RACE REPORT
Sat, Aug 20/05
Basalt Half Marathon
Basalt, CO
1:42:03 1st AG
I had scheduled this race as a much-needed speed workout since I hadn’t raced since the Faroe Islands Marathon in mid-July. However I hadn’t counted on the week of misery/health problems/pain that preceded the race. But as you know that finally eased up a few days before the race so the sports manager and I left on Fri for the drive over to Basalt, CO.
Basalt is a small resort town located about 15 miles north of Aspen at the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan Rivers in the Roaring Fork Valley. The town was celebrating its annual Basalt River Days – a weekend festival with fishing contests, the Half Marathon, parades and free music concerts.
After checking into our hotel I drove the course to check it out. It was described as a fast, downhill course starting at the Ruedi Reservoir (elev. 7700 ft) 12 miles east of town and descending 1100 ft along the Frying Pan Road – a narrow two-lane road squeezed between the Frying Pan River on the south and the red bluffs of the Elk Range on the north. A very scenic course. After driving the course I guessed that it would take a sub 1:45 time to win my age group so that became my time goal.
Fri. evening we walked around the small, quaint town and enjoyed a free music concert while eating a pasta dinner on the patio of a nearby Italian restaurant.
Since the race was point-to point we had to be bussed to the start line at 7am. There were about 200 runners in the Half. The big surprise was that more than 60% of the runners were young, well-fit women in their 20s and early 30s? That ratio ensured some wonderful scenery along the course and ended my frustrating pattern of chasing the lead female across the finish line. At least 3 or 4 lovely young ladies thoroughly beat my sorry, old ass in this race!
The race started at 8am. The weather was perfect – sunny, temps around 48F and even a slight tailwind. I started out with the Big Dogs and chased them through the first mile (including the lead female) in 6:48! My legs felt fine but my lungs were on fire as I tried to suck in enough air/oxygen to keep the old legs churning at that pace. I knew that pace was totally suicidal at that altitude so I threw out an anchor and slowed my pace down to a more reasonable 7:50 over the next mile. I had settled into a smooth/easy sub 8-min pace by the time I passed mile 5 in 38:00 flat. However my heart rate monitor indicated that I was running at 92% Max HR – about 10 to 15 bpm faster than my normal marathon race level? I figured the higher level was mostly due to the high altitude and since the legs felt OK I decided to ignore the HR monitor and continue to push the pace.
At mile 8 a ROF (Real Old Fart) who looked to be in his 50s or my age group blew by me? At first I tried to stay with him but quickly realized he was running about a 7:35 pace and I didn’t believe I could hold that pace for another 5 miles so I decided to drop in behind him and try to keep him in sight and hope he faded by the end? I passed the 10-mile mark in 1:17:50. I knew my time goal of sub 1:45 was in the bag. But I still wanted to catch the ROF in front of me so I continued to push the pace in spite of my HR monitor telling me that my HR was now at 95% Max!
I reached the edge of town at mile 12 in 1:33:45. I knew the last mile had a few rolling hills and figured that if I charged up those final hills I might be able to catch Mr. ROF because he was starting to slow? My HR monitor started beeping wildly warning me that I was pushing the old bod at 100% Max! Screw it! I could hear it so obviously I was still alive –“Keep pushing Maddog”! I struggled across the finish line on the school track in 1:42:03!
As I staggered around the infield desperately trying to suck air/oxygen back into my lungs and body I soon realized that I pushed the old bod to its absolute limits – needlessly! Turned out that the ROF who had beat me by less than one minute was only 50 years old! I had indeed won my age group – 2nd place was 10 minutes behind me!
Oh well! I was very pleased with my time and performance. I had achieved my time goal – won my age group – and ran a very fast speed workout as a tune up for a tough marathon next weekend. I plan to run the Silverton Alpine Marathon. It starts /finishes at 9318 ft. – more than 60% of the course is above 11,500 ft and the high point is 12,930 ft. It should be a good training run for the Everest Marathon?
After the race the sports manager and II watched the ‘big’ parade for the Basalt River Days and then drove home through Aspen and over Independence Pass.
At 12,095 ft. Independence Pass is one of the highest paved passes in the country and offers some spectacular views/scenery (when it is not raining). However the drive can be kind of scary since there are no guardrails on the very narrow switchbacks!
Stay tuned for the next race report!
Maddog
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Trip Report - Faroe Islands
TRIP REPORT
July 12 –19/05
Faroe Islands
Race Stats:
Sat, July 16/05
Torshavn Marathon (3rd)
Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Marathon # 246
Country # 73
European Country # 49
Time 3:38:52
16th OA – 1st AG
Photos may be viewed at www.maddog.smugmug.com.
The Faroe Islands. I had heard of them but wasn’t even sure exactly where they were until one of my ‘buddies’ in the UK informed me that they were considered a country because they have a football/soccer team that competes for the World Cup (one of our ‘loose’ criteria used to define a country in Europe). Thus I had to add the Faroe Islands to my list of European Countries.
Where are they? I’ll pass on my geography lesson:
The Faroe Islands are located in the heart of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic at 62degrees N, northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway. The archipelago is composed of 18 islands stretching 70 miles long and 47 miles wide. There are 687 miles of coastline and at no time is one more than 3 miles from the ocean. The highest mountain is 2883 ft and the average height above sea level for the country is 982 ft!
The first thing you notice when you arrive is the ruggedness and desolation of the terrain – and the GREEN! Everything – everywhere - is green – everything being grass because there are no trees on the islands! The islands have the highest annual rainfall in Europe and there are thousands of waterfalls cascading down the mountains into the ocean. It is very scenic but since there are only 48,000 people in the country and half live in the area around the capital city of Torshavn it is very isolated and desolate. Two of the islands, Streymoy where Torshavn is located and Vagar where the airport is located are connected by a very long tunnel under Vestmannasund. Steymoy and Fysturoy are connected by a bridge – yes there is a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean. The other islands have to be reached by boat/ferry.
The main industry and export is fishing. Tourism is 2nd and there are usually two cruise ships in the harbour at Torshavn each day of the summer. There seems to be a lot of money and everything is very expensive (I was told that Denmark pays each man/woman/child a stipend equal to $10,000 US each year from birth to death – whether they work or not?).
Now that you are an expert on the Faroe Islands let me back up a few days before I arrived on these starkingly green islands.
Since I had to fly/route through London and Stansted airport I decided that I would stay overnight in Bishop’s Stortford to visit some friends. Stortford is a quaint little town (can’t say village because I was reminded that Stortford is now 30,000 people) where we lived for a year while Nicole was working in the UK. Some friends from my old running club kindly offered to host me for a day and take me to the club for the regular Wed night run. It was a very pleasant visit. I had time to take a nostalgic stroll down High Street during Market Day to see if the town had changed. I joined many of my old mates and new ones to run a 2.5-mile club race – the conclusion of a 4-series club race called ‘The Tour de Stort’. After the race we all enjoyed a fine meal cooked at the club and washed it down with good British ale at the Club bar. I wish we had clubs like this in the US? I even enjoyed a 30-min massage from the club masseuse that prepared my legs for the upcoming marathon.
Once again – thanks to Chris, Colin, Peter and all the club members for a very pleasant stay!
On Thu afternoon I departed Stansted for the Faroes. The airport on Vagar is 50km north and west of Torshavn and it is a very scenic drive into the capital. As I described above – lots of mountains, green grass and waterfalls. As I soon learned much of the marathon course was located along this two-lane highway. I had booked a guesthouse in Torshavn because the hotels were fancy/luxury and too expensive. It was only a 10-minute walk from the central bus terminal and when I couldn’t find it I asked a young girl in the hopes she would speak English. She kindly guided me right to the guesthouse – the people are very friendly! It was 9 pm but the Faroes enjoy 19 hours of daylight at this time of the year – gets dark about midnight and light again at 5am! Messed up by body clock as usual. I decided to find a grocery/convenience store for some basic supplies. What a shock – a 9 oz bag of chips $5, coke $2, beer $5, 1.5 L bottled water $3! I don’t know how anyone can afford to live there? Since my room had no TV or bath I felt I deserved some kind of treat to enjoy while I read a book?
