Ryde 10 - Race Report

We seem to have been blessed with weather for the HRRL races so far in  2014 - like Stubbington, we enjoyed a day of glorious sunshine.  Perfect for the seaside - so a good day to run 10 miles in Ryde.  It was Louise's & my first ever overseas run & the logistics did take a while to work out.  The car ferry seemed to work out cheaper than the passenger one - especially when Jo T & Siri said they'd like to come too. 3 makes a team in HRRL rules - so SRS was represented.

Louise was a little concerned that having coffee at the ferry terminal in Portsmouth wasn't part of her normal pre race routine - I was very concerned that if I didn't get caffeine, bad things would happen - early starts don't come easy to me!  Lots of runners in the cafe - and on the boat.  Louise regaled us with an amazing number of facts about Portmouth & her beloved Gosport - clearly she can do mornings.

Ferry timetables meant docking at Fishbourne either 15 minutes before the race or 1 hour 15 minutes before - not unsurprisingly we opted for the latter, especially as Siri  & Jo hadn't pre registered.  Parking was easy & queues for loos were OK.  Messed about for a bit with photo opportunities on the beach - and chatted to a runner with fab Running the World union flag tights & to Tory, who used to run with us before defecting to Eastleigh.  Like us, they couldn't work out where the start was - turned out to be a difficult to spot standee with what looked like a graphic of a goldfish on it....

Flat start on the esplanade before the first, big, nasty hill at 1.5 miles - the point where I gave upon the idea of a PB or being able to keep up with Jo & Lou.  My least favourite bit of the route was running along the A3055 with no pavement & lots of traffic.  We did eventually turn onto lanes.  Water stations were at 4 miles and 7 miles - the former seemed to be rationing the water as we all seemed to get a quarter cup!  By the 4 mile mark, Jo was back with me - and I could still see Louise ahead.

More hills through the pretty village of St Helens and then Nettlestone.  Loved the coast road at the aptly named Seaview & distracted myself by planning relocating to the Island.  This was where I started chatting to an IOW runner who claimed to be as rubbish at hills as me! 

The final hill was steep and very long - or at least that's how it felt at 8.5 miles.  It sapped any reserves of energy - even the much appreciated solitary Percy Pig that Louise had kindly given me at the start. I could still see Lou, but the IOW runner managed a first in her running career by overtaking someone on a hill (me) and keeping that lead! 

Steep downhill back into Ryde on quiet roads, then back onto the seafront for the finish to be cheered home by Lou.  I joined her to cheer in Jo.

Lovely to get a medal but it seemed a bit odd that there was no water - we found it eventually back at the Rowing Club, along with Siri.  Less traffic, more water and a bit more warning about killer hills all would have made the run better - but I'm being picky as it was a good race.

Found our way back to the ferry but I started feeling rubbish - tired and dehydrated which was making me feel a bit spaced.  Siri hadn't been well on the run - I guess it's just indicated that it was a tough race.  Liquid & a mozzarella panini & I felt much better.

Back on the mainland, dropped everybody off & attempted to get myself out of the car - just a tad achy!

Thanks to Louise, Siri & Jo - it was a long journey to travel not too many miles, but your company helped to make it a really good day.

Results:

• Siri: 1:22:28
• Louise: 1:46:12
• Gin: 1:47:10
• Jo: 1:52:01

Photo credits - all mine bar the pic of Louise & me at the end which is Louise's.