Tag Archives: Half-Marathon

Why Do You Run?

The logo of the Virgin London Marathon. Virgin...

 

 

In the recent weeks, with the bombing in Boston at the Marathon there, it has, like many others, no doubt, caused me to reassess and reorganise some of my priorities. I used to run as part of my ongoing physio to heal a fractured metatarsal in my foot. There was no reason for me to run for charity, or anything like that.

 

Then the bombs hit Boston and in the aftermath, both stories of heroism, and stories of sadness. People who ran towards the chaos to help people. People who lost arms, legs, and, of course, people who lost lives. The most touching one is the one of the 8-year old boy, Martin Richard, killed near the finish line by the bomb.

 

Although I was not in time to register for the London Marathon, my target is to race at least a Half Marathon next year.

 

In my recovery time after my fracture, I could not run, I could not walk, but in 6 weeks, I was back to walking and within 3 months, jogging. I recall the feeling of helplessness whilst I was on crutches. Being unable to walk long distances without aid, and near-total reliance on everyone around you. People who have lost limbs because of the bombs will have to endure that for a longer period than I did. I feel for them.

 

I used to run for fitness. Now, I have a new reason. I run, not just for fitness. I run, not just for physio. I run for everyone who cannot run.

 

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Pace Timing

I just checked Endomondo and found my PB for 1 KM is 4 minutes 44 secs. Not brilliant, but a start. If I was to keep that speed, I’d clock a 5K in approx 25 minutes, a 10K in 50 minutes, and a Half Marathon in about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Better start working on my pace….

Running Pace

I’m trying to find an Android app that will notify me if I’m above/below/at target pace to help me with training for the Half Marathon. Whilst miCoach (which I use primarily) does this, it only does it once you’ve done an assessment run, and/or tweaked the pace zones yourself. I can use other apps such as Endomondo, RunKeeper, etc. to notify me of current and average pace based on time and/or distance travelled, but I’d like to know without having to wait for the next time/distance trigger.

Speaking of which, I might go back to myAsics training. Even though their app is crap, I could still make do with their training plan, and use Endomondo to monitor my pace. True, it won’t be accurate, but I guess I could set it to announce pace every five minutes.