The following morning I was lucky to meet a runner/friend I was looking for at breakfast. Jaap – a runner from Holland is also trying to run all the countries in Europe. We had communicated via the Net but had never met each other until this marathon. Jaap is also a ‘birder’ and he planned to stay for a week to do some ‘birding’. Since I had only one day to explore the capital and surrounding area we decided to take a ‘bird’ tour to the cliffs of Vestmanna. These cliffs are on the west coast/Atlantic side of Streymoy and are famous for their huge colonies of puffins. It is necessary to take a bus to the village of Vestmanna and then a boat out into Vestmannasund and the Atlantic Ocean. It was very scenic since the cliffs soar as high as 2800 ft straight out of the Atlantic Ocean. The boat takes you into many coves and grottos to view the various species of birds nesting in the cliffs. There were thousands and thousands of puffins! I took lots of photos and have downloaded them to my photo website for your enjoyment. It was a pleasant tour and a wise/lucky decision because that turned out to be the only nice weather I saw in my 5 days on the islands!
On Fri evening Jaap and Grieto (a friend of Jaap’s from Holland who was running the Half) and I walked to the Sports Hall to pick up our race packets. A pasta dinner was included in our entry fee and although I don’t usually attend these I did eat the ‘free’ dinner since pasta would have cost more than $20 in a restaurant! We also spoke to many of the local runners to get some last-minute details about the race. There were very few foreign runners in the race. There was one other American – a young man from Los Angeles running his first marathon (also a birder). We were the first Yanks to run the race? After dinner it was time to go to bed (in broad daylight) even though the race didn’t start until 2pm on Sat.
I hate afternoon marathons – it is difficult to prepare for them and they waste the whole day. On Sat morning I rose early for breakfast and bad news – the weather was really miserable. It was cold, foggy, windy and rainy. The wind didn’t feel too bad in the town where the buildings provided protection but I figured the 20/30 mph winds would be brutal outside the town and along the Coasts! I also couldn’t decide what to wear for the race?
As I walked around and explored Torshavn I figured that I might have to wear running tights and a long sleeve T-shirt? However by race time the rain had become a light drizzle and it was a bit warmer so I decided to run with only shorts and a T-shirt. I hoped it wouldn’t be too cold along the ocean?
There were about 300 runners lined up in the town center for the start of three races at 2 pm – Marathon, Half and a 5.8 Km Fun Run. The first 5.8 Km was a loop around – and up and down the town streets. Since Torshavn is built on the side of a mountain there aren’t any flat streets in the town! I started with Jaap and the other American. We finished the first loop at a sub 8-min pace in spite of the hills and I warned the young Yank that we were going out too fast. He ignored me and continued on while I slowed my pace. At 8 Km we left the town and headed north along the coast and directly into a North wind.
On our bus ride to Vestmanna on Fri Jaap and I realized that the marathon course followed the highway to the airport and it was ugly. The route had several rolling hills and two BAHs (Bad Ass Hills) that climbed from sea level to about 800 ft in elevation. I had studied the race results for the first two years of the race and figured I would have to run under 3:45 to compete in my age group. The winner had run in the 3:30s! After driving the course I didn’t believe I could beat that time and thought a sub 4-hr finish would be good on this course and in this weather?
I was running along with and mostly behind a female whom I figured was leading the Half but when we reached the turn-around point for the Half at 16 Km she kept going? She must be running the marathon? I decided to pass her. Good idea but much harder to implement. At 20 Km we had climbed and descended both BAHs and approached the first tunnel to the airport. However the route turned right before the tunnel and skirted the end of Kaldbaksfjordur Sund. There was a 4 Km flat section along the Sound to the hamlet of Kaldbak. We had also turned away from the wind so the 20/30mph gusts were at our back for the first time. Most of the runners literally flew along this 4 Km section. I passed the lead female at the Half-marathon mark – time 1:48:07. I was pleasantly surprised! I felt good. I knew I couldn’t run the same time in the 2nd Half but I was confident that I could break 3:45 – my original target?
As I approached Kaldback at 24 Km the lead runners were returning. I figured I was in 22nd place overall (about 60 runners in the marathon) and there was one ROF (Real Old Fart) who had to be in my age group - about ½ Km in front of me. Unfortunately when we made the turn at 24Km we turned back into the wind. It was tough and everyone struggled. I pushed as hard as I could to close the distance between my competitor and me. At 28 Km the lead female passed me again (while I was making a brief pit stop) and I decided I would have to catch her back? We turned back on to the main highway at that point with the wind behind us again but facing the first of the BAHs on the return loop. I made a strategic race decision - I was going to charge up every damn hill to the finish line and relax on the downhills. I started my push. At 30 Km I passed the young Yank who was struggling. At 32Km I passed the other ROF and continued to push up the BAH in the hopes that I could bury him? And I closed to within 100 m of the lead female. However when I crested the BAH and glanced over my shoulder my competitor was right on my ass and charging! Oh Shit! This is going to be an ugly/painful pissing match all the way to the finish line.
I tried to relax and let gravity help me on the backside of that BAH but ‘Mr. Wouldn’t Give UP’ stayed right on my butt and even closed the lead some. And so it continued for the next/last 10Km! I would charge up the hills increasing my lead but he would charge down the hills to reduce the lead. As I approached the last BAH at 38Km I decided I needed to bury this guy once and for all so I gave everything I had to charge up that last BAH! Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ had prepared me well for this race. The Faroe hills were easy compared to the 13ers/14ers I had been training on and the really big difference was that there was lots of oxygen to keep the legs churning all the way up the hills! When I crested the hill at 39Km and looked back I had increased the lead to about 300m. But the last 3 Km were slightly downhill so I couldn’t back off. At 40Km I glanced over my shoulder again only to discover that ‘Mr. Wouldn’t Give Up’ had closed the lead again.
Damn – I was hoping he would give up so we could both relax and cruise to the finish line. This SOB just wouldn’t quit! But there was no way I was going to lose a race this close to the finish line. I decided to suck it up – dig deep – ignore all pain – and drop the pace to sub 8s for the last 2Km. I drew on every last once of willpower to focus on that goal and keep my legs moving as fast as I could. At 41 Km I stole a glance back over my shoulder. The lead had increased to 300 m again. I knew I had him! There was no way he could make up that distance and pass me in the final 1 Km unless I stopped! But the SOB still wouldn’t give up?
However the sweet smell of success/victory was enough to get the old bod to produce one final shot of adrenaline – even some endorphins - and I ‘floated’ through the final 1Km in a ‘zone’ – no pain – just a wonderful feeling as I crossed the finish line in 3:38:52! I waited at the finish line to congratulate my opponent on a fine race. He finished 1 minute behind me. I wasn’t sure whether I should thank him for pushing me or give him shit for hurting me? But I remembered one of Maddog’s famous sayings “Pain is only temporary - memories are forever”! And the pain had already vanished so I thanked him for pushing me. However he was not a happy camper – he was upset because he had won our age group the first/past two years of the race and had lost his Senior Title – to an American no less! (Holy Crap! - he was the guy I didn’t think I could beat on paper?).
He soon cooled off and paid me a compliment by telling me that he couldn’t believe how strong I was on the uphills – I had killed him on those uphills! I explained that the Faroe hills were relatively easy compared with the 14ers I trained on in Colorado.
