Week 9, 99 min half: Getting faster

I’ve lived in London for 12 years now. And like most people who live here I have moments of loving it and being frustrated with the city.

In those 12 years I’ve lived in most postcodes and zones from 1 to 3. It’s a big place, but running and cycling around it makes it feel much smaller as all the dots get joined up.

On Monday night I ran to the track where I was coaching. I do this journey by bike usually but my run had been put off until there was no other way round it. The only problem was it was a tempo run and navigating from NE to NW London on foot at a time when the roads and pavements are full of people making their way home from work wasn’t necessarily the best fit. Still, race day people swerving practice.

But despite all this the run went really well. I hit my goal half marathon pace for five miles and I think the traffic dodging helped. When you have to stay alert and concentrate on each step there’s little time to be thinking about whether your legs need to slow down.

[Maybe don’t try this at how though – stay safe.]

That run was a big confidence builder, and so were the intervals on Wednesday. Then came Saturday morning’s long run and 12 miles traversing London from north to south.

9 weeks ago I was frustrated that I was struggling to run a few miles comfortably at my marathon pace from Edinburgh. But over time that speed has got gradually more manageable again, until yesterday I ran 12 whole miles averaging 8:00/mile.

I ran parts of routes that I used to use a lot, but that I haven’t run in a long while. That’s another funny thing about London, you can go on a trip down memory lane by going just a few streets over. Next weekend I’m heading back to Ealing for a half marathon. I lived in Ealing for a couple of years when I first moved to London, but I wasn’t a runner then. Ealing didn’t have a half marathon then either; Ealing has changed and so have I.