Knackered in Newcastle...

Thursday evening and after a late departure from the office we were finally on the road to the airport to catch a flight bound for Newcastle and ultimately the Great North Run finish line (via the start line of course). I had a cold, the flight was delayed, the ride was rough, the food even rougher and we landed with an almighty thump but it was well worth it. We had some trouble getting out of the baggage reclaim area and into the arrivals hall; from a distance it looked as if the revolving door had jammed, and we were quite a distance away as the queue was pretty long by the time we arrived. It turned out that the door was hyper sensitive and if anything came close to any part of the door or frame it would stop dead, presumably fearing some poor passenger was stuck under, between or over it's moving parts. After much shuffling left, right, back and forth we finally made it out!

Friday morning was briefly seen as we woke up very late. After breakfast we headed out to the Metro station and into Newcastle city centre via the coast. Most of the Newcastle Metro runs on an old Victorian railway and many of the old stations are still intact and in use. The Victorians didn't do things by half and some of the stations are enormous which is hardly surprising since that part of the coast was a popular destination for day trippers and the only way to travel back then would have been by train. We got off the Metro at Monument made our way to a cold but dry street level. After a little pottering we decided to find somewhere nice for lunch but we kept finding ourselves back at Monument. Eventually we found a tourist information office, got the info we needed and headed down towards the quays. After an excellent lunch and a fairly decent pint we followed the tourist trial and walked along the quays, across the Tyne at Millennium bridge, visited the Baltic centre, crossed the Tyne again at the swing bridge and then up a steep hill towards the castle. We weren't sure if this was that castle that Newcastle got it's name from but we decided that it made sense since we had made the effort to climb the hundred or so steps to get to it.

We decided to cook dinner that night and went to an indoor market we passed through earlier that day. A remarkable place, there were rows and rows of fixed stalls that housed a vast variety butchers, green grocers, fish mongers, etc., talk about consumer choice! With the ingredients in the bag it was back on the Metro via the wine shop to rustle up a culinary delight for the other two that had to work today.

Saturday morning was wet and windy, not at all suitable for a 4 miles walk along the coast. So we went for a four mile walk along the coast towards Tynemouth. We popped into a church that has been converted into a market to dry out a little and have a coffee before jumping on the Metro to Newcastle city centre.

After visiting the Great North Run fitness expo and pottering around the center of town for a few hours we spotted a Starbucks with comfy seats by the window and headed straight for it. On the way we passed a minibus stuffed with what looked like pilots, turned out it was the red arrows arriving at their hotel, how exciting!

After a well deserved rest we got the Metro back to the coast, stopping off for a pint in the local pub. This particular boozer had a couple of nice ales and we stayed for another. We had to think about carbo-loading tonight and we decided we had two options: drive to a far and distant supermarket to get carbo rich pasta or get a takeaway with carbo rich rice. The latter won and we rang in out order to the local Indian takeaway. As we were leaving the pub we stopped outside to decide if we should get a bottle of wine for tomorrow night in the wine shop next door. As we chatted I manage to slip off the curb I was standing on and land awkwardly on my right foot. It was only inch or so drop but enough to twist my ankle. Although I felt it I didn't think I had done any real damage. I walked home with a little limp and then walked to the takeaway and back. After a bit of RICE I thought I'd be fine the next day.

Sunday morning and I was wide awake at 2am. It wasn't going according to plan, my poor little foot was aching and it took quite some time for the painkillers to kick in. At 7.30 am I was up and pacing the kitchen in the hope that my ankle would loosen up. It didn't and I had to admit defeat, the Great North Run would have to start without me.

I watched the start on TV. The weather was fantastic with beautiful sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. Just as the Red Arrows started their display I left to travel to south Shields to meet the runners at the finish line. As I was walking up the road the Arrows whooshed past overhead. The continued towards the coast where they continued their display, most of which I could see from where I was.

When I got to South Shields I had a very long walk from the metro past a very, very long queue of race finishers who were lining up to get on the metro. I met the guys walking up from the finish line and we made out way to the ferry port. It was a very long walk to the ferry, past the same very long queue for the metro. The queue for the ferry was just as long but luckily we were meeting some people in a pub nearby. We stayed there until the queue had all but disappeared, it took approximately 2 pints of beer!

The ferry journey across the Tyne was short but meant we were were only a few stops from home. By the time we got home we had to turn around to keep a dinner reservation. Needless to say we all had an early night.

Monday was a lazy day for some of us, but unfortunately some others had to work. I was in no rush to get up and by the time we did the morning had given way to the afternoon. We decided to head back into the city and potter for the afternoon. We had a late lunch in Wagamama's, a coffee in Starbucks and a pot of cherry flavoured Carmex in Boots. After our last Metro ride it was time to pack and off to the airport.

It was a fantastic weekend and great to see everyone again. Not doing the run was disappointing but there's always next time. I just hope that I recover quickly, the Dublin city marathon is in 3 weeks time... yikes!