I came back from this years edition 2 days ago and are currently laying in bed with my youngest watching Tin Tin cartoons.
Training
As mentioned in my previous post I have followed the same training scheme as the last 4 years. This year however I was starting from scratch. I hadn't run for nearly half a year due to a number of circumstances including work, family life and side effects from some of my blood pressure medication (mentioned medication is now in the trashcan).
Basically training this year started with 20 km a week with was increased with 10% a week until I reached 85 km. Running was a mix of interval, tempo and slow distance running. I normally combine it with strength training as well but this year I didn't which sadly resulted in slower accents and slower speed hiking than usual.
Travel
I reached the airport 2 hours before the planned takeoff but due to problems with the baggage system and a dropped boarding card I wouldn't be aboard the plane until 4 minutes before take off and that involved a number of sprints back and forth through the airport.
After 3+ hours the in the plane I arrived in Malaga airport and was meet by Steve, Megan, Fran and Simon who would all race with me as well. I knew Steve from last year but the rest was new to me and the race but as I would learn the next following days they were all sweet and wonderful persons that fit the usual AAUT template.
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| Me, Fran, Simon and Megan |
Pre race
Strangely we arrived in a Malaga that was covered with clouds and we even saw a few drops of rain on the way to Loja. First time I have ever experienced rain in Loja in the 4 years I have been there in July.
Once in my room, I was greeted by a note from my roommate Kaare a fellow Dane that I didn't know from earlier. He proved to be a wonderful guy and we shared the same humor :)
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| Hi Roomie!! |
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| Denise, Kirsty and Graeme |
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| Kaare, Charlie and I |
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| Fred, Orla, Tony, Richard and Karin |
Sunday started with breakfast and the traditional run to the base of the first mountain to test the form and the temperature. This year I ran with Kirsty, Denise and Graeme, who are all wonderful people. It felt great and my pace was fine and unhindered by the temperature. After this, it was time to hit the pool with Jesper, Hanne, Susanne and Vibeke who had arrived from Denmark. The pool was a nice break from thinking about mountains, gear and running .. and once there we meet a lot of the other runners.
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| Pool :) |
Stage 1
Traditional Start at 9:45 and straight to the mountain. The climb went fine actually .. much better than 2014 and nearly as good as 2012. Reaching the top and having passed a couple of the old friends I actually felt pretty strong .. then started the downhill. One thing I haven't been able to sort out this year is my shoes. Normally I run in minimalistic shoes that have a natural fit. But I have run in Asics Kayano half a size above normal size all the years and I had decided to do it this year as well.
In 2012 it ruined my feet (3 nails 8 blisters) but in 2014 it went perfectly (only one tiny tiny blister) so I thought I had it nailed .. but I hadn't. Every day left me with 15-20 km of running before my feet was killing me with hot spots. If I am ever going back it will NOT be in those shoes.
Running down hill I immediately felt the problem beginning and morale going down.*sigh* On top of that it was *extremely* hot and to be honest the heat became my biggest problem that day. The week would include the highest temperatures on record for the region and means really really hot. There is nothing really you can do about it either you cope or you don't.
I found it hard to force myself to run and ended up doing more walking than I had hoped due to the heat. On the way to checkpoint 3 I was thinking this is too hot I wanna quit but drinking 7-8 cups of coke and what else they had changed that (as always ;) and I found my way out of the checkpoint again. I teamed up with Benny who's knee was bust and we ended up walking most of the last 9 km but still doing OK timewise. Benny was a great company and we had some great talks but I also learned from this year's race that I should never team up with anyone when I am feeling 'tested' unless they are faster than me, it gets too cozy .. and slow.
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| Temperature in the sun |
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| The start |
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| Megan and I at the base of the climb |
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| Orla, Denise and I climbing |
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| Nothing can describe the climb |
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| 4 years later, Fred and I met at exactly the same spot |
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| Finally the finish |
Stage 2
As in 2012, I cannonballed it. Full speed ahead until checkpoint 2. This actually put me way more up front than I had expected and came as a surprise to some of my fellow runners when we met out there. To be honest my speed declined a bit after checkpoint 1 but I was still going faster than in 2014.
I knew that I would be walking all the distance between checkpoint 2 and 3 due to the problems I had had last year during that stretch. I did this in company with Denise but what I didn't realize was how hard it was to get going again. I let Denise go on her own and a few km's later I was caught up by Jesper who I then again left go shortly after checkpoint 3. I simply couldn't get those feet going.