After a quick shower back at my luxurious guesthouse I returned to the finish area for my usual finish line photo and to collect a gold medal for winning the Senior Division (50+).
Obviously I was quite pleased with both my time and performance. The only disappointment was that I had not caught the winning female – she beat me by one minute. I have got to find a way to change this frustrating trend – this is the 3rd straight race where I have chased the winning female only to be beaten by one minute?
There was an official post-race party and dinner being held on Sat evening but it was very expensive so my two Dutch friends and I decided to eat at a local restaurant. I ordered ‘breast of Puffin’ but unfortunately it was not available that day. After dinner and a few well-deserved Faroese beers my friends returned to the guesthouse but I decided to go to a popular local hangout/bar to meet some locals. I joined a group of young Faroese lads and over many Faroese beers (at $10/pint) learned much about the Faroese history and culture that you won’t find in the ‘Lonely Planet’ or other guidebooks! For example the Faroese language has its roots in the Old Norse language from the Viking Age. After the Reformation, Danish became the official language and the Faroese language almost became extinct. It was revived in the 19th century by a famous local scholar and poet.
How did he do it because there were no written records of the language or vocabulary?
The answer was the renowned Faroese dance for which it is necessary to learn and remember a long story. The dance is a continuation of the medieval ring dance that was forbidden in many parts of Europe. Since there is no instrumental accompaniment to the dance only the voices and feet are heard. The scholar collected many of these stories that had been handed down for many generations and from these ballads was able to recreate and reinvent the Faroese language. It is now the official language of the country – and you won’t learn that interesting story in any guidebook! I love learning about the local people and culture even if it can be hazardous to my health (and head) the following morning!
On Sun morning I did make it to the bus station and airport in time for my 12:30 pm flight. But on the drive to the airport the weather was not looking good? The fog was so bad/thick that we could barely see the road? It was worse at the airport! No planes were landing or taking off because they couldn’t see the islands let alone the airport! To make a very long and frustrating story short I sat at the airport for over 18 hours on Sun and
Mon before my flight finally departed at 5pm on Mon. I arrived in Stansted at 9 pm and at my friends place on the south side of London at 11 pm. We ate dinner at midnight and then I had to leave at 7:30 am to take the tube to LHR.
I was very disappointed that uncontrollable circumstances (the weather) had caused me to miss a BBQ and party with my UK mates on Sun night and a pub-crawl through London on Mon night. I had planned those two days in London because I wanted to spend some time with my UK mates because I don’t expect to be back to London for a few years? My European quest is almost finished. I have two more countries left – Bosnia and Bulgaria and I plan to run both on the same trip in Oct.
However I will have to schedule 2 or 3 marathons between now and then to keep in shape – NO – to improve my marathon shape.
So stay tuned for the next race report!
Maddog
July 12 –19/05
Faroe Islands
Race Stats:
Sat, July 16/05
Torshavn Marathon (3rd)
Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Marathon # 246
Country # 73
European Country # 49
Time 3:38:52
16th OA – 1st AG
Photos may be viewed at www.maddog.smugmug.com.
The Faroe Islands. I had heard of them but wasn’t even sure exactly where they were until one of my ‘buddies’ in the UK informed me that they were considered a country because they have a football/soccer team that competes for the World Cup (one of our ‘loose’ criteria used to define a country in Europe). Thus I had to add the Faroe Islands to my list of European Countries.
Where are they? I’ll pass on my geography lesson:
The Faroe Islands are located in the heart of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic at 62degrees N, northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway. The archipelago is composed of 18 islands stretching 70 miles long and 47 miles wide. There are 687 miles of coastline and at no time is one more than 3 miles from the ocean. The highest mountain is 2883 ft and the average height above sea level for the country is 982 ft!
The first thing you notice when you arrive is the ruggedness and desolation of the terrain – and the GREEN! Everything – everywhere - is green – everything being grass because there are no trees on the islands! The islands have the highest annual rainfall in Europe and there are thousands of waterfalls cascading down the mountains into the ocean. It is very scenic but since there are only 48,000 people in the country and half live in the area around the capital city of Torshavn it is very isolated and desolate. Two of the islands, Streymoy where Torshavn is located and Vagar where the airport is located are connected by a very long tunnel under Vestmannasund. Steymoy and Fysturoy are connected by a bridge – yes there is a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean. The other islands have to be reached by boat/ferry.
The main industry and export is fishing. Tourism is 2nd and there are usually two cruise ships in the harbour at Torshavn each day of the summer. There seems to be a lot of money and everything is very expensive (I was told that Denmark pays each man/woman/child a stipend equal to $10,000 US each year from birth to death – whether they work or not?).
Now that you are an expert on the Faroe Islands let me back up a few days before I arrived on these starkingly green islands.
Since I had to fly/route through London and Stansted airport I decided that I would stay overnight in Bishop’s Stortford to visit some friends. Stortford is a quaint little town (can’t say village because I was reminded that Stortford is now 30,000 people) where we lived for a year while Nicole was working in the UK. Some friends from my old running club kindly offered to host me for a day and take me to the club for the regular Wed night run. It was a very pleasant visit. I had time to take a nostalgic stroll down High Street during Market Day to see if the town had changed. I joined many of my old mates and new ones to run a 2.5-mile club race – the conclusion of a 4-series club race called ‘The Tour de Stort’. After the race we all enjoyed a fine meal cooked at the club and washed it down with good British ale at the Club bar. I wish we had clubs like this in the US? I even enjoyed a 30-min massage from the club masseuse that prepared my legs for the upcoming marathon.
Once again – thanks to Chris, Colin, Peter and all the club members for a very pleasant stay!
On Thu afternoon I departed Stansted for the Faroes. The airport on Vagar is 50km north and west of Torshavn and it is a very scenic drive into the capital. As I described above – lots of mountains, green grass and waterfalls. As I soon learned much of the marathon course was located along this two-lane highway. I had booked a guesthouse in Torshavn because the hotels were fancy/luxury and too expensive. It was only a 10-minute walk from the central bus terminal and when I couldn’t find it I asked a young girl in the hopes she would speak English. She kindly guided me right to the guesthouse – the people are very friendly! It was 9 pm but the Faroes enjoy 19 hours of daylight at this time of the year – gets dark about midnight and light again at 5am! Messed up by body clock as usual. I decided to find a grocery/convenience store for some basic supplies. What a shock – a 9 oz bag of chips $5, coke $2, beer $5, 1.5 L bottled water $3! I don’t know how anyone can afford to live there? Since my room had no TV or bath I felt I deserved some kind of treat to enjoy while I read a book?
The following morning I was lucky to meet a runner/friend I was looking for at breakfast. Jaap – a runner from Holland is also trying to run all the countries in Europe. We had communicated via the Net but had never met each other until this marathon. Jaap is also a ‘birder’ and he planned to stay for a week to do some ‘birding’. Since I had only one day to explore the capital and surrounding area we decided to take a ‘bird’ tour to the cliffs of Vestmanna. These cliffs are on the west coast/Atlantic side of Streymoy and are famous for their huge colonies of puffins. It is necessary to take a bus to the village of Vestmanna and then a boat out into Vestmannasund and the Atlantic Ocean. It was very scenic since the cliffs soar as high as 2800 ft straight out of the Atlantic Ocean. The boat takes you into many coves and grottos to view the various species of birds nesting in the cliffs. There were thousands and thousands of puffins! I took lots of photos and have downloaded them to my photo website for your enjoyment. It was a pleasant tour and a wise/lucky decision because that turned out to be the only nice weather I saw in my 5 days on the islands!
