Lisbon Half-Marathon – report
My second half and it went well. This time, racing with a team – Pernas de Gafanhoto (Grasshopper’s legs in Portuguese).
Overall, the race was quite comfortable, always focusing on a balance between a steady pace and saving energy for the last kilometres. I did not had to wait too long in the starting line as in Portugal Half-Marathon. A mere 10 minutes, which we spent stretching and doing some jogging, and off we went. I race the whole course by myself, but feeling strangely accompanied. The course itself was pretty straiight, with no significant hight and lows, so, getting to the firts 10 k was a breeze. I made it in 56 minutes, so, by that time, I really knew that braking the 1 hour 50 minutes barrier was out of question as race time.
Staying in a comfortable pace was the only goal I had in mind then… until the last three kilometres, when I really started speeding up things. Ended in 1:58:15, a bit more than a minute slower than in my first half.
High points:
- The gathering earlier
- The comfortable pace I took
- My effort management
- The zulus
To improve:
- Get to manage a better start
- More confidence and risk taking during the race
- Improve my muscular strength with weight lifting exercises between race workouts
