Well not that distant, seeing as how I can see the start across the Solent only just down the road from my house. It was certainly wind-swept though: it was not pleasant to have a cloud of sand blown in my face as I approached the finish line!
The overnight strong winds had left me wondering what would happen if the ferries were cancelled. Would the race still go on, just for the benefit of the locals and those who'd stayed in a hotel overnight? As it happened, the crossing was a bit lumpy near Portsmouth, but things got a lot smoother as we approached the lee of the Isle of Wight.
It was a cold one in the wind, with much debate beforehand about what to wear. I made the right choice in having a t-shirt under my vest, running in shorts, and keeping my hands warm in gloves. Looking around the field there was every combination imaginable from full rain jacket and leggings down to just vest and shorts. I don't think I spotted any crop tops though.
The race got under way with the slog up the road out of Ryde - a long uphill into the wind. It soon became apparent that I was still running on tired legs as I couldn't get my heart rate up to its usual levels. I had been very tired in the early part of last week with huge amounts of sleep, so despite it being a cutback week it probably wasn't enough to fully recover - maybe I was fighting off a bug? Anyway, I watched as several of the usual suspects pulled away from me without me able to respond - I felt fairly comfortable but couldn't seem to get my legs turning over much faster. I had to content myself with staying in contact with the group I found myself in, while watching the familiar faces, or rather their vests, drift off into the distance.
At Seaview after 6 or 7 miles I got overtaken by another couple of familiar faces, as Winchester Madeleine overtook me followed by Pompey Ros a while later. This time I was able to keep them in sight though. I hung on and used the big downhill at the end to lift my pace a bit and as we came onto the seafront for the last ¾ miles. I hung on to Ros as she pushed on and dragged me up to Madeleine. Ros seemed strong, so I resigned myself to just trying to outsprint Madeleine and let Ros lead me home. I wondered about leaving it till the last 100m to push past Madeleine so that she wouldn't be able to respond, but I seemed stronger and began the push overtaking her at 300m in the aforementioned cloud of sand. I then realised I could get back to Ros so I gave it everything I could. I took her just before the line - very satisfying.
I had hoped I'd be further up the field, but I guess fatigue had played its part. On checking my heart rate I found that was the lowest average HR I've ever recorded in a hard run race. Still, it was a PB - my last 10-mile race was Ryde 2007, the Hayling 10 having being cancelled due to what I believe are policing issues. I finished 5th W45, having hoped for more.
I saw Beth just after she'd come in. There's a bit of Cheshire cat in her DNA I reckon. I think she's quite pleased with her recent improvements!
Thanks to Shelly and Beth I think we scored well, although I haven't seen the Road Race League scores yet. We also had a good score from the B-team - well done girls.
Now the techie stuff. Not the best set of HR splits. It is quite odd how my ave HR just keeps getting lower and lower. Hopefully by Eastleigh I will be less tired and can put on a better show.
The mile markers seemed accurate - the variation in lap times is a reflection of the terrain - hilly!
7:41 no HR
7:27 146bpm
6:46 145bpm
7:18 147bpm
7:48 146bpm
7:41 141bpm
7:06 139bpm
7:22 139bpm
8:10 141bpm
6:59 145bpm
overall 1:14:25 143bpm
Addendum: I've now seen the Hampshire Road Race League results and the girls have climbed a place in div 1 to 4th. Nice going! The boys are hovering above relegation - careful lads!
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