On Fri evening Jaap and Grieto (a friend of Jaap’s from Holland who was running the Half) and I walked to the Sports Hall to pick up our race packets. A pasta dinner was included in our entry fee and although I don’t usually attend these I did eat the ‘free’ dinner since pasta would have cost more than $20 in a restaurant! We also spoke to many of the local runners to get some last-minute details about the race. There were very few foreign runners in the race. There was one other American – a young man from Los Angeles running his first marathon (also a birder). We were the first Yanks to run the race? After dinner it was time to go to bed (in broad daylight) even though the race didn’t start until 2pm on Sat.
I hate afternoon marathons – it is difficult to prepare for them and they waste the whole day. On Sat morning I rose early for breakfast and bad news – the weather was really miserable. It was cold, foggy, windy and rainy. The wind didn’t feel too bad in the town where the buildings provided protection but I figured the 20/30 mph winds would be brutal outside the town and along the Coasts! I also couldn’t decide what to wear for the race?
As I walked around and explored Torshavn I figured that I might have to wear running tights and a long sleeve T-shirt? However by race time the rain had become a light drizzle and it was a bit warmer so I decided to run with only shorts and a T-shirt. I hoped it wouldn’t be too cold along the ocean?
There were about 300 runners lined up in the town center for the start of three races at 2 pm – Marathon, Half and a 5.8 Km Fun Run. The first 5.8 Km was a loop around – and up and down the town streets. Since Torshavn is built on the side of a mountain there aren’t any flat streets in the town! I started with Jaap and the other American. We finished the first loop at a sub 8-min pace in spite of the hills and I warned the young Yank that we were going out too fast. He ignored me and continued on while I slowed my pace. At 8 Km we left the town and headed north along the coast and directly into a North wind.
On our bus ride to Vestmanna on Fri Jaap and I realized that the marathon course followed the highway to the airport and it was ugly. The route had several rolling hills and two BAHs (Bad Ass Hills) that climbed from sea level to about 800 ft in elevation. I had studied the race results for the first two years of the race and figured I would have to run under 3:45 to compete in my age group. The winner had run in the 3:30s! After driving the course I didn’t believe I could beat that time and thought a sub 4-hr finish would be good on this course and in this weather?
I was running along with and mostly behind a female whom I figured was leading the Half but when we reached the turn-around point for the Half at 16 Km she kept going? She must be running the marathon? I decided to pass her. Good idea but much harder to implement. At 20 Km we had climbed and descended both BAHs and approached the first tunnel to the airport. However the route turned right before the tunnel and skirted the end of Kaldbaksfjordur Sund. There was a 4 Km flat section along the Sound to the hamlet of Kaldbak. We had also turned away from the wind so the 20/30mph gusts were at our back for the first time. Most of the runners literally flew along this 4 Km section. I passed the lead female at the Half-marathon mark – time 1:48:07. I was pleasantly surprised! I felt good. I knew I couldn’t run the same time in the 2nd Half but I was confident that I could break 3:45 – my original target?
As I approached Kaldback at 24 Km the lead runners were returning. I figured I was in 22nd place overall (about 60 runners in the marathon) and there was one ROF (Real Old Fart) who had to be in my age group - about ½ Km in front of me. Unfortunately when we made the turn at 24Km we turned back into the wind. It was tough and everyone struggled. I pushed as hard as I could to close the distance between my competitor and me. At 28 Km the lead female passed me again (while I was making a brief pit stop) and I decided I would have to catch her back? We turned back on to the main highway at that point with the wind behind us again but facing the first of the BAHs on the return loop. I made a strategic race decision - I was going to charge up every damn hill to the finish line and relax on the downhills. I started my push. At 30 Km I passed the young Yank who was struggling. At 32Km I passed the other ROF and continued to push up the BAH in the hopes that I could bury him? And I closed to within 100 m of the lead female. However when I crested the BAH and glanced over my shoulder my competitor was right on my ass and charging! Oh Shit! This is going to be an ugly/painful pissing match all the way to the finish line.
I tried to relax and let gravity help me on the backside of that BAH but ‘Mr. Wouldn’t Give UP’ stayed right on my butt and even closed the lead some. And so it continued for the next/last 10Km! I would charge up the hills increasing my lead but he would charge down the hills to reduce the lead. As I approached the last BAH at 38Km I decided I needed to bury this guy once and for all so I gave everything I had to charge up that last BAH! Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ had prepared me well for this race. The Faroe hills were easy compared to the 13ers/14ers I had been training on and the really big difference was that there was lots of oxygen to keep the legs churning all the way up the hills! When I crested the hill at 39Km and looked back I had increased the lead to about 300m. But the last 3 Km were slightly downhill so I couldn’t back off. At 40Km I glanced over my shoulder again only to discover that ‘Mr. Wouldn’t Give Up’ had closed the lead again.
Damn – I was hoping he would give up so we could both relax and cruise to the finish line. This SOB just wouldn’t quit! But there was no way I was going to lose a race this close to the finish line. I decided to suck it up – dig deep – ignore all pain – and drop the pace to sub 8s for the last 2Km. I drew on every last once of willpower to focus on that goal and keep my legs moving as fast as I could. At 41 Km I stole a glance back over my shoulder. The lead had increased to 300 m again. I knew I had him! There was no way he could make up that distance and pass me in the final 1 Km unless I stopped! But the SOB still wouldn’t give up?
However the sweet smell of success/victory was enough to get the old bod to produce one final shot of adrenaline – even some endorphins - and I ‘floated’ through the final 1Km in a ‘zone’ – no pain – just a wonderful feeling as I crossed the finish line in 3:38:52! I waited at the finish line to congratulate my opponent on a fine race. He finished 1 minute behind me. I wasn’t sure whether I should thank him for pushing me or give him shit for hurting me? But I remembered one of Maddog’s famous sayings “Pain is only temporary - memories are forever”! And the pain had already vanished so I thanked him for pushing me. However he was not a happy camper – he was upset because he had won our age group the first/past two years of the race and had lost his Senior Title – to an American no less! (Holy Crap! - he was the guy I didn’t think I could beat on paper?).
He soon cooled off and paid me a compliment by telling me that he couldn’t believe how strong I was on the uphills – I had killed him on those uphills! I explained that the Faroe hills were relatively easy compared with the 14ers I trained on in Colorado.
After a quick shower back at my luxurious guesthouse I returned to the finish area for my usual finish line photo and to collect a gold medal for winning the Senior Division (50+).
Obviously I was quite pleased with both my time and performance. The only disappointment was that I had not caught the winning female – she beat me by one minute. I have got to find a way to change this frustrating trend – this is the 3rd straight race where I have chased the winning female only to be beaten by one minute?
There was an official post-race party and dinner being held on Sat evening but it was very expensive so my two Dutch friends and I decided to eat at a local restaurant. I ordered ‘breast of Puffin’ but unfortunately it was not available that day. After dinner and a few well-deserved Faroese beers my friends returned to the guesthouse but I decided to go to a popular local hangout/bar to meet some locals. I joined a group of young Faroese lads and over many Faroese beers (at $10/pint) learned much about the Faroese history and culture that you won’t find in the ‘Lonely Planet’ or other guidebooks! For example the Faroese language has its roots in the Old Norse language from the Viking Age. After the Reformation, Danish became the official language and the Faroese language almost became extinct. It was revived in the 19th century by a famous local scholar and poet.
How did he do it because there were no written records of the language or vocabulary?
The answer was the renowned Faroese dance for which it is necessary to learn and remember a long story. The dance is a continuation of the medieval ring dance that was forbidden in many parts of Europe. Since there is no instrumental accompaniment to the dance only the voices and feet are heard. The scholar collected many of these stories that had been handed down for many generations and from these ballads was able to recreate and reinvent the Faroese language. It is now the official language of the country – and you won’t learn that interesting story in any guidebook! I love learning about the local people and culture even if it can be hazardous to my health (and head) the following morning!