The heat was getting to me and the feet hurt. It was quite a shame because the downhill section after checkpoint 3 gives you 5 - 6 km where you can go full throttle downhill without loosing control. I just couldn't start the engine. I started thinking about why I was doing there and how much I rather would be at home with my girls instead of redoing a run in this crazy heat.
I really hit a mental low and I am not sure why. Anyway, I got my arse to checkpoint 4 and got refilled with coke and got my head cooled. Kirsty had left a few moments before me and I soon passed her. She offered that we could team up until the finish but I was mentally preparing myself to get into gear again and didn't want to team up with anyone (nothing personal just couldn't manage anyone besides myself at that point).
I got my speed up and at the top of the next hill, I could see the next runner, Fernando, how I soon intercepted and then next one, Jesper, who I passed just before a hill. Since Jesper is a friend from Denmark I felt it hard to run past him so close to the finish and I shouted something like: "Sorry, but I am on a roll have to keep running". On the top of the hill I spotted yet another runner, Denise, who I passed while she yelled at me: 'You are NOT doing this to me' (she was joking) and then just before the finish (meters) I sprinted past Norman. A few seconds later without a chair in view, I just threw myself on the ground ... The two doctors started giving me some attention and them being professional ignored me trying to tell them that I was OK. I was better than OK at that point I was soo happy to have gotten the engine started again.
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| Through the gorge |
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| Out of the gorge full throttle ahead |
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| Finally through the goat track |
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| This screams for downhill running |
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| Just waited for a car to pick me up here .. luckily no car came ;) |
Stage 3
Staggered start. I was in the early group and gave it full throttle so did Tom and Norman and we reached checkpoint 1 within seconds/minutes of each other. After that followed the climb checkpoint 2. Earlier years this have been one of the places where I gain on people but not this year. I don't know why but my climbing was slooow and I was caught up by a number of runners going up this hill.. this was a new to me and quite a shock to be honest. When I reached the top I was going into a dark spot again. I passed a few of the runners on the way to checkpoint 2 but I remember feeling shaken and annoyed with myself.
After checkpoint 2 there was quite a climb which was just steep enough for you not wanting to run it but not much worse than that. Reaching the top I tried to run but within 50 meters I stopped again. This was one thing I hadn't trained enough .. Hardness. I didn't wanna run, why should I. It was hot and I knew I could easy make it home without fearing the cut off time. Not my proudest moment. Runner after runner passed me. Jesper teamed up with me for a few minutes and I shared my dark thoughts with him as I had the day before. He gave me his understanding and did the only thing reasonable .. ran off as fast as he could ;)
I felt better as I got to the uphill to checkpoint 3 and got the legs running again. The checkpoint was fine and after that, yet another uphill section which included a much needed overtaking the time came to run downhill. I managed to do this in very short bursts only and Fran and Steve came flying by. Argh, why couldn't I get the move on ... oh, what the f*ck. Why was I even there... Then suddenly a runner showed up with more problems than me (from behind). We teamed up for 4-5 km. It was nice and good company but we were both feeling dark and probably shouldn't have spoken a word.
I took a fall in the forest single track but after the forest I got my legs going and to be honest, they were a bit eager to get moving at that point. Reached the finish line in fine shape and many the runners that came after me looked much much worse. I just sat for myself for a long time after that and cleansed my mind. It was what it was I was going to do what it took to make it through and that was going to be enough without me beating myself with a stick.
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| New addition to this stage. Very nice, Paul! |
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| Runners approaching checkpoint 2 |
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| Leaving checkpoint 2 |
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| Beautiful scenery |
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| No pictures of me .. but I was running there as well :) |
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| Megan, Liz and Sarah. This years super women! |
Cannonballed the start together with Mario and Steven. Teamed up with Denise after the first climb and that lasted more or less until checkpoint 2. At that time I had developed a hot spot and I needed to take care of it right away since I didn't want a huge blister under my foot like in 2012.
