Has anyone else discovered that if you dissolve an effervescent rehydration tablet in a sealed water bottle, there is a considerable build up of pressure? And that if the bottle is the clever type with a drinking spout that is locked closed with a button to release it, pressing the button can then produce a fountain of water that easily reaches the next table in a post-Parkrun coffee shop? Well Dexy has now, as have the people on the next table …….
That was the aftermath of a very pleasant bit of local tourism to Portsmouth Lakeside parkrun, which is a 20 minute drive away rather than a 20 min walk. Our third visit there, with a mix of tarmac and gravel paths beside a lake (you might have guessed that) which make a decent occasional change from our usual plod up and down Southsea prom. Also 4 passes through an underpass requiring 8 climbs of at least 3 metres each – bit like the Tour de France for us flat-earthers.
A crisp clear morning saw us arrive early to avail ourselves of the excellent pre-run facilities (amazingly, we are allowed in to the main reception building of the industrial park of which the lake is a feature). We then met up with Jonathon P for a quick chat before the start, then off with the usual shuffle for a couple of hundred metres before being able to settle to a steady pace. The first u-turn comes after about 800 metres, so it’s very quickly two-way traffic, which makes overtaking rather similar to using suicide alley on the 3-lane single carriageway roads of distant memory. The first two underpasses come immediately before and after the turning cone.
After the turn, it’s back towards the start then peeling off left to run along the far side of the lake, our thundering footfall and associated vibrations probably annoying the morning fishermen. At this point we change from keeping left to keeping right, ready to meet the front runners again after they round the halfway cone at the end of the lake. Past halfway myself about 15 secs slower than I’d have liked, then looking out for Jon (unsuccessfully) and Dexy, who seems to be going OK as she passes. Back to the T-junction turning right this time, through the underpass AGAIN, round the last turning point, through the underpass YET AGAIN and on the homeward stretch to the funnel for a 25’06” watch time (parkrun time later given as 25’22” for a Lakeside PB and first (of 5) in age group).
Jon finishes with a parkrun time EXACTLY on his PB and Dexy just a bit outside hers. So off to flood the coffee shop and consume the usual rewards before heading home with an afternoon fretting about Stanley to come. Onward and upward!!
It’s another (not) parkrun report!
