Time/Position: 29:18 (14th from 110 [1st V55])
An unusual and enjoyable race, which takes the slender Holyhead Breakwater all the way to the lighthouse with the Irish Sea on both sides. This makes it rather exposed to the wind, but today those winds were light. That said, it was still enough to slow me down and stop me from recording the sub-29 I had intended to run. I felt good on the outward leg which leaves Holyhead at Newry Beach and heads along Porth y Felin before making its turn towards the breakwater. Like Birkenhead, I felt really good initially, running 3.30km/5.40 mile pace, which would have produced a good time for my age. The breakwater is slightly uneven on large slabs but it was all quite enjoyable until the turn where I began to slow a little. This really worsened on the incline up the gravel back towards Porth y Felin and I lost a significant amount of time here. Fortunately, once back on the tarmac I improved to a fast though depleted finish and at least managed to improve my Birkenhead time from Wednesday, even though I felt I ran better at that race and my pace seemed far quicker (as I still think it was a bit long!). Three very fast V50s in the open race ahead of me, but I did have the consolation of first V55 in the incorporated North Wales Championships, which I have won before in other age categories (13th in the UK rankings). Kate and I then relaxed with a Trearddur Bay coastal walk and paddle as the sun came out. I later found out that I'd broken the all-time North Wales V55 record which has stood since 2008, so that was nice! Also currently 3rd all-time for 5k after the Wirral race, but only 8th all-time for 10k with my Colshaw Hall performance.
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