Regained my Mojo - a PB at Barns Green

With the exception of my planned bike / commute on Thursday that never happened (rest day!) I completed my training pretty much as I set out at the beginning of the week.

The big focus this week was my old friend and 'Nemesis' - the Barns Green half-marathon. I really did feel that I could push it more than previous years and despite it being a bit of a lumpy course, try for a personal best (PB) at this distance. I also had some unfinished business with this particular race as my times each year had been getting slower and slower, something I needed to reverse.

My training prior to the race had not been intense but I felt I had done a little more than last year, especially with my recent timed 5km and 10km efforts. In addition I was hoping that my Ironman fitness was still there for at least one more race this season.

The conditions were perfect, the only negative was that I had come prepared to buy a couple of gels at the event but found there to be no stalls selling them. Luckily one of my HAT buddies gave me one to consume before the race. I also was given another half about mile 6 - thanks Gareth- lifesaver!

I set my Garmin up for time, current pace, average pace and distance. The plan was to be slightly under 4:45mins per km (sub 8 min miles). The race always gets off to a fast start and you get swept along, even though you know you are probably going way too fast. I think my first mile took around 7:15 mins. My average pace for the first half was around 4:32 mins per km and took around 47 mins. I felt pretty good throughout but it certainly helped having Gareth run nearby - we helped each other keep a decent pace and would have probably finished together if it he had not had to have a toilet break between mile 9 and 10.

I still managed a sprint finish so may be my pacing was still not perfect and I could have gone harder. However, I was delighted with a PB of 1:37:32 (position, 201 out of 1,319 runners), almost 5 mins quicker than last year, which got me a silver medal.

My 'Nemesis' finally defeated and my Mojo regained - what a great end to the season.