The Portsmouth Coastal Marathon is one of my favourite races of the year. It’s local, it’s festive and it’s a great time of year when there isn’t much going on in terms of big races. This is the fourth time I’ve run it and it didn’t disappoint.
This was going to be a special kind of marathon for me because on Thursday 15th December we lost Alfie, our 13.5 year old dog. Words can’t describe how much I’ll miss him and how much of a hit this has been to us. So, as silly as it might sound to some, I decided to run this marathon in his memory and use the time to just reflect and mourn.
The race started at 8.30am. This was fine as having a toddler means lie-ins don’t exist and we’d been awake since 5.30am anyway. This meant a relatively leisurely morning of breakfast, tea and us all getting ready. The weather was looking to be a bit pants… rain scheduled and nippy.
After Kyle’s mum had arrived, we got down to Southsea for about 8.15am where we met up with my parents. I hurried off to go to the loo (the great thing about Southsea is how many toilets they have around the place so I didn’t have to use a portaloo). Then I said goodbye and hurried to the start.
It was cold. It was windy. Rain was scheduled to come. I felt really sorry for my family because it’s one thing running in these conditions but an entirely different thing standing around in them. But they weren’t going to be standing outside the entire time. They would be driving to two different locations and then spending some time in The Ship Inn, which is literally on the course.
As the race begun I was just keen to get warm. I probably started faster than I’d intended but my mission was to make haste in the first few miles so I wouldn’t get bottlenecked when we hit the small path to get on to the pebbles. Having run this race three times before I was well aware of these things.
To be honest, I had zero plans for this race (do I ever?). I was just going to see what the legs did and sit at a comfortable pace and see how long that lasted. The wind was a south easterly one so while it was annoying in the first couple of miles to have it against us, I knew I would be grateful at mile 24 to have that behind me for the end.
I made a very rapid pitstop at mile two for a wee. I needed to get it done fast as to not hit the bottleneck which came just after. Thankfully I was super speedy and hadn’t lost much ground. We got to the little path to get onto the pebbles and it was plain sailing. The pebbles at this point aren’t that annoying, but the wetness of the sand and mud here made for slippery and soggy work, but it doesn’t last long.
Then back onto more firm ground and off we went. I was in familiar territory now as we were cruising along routes I regularly use during the week. I had my phone and headphones with me but was quite happy just letting my mind wander and listening to the outside world.
I was still clipping along at a relative speedy pace (for me) but decided to just embrace it because the wind was in our favour as we headed north to Farlington Marshes. I knew it would be harder on the way back so I might as well use the wind while we had it. As such, the first 6 miles flew by. Annoyingly though the rain had started a lot earlier than I thought.
I saw my family at Farlington Marshes (a great spectator spot) and they cheered me along. I saw big smiles from Isaac which were lovely. And then I was off again past the marshes to get to the more boring and less supported part of the course.
I really like this course because you can break it down into different sections. I love an out and back as well because once you get to the turnaround point you know you “just” have to make your way back the way you came and you know exactly what is to come.
There were some precariously muddy and slippery parts which I knew would only get worse on the way back and I questioned by choice of road shoes. That said, I’ve never worn trail shoes on this marathon and it’s only brief moments that they’re needed I think.
Then we hit the another pebbly bit. This is a real ball ache in the marathon. It’s a significantly long distance to be running across uneven terrain and really does sap the energy. Knowing you have to come back that way is mentally hard as well.
Eventually though we were back onto easy terrain and heading towards the road again. This part of the race is very dull because it’s through an industrial bit. However as most of the race is relatively scenic going along the coastal paths, it’s actually quite a nice change.
At this point a man, who I now know is called Justin, was running next to me and we started polite conversation. To be honest, at the start of the marathon I really didn’t want to talk to anyone. I was in a bit of a low mood and just wanted to be in my own head with my thoughts. But this was now at mile nine (I think!) and it was nice to chat to someone.
We actually ran together for a good few miles (I think it was 6 or so?) and it really did make the miles fly by. We chatted about all things marathons, training, races and even children. We ran past my dad and Kyle (the mums and Isaac were nice and snug in the warmth of the pub) and they cheered us on. Then we headed down to the turnaround point.
I can’t actually remember much about these miles because I was so lost in conversation. I was aware though that we were clipping along at quite a speedy pace. We decided to pull back just a little so not to burn ourselves out though. But I remember feeling that this just felt really nice and comfortable. Of course we still had half the race to go though!
We headed back past my dad and Kyle once again and then off we went back to where we’d come. As we hit the industrial estate bit again Justin said I should go on as he wanted to pull back a bit and I was speeding up. We said our goodbyes and I gradually pulled away.
I felt really good. I was so chuffed that we’d hit 16 miles and I was feeling strong.
OK I still had over 10 miles to go but I knew what I had left in the course and knew at some point the wind would help. I’d also decided at mile 20 I would pop some music on which I knew would keep me going. The rain was definitely picking up and it was getting colder though.
