RACE DAY 28OCT12
I woke early to check all my kit was okay and headed down to Portsmouth to make sure I got a decent parking spot. I wandered down to Southsea Common and even though there was still 2 hours to go the place was busy with people milling about. I bumped into a couple of old Army colleagues which was a nice surprise and the time soon came to line up in the starting area and wait for the off. I was in the orange area which was the one behind the fast paced runners which was a bit daunting. It was a product of when I first signed up and thought the race was only 10k so my predicted time was a bit quicker than it should have been. I could have moved back a group but that started 15 minutes later so I stayed put in order to finish earlier. The race was started by some opera singer I’d never heard of and it took a good 5 minutes to get across the start line. The first mile was spent properly getting warmed up and into a rhythm and trying to establish a pace. I had been swept along by the crowd to begin with and was going a bit quick so needed to slow it down a tad. The second mile took us into the historic dockyard and past HMS Victory but I can’t say I took much notice. There were a lot of cobbles and drain covers and the like so I was more concentrating on where I was putting my feet. I did notice however that a few people had already started to walk. I was trying to follow a racing line as best I could in the congestion but as we came out of the dockyard and onto Queen Street a woman decided it was a good time to try and cross the road. She simply stepped out right in front of me and I collided with her. After a few expletives I decided to stick to a central path rather than risk any further lunatic spectators. I passed the 3 mile marker at 24 minutes which was pleasing and the first water station came into sight. I grabbed a bottle and took out my first energy gel. It was quite disgusting and sat heavy on my stomach but I soon felt its benefits. I wasn’t looking forward to the 4th and 5th miles as it was a long stretch down Winston Churchill Avenue and back again and as I turned onto the road there were already people coming off it so it was a bit annoying to be 3 miles in and see people already at 5 miles. In the end it was a good section of the route as it was broken down nicely by roundabouts and as I came to the end of I got my own boost by seeing people 2 miles behind. The 6th mile took us in close proximity of the finishing straight and there were plenty of people with just yards to go. I didn’t let it bother me this time and plodded on. The next two miles took us into the Eastney estate and it did actually stink. I think there is a sewage plant or something nearby and it made breathing a not particularly nice experience. I was starting to get sore by now and my legs were heavy but I noted my time was still ahead of schedule. The final two miles were particularly difficult. Coming onto the seafront at first made me think I was nearly there but it is a really long stretch and into the wind to boot. I was slowing considerably and found myself regularly checking my watch to keep a track of time. With a mile to go I figured I had 11 minutes to be inside my target. It seemed like more than a mile but the atmosphere generated by the crowd kept me going. I crossed the finish at 1:34 so I reckoned I had finished in 89 minutes. I didn’t hang around and after grabbing my finishers pack headed off back to the car as quickly as I could manage which proved a decent warm down. As I walked a text came through telling me my official time was 1:30:19 so pretty much on target- I certainly won’t lose sleep over the 19 seconds. I spent the afternoon at St Mary’s which was enjoyable despite the result but as the game went on I could feel my muscles becoming sore and my knees gradually letting me know that they weren’t happy.
So, all done. It’s been an interesting 10 weeks and, indeed, 2 years. I’m a bit broken but really glad I took this challenge as if anything it’s given me something to focus on. I am also glad my ankle held up to it but I now doubt that it will ever be 100% and so I do not think I could repeat the effort without causing damage elsewhere. I now need to find something else to do!
brettshepherd 