I ran the North Shore Half Marathon recently. No specific training for it. Just the normal week I've been doing for months to stay physically and mentally healthy.
One 90 to 100 minute hill run as the anchor. A low to mid zone 2 run of 30 to 40 minutes with a few accelerations. A mid to upper zone 2 run of 50 to 70 minutes. And a 20 to 40 minute recovery run, that I dropped occasionally when life was hectic.
I hadn't raced a half marathon in years, so I wasn't sure how to pace it. The challenging course made it even harder. I picked 1:40 as a rough target based on some recent long runs and parkrun I did months back, and told myself to run to feel.
Early on I felt fast. Maybe, too fast. It was tempting to slow down, but I didn't. I checked heart rate instead, and saw it was where I was confident I could hold it. I decided to believe that and how I felt over the pace on my watch, and hoped my legs would show up late in the race.
When it comes to training and racing, I often go with two out of three. Pace, heart rate, and perceived effort are the ways you have to gauge intensity. When two align, I tend to ignore the third.
I ran 1:30:43. Nearly ten minutes quicker than I thought I could go.
Here's the thing. I didn't train for this race. I trained, generally, for months. It turns out that was enough to perform well.
Same four runs. Week after week. No new session, no tweaks. Just simple fundamentals that build aerobic base and strength.
The course was brutal. 270m elevation gain, sand, uneven grass and trails. I ran in my Brooks Hyperion 5 carbon-plated shoes for the first time over this distance. My kids were out there cheering, too. It was Father's Day in New Zealand.
They both helped, but none of that explains 1:30:43. Consistency does.
