TRIP REPORT
Samoa & New Zealand
05/28 – 06/07/12
Race Results
Sat, Jun 2/12Apia, Samoa
BlueSky Marathon
4:51:05
Marathon # 358 – Country #114
It was difficult to get any info that far in advance but
I did find a travel agency in NZ who was putting travel packages together for
the race and decided that was the easiest way to travel and enter the race.
I used the last of my air miles for a ‘free’ award ticket
on United to Auckland, NZ and booked the race pkg from Auckland to Samoa.
I arrived in Samoa late Wed night and while waiting for
baggage met another runner – a lovely young Kiwi lass (Ayesha) from Wellington,
NZ who had booked the same race pkg. When we got to the hotel it was 11 pm. Our
driver informed us that the restaurants and bars closed at midnight! By the
time I found an ATM to get local currency I only had time for one beer and had
to go to bed hungry!
On Thu morning I learned that the city and country would
close down on Fri for a 5-day National Holiday to celebrate the 50th
Anniversary. Thus if I wanted to buy my typical souvenirs I had to complete my
shopping on Thu. Fortunately Apia is a small capital city and I finished all my
shopping in the morning. In the afternoon I visited the home/museum of Robert
Louis Stevenson. I also picked up my race packet from the running store that
organized the race. The race director Mark was very friendly and provided all
the needed info about race start, course, water stops, etc.
Friday was ‘Flag Day’ and opening ceremonies for the
Independence celebrations. I soon realized that Samoan time is like Mexican
time or anywhere in the tropics. There is no rush and nothing happens on time.
The flag raising ceremony was supposed to start at 7 am – the flag finally got
raised about 8:30am and by then the poor Samoan residents were dropping like
flies from heat exhaustion. I stayed for some of the parade past the official
review stand but by 9am it was too HOT even in the shade so I escaped to a bar
and broke a rule – not to drink beer the day before a race! I knew that I was
already in trouble so a beer wasn’t going to hurt much more! At 9am it was
brutally HOT and since the race started at 5 am I might still have another hour
to go on race day? I ventured back out into the morning sun/heat to watch the
preliminary heats for the 42-man war canoe races. All the walking had caused
the hamstring to tighten and it was sore so I managed to find a masseuse at a
spa in a luxury resort to work on it and get it to relax. It did not look good
for the race?
Dieter finally arrived on Fri afternoon and after an
early pasta dinner we headed out to the UB 40 concert. It started at 7 pm but UB
40 didn’t come on till 8:30pm and the weather was OK by then. However we had to
leave early because of the 5am start for the race on Sat. I enjoyed the concert
and actually recognized many of the songs?
The marathon started at 5am. It was already hot &
humid as 13 runners lined up for the start – and I knew 25% of them! My initial strategy had been to run the 1st
half fast to take advantage of the dark and COOL temps, then slow down (even
walk?) in the heat during the 2nd half. However the hamstring was a
big unknown? I decided to go out at a 10-min pace to test it. After a few miles
a pretty young lass from Australia who had been running behind me caught up and
we decided to run together. Mace was a lawyer living and working in Samoa on
the auspice of the Australian government. It was her 1st marathon.
We clicked off pretty steady 10-min miles in the dark. After we left Apia and
were running along the North coast it was so dark we couldn’t see our feet. It
could have been a serious problem because the road was not in good shape.
However since we were in LAST place a sag wagon/ambulance followed us and lit
up the road. The 2nd problem was dogs. There are lots of stray dogs
in Samoa and they run in packs! Thankfully there was a biker/volunteer riding
along and ahead of us to chase away the dogs. Mace informed me that the biker
was her boyfriend. I asked her to give him a special reward after the race for
keeping us safe from the dogs!
There were water stops located every 5 K (approx). That
was it for distance markers except for a few markings on the road – one at the
10K turn-around, the Half turn and the marathon turn. That was all we had to
judge our pace and make corrections. I couldn’t trust the hamstring – it would
feel OK for a few miles and then feel tight and sore for the next few miles?
Mace & I held the 10-min pace and reached the Half in 2:10:43. At that
point my legs were starting to tire and the hamstring was becoming tight so I
slowed my pace and sadly watched as Mace left my sore, OLD ass behind. I was
definitely in LAST place. And I didn’t really care – and there wasn’t anything
I could do if I did care!