I had reached the checkpoint in excellent time and took the time I needed to fix the foot. Graeme got a little impatient with me (you can't use to much time sitting here) but nothing could rock my boat I knew what I had to do. A few km after this we had a huge climb that has taken its toll on runners through the years. Long, steep and hot. Even though I once again noticed I wasn't as fast climbing as in 2014 I did well and even sang Norman a little song .. a gesture he still has to return :)
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| Vaseline #1 hot spot killer |
Once I did reach the checkpoint everything felt fine except the feet. Richard joined me while I rested for a while. He is a stronger runner than I but he was digging deep that day. I decided not to fix the feet anyway but to wait till after the coming water crossing. I knew there were no downhill sections until that point and hence the feet wouldn't suffer.
I ran off and for a few km's I managed to keep up with Richard with was unusual and tells a little about how deep he was actually digging. Once I did reach the water crossing I made 2 fatal mistakes. #1. I didn't take off my shoes when I crossed it, thinking they will dry quickly. #2. I didn't stop to fix my feet since they were now wet and hence all the vaseline in the world wouldn't make any difference. Very very stupid.
Graeme and Orla, who had both exited the race due to medical problems, greeted me and shared some much-appreciated coke (cola!!!) before a long climb to checkpoint 5. Even at checkpoint 5, my feet was feeling very wet and I delayed fixing them once again.
After a few km's it was too much and I had to give it a shot. I sat down on the rear end of the doctor's car which had conveniently stopped for another runner. I applied vaseline to the hot spot but the feet was very wet still and it didn't work out. After only a few hundred meters I decided to take off the socks and soles and walk with the shoes like that while the mentioned items dried in the wind. It took the remainder of the trip to checkpoint 6 to dry them out. I was very cautious to run like that but once I did it actually felt fine.
At checkpoint 6 I reassembled the shoes and reapplied the vaseline. As the next runners came into view I ran off. I had noticed at the checkpoint that something was wrong with my left leg near the ankle. It hurt like hell right where the compression tubes ended. I had tried to re-adjust them at the checkpoint but it hadn't helped. I ignored the pain for a few km's then I gave up and started walking still at pain.
I kept this going for 4-5 km's before I re-investigated the problem. All it took for me to fix it was pulling up the tube a further 3-4 cm on the calves. Instant fix to a very painful problem. I ran what I could after this but I was very used and feeling very empty at this point. Hanne greeted me 1-2 km before the finish waiting for Jesper, but all I could do was crumbling down and giving myself a short break before running downhill to the finish. Last year I ended this stage with a sprint .. this year it felt like a crawl. I felt empty and drained of energy.
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| Thinking take it easy .. |
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| Forgetting everything and going for it :) |
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| Wow |
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| Doing what I love |
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| Norman and I one the way to Checkpoint 3 |
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| We saw a lot of this :) |
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| Sorry, but this was NOT the awesome steak from 2014!! :/ :/ |
Stage 5
Cannonball start ;) Nothing much to write about. Everything went fine. I walked 'a bit' more than I would have like to but I still made it in OK time and at this point, I didn't really give a sh*t. I was going to make it and nothing could stop me short of a heat stroke! I finished with a long sprint and the legs felt both fine and strong.
After the race, I went for a shower as the first thing. I didn't really feel like celebrating and I didn't feel that I had done as well as I ought to.
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| Off we go. Taking it easy for 3 minutes and then .... |
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| Not in the race ;) |
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| Awesome scenery |
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| Reaching checkpoint 3 |
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| Made it .. time for a shower |
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| Megan, 3rd woman and 16th overall. Impressive! |
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| Charlie, 3rd man and overall. Equally impressive! |
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| Hanne, Jesper and Kirsty at the Gala dinner. Jesper did awesomely |
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| Kaare :) |
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| Susanne and I |
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| Me .. being just me |
Post race
So every year the same question: 'Are you coming back?'. No, as of right now I am not. Don't get me wrong it is a wonderful race and from what I hear it is better organized than much of what else is out there. But the last couple of years this have been THE race that I did and I have basically been redoing myself. I have none at home that is cheering for me so when I do this I only do this for myself. I know the problems I need to fix and I know that it makes no sense coming back before I feel that they are.
To be honest .. I think my largest problem this year was the ton of unhandled mental sh*t I brought with me from the past year.
From this year's race, I take with me a lot of memories about my friends .. old and new. If you were one of these, thank you for sharing those days with me.
I also got some insight into what makes my clock tick and what does not. They say that you find something out there on the long hot trails that you won't find anywhere else. I came to find it once again and I did. Now I need to handle what I found.