On Sun morning I did make it to the bus station and airport in time for my 12:30 pm flight. But on the drive to the airport the weather was not looking good? The fog was so bad/thick that we could barely see the road? It was worse at the airport! No planes were landing or taking off because they couldn’t see the islands let alone the airport! To make a very long and frustrating story short I sat at the airport for over 18 hours on Sun and
Mon before my flight finally departed at 5pm on Mon. I arrived in Stansted at 9 pm and at my friends place on the south side of London at 11 pm. We ate dinner at midnight and then I had to leave at 7:30 am to take the tube to LHR.
I was very disappointed that uncontrollable circumstances (the weather) had caused me to miss a BBQ and party with my UK mates on Sun night and a pub-crawl through London on Mon night. I had planned those two days in London because I wanted to spend some time with my UK mates because I don’t expect to be back to London for a few years? My European quest is almost finished. I have two more countries left – Bosnia and Bulgaria and I plan to run both on the same trip in Oct.
However I will have to schedule 2 or 3 marathons between now and then to keep in shape – NO – to improve my marathon shape.
So stay tuned for the next race report!
Maddog
Monday, July 11, 2005
Mountain Madness Half Marathon
Race Report
Mountain Madness Half Marathon
Steamboat Springs, CO
Sun, Jul 10/05
1:46:46 – 10th OA – 2nd AG
This Half was the final race in Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’. It happily coincided with ‘Rainbow Weekend’ in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat Springs is a lovely ski resort town located 90 minutes north of Summit County/High Country. Rainbow Weekend is a big festival weekend in Steamboat with hot-air balloon races, a pro rodeo, an arts and craft show and many free music concerts. And of course the Mountain Madness Half for those ‘crazies’ who can’t relax and enjoy all the above?
We arrived in Steamboat early Sat afternoon so we could stroll around the crafts show and enjoy some of the music concerts. Then we strolled along the lovely main street that has kept its flavor of an old western mining town to window shop and make a reservation for our pasta dinner.
I woke early on Sun morning so that I could go to the ‘Meadows’ before the race to watch the launch of the hot-air balloons. Quite a spectacular sight to watch about 75 balloons being launched at the same time!
Unfortunately I had to leave before all the balloons were launched but could see them rising and racing from the start of the Half Marathon.
The race was small with only 300 runners in the Half and 10K. The weather was sunny and warm – mid 50s at the 8am start. The race starts just off downtown Steamboat at the base of Howelsen Hill – elevation 7,000 ft. The 1st three miles are a gentle uphill and then there is a BAH that climbs relentlessly for 1 ½ miles. I ran this Half 3 years ago and remembered the BAH but must have forgotten all the hills between miles 6 and 10? Three years ago I missed the turn at 3 miles to go up the BAH and ran an extra ½ mile so I made sure that didn’t happen this year! The 1st place female passed me going up the BAH and I decided I would try to stay with her?
Around 6 miles the course looped back on itself and I was able to count the lead runners. I was in 10th place overall and there was one runner who looked like an ‘old fart’ in 7th place OA but I figured he was only in his late 40s or early 50s so I didn’t worry about him. The next/first competitor in my age group was at least 5 minutes behind me at that point and I knew he couldn’t catch me. So for motivation I decided that I would catch the lead female in the last 6 miles? I closed within 100 yards a few times but much to her credit each time she would pick up the pace and increase the lead again. We kept pushing each other and she dragged me to the finish line in 1:46:46.
At first I was very pleased with my time and performance. My time was two minutes faster than I ran 3 years ago (but I ran ½ mile farther in that race) and I finished 10th OA vs. 12th OA in 2002. BUT I soon discovered that the old fart who finished 7th OA was indeed in my age group. The youngest looking ‘old fart’ I have seen? But he beat me fair and square. Even If I had guessed he was in my age group I couldn’t have caught him. I gave everything I had to catch the lead female and she beat me by 1 minute and he was 2 minutes ahead of her!
So I was disappointed with my finish position but not my time and performance. And it had indeed been a good, hard training run/speed workout to conclude Maddog’s program.
After 6 weeks of hard training in the mountains I believe I am now in decent ‘marathon shape’ and should be able to run/race a respectable time in the Faroe Islands next weekend?
Stay tuned for the next race report.
Mountain Madness Half Marathon
Steamboat Springs, CO
Sun, Jul 10/05
1:46:46 – 10th OA – 2nd AG
This Half was the final race in Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’. It happily coincided with ‘Rainbow Weekend’ in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat Springs is a lovely ski resort town located 90 minutes north of Summit County/High Country. Rainbow Weekend is a big festival weekend in Steamboat with hot-air balloon races, a pro rodeo, an arts and craft show and many free music concerts. And of course the Mountain Madness Half for those ‘crazies’ who can’t relax and enjoy all the above?
We arrived in Steamboat early Sat afternoon so we could stroll around the crafts show and enjoy some of the music concerts. Then we strolled along the lovely main street that has kept its flavor of an old western mining town to window shop and make a reservation for our pasta dinner.
I woke early on Sun morning so that I could go to the ‘Meadows’ before the race to watch the launch of the hot-air balloons. Quite a spectacular sight to watch about 75 balloons being launched at the same time!
Unfortunately I had to leave before all the balloons were launched but could see them rising and racing from the start of the Half Marathon.
The race was small with only 300 runners in the Half and 10K. The weather was sunny and warm – mid 50s at the 8am start. The race starts just off downtown Steamboat at the base of Howelsen Hill – elevation 7,000 ft. The 1st three miles are a gentle uphill and then there is a BAH that climbs relentlessly for 1 ½ miles. I ran this Half 3 years ago and remembered the BAH but must have forgotten all the hills between miles 6 and 10? Three years ago I missed the turn at 3 miles to go up the BAH and ran an extra ½ mile so I made sure that didn’t happen this year! The 1st place female passed me going up the BAH and I decided I would try to stay with her?
Around 6 miles the course looped back on itself and I was able to count the lead runners. I was in 10th place overall and there was one runner who looked like an ‘old fart’ in 7th place OA but I figured he was only in his late 40s or early 50s so I didn’t worry about him. The next/first competitor in my age group was at least 5 minutes behind me at that point and I knew he couldn’t catch me. So for motivation I decided that I would catch the lead female in the last 6 miles? I closed within 100 yards a few times but much to her credit each time she would pick up the pace and increase the lead again. We kept pushing each other and she dragged me to the finish line in 1:46:46.
At first I was very pleased with my time and performance. My time was two minutes faster than I ran 3 years ago (but I ran ½ mile farther in that race) and I finished 10th OA vs. 12th OA in 2002. BUT I soon discovered that the old fart who finished 7th OA was indeed in my age group. The youngest looking ‘old fart’ I have seen? But he beat me fair and square. Even If I had guessed he was in my age group I couldn’t have caught him. I gave everything I had to catch the lead female and she beat me by 1 minute and he was 2 minutes ahead of her!
So I was disappointed with my finish position but not my time and performance. And it had indeed been a good, hard training run/speed workout to conclude Maddog’s program.
After 6 weeks of hard training in the mountains I believe I am now in decent ‘marathon shape’ and should be able to run/race a respectable time in the Faroe Islands next weekend?
Stay tuned for the next race report.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Leadville Trail Marathon
RACE REPORT
Sat, July 2/05
Leadville Trail Marathon
Leadville, CO
5:41:58 2AG
This marathon was another essential element of Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ – a long, tough trail run at very high altitudes to prepare me for the Mt Everest Marathon in Nov. I ran this race two years ago and had not trained properly at high altitude and it cost me dearly and painfully with severe altitude sickness above 12,500 ft. I was determined not to make that mistake again so I ran two ‘practice’ runs on Mosquito Pass – the highest/toughest section of the course in the 10 days prior to the race.
