Great South Run 2013
The Bupa Great South Run - 10 mile event
Some of you may have noticed that I wasn't at the WIM event at Godshill (and if you didn't notice why not .....!), but I wasn't being lazy, I was taking part in one of the UK's largest running events: the Bupa Great South Run in Portsmouth and Southsea.
I had been training for several weeks with a friend but had yet to reach the magic 10 miles, however last year I got round ok after only training up to 6 miles so I wasn't too worried.
Due to the size of the event, the roads close quite early so we had a rather early start to get to Portsmouth. Luckily the clocks went back that morning so that lessened the shock to the system.
5 ladies ( and one man - to drive us home) set off from home on a rather blustery morning, well equipped with camping stove and kettle !
We were there in plenty of time so had a long wait getting more and more nervous, however eventually it was time to brave the loo queues and join the thousands of people lining up for the start. We heard the gun go, but it was another 5 minutes before we crossed the start line - luckily it is all chip timing so that didn't matter. The first couple of miles take you through Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, so lots of interesting ships to look at. Then it is 6 miles through the streets of Portsmouth where we were sheltered from the wind and it actually felt quite easy! Then came the turn at 8 miles - back along Southsea seafront into a 30mph headwind. Lots of people were walking, and I was tempted, but kept going as I just wanted to get it over with.
Finally the finish line appeared and I just managed to pick up a bit of speed to cross the line. My time; 1 hour 37 minutes - exactly 4 minutes faster than last year. I was so happy, as that headwind had been an absolute killer, and I was the only one of our group to go faster than last year.
It was then back to the car for a cup of tea and to discover that my friend's car had broken down so we had to wait for the AA to come and rescue us ! (It took hours to get home, but that's another story...)
It was a great experience and only took a couple of days before I could walk normally again !
Wendy