I saw my family again at Farlington Marshes, only 6 or so miles to go now. I then went to mission Get Music On. This involved taking a glove off, taking my Airpods out of my FlipBelt, popping them in, then grabbing my phone and getting to the Spotify playlist on. It was really raining and really cold now and this wasn’t pleasant. Then trying to get my glove back on afterwards was a near impossible feat. The glove fingers had gone inside themselves and peeling them out was taking so much time, while trying to run and not let my hand freeze to death.
Anyway, I got it done and then went into “go go go” mode. I had some good music. I had thought we’d be going the winding route round the houses as I’ve always done in the previous races because the tide comes back in and makes the pebble route impossible. However we were sent back to the pebbles as the tide wasn’t in. This wasn’t a welcome thing I have to say. My legs were tired and the pebbles were handwork. This was my hardest mile.
I knew I just needed to get to the seafront as then it would be two miles left and plain sailing with the wind behind us. I could convince myself that it was the last half of the Southsea parkrun as well (a particularly hard parkrun!).
It was such a relief to hit that seafront and I just knuckled down and pushed as much as I could. I knew my time was looking pretty good and I just had to hold on. I was almost nearing my PB but realistically I knew that wouldn’t be possible now in the final miles. But faster than my Goodwood time earlier this year? That was looking possible.
I got past the Pyramid centre and suddenly my mum was on the pavement waving. I almost collided with her! It was lovely to see her but I could barely manage a smile as I was pushing so hard and was now so cold in the biting rain.
And round the corner, Kyle and my dad cheering me on, and I was finished! Whew! 3.17.37 – my second fastest marathon! And what a marathon to dedicate to Alfie.
I was so cold at the end, I was grateful for the foil blanket I was given (and firmly told to put on quickly). I felt so grateful to those volunteers, they were true legends.
Then we got in the car quickly, I headed home for a very quick and hot shower before we headed out for lunch.
I’m so pleased with how this race went. It means a lot to me, because of Alfie, I while I was definitely giving my all by the last four miles, the previous 22 felt really relaxed and comfortable. A completely different story comparing it to Goodwood at the start of the year where most of the race I was pushing hard with concerted effort. So it’s nice to finish the year with a race like this!
Now time for Christmas!
After a rather stressful day before (more on that another time), my alarm went off at 7am. The plan was to leave my house at 7.40am to get there for 8ish. I had my bib already and really had nothing else to do there. I’d already planned to have a wee a mile or so where I knew they’d be toilets on the course so I wasn’t worried. Kyle was going from his house so I’d meet him there.
I ate my porridge and drank a black coffee and was ready to go. Marathon morning is always a little bit tense and as my dad, mum and I all piled into the car later than we’d intended a bit of an argument erupted. It was about nothing major really but enough to create a very stressful morning. My dad and I very similar personalities and are ridiculously stubborn so neither of us were backing down and in the end we sat in silence on the way to the start.
Realising this was not going to go away and not wanting to spend the next 4 or so hours in a grump with my dad as I ran, I decided to make the move to reconciling and happily all was well again. We agreed we’d been very silly.
I jumped out of the car and met Kyle and his family: his two sisters, his two brothers, his mum (his dad, his dad’s partner and son would be at the end) -so quite the crowd! My dad was parking the car and as we were pushing for time, Kyle and I hurried off to the start. I noticed the start was further up the prom which was good news considering last year’s race was 27 miles so clearly they’d rectified this, whew!
Kyle barely had time to say much to each other but I wished him lots of luck and then we suddenly realised the race had started! I hoped that it wasn’t too stressful a start for Kyle (but equally far better than waiting around for hours getting cold). Luckily it was chip timed so starting late didn’t really matter. We ran a few paces together before I headed off.
Despite the forecast giving me some anxieties the days before, the rain held off and there was just a moderate breeze. I had my arm-warmers on and short-sleeves. I knew I’d need to remove the sleeves at some point as I was starting to feel just slightly too warm. We were VERY lucky with the weather, but the previous rain that night had caused the terrain to be muddy, slippery and riddled with puddles.
The first six miles seemed to fly by. We’d gone over the shingle (no major bottleneck like the year before) and then had the long stretch along the coast to the first point where I’d see Kyle’s and my family. Their cheering was so loud and enthusiastic, it was lovely. I felt very much boosted along.
Now it was just four miles until I’d see them again. The great thing about this race is how segmented it is. You don’t get bored because the course is always different… down a pavement, through a forest, on a trail path, back onto pavement. It really helped mix things up and keep you interested.
Mark and I chatted away about different training styles, races, life lately, the price of petrol, doughnuts…my mind could focus on other stuff rather than running. I imagine had I been on my own I wouldn’t have been running as fast as we were going, but equally I didn’t feel uncomfortable and could talk so I wasn’t too concerned.
I took my sleeves off (annoyingly having to take my watch off to do this) and got them ready to hand over to my dad at the 10(ish) mile point. Again, the whole crew was there and I was so busy smiling, waving and enjoying the cheers that I failed to see a bollard and almost collided with it. To be fair there were two runners ahead of me blocking it and by the time I saw it it was almost too late. Thankfully I managed to quickly avoid a major collision, though it did arouse some laughter from the crowds. But whew, could have been nasty.
