Race Report: Liverpool Half Marathon

This is another race report from the archives!

The Liverpool Half marathon is a race I’ve done so often – a brilliant race which never disappoints. Here is my race report from one of the many times I’ve run this one.

Race Report

My goal going into this race was to make sure my last half marathon was no accident and I could run below 1:30 for a half marathon. 

My PB was set in Helsby two months ago (1:27:45) and knocked 7 minutes off my previous best.  I wanted to get close to that.  I wasn’t really looking to set any records.

Having said that, I set my Garmin virtual partner to run at my PB pace – 4:10 per k pace – and I had my own personal pace maker!  Dani Trinca had entered the race but due to a hamstring injury was not going to be running at full throttle.  He had offered to run with me and help me pace my race.  Pressure!

The Start

Due to the really narrow start of the race, I was positioned well back at the start and looking at the kit and the trainers of people around me, I knew I would be doing some overtaking!

It took about one minute to cross the start line after the gun, followed by a bit of weaving between runners before I settled into a pace I was happy with.  My legs felt heavy yet the pace wasn’t particularly fast.  Oh dear.  This wasn’t a good start.  The first few miles were slightly uphill so I was hoping my legs would feel better once we reached flatter ground.  

The start of the race is fantastic.  So much optimism and enthusiasm in the air.  Invincibility almost.  The hill on Upper Parliament Street and the run along Princess Road saw the first signs of people’s enthusiasm waning, with sounds of heavy breathing dominating the race soundtrack.

Smooth Pacing

My first 3k averaged 4:13k pace – and I was tired!  My HR averaged 176!!  However, the next stretch of road was flat leading to a downhill section where I hit a 4:04 and a 3:59, running the first 5k in 20:42 (actually my slowest 5k of the race) and pretty much on target pace.  The next 5k was my quickest of the race, running it in 20:20, with an average HR of 169.  This was more like it. 

So, the first 10k done in 41:02, 11k still to go.

Dani The Pacer!

Dani was doing a great job of pacemaking.  We were ahead of schedule, putting time in the bank in case of fatigue later in the race.  Keeping my mind off the pace and off my heavy legs he spent the first 10k or so telling stories!  I hope he didn’t think I was being rude when I didn’t respond to his questions with very long answers – I was concentrating on catching my breath!  The runners around us just looked and stared when they heard us having conversations during the race!  Dani’s hamstring troubles were starting to flare up after about 10k.  At one point he turned to me and said he couldn’t go any faster than this.  I looked at my watch and saw that we were running at 3:45k pace!  Neither can I Dani, neither can I!

Unfortunately for Dani, his hamstring gave up and the last I saw of him he was hopping, clutching the back of his leg with one hand whilst waving me on with the other.  

Racing Solo Again

Picking some other runners ahead of me as pacemakers / targets, I increased the pace a little to catch up and then settled back into my ‘rhythm’.  My third 5k was run in 20:30 meaning my middle 10k was 40:50.  Super stuff!  I was well ahead of schedule.  My average HR crept up to 170 during this 5k.

By this point I was close to the final 5k run along Otterspool prom, knowing that it was pretty much one straight road to the finish.  I tried to up the pace a little, aiming to go close to 4:00k pace.  This was a short lived strategy.  An initial 4:05 gave way to a 4:08, a 4:10 and a 4:10.  I was knackered!  With just over 2k to go, I gave it one final effort with a 4:05 and a 4:01 to give me a 5k split of 20:38 and a second 10k split of 41:08.

The finish chute appeared with the noise of the crowds pulling runners towards the finish line, some runners having a lot more energy than others.  

As I crossed the line, I clicked my watch and looked down – 1:26:56. 

I had managed to creep under 1:27.  A PB!  Brilliant!

Reflections

I was pleased with how I executed the race.  I ran at pretty much even pace (4:08k average) , with only uphills or downhills distorting the pace from between 4:04 to 4:10 pace.  I also had a strong middle section of the race, with a 40:50 10k.

Splits

5k                20:40                     10k     41:02

10k               20:20                     20k     41:08

15k               20:30

20k               20:38

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