Norwich Half Marathon training

Just a couple of days to go before my first half marathon taking place in Norwich, UK. Training has gone well with plenty of early morning runs with fellow competitor Caroline. Over the last few months we’ve increased our time on the tarmac from a base level of 20mins adding 5minutes each week. The strategy has worked and we approach race day with no injuries which is a success in itself.

An estimated time to complete the 13mile/20km route is 2hours and 30mins max. I’m confident about both us successfully completing the race and especially pleased with Caroline’s progress. Mid way through our training she found painful knees beginning to hamper her speed. After a visit to a local running shop she was able to have a gait analysis with the appropriate shoe selection. The pain diminished quite dramatically on subsequent runs. A further biomechanical assessment via a physiotherapist highlighted some of my suspicions regarding possible contributing factors, namely the Q angle affecting anterior knee pain. Basically the Q angle is an anatomical term particularly important to females with wide hips involved with repetitive impact such as running. Fortunately the change of training shoes prevented excessive overpronation which in turn can be a significant detrimental factor on aforementioned.
One of the highlights of training has been the progressive ease in which running for an hour has become. The pace has been a comfortable 9km per hour, slightly slower than what I would prefer but enjoyable regardless, almost therapeutic. An added benefit has been some fat loss with weight on the scales staying rigidly the same due to my appetite and increased weight training.
It’ll be my last challenge of the year but certainly not the last half marathon.

Plenty to do in 2012!!

http://www.cityofnorwichhalfmarathon.com/