My priority was to finish! I figured I would run a cycle
of Run 2 miles and Walk 1 min for the 2nd Half to give my hamstring
a chance to rest and loosen up and to prevent overheating? The ambulance
continued to follow me. At my 1st walk break they must have thought
I was in trouble because a young volunteer jumped out of the ambulance and ran
up to me with an ice pack. I gladly accepted the ice pack and it felt wonderful
to rub my neck and head with ice. By the time I passed 16 miles the hamstring
was tight and sore and I had to stop and request an ice pack to ice the leg.
The routine became every 10 to 15 min a volunteer would join me from the
ambulance with an ice pack and I would use it to cool my body down and ice my
hamstring. They kept me together until I reached the 10K turn point in 4:15.
At that point I could smell the finish line and knew the
hamstring would hold together so I decided to run the final 5Km to make sure I
finished under 5 hrs. That finish line was sure a pretty sight as I crossed it
in 4:51:05. My performance wasn’t pretty – and it wasn’t fast – but I finished!
Marathon #358 and Country # 114. And it also signified the completion of a
marathon in every country in Oceania.
As I cooled down I tried to take some finish line photos
but my damn (point & shoot) camera that I had carried all through the race
wouldn’t work. Too much jostling in the case? I had to walk/limp to the hotel
to retrieve my digital SLR to take the photos. Ayesha finished in 1st
place OA and Corinna in 2nd place OA. They both earned $$$ for their
great finish. Maddog finished in LAST place OA !
Later in the day Mark joined Dieter and I at the hotel to
present us with an award and certificate of achievement. We offered some
comments on how to improve the race. But I can’t say enough about the efforts and hospitality of the race
volunteers. That 2nd Half would have been much uglier and more
painful w/o their help!
We had been advised that the city would close down on Sun
and they were right. Nothing was open!
Luckily our pkg included a guided tour of the island on Sun
that took all day. It was overcast and rainy much of the day (why couldn’t the
weather be like that on race day?) so the tour was good – otherwise we would
have been stuck in the hotel. And I couldn’t do much walking! My hamstring was
tight and very sore and I had a huge blister on my left heel – probably from
overcompensating to take the stress off my right leg? We toured the whole
island. Lots of beaches and villages including some that had been completely destroyed
by the Tsunami. There are lots of volcanic mtns and waterfalls. The Samoan fale
or house is one open room with no windows or doors. There are few ‘western’
homes and although nobody starves in Samoa there is not much money! The nicest
buildings in the country are government buildings and churches – ALL built and
paid by foreign countries!
That evening we were shocked to find that ALL restaurants
were closed? We had to taxi to some luxury resorts across the harbour to get
something to eat and drink? Thus we were not too disappointed when it came time
to leave on Mon. Ayesha, Dieter and I flew to Auckland on the same flight and
parted ways in Auckland.
My pkg included a nice hotel on Queen St close to the
harbor where many of the pubs are located. The weather on Tue was really nasty
– rain and high winds. When I visited the top of the Sky Tower it was swaying
so much I thought I was on a boat? But it did offer spectacular views that I
share with everyone on my photo website. Thankfully the weather was better on
Wed – my final day- and the hamstring and blister felt good enough so that I
could enjoy an endorphin fix with a 1-hr run along Auckland Harbour.
After my morning run I toured the city to take photos to
share with my readers. We visited Auckland about 25 years ago but I didn’t
remember much? It is a pretty city but VERY expensive! I don’t know how people
can afford to live there?
On Wed night I started my long journey back home. It is
HOT & humid in FL – just like Samoa. I have been sleeping in late and
starting my runs around 8 am. And paying for it! It is brutally HOT &
humid! Thankfully we leave for the Rocky Mtns of CO at the end of this week.
The weather will be cool and nice.
The blister is healed and the hamstring feels better but
I am not sure what my plans or goals are? Every time I get to a point where I
feel optimistic Mother Nature swats me back down with an injury or health
issue. I am getting tired of getting back up. So I think I will take it easy
for a few weeks or even a month and then
re-evaluate. Thank goodness I have only committed to one more race – in Aug! I
don’t plan to make any commitments beyond that race/date!
Stay tuned!
