Royal Windsor River Trail Half Marathon 2017 01:53:30!!! 😱😱 I wanted 01:55:00 but with the lack of training I'd had the few weeks leading up to the half, I didn't believe I could even get that let alone beat it!! Such a gorgeous day but very hot for me 😓 A tricky course due to the first half being so narrow which made it nearly impossible to get passed slower runners. The second half widened considerably and was all in the sun 😭 I stuck close behind my friend's boyfriend's mum for the first 5 miles as she was a good pacer, but when we were nearing 6 miles I realised I needed to pick it up if I wanted to get my time. This was my first race where I ran the second half quicker than the first 😁🙌 I felt so strong and in such a good place mentally. From mile 8 through to the finish I was giving myself motivational pep talks the whole time and it felt so great! I was overtaking people right up until the finish and sprinted the last 200m. I heard people pointing me out to each other as I went for the finish line which was such a great feeling. My toenails got bruised to hell and are still sore two days later 🙈 but other than that, I felt remarkably healthy post-run! And the best bit - we went for a delicious pub lunch by the river afterwards in the sun 😁 such a great day and I am so pumped to start marathon training for September!