9 more sleeps.

Back in March I had a panic, a moment of self reflection, and an epiphany.  I had been spending all of my running time with others and although it wasn't doing me any harm at all I wasn't reaping any benefits.  I was starting to think that I needed to do more running for me and then I got the email from Run for All reminding me that I had entered the Leeds half marathon.

In the last 6 weeks I have run hard, run long, and run for me, to try to get myself race fit* and I think I might now be ready for the Leeds half on the 10th of May.  As well as running I've also spent a very good portion of the last few weeks reflecting on how fit and fast I was this time last year, to try and compare where I am now.  I didn't have a running blog back then but I did post the following on Facebook:

9th May 2014: Operation 1/2 Marathon: It's here folks. This evening I went out for a run around Beeston for the last time before I hit the streets of Leeds on Sunday.
I'll be honest, my emotions are all over the place. I'm giddy with excitement because if I've learnt anything from the three 10k's that I've run in the last year, being part of a crowd of people, running in a pack, is a real buzz. But I'm also terrified that I haven't done enough training in the last SIX months and that I'll either fail to get around in 2 hours, or worse, fail to get around at all.
So there we go. 26 weeks of training. From just getting around the Abbey Dash in November to here. I can't claim to have enjoyed every step of the way but there has to be something about running that I enjoy as I'm planning to go the whole hog next year and enter my first marathon.
Thank you for all of the likes and supportive comments, they really have meant a lot to me.  One last thing. If you're in Leeds on Sunday morning, feel free to come out and cheer on the runners. Don't save your breath for me, the cheers of encouragement are one of the greatest things about running and it really makes all the difference when you feel like you can't go any further. See you at the finish line.

So this time last year I was this uncertain.  The same worries.  Would I go the distance?  Could I hit my target time?  I did both, making it round and smashing my target time by 8 minutes finishing in 1:51:48.  I also learned a few things along the way.  The Leeds half marathon is shrouded in folklore about how hilly it is.  I think these rumours come from folk who only run on billiard tables or treadmills.  If anybody has done any hill training they will hardly notice the climb up Stonegate, and Lawnswood ringroad will be over before you have started running up it.

Of course it goes without saying that if you have only been training on the flat you will find the hills hard, but as the saying goes "Train hard, race easy".  I think I'm actually fitter now than I was this time last year.  I'm starting to believe that I'm also a better runner.  I still have a couple of runs between now and the race but I'm starting to get excited and I can almost dare to think that I can beat last years time and set a new PB.  This is what Christmas must feel like to a 5 year old.  Only 9 more sleeps!

*"race fit" is different person to person, I'm not trying to win after all.