Thus I had a wee bit more confidence when I lined up with 300 runners on Sat morning for the 8am start. The weather was great – sunny and 50F. Since the forecast called for temps in the low 70s I decided not to carry warm clothes and survival gear with me. There were water/aid stations every 3 to 4 miles on the course but it can take more than one hour to run 3 miles on mountain trails so it is absolutely necessary to carry water because of the dry, thin mountain air. So I wore a small waist pack that could carry one water bottle and 8 packs of carbo gel vs. a backpack that would weigh more and be more cumbersome.
The race started on the east side of Leadville at 10,200 ft. and climbed up a paved and dirt road for 1½ miles to a rocky 4X4 road that climbed steeply to the 12,000 ft level of Ball Mtn. I reached the 1st aid station at mile 4 in 54:41. At that point the course made a 3-mile circular loop around – and up and down - Ball Mtn on a single-track trail to return to the same aid station at 7 miles. I remembered from the race two years ago that there were NO flat sections to this course! The next 2.6 miles of the course descended 1000+ vertical ft on an old mining road to the bottom of Mosquito Pass. Because the road was in good shape I was able to haul ass and reached the next aid station in 23:03. That aid station was farther from the bottom of Mosquito Pass than I remembered? I had parked about ½ mile closer to the Pass for my practice runs. I quickly realized that the ‘practice’ runs were not a very good imitation of the real world! There is a BIG difference between getting out of a car and making a practice run up Mosquito Pass on fresh legs vs. arriving at the bottom of the Pass after running 9.6 miles and 5000+ vertical ft of elevation change in 1:58:48!
My legs were already beat up and tired and my lungs were burning from the altitude and thin mountain air! It seemed that I had to walk most of the 2200+ vertical ft of the ascent up Mosquito Pass? Around 12,800 ft three gray hairs/old farts passed me on their descent. It looked like at least one of them had to be in my age group and the last guy had at least a 10-minute lead on me! I pushed the pace as hard as I could to make up some time. That effort resulted in some minor stomach cramps (altitude sickness) for a few minutes. I finally reached the summit of Mosquito Pass (13,185 ft) and the Half marathon mark in 3:02:29. Surprisingly that was about the same time/pace I had run on my practice runs?
It was very windy and COLD at the top of the Pass and some runners stopped to put on a jacket and warm clothes. I didn’t have any but it was not nearly as cold as last Wed during my 2nd trial run so I just refilled my water bottle and headed back down the mountain. I briefly contemplated hauling ass on the descent down Mosquito Pass to try to catch the old farts but I figured that I couldn’t catch them unless they crashed and slowed significantly during the 2nd Half. So I wisely decided to stay with my game plan to run the descents cautiously and safely to avoid any risk of a fall and injury. I managed to run the descent in 36:13 – an average 10-min pace so I was quite satisfied considering that the downhill runners were forced to use the bad/dangerous side of the trail because the uphill runners were hogging the good/safe side!
Since the course retraced the same loop back to the start/finish line it was now necessary to climb the old mining road back to the 12,000 ft level of Ball Mtn. Since the road was in good shape and not too steep I was able to run most of the ascent and reached the aid station at mile 19 in 4:15:15. I figured that I needed to run the 3-mile loop (in reverse) around Ball Mtn in 45 minutes to arrive back at the aid station in 5:00 if I wanted to reach the finish line under 6 hrs? Let me tell you – that was the longest/toughest/most painful 3-mile loop I have ever run! It just kept going up and down - up and down - and on and on? I couldn’t remember it being that tough/bad on the first loop? As I struggled to walk up the steep and treacherous single-track trail at mile 22 - ‘one step at a time’- I tried to console myself with the knowledge that “I have only run one other marathon –anywhere in the world – that is tougher than this one – Pike’s Peak”!
I finally reached the top of that friggin hill and the aid station at mile 22 in 5:04! It had taken 49 minutes to run/walk 3 miles! Now I was concerned. I had 56 minutes to reach the finish line – I had to do better than a 16- min pace! Fortunately the last 4 miles were mostly downhill but the first 2 1/2 miles were very steep, rocky and treacherous! Again I contemplated abandoning my ‘safety first’ strategy but decided I would rather miss my time goal by a few minutes than risk a fall and injury. But I did push the pace as fast as I could with safety as the priority and I was rewarded with a pleasant surprise when I reached the dirt/paved road on the edge of town in 5:30. Damn – if I could haul ass on the last 1½ miles I could break 5:45!
Since the roads had nice smooth surfaces –no tree roots and rocks – and were downhill I dug deep and took advantage of gravity to haul ass and cross the finish line in 5:41:58! That time was 14 minutes faster than I ran 2 years ago when I was a youngster in my 50s! Does this result prove that old proverb “You don’t get older – you just get better”?
Surprisingly that time was also good enough for 2nd place in my age group. I only missed 1st place by 4 minutes so obviously the winner did fade/slow in the 2nd Half – but not enough! My strategy/decision to run the descents safely probably cost me 1st place but I didn’t care. I was very pleased with both my time and performance. I had achieved my objective – to run a long, tough trail run at very high altitudes and most importantly to finish healthy and injury-free (if I don’t count the toenail I lost during the race).
Thankfully there is only one more week left in Maddog’s training program and he has decided to conclude it with another speed workout – the ‘Mountain Madness Half Marathon’ in Steamboat Springs next weekend. I ran this race 3 years ago and won my age group in spite of missing a turn in the mountains and running an extra ½ mile. I would like to repeat that performance (minus the extra ½ mile) to conclude the program!
Stay tuned for the next race report!
Sat, July 2/05
Leadville Trail Marathon
Leadville, CO
5:41:58 2AG
This marathon was another essential element of Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ – a long, tough trail run at very high altitudes to prepare me for the Mt Everest Marathon in Nov. I ran this race two years ago and had not trained properly at high altitude and it cost me dearly and painfully with severe altitude sickness above 12,500 ft. I was determined not to make that mistake again so I ran two ‘practice’ runs on Mosquito Pass – the highest/toughest section of the course in the 10 days prior to the race.
Thus I had a wee bit more confidence when I lined up with 300 runners on Sat morning for the 8am start. The weather was great – sunny and 50F. Since the forecast called for temps in the low 70s I decided not to carry warm clothes and survival gear with me. There were water/aid stations every 3 to 4 miles on the course but it can take more than one hour to run 3 miles on mountain trails so it is absolutely necessary to carry water because of the dry, thin mountain air. So I wore a small waist pack that could carry one water bottle and 8 packs of carbo gel vs. a backpack that would weigh more and be more cumbersome.
The race started on the east side of Leadville at 10,200 ft. and climbed up a paved and dirt road for 1½ miles to a rocky 4X4 road that climbed steeply to the 12,000 ft level of Ball Mtn. I reached the 1st aid station at mile 4 in 54:41. At that point the course made a 3-mile circular loop around – and up and down - Ball Mtn on a single-track trail to return to the same aid station at 7 miles. I remembered from the race two years ago that there were NO flat sections to this course! The next 2.6 miles of the course descended 1000+ vertical ft on an old mining road to the bottom of Mosquito Pass. Because the road was in good shape I was able to haul ass and reached the next aid station in 23:03. That aid station was farther from the bottom of Mosquito Pass than I remembered? I had parked about ½ mile closer to the Pass for my practice runs. I quickly realized that the ‘practice’ runs were not a very good imitation of the real world! There is a BIG difference between getting out of a car and making a practice run up Mosquito Pass on fresh legs vs. arriving at the bottom of the Pass after running 9.6 miles and 5000+ vertical ft of elevation change in 1:58:48!
