Don’t consider this as an example, because it is not. I am preparing for a half-marathon personal best, so need to deliver some proper training. The thing is, that in one day, particularly 5th of March 2025, reality drifted to another path, without having anything planned. The plan was a longer tempo, of 11 – 12 kilometers. Maybe half-marathon pace. Putting on my Adizero Boston 12, heading to Teilor Park. Once I start circling the lake, in a loop of 290 meters, thoughts are starting to nest into my brain: “I feel so good, what a great weather!” I am pushing for a sub 4:15 / km pace. Then, below 4:10, and then 4:05. Every kilometer has its story. It is a good compounding story. The weather is great, perfect for running. I feel strong, solid morale: “What if I do a 2/3 of the half-marathon in below 4:10 / kilometer?”

This means 14 kilometers. I am oscillating inside my brain if I should do it or not, and that is the moment when analyzing on the run, new hypothesis come up.

290 meters loop for the half-marathon

“It is not the first one when I am thinking to speed up for a great half-marathon nobody is watching… What if…?” From this point onward, I think at kilometer 8, I am adding a plan. I know I have the perfect opportunity not to back off in doing the half-marathon in a 290 meters loop. In under… 1:30 hours! My personal best, from December 2021, is 1:31:06. I have tried to challenge this in some competitions, but failed to go below this one, and below 1:30 altogether. For this I am preparing again, for 23rd of March. Will it be another miss? I have no clue, but I would like to wipe out from now any potential excuses. I feel so good, that I see no reason for which not to go for an ad-hoc gamble with a… below 1:29 even half-marathon. I keep looping, one tour after another, mixed thoughts, but more confident in my deed.

1:28:40 half-marathon! Unofficial, but still…

One problem is that, apart from not having any kind of plan for such a project, I lack completely hydration sources and also my watch battery is quite low – by the way, I remembered this only at the end – so then I cannot state this was the correct approach. But for me, a perfect weather, good mood, strong legs and easy breathing are enough for such a short period. I still push, but at around kilometer 15, I start seeing some momentum drifting from my muscles: 4:20 / kilometer. This can be a problem, but there only six more kilometers, and I am well ahead the 1:29 mark. Something to drink would be good, but now I need to go without, if I want a morale boost. The pace is not improving significantly, but it cuts few second for each kilometer: 4:09 / km for the 21st. I finish strong! It will be under 1:29! It actually is 1:28:40. I feel relieved, happy, and not so tired.

Let’s see it on 23rd of March

I did something I could not imagine possible some time back, but which felt so natural. Now, you cannot be sure of the GPS 100% at any moment, on a course that nobody is measuring / tracking, but given the location, and the fact the it is exposed into open space, at some 20 meters above the ground level, I think, gives me a strong belief that this time can be quite accurate. And if it is not under 1:29, then for sure it is under 1:31, to count at least for a personal best. Of course, the big test, as said, will be on 23rd of March, at the Legal Half-marathon. I am certain I can do that, but anytime something can happen, and most common to me are the weather conditions. If it gets bit of warm / sunny, everything can be ruined in a second, so then the dreams are shattered again.

No room for excuses

This unofficial PB doesn’t count in any way, if you want to brag about running, but it can be transposed to a self esteem consolidation for the race, because the confidence boost is huge. And, in the event something will jeopardize my plan to run a great half-marathon 18 days later, then at least those excuses, inevitable in the runner’s world, can be backed up by this thin result. Because if I would have finished it after 12, 14 or 15 kilometers, like I initially intended to, then the potential disappointment from  the race would have been dubbed by a “if only I have continued for some more kilometers, I would have achieve that”. This won’t happen. Both because I did it in a landscape where literally nobody is watching, and because I will for sure smash that time by running in the center of Bucharest.

Great effort, but it felt so good!

This article it is a bit awkward and full of mixed feelings, but it is exactly reflecting the state I was in both when running and continuously talking to myself, as my headset shut off after less than 5 kilometers, and when running these rows. I am almost sure that this lesson will be the foundation for a great race in the end of March, but also at the end of April when, in principle, I am aiming to go for another great half-marathon. What does great mean? For me, every such running event clocked in less than 1:30 hours it is a huge achievement. Because I can never forget how though it was to go below 1:40 some years back. No I am feeling strong to go as far as possible. It feels good, though.

Actually easier than my first and only 10K under 40 minutes effort, in late 2023. One year and a half from then already… Wow!