Sorry, this started as a short post, honest. I will concentrate on the run rather than the excellent social side of seeing my lovely running buddies, who have all been mentioned in previous posts.
I ran the Great South Run in 2019 , just over a year from c25k graduation, and said I just wanted to to it once to prove I could, after years of watching others doing it. It felt incredibly hard but I was so glad I did it. I then felt compelled to do it again in 2021, after all the pandemic restrictions were being lifted. Last year I volunteered to be a marshal but as no-one got in touch I watched on the sidelines as all my buddies ran it. I now know what FOMO is! So I signed up that day to run it this year. Loads of time to work up to 10 miles again, I thought.
All was going well until the last few months when I had a rotator cuff injury (thankfully not affecting running but it stopped me doing Pilates which helps my running), sciatica and other niggles. This interrupted my running schedule and I had only got to 12.5 km. Three weeks ago I went out for a run and my left knee didn’t feel right so I then had to abort two runs. Oh no! Thankfully I managed to see my physio who confirmed I’d damaged it. Massage and ultrasound followed and he advised to only run on pavements and not run further than 5k until the GSR 10 days later. A sports massage also showed tight hamstrings , piriformis , calves etc. so I iced my knee, ran a few short runs, and did some exercises, while crossing my fingers. Many of my bunch of buddies had similar stories to tell.
So when it came to the GSR yesterday I was quite prepared to Jeff it or walk it if necessary. ‘Complete not compete’ was my mantra. It completely took the pressure off going for a PB.
The weather on the day was perfect; sunny but a cool northerly breeze. 11C
After the hilarious warm up, Sandie1961 and I set off together and everything seemed to be in working order. In fact after a short while I told Sandie to run on ahead as when I looked at my watch, we were going at 7.00 pace, faster than I should at this point in the run. I watched her blue top and blonde hair get further away in front of me. The people of Portsmouth were out to cheer us on along the route as always. I cheered the gents playing bagpipes along the route to the Royal Navy Base and Historic Dockyard. We passed the HMS WARRIOR, HMS VICTORY and modern ships , and the Navy Base Commander was cheering us on in best uniform. I almost caught Sandie up so decided to hold back again. Other entertainment played along at various points, including the local fabulous Batala Drummers who get booked up for many running events. I passed the RNLI, Firefighters and Royal Marines taking part in full working kit and thanked them all.
Just before the 5k water point I spotted some portaloos, and when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. Two in the queue before me so this little visit added 4 minutes to my time. Sandie and I waved as we went in opposite directions and then a parkrun RD spotted me and hollered my name. At the top of the avenue where we turn around, a fireman was on an aerial ladder cheering us all on. I spotted Oldgirlruns as I ran down, we high fived and I kept going. As I returned to Southsea common I started looking out for Mr C and Coddfish at the 6 mile point - there they were on the opposite side of road. I ran over and gave them both a big hug despite protestations that I was losing precious time.
We were now heading east and I ran towards the amazing rock choir, all dressed in black with gold stars. The 2nd water point appeared opposite the pitch and putt course and I grabbed a bottle. Flip lids this year were easier than the usual screw tops and I walked while drinking some cool water and nibbled my energy bar. We then headed up away from the sea, past the Eastney Tavern and I joked that it was closer to my house than the finish line, but I kept going. Two more of our parkrun RDs were standing on a mini roundabout supporting us so I got another big cheer from them. At this point I was run walking just to make sure that I would reach the end. My knee was fine but the lack of running distance was beginning to show, especially in the glutes. Many around me were doing the same. I remarked that it was less than a parkrun to go, which cheered up a few of those flagging. It was quite warm on those streets protected from the wind. The residents of one street have a PA system on the roof with great music, and they all sit out in their gardens drinking wine and beer and cheer on all the runners. You had to watch out for the sleeping policemen though. It was then down towards the seafront again to our new parkrun base and just over 3k to go. There was another entertainment venue with brilliant music and someone was calling out the names of runners as they passed by in between singing the lyrics. It was at this point that my feet started to burn. I suspect it was the combination of my socks and shoes which had not been worn together on such a long run. It reminded me of when I wore hire ski boots and I felt I had to take them off to let my feet cool down. I wondered if I should take my socks off, but thought I might get blisters instead so I started walking more and running less. By running faster in between the walks I maintained a pace of 8.30.
The crowd got louder as we ran the last 500m and yes the energy is always there for a sprint finish. I heard my lovely UpTheStanley shouting Dexy and I crossed the magic mat. A medal was placed around my neck by a female Royal Marine who was still incredibly enthusiastic after over 3 hours of doing this, and I collected my goody bag with T-shirt.
On looking at stats, my first 5k was 36 mins, and 10k was 77 mins, very similar to 2021. Garmin finish time 2 hrs 10 also the same as last time. However, my official time is 2 hrs 14 because of my loo break. I’m very happy with that, considering it was touch and go whether I would be able to do it at all. And I enjoyed it more than 2021 because I didn’t beat myself up for not running it all.
It was extra special to have Oldgirlruns taking part this year too. She did brilliantly, and as she was quicker than expected we saw her cross the finish line from the other side as we were walking up to cheer her on.
So will I do it again? I think that’s highly possible . It’s on my doorstep after all.
Are you still awake? 😴
Stratford upon (almost ‘in’) Avon VRB Meet-up (Warning: long ramble)
Run Report
Hastings Half Marathon run report