My legs were already beat up and tired and my lungs were burning from the altitude and thin mountain air! It seemed that I had to walk most of the 2200+ vertical ft of the ascent up Mosquito Pass? Around 12,800 ft three gray hairs/old farts passed me on their descent. It looked like at least one of them had to be in my age group and the last guy had at least a 10-minute lead on me! I pushed the pace as hard as I could to make up some time. That effort resulted in some minor stomach cramps (altitude sickness) for a few minutes. I finally reached the summit of Mosquito Pass (13,185 ft) and the Half marathon mark in 3:02:29. Surprisingly that was about the same time/pace I had run on my practice runs?
It was very windy and COLD at the top of the Pass and some runners stopped to put on a jacket and warm clothes. I didn’t have any but it was not nearly as cold as last Wed during my 2nd trial run so I just refilled my water bottle and headed back down the mountain. I briefly contemplated hauling ass on the descent down Mosquito Pass to try to catch the old farts but I figured that I couldn’t catch them unless they crashed and slowed significantly during the 2nd Half. So I wisely decided to stay with my game plan to run the descents cautiously and safely to avoid any risk of a fall and injury. I managed to run the descent in 36:13 – an average 10-min pace so I was quite satisfied considering that the downhill runners were forced to use the bad/dangerous side of the trail because the uphill runners were hogging the good/safe side!
Since the course retraced the same loop back to the start/finish line it was now necessary to climb the old mining road back to the 12,000 ft level of Ball Mtn. Since the road was in good shape and not too steep I was able to run most of the ascent and reached the aid station at mile 19 in 4:15:15. I figured that I needed to run the 3-mile loop (in reverse) around Ball Mtn in 45 minutes to arrive back at the aid station in 5:00 if I wanted to reach the finish line under 6 hrs? Let me tell you – that was the longest/toughest/most painful 3-mile loop I have ever run! It just kept going up and down - up and down - and on and on? I couldn’t remember it being that tough/bad on the first loop? As I struggled to walk up the steep and treacherous single-track trail at mile 22 - ‘one step at a time’- I tried to console myself with the knowledge that “I have only run one other marathon –anywhere in the world – that is tougher than this one – Pike’s Peak”!
I finally reached the top of that friggin hill and the aid station at mile 22 in 5:04! It had taken 49 minutes to run/walk 3 miles! Now I was concerned. I had 56 minutes to reach the finish line – I had to do better than a 16- min pace! Fortunately the last 4 miles were mostly downhill but the first 2 1/2 miles were very steep, rocky and treacherous! Again I contemplated abandoning my ‘safety first’ strategy but decided I would rather miss my time goal by a few minutes than risk a fall and injury. But I did push the pace as fast as I could with safety as the priority and I was rewarded with a pleasant surprise when I reached the dirt/paved road on the edge of town in 5:30. Damn – if I could haul ass on the last 1½ miles I could break 5:45!
Since the roads had nice smooth surfaces –no tree roots and rocks – and were downhill I dug deep and took advantage of gravity to haul ass and cross the finish line in 5:41:58! That time was 14 minutes faster than I ran 2 years ago when I was a youngster in my 50s! Does this result prove that old proverb “You don’t get older – you just get better”?
Surprisingly that time was also good enough for 2nd place in my age group. I only missed 1st place by 4 minutes so obviously the winner did fade/slow in the 2nd Half – but not enough! My strategy/decision to run the descents safely probably cost me 1st place but I didn’t care. I was very pleased with both my time and performance. I had achieved my objective – to run a long, tough trail run at very high altitudes and most importantly to finish healthy and injury-free (if I don’t count the toenail I lost during the race).
Thankfully there is only one more week left in Maddog’s training program and he has decided to conclude it with another speed workout – the ‘Mountain Madness Half Marathon’ in Steamboat Springs next weekend. I ran this race 3 years ago and won my age group in spite of missing a turn in the mountains and running an extra ½ mile. I would like to repeat that performance (minus the extra ½ mile) to conclude the program!
Stay tuned for the next race report!
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Slacker Half Marathon
RACE REPORT
Sat, Jun 25, 2005
Slacker Half Marathon
Loveland Ski Resort, CO (10,630 ft)
1:41:53 1st AG
This race was another strategic element of Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ – important/necessary to improve leg turnover and speed!
I ran this race last year. It starts in front of the ski lifts at the Loveland Ski Resort on the eastern slope of the Continental Divide – near the Eisenhower Tunnel – elevation 10,630 ft. and finishes in Georgetown at 8,500 ft. It is billed as ‘the highest Half in the country’ (wrong! - Pike’s Peak Ascent/Half finishes at 14,100 ft.) It is also billed as a ‘fast, downhill’ course? They neglect to inform runners that the 1st half-mile is uphill!
I won my age group last year in 1:41:09. I wanted to defend my Senior Title but felt – NO – I knew that a 1:41 was out of the question because I am not (yet) in as good as shape as last year! I figured 1:45 would win my age group so that was my time goal!
Because the race/course is fast it attracts many of the ‘big dogs’ from Denver and the Front Range and the competition is stiff. Thus I lined up with approximately 600 runners for the 8am start. The weather was great – sunny with a temp of 51F. Remembering that very tough 1st half-mile from last year I started slower – reached mile 1 in 8:19 sucking desperately for air/oxygen! Mile 2 – 7:40 so I was right on target with an average 8-min pace.
The first 5 miles of the course are a dirt and rocky service road through a National Forest. The road is in good shape but it is necessary to be very careful not to trip or sprain an ankle on the rocks. I reached mile 5 where the dirt road became a paved road in 38:24. I was ahead of pace? However mile 6 was a tough uphill and I slowed to 8:19. But the next 6 miles were all downhill. I passed mile 9 in 1:10 – still ahead of pace! Miles 9 to 12 are a very steep downhill on a paved bike path from Silver Plume to Georgetown. Last year I remembered having to brake most of the way down but this year I decided to turn the legs over as fast as necessary to keep up with gravity. I flew down that 3-mile section! Mile 11 was a blazing 6:10 pace! I figured the mile marker had to be wrong because I can’t remember the last time I ran a 6:10 mile – especially at 9,000 ft? I knew that the last mile in and around Georgetown was fairly flat with several small hills and I hoped that my kamikaze strategy would not result in a crash and burn? When I reached Georgetown and mile 12 in 1:32:26 my legs were shot but I figured even if I slowed to a 10-min pace I would finish in 1:42!
I dug deep and kept the legs moving even though I desperately wanted to walk. About ½ mile from the finish line I was ready to give in to the pain and desperate need to walk when I noticed a few runners closing on me. No damn way was I going to be passed in the last half-mile! Maddog screamed at me “Dig deeper – ignore the pain – push to the finish line”! At mile 13 there was a short, steep hill – shades of Estes Park last weekend? But this time I charged up the hill and turned the final corner to receive a huge surprise – in fact a SHOCK! The finish clock was reading 1:41 and change? I couldn’t believe I had run/finished that fast! I was so exhilarated that I sprinted the final block to cross the finish line in 1:41:53!
I had won my age group and successfully defended my Senior Title! Needless to say I was very pleased/elated with my time and performance. For once even the Maddog had no complaints/gripes/whining! I had run a smart, disciplined race (well- maybe a few crazy miles?) – had run way over my head and finished in a time that I thought impossible before the race! Proves that the hard work/training will produce improvement and good results!
Maddog says I must stay with the ‘Program’ so he has scheduled another difficult challenge/test for next weekend – the Leadville Trail Marathon. It is a trail marathon with a lowest elevation of 10,500 ft at the start/finish in Leadville and a highest elevation of 13, 185 ft at the summit of Mosquito Pass.
