Reading Half Marathon 2012 LogoMy running this year has gone really well and my current long-slow training is proving to be very enjoyable and I'm seeing results already. I've not run any races, but I can see the positive effects as I cover more distance in the same amount of time at lower heart rates - I'm currently doing lots of long slow runs using a bastardized version of the training ideas in this HADD Article which I discovered when investigating the merits of MAF training.

As this is going well, I started to umm and aahhh about stepping things up a bit and started putting some serious thought into running a half-marathon. I've not run a half-marathon in well over 13 years and I finally feel my training is up to a point where I can complete a half-marathon, and in a pretty competitive time (ie sub-90 mins). I wasn't sure if I should do the Wokingham half in February, the Reading half in April or both.

Well, after a lot of umming and ahhhing, I've finally taken the plunge and entered next year's Reading half. Whilst I think I could probably comfortably do both the Wokingham and Reading halves, I think it's probably best to take things slowly and enter only one that early in the year. The Reading half is the larger of the two, so I've opted for that one. Maybe 2013 will see me do both. We'll see.

That said, running the Reading half-marathon is expensive. The entry fee is £31.50 for an affiliated athlete and £2 more for unaffiliated. As a friend pointed out on Facebook, it's cheaper to catch the train!!! The Wokingham half is only £18 for an affiliated athlete. I hope the medal is huge and goodie bag is full of stuff that justifies the £13.50 premium.