In 2019, I ran Stafford Half for the first time with my lovely friend Lisa. I was overjoyed when we reached the finish and I really couldn’t have done it without her. I had moaned most of the way as I was too spent by mile 4, mile 6 reminded me of lovely trail countryside runs but I just couldn’t get my legs up to follow the winding roads and all I could think was I’m not even half way! Then came Beaconside, which I decided was horrid no matter what others had said. It just felt so long, and then as we were almost done the hail started. It was cold and I was grumpy.
So why I decided to go again this year, I’m not entirely sure 😊 It’s always been a race with a big Trentham presence so you really feel like one of the team and there’s the obligatory team photo before we start so I just couldn’t miss out. I’d planned to start training with Thunder Run then be race fit and raring to go, but I pulled my back so had to have a few weeks out while that settled. Our social life restarted and it was so nice to see people and so it wasn’t until one day my friend said “You’re doing Stafford aren’t you, when is it?” I checked my calendar, “3 weeks!” But what about my time to train!
I got in touch with KT Coaching to see if a 3 week plan even existed for those of us who panic train, with my only intention to get round and not hurt too badly. I had been doing Improver runs and had joined teammates on a 10 miler covering much of the Potters ‘Arf route so knew the distance should be ok. The plan helped me to focus on keeping my pace steady so I could keep going and feel comfortable.