A Nice Bath....

At last an enjoyable Bath Half...!

Last year I swore I would never do it again but after years of messing it up I think finally the organisers got it spot on.

I took the train over to Bath which meant a nice leisurely arrival, strolling into the Runners Village at just after 10. After my Wokingham experience I decided to put my bag straight in. As it was a nice temperature this really wasn't a hardship and was made even better by having such a low number which meant that my baggage drop was the first one.

As an affiliated club runner my starting pen was just behind the elite runners. Again, this meant that the access point was perfectly located from the Rec. There was one delay whilst many orange and green runners tried to get to the start via the white entrance. But once they had all turned around it was quick and easy to get to not only the start line but also a mass rank of virtually unused loos!

Saw a number of GWR runners at the start and then after a rousing round of applause for gold medal winning AMy Williams, one of the starters, we were off.

Now the downside of starting so far forward quickly became apparent as I completed the first mile in 6:52 and the second in 6:57. I made myself slow down as there was no way I would keep that pace up all the way around. As it was miles 8-11 the pain in my knee was back. I had taken thursday, friday and saturday off again because of it and in someways perhaps I shouldn't have been running at all. However, I clung on and managed one ambition of getting to the second lap without being taken over!

In the end I completed the race in 1:38:59 - so just 24 seconds outside of my Wokingham time and 27 minutes faster than my 2009 Bath Half time. My chip 10K time was 45:03 which would be a new 10K PB!

The downside is what damage it has done. My knee was very, very sore post run. I am disappointed that I didn't have the strength of mind not to run and conserve my knee - I have obviously taken my eye off of the marathon prize a little. But then also I am disappointed that the problem with my knee had slowed me down as my first 6/7 mile splits were much better than my Wokingham times.

As the train pulled out of the station I looked over and could see people still running - that would have been me last year. I suppose I should be happy with how far I have come in a year - but unfortunately along with speed I have gained a desire to compete!