the same. I was however starting to feel a little tired, but spotting my hairdresser and getting some cheers from her helped push me on that little bit longer.
I had remembered that the hill through Thurmaston drags a bit as I remembered what it was like last year. I think perhaps I tried pushing too much though as once I was out onto the A607 I felt more tired than I should have really. This dual carriageway had one lane closed to traffic for us to run down. At the first junction there’s a bit of a bend, and then a little up hill bit to the roundabout and the entrance to Watermead Park. Not long after crossing the 6 mile point I decided to walk. For the next mile it was difficult to get going, but I did make progress when I could. When I saw Paul Bentley spectating along the River Soar it was fortunately a time when I was actually running!
When I left Watermead Park I walked up the hill to the main road, and stood aside to let a car pass that was trying to get through as well. For the remaining 5 miles I ran when I could and walked when I couldn’t. This took me through Abbey Park, and eventually out onto the road that would then lead to the underpass to get into the city centre. I tried to run for most of the part through the city centre, and then started walking again once out the other side and on my way to New Walk.
New Walk, as the name suggests, I walked up mostly, but then ran to the finish line from there. I then finished in 1:32:31, 150th out of 2082.
