Lions seemed to featured in our life a lot recently but they were not to feature today. It was race day. After my brother had told me he was running a few weeks ago I decided to join him for the Great Run.
So we picked up Waverider and and set off to Holyrood Park. It was a cold and windy morning with the same biting easterly that had made our bike ride so tough yesterday. The traffic was no issue an because I had anticipated many delays we arrived on the Royal Mile far too early. Starbucks and a cup of tea was calling.
We were killing time when in walked the Doc. He was running with his son (or well behind him!). We shared a few stories as it's been a good few months since our last meet up at the Carnock Epic in September.
We completed our journey to the start standing behind the channel 5 presenters wondering if we were on ra telly - I didn't sky + the race so I'll never know. Then it was in to the penn and the usual frenzied warm up but since I never take part in said frenzy, I chose to warm up in my own way.
The warm up seemed to last forever but at least when he finished we were off almost immediately. The race started at the bottom of Arthur's Seat, a volcanic plug that dominates the Edinburgh skyline and the only way was up. We ran up the hill to the Commonwealth Pool. The road was packed. So many runners put themselves to the front of the race when in reality they are significantly slower than they should be and I was forced to weave through the log jam.
We ran down to and through the grassmarket with good vocal support encouraging the 6,830 runners that started. After heading up through to the Meadows, the route took us back down the Mound to Princes Street. This was the toughest section and I had to dig deep as my energy waned and grit took over.
Once at the bottom of the Mound the downhill allowed breathing to be controlled and with the crowds clapping you along in Princes Street Gardens I girded my running shorts and pushed again.
Past the back of the railway station and then back up to the High Street I knew it was downhill all the way. The last kilometre of the race was a joy. Fast and downhill. I was done.
A quick check of the watch revealed a 44.26 - a personal best by about 2 minutes. Happy days!
I finished 44th in my age group out of 419 people and 492nd out of 6,830 finishers. I'm delighted with the result and I had a blast.
My brother trained for 3 weeks and managed a very creditable 56 minutes with his father in law (in the 70+ age group) finishing in under an hour - a top 5 age group finsh. Impressive!
It's been a grand day out.
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