We eventually made it to the turnaround and I suddenly felt a new lease of life – we were heading back! Mark commented that our pace had increased in line with what he’d planned and this concerned me a bit. I shouldn’t be going for it just yet with 13 miles still to go! I slowed down a bit, but the wind was now behind us so helped make it feel less of an effort. I got to spot lots more people coming the other way now, including Kyle! He looked a bit tired but still strong. We waved and smiled and then he was gone. I hoped he’d continue to be as strong as the race continued.
We got back round to the infamous bollard spot, now 16 miles, and I saw only my dad. I assumed it was because I was running a bit faster than expected and everyone else was in the pub across the road keeping warm (good choice!). Mark then said he was going to push his pace, so I waved him off and we wished each other good luck and he disappeared into the distance (FYI he finished very strong with 3:22:11).
It started to feel quite tough now. I felt my energy disappearing, mentally and physically. It was now a concerted effort to keep going. I had a bit of my Salted Caramel Cliff Shot and hoped it would boost me up a bit. As I came up to the 20ish mile point I hoped to see my parents again. From a distance I saw a BMW pull up into the car park and I saw my mum get out of the car. My dad remained in the car. I was coming towards them quickly now and I started to wave. My mum saw me and clearly said something to my dad and he quickly jumped out of the car. 
Now I was on my own completely until the end. Just under 6 miles to go and then I’d be finishing. This spurred me on and I started saying mantras in my head that seem so ridiculous in any other setting but during a marathon can really make a difference to me. Basically I’ll think things like “I’m a strong runner” or “I can do this” and “I’ve got this”. I’ve even found myself saying it out-loud during the race if no one is around me. It helps drown out any negative thoughts about how tired I am.
My time was 3:25:35, first in my age category and fourth female overall. Damn it was good to stop running! I was so pleased though – I couldn’t believe how fast I’d gone!
I collected my medal and goodies and quickly found the guys and asked them how Kyle was doing. Apparently he was three-ish miles away (his brother, Zack, was tracking him using the “Find My Friends” app on the iPhone – so he wasn’t far away at all. We all started wondering what time he’d be able to do – could he get under four hours?
Zack and his other brother, Adam, walked up the prom to cheer him in further up and tell him to, well, get a move on basically if he wanted the sub-4! He was literally now only minutes away. We kept looking at the time on the race clock… but I knew we had a few minutes grace because we started a bit late. It was going to be tight though!
We spent a good amount of time taking photos, chatting and comparing notes of everyone’s day (I love to hear what the supporters get up to while we’re running – invariably my dad always seems to find a good breakfast spot) and I could have burst with pride for Kyle. He was a little battered and tired but he was happy.
Ahh what a good day. And of course a huge thank you to our amazing support crew (who even made signs!). It massively helped keep us going and just made the day for us 🙂
A fantastic way to the end the year and a fantastic result for Kyle’s first marathon!
Not only did we go to the cinema last week but we also went out for dinner and then saw Jurassic Park in Concert. Basically this is a showing of Jurassic Park on the big screen with a live orchestra on the stage below the screen playing the soundtrack as the film played. It was INCREDIBLE.
The orchestra were amazing. Like you could forget that they were’t actually part of the film. It was fascinating to watch them play as the film went on (though I imagine they’re so sick of Jurassic Park now having toured around the country doing this!). They were perfectly in sync and it was just so all-encompassing. 
Dinner was pretty good as well. Before the showing, we went to 7Bone Burger. I had the Triple-D burger (which comes with blue cheese sauce and bacon) and halloumi fries…
And a cheeky side of chicken wings. Kyle had a fried chicken burger with halloumi fries and a chocolate milkshake. It was goooood. The milkshake (as I did help Kyle out a bit with it…*cough*) was SUPER thick. Personally I’m not a huge milkshake fan but if I were to have one myself it would be a thick one. It was delicious.
Podcasts: I listen to a number of podcasts every week: BBC Five Live Film Review, Marathon Talk, Empire Film Review, TED Radio Hour, My Dad Wrote a Porno – and dip in and out of other ones that take my interest. But I’ve recently been finding myself running out of them (I listen to them in the car, walking Alfie or when I’m doing boring chores around the house). My lovely friend, 
I listened to the Gary Barlow one first and found it really interesting. It’s amazing how celebrities who are so famous, earning so much money and seemingly living their “best life” can be taken down by depression or body image issues. I’ve since listened to the interview with Mel C and Stephen Fry and both were just as good. Heartily recommend.
I add a couple of cups (as you can see above – the cup doesn’t come with the salts FYI) in the bath and just relax and enjoy. I’ve found it can really decrease how much I’ll ache the next day. I don’t know about injury prevention but it definitely makes me feel better anyway.
Oh my god they were good. There were M&M ones, Hershey’s Cookies and Cream ones and another type that I think were Kinder Bueno that were awesome.
There’s something about blondies that I so love. I mean I do prefer brownies I think but blondies are a nice change now and again.
He’s very much a “I’d rather sleep than do anything else” kind of dog. Well, actually he’d rather eat than do anything else but sleep is a close second. I mean, let’s be honest, I think we all have a little Dylan inside of us all.