TRIP REPORT
Oman
1/27 - 2/2/15
Race Results:
Fri, Jan 30/15
Muscat, Oman
Muscat Marathon
5:32:26
Marathon # 373 – Country # 122
It has been so long since I last wrote a trip report that
I may have forgotten how? One week after my last marathon and report in May
2014 I went into a hospital to have a pacemaker implanted. My cardiologists had
convinced me that this treatment was the only chance I had to strengthen my
weak heart muscle if I ever hoped to run marathons again. Eight months later
and with lots of hindsight I now regret my decision to accept their advice. My
heart & health has not improved after 8 months of pain and frustration!
So how did I get to this point and conclusion?
After the pacemaker was implanted it was a long slow
struggle to try to get back into shape. The docs said that I should only walk
for the 1st week after surgery but then I could run as far as I
wanted. Right! I waited 3 days to start walking but when I tried to run 1 week
later I couldn’t run 100 ft w/o becoming totally fatigued. I was not able to do
any cross training such as biking/swimming/weights because my left shoulder was
sore and I had to be careful not to extend the left arm for risk of dislodging
the leads to the pacemaker. Back to square 0 – run 100 ft and then walk. Build
up to run 200 ft and walk. After 2 weeks I was finally able to run about ¼ mile
before becoming exhausted.
I continued this slow and frustrating process and we decided
to spend July/August in Seattle to spend time with Chris, Ari & our new
granddaughter Lauren. A few days each week I would take Lauren for a walk/run
along Puget Sound. I enjoyed these ‘walks’ and wasn’t too concerned about the
progress (or lack of) that I was making. Near the end of July I was starting to
feel better and make some progress - I managed to run 1 whole mile before becoming
fatigued and then - a big setback. While doing a simple stretch before a
morning run I dislodged the LV lead and it started to fire/stimulate my diaphragm.
We had to rush to ER to have the lead turned off. I decided to wait until we
returned to FL to have the lead repaired. The lead was repaired in Oct which
required basically the same surgery all over again – and thus the same healing
and recovery process! However this time I quit feeling sorry for myself and
pushed much harder and after 1 month I was able to run 5 miles before becoming
fatigued. I was aggressive in building up the long runs to 13 miles and by the
end of Nov I started thinking about running a marathon again? I could not run
fast but at least I could run slow & long? I started looking for a marathon
in Jan 2015 because I felt that I needed a few more months of training. I
finally decided on a marathon in the Middle East and then quickly noted that
there were two marathons 1 week apart in the Middle East. Why not try both?
I continued to train and build my long run up to 20
miles. But I was agonizingly slow and just couldn’t seem to improve my speed? Just
before leaving for the 1st race I visited the cardiologist to
complain about my HR seeming to be limited to a max of 130bpm? No matter how hard
I tried to push I couldn’t get my HR above 130 bpm. An adjustment/tune up of
the pacemaker corrected that problem (I was upset that this had not been
mentioned earlier by the cardiologist?) I was curious to see if this ‘adjustment’
would enable me to run a bit faster?
The exciting/fun part of the adventure was that I would
be joining nine other friends/members of the Country Club in Muscat to run the
1st marathon. It was like the ‘good old days’. It had been a long
time since I had planned logistics for a race but I quickly determined that the
cheapest way to travel to both races/countries was to book a cheap flight to Dubai
and use Dubai as a base to fly back and forth to Oman & Bahrain. Soon it
was time to depart! I did not have much confidence!
I flew 2 legs from FL to Dubai and arrived late Wed
night. I overnighted in Dubai rather than continue on to Oman and arrive at 2
am. I was able to get a good night’s sleep/rest and continue on the next day. I
was sharing a room at the host hotel (the Intercontinental) with my good friend
Edson from NYC. I met up with many of my friends from the Country Club (CC) and
we enjoyed a pasta dinner at the hotel after picking up our race packets. The
RD had kindly reserved Bib # 122 for Maddog!
Friday was ‘M’ day – Fri is the start of the Muslim
weekend and there is less traffic. The race started at 6 am at the back of the Intercontinental Hotel. The temps
were in the mid-60s. The course was a Half –marathon loop through an exclusive
neighborhood with many embassies and nice homes, then along a causeway on the
Sea of Oman and finally through Al Qurm National Park that offered some shade.
Sadly I started to struggle right out of the chute. Thankfully Edson stayed
with me and dragged me through 10K in 1:12:43 – a 7min/km or 12min/mile pace.
However at 16K I had to let Edson go as I struggled to reach the Half in
2:33:37. That was actually better than expected and it sort of gave me a boost
and I felt good for the next 10K but then I started to struggle again as I
approached 32K in 4:02:17. I had been walking through all the water stations
but now it became a strategy of run 1 k and walk 1 min. When I reached 37 K in
4:45:54, it became a matter of making it to the finish line. I started to run 3
min and walk 1 min until I crossed the finish line in 5:32:26. It wasn’t pretty
& it wasn’t fun but I finished Marathon #373 & Country #122. I had
already realized by the 1st 10K that any hope/dream of running lots more
marathons/countries wasn’t going to happen. I was hoping to run a marathon in
Kenya in March but knew that there was no way my body/heart is capable of
running a marathon with lots of hills at 7,000 ft elevation. That race was
already scratched from my itinerary!
I managed to stumble across the finish line during the awards
ceremony and in time to be presented with a special award for achieving a new
World Record of 122 countries!
After a quick shower and snack I joined a few friends to
enjoy a ‘hop on/hop off’ bus tour of Muscat. Muscat is quite modern and upscale
– not at all what I imagined. We visited most of the tourist sites in Muscat –
the National Opera, the Grand Mosque, Old souk, Marina, Parliament Bldgs, etc. (Photos
on photo blog). Muscat is bordered on the North & East by the Sea of Oman
and the Jabal Miraywah Mtns on the other sides. The topography reminded me on
Reno, NV. Mostly the view is rugged/barren mtns. The only green is where
irrigation exists.
On Sat another friend, Jurgen and I decided to rent a car
and do a self-drive tour through the country side of Oman. We completed a
2-day, 500-mile loop from Muscat through the Al Jabal Al Akhdak Mtns that soar
more than 10,000 ft above sea level. I was really surprised to find so many
mtns. The topography is much like NV and NM – rugged & barren mtns with
desert at the base of the mtns. We visited a lot of old forts on a route from
Muscat through Bidbid, Izki & Nizwa to stay overnight in Jabreen. There is
a network of forts and castles - some built over 1,000 years ago to protect the
few rivers and oasis that exist in the mtns and desert. Many of the forts have
been restored. On Sun we visited the Jabreen Castle and continued around the
mtns (we were warned not to attempt to cross over the 10,000 ft mtns w/o a
4-wheel drive) to Irbi & Ar Rustaq. We visited a natural hot spring (Ayn Al Kasfah) in Ar
Rustaq. The spring was fenced off but there were small bath houses (segregated
of course) to bathe your feet in the hot springs? We did drive through some
desert and past camels but the huge sand deserts are south of Muscat.
We enjoyed the trip and scenery and were surprised that
the locals were so friendly and helpful. After we left the city English was not
common but we were always able to find someone to help us when we got lost.
Oman was a very pleasant surprise and not at all what I
expected.
However now it was time to head back to Dubai for a few
days of sightseeing and rest. The story will continue in the next report.
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