Arriving at the Holiday Inn at just after midday, we decided to have a stroll along the seafront to see how bad it was. We found it difficult to stand up in the wind, and the waves were crashing over the seawall onto the road which was the location for the start and finish of the race.
That is the flooded road just beyond the grass and boulders.
Back along the front we met some friends from parkrun before heading back to the hotel for a restful afternoon. We were due at Jamie's at seven pm for dinner with Alison's friends from her running club OnTheRun. There were 41 of us on two tables which was quite something. Thanks to Penny for the photo.
Gunwharf Quays was busy on a Saturday night, and on the way back we had a good view of Spinnaker Tower.
The wind was still howling overnight, but had abated slightly when we woke to a sunny morning. The race was on. Only a light leisurely breakfast, there was no rush as it was very nice to be able to walk to the start, leaving at 9.45am for the 10.20 warm up. I had never before participated in a mass organised warm up, tv screens and loud music. So that was an experience.
I was in the first wave to start, somewhere towards the back of thousands lining up along the wide seafront road.
Apart from the wind, I really enjoyed the run. A great route that took you past the Historic Dockyard, lots of support along the way, lovely wide roads, lots of runners mostly about my pace. I seemed to get tired after 5 miles which was a little worrying, and although miles 6 to 8 had the wind behind, it was too sheltered to be of much use, and I just had to hang on. The last two miles is along the seafront with the strong wind against us. But knowing that the finish was not too far away, I put my head down (literally on occasions) and actually went a little faster.
In the end, I was very pleased with my time of 1.33.59, coming in 6,894th place out of 16,330 finishers and 16th out of 80 in the 70-74 age category. Alison also did very well with 1.40.17. She was wearing her club vest for the first time.
Although we had planned where to meet after the race, I was tired and cold by the time Alison arrived. So I headed back to the hotel while she went off to find her club friends and ultimately to the pub with a few of them.
Whilst there, she and I were invited to meet for dinner at the Brewhouse and Kitchen (www.brewhouseandkitchen.com/venue/portsmouth) where they had their own craft beers. Very nice. And the company was excellent. We were so glad we had booked the extra night.
Monday dawned to a miserable rainy start. After a proper cooked breakfast, we were off to Winchester, where we hoped the rain would have stopped and we could visit the Cathedral. More in the next post.
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