Stay tuned for the next race report - only don’t expect the same kind of results because I am not a good/fast trail runner and I intend to run slow and cautiously since I can’t afford to risk a fall or injury only two weeks before my next European trip/marathon.
Sat, Jun 25, 2005
Slacker Half Marathon
Loveland Ski Resort, CO (10,630 ft)
1:41:53 1st AG
This race was another strategic element of Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ – important/necessary to improve leg turnover and speed!
I ran this race last year. It starts in front of the ski lifts at the Loveland Ski Resort on the eastern slope of the Continental Divide – near the Eisenhower Tunnel – elevation 10,630 ft. and finishes in Georgetown at 8,500 ft. It is billed as ‘the highest Half in the country’ (wrong! - Pike’s Peak Ascent/Half finishes at 14,100 ft.) It is also billed as a ‘fast, downhill’ course? They neglect to inform runners that the 1st half-mile is uphill!
I won my age group last year in 1:41:09. I wanted to defend my Senior Title but felt – NO – I knew that a 1:41 was out of the question because I am not (yet) in as good as shape as last year! I figured 1:45 would win my age group so that was my time goal!
Because the race/course is fast it attracts many of the ‘big dogs’ from Denver and the Front Range and the competition is stiff. Thus I lined up with approximately 600 runners for the 8am start. The weather was great – sunny with a temp of 51F. Remembering that very tough 1st half-mile from last year I started slower – reached mile 1 in 8:19 sucking desperately for air/oxygen! Mile 2 – 7:40 so I was right on target with an average 8-min pace.
The first 5 miles of the course are a dirt and rocky service road through a National Forest. The road is in good shape but it is necessary to be very careful not to trip or sprain an ankle on the rocks. I reached mile 5 where the dirt road became a paved road in 38:24. I was ahead of pace? However mile 6 was a tough uphill and I slowed to 8:19. But the next 6 miles were all downhill. I passed mile 9 in 1:10 – still ahead of pace! Miles 9 to 12 are a very steep downhill on a paved bike path from Silver Plume to Georgetown. Last year I remembered having to brake most of the way down but this year I decided to turn the legs over as fast as necessary to keep up with gravity. I flew down that 3-mile section! Mile 11 was a blazing 6:10 pace! I figured the mile marker had to be wrong because I can’t remember the last time I ran a 6:10 mile – especially at 9,000 ft? I knew that the last mile in and around Georgetown was fairly flat with several small hills and I hoped that my kamikaze strategy would not result in a crash and burn? When I reached Georgetown and mile 12 in 1:32:26 my legs were shot but I figured even if I slowed to a 10-min pace I would finish in 1:42!
I dug deep and kept the legs moving even though I desperately wanted to walk. About ½ mile from the finish line I was ready to give in to the pain and desperate need to walk when I noticed a few runners closing on me. No damn way was I going to be passed in the last half-mile! Maddog screamed at me “Dig deeper – ignore the pain – push to the finish line”! At mile 13 there was a short, steep hill – shades of Estes Park last weekend? But this time I charged up the hill and turned the final corner to receive a huge surprise – in fact a SHOCK! The finish clock was reading 1:41 and change? I couldn’t believe I had run/finished that fast! I was so exhilarated that I sprinted the final block to cross the finish line in 1:41:53!
I had won my age group and successfully defended my Senior Title! Needless to say I was very pleased/elated with my time and performance. For once even the Maddog had no complaints/gripes/whining! I had run a smart, disciplined race (well- maybe a few crazy miles?) – had run way over my head and finished in a time that I thought impossible before the race! Proves that the hard work/training will produce improvement and good results!
Maddog says I must stay with the ‘Program’ so he has scheduled another difficult challenge/test for next weekend – the Leadville Trail Marathon. It is a trail marathon with a lowest elevation of 10,500 ft at the start/finish in Leadville and a highest elevation of 13, 185 ft at the summit of Mosquito Pass.
Stay tuned for the next race report - only don’t expect the same kind of results because I am not a good/fast trail runner and I intend to run slow and cautiously since I can’t afford to risk a fall or injury only two weeks before my next European trip/marathon.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Estes Park Marathon
RACE REPORT
Sun, Jun 19/05
Estes Park Marathon
Estes Park, CO
‘The highest paved marathon in the world’
Marathon # 244
Time: 4:02:11 - New course record for 60+ Age Group
16th OA – 1st AG
This marathon was scheduled as part of Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ in order to beat my old, fat, out-of-shape body back into marathon shape. It was described as a tough, hilly marathon and ‘the highest paved marathon in the world’. Just the right medicine needed to do the job!
On Sat morning the sports manager and I drove over to Estes Park, CO using the back roads through Black Hawk and Nederland – a very scenic route along the western slopes of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. When we arrived in Estes Park I picked up my race packet at the high school and then we decided to drive some sections of the course to check out the hills. I had looked at the course map and profile on the Internet and it looked ugly? I had also checked the winning times for my age group last year and nobody had run under 4 hrs so my initial reaction was to set a realistic time goal of 4:15.
However after driving most of the course I decided that the hills did not look that bad and I lowered my time goal to 4 hours.
Enough race preparation – time to explore the town of Estes Park. It is a pretty little town nestled in Estes Valley at an elevation of 7600 ft. The Big Thompson River flows through the middle of the town into Lake Estes on the east side of the town. It has been a ‘tourist’ town/destination for many years since it is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. To the south the Front Range, including Longs Peak (14, 255 ft) towers above the valley and town. To the west Rocky Mountain National Park unveils a stunning array of mountain peaks, 74 of which reach elevations of 12,000 ft or more. The town has a lot of neat shops, bars and cafes overlooking the Big Thompson River.
We enjoyed a great pasta dinner at the main sponsor’s restaurant – Mama Rose’s Italian – overlooking the river while listening to live music being played along the riverbank. It is definitely a neat town to visit! I would have liked to have stayed and sipped some wine/beer while listening to the music but unfortunately alcohol is not permitted the night before a race! So off to bed to get ready for an early race start.
There were 3 races – marathon, half and 10k. They all started and finished at the high school. The marathon and half started together at 7am. It was sunny and a warm 62F at the 7am start and warmed up rapidly to the 80s by the time we finished. I knew a few runners (members of the 50 States Club) as I lined up with about 400 runners to start the race. The marathon started at 7600 ft. The first mile was uphill and mile 2 was downhill. Then the fun began! Miles 3 through 6 climbed 550 vertical ft to the highest elevation (8150 ft) of the course. Fortunately the climb was steady and gentle and my training on my favorite hill loop had prepared me well for the challenge. I crested that BAH (Bad Ass Hill) and reached mile 6 in 53:52. Mile 7 was fairly flat along Mary’s Lake but then the course dropped 700 vertical feet over the next 3 miles. It was difficult to control my pace/speed as I braked all the way down at a sub 8-min pace and passed 10 miles in 1:27:38. I was hoping that those hills had not beaten my legs up too badly?
I passed the Half in 1:55:31 and knew at that point that my legs could not manage that same pace through the 2nd Half. But I had almost 5 minutes in the bank so I decided to hold that pace for as long as possible and try to beat 4 hrs! Mile 15 was another BAH that climbed from Lake Estes up into the hills/mountains north of the town. By the time I crested that BAH I was all alone and never saw another runner until mile 17. Then the fun began again. Miles 17 through 20 were uphill! The hill just kept going – and going – and going! I struggled to run a 10-min pace for the first 2 miles and mile 20 was an agonizingly slow and painful 10:30! I reached mile 20 in 3:02:15. I had 58 minutes to run the last 10K! But the hills had really beaten up my legs. I figured I might still have a chance if there were enough downhills to help me recover and make up some time. At that point the 1st-place female caught and passed me. I remember thinking “she is running so smooth and easy – if I can just stay with her she will drag me across the finish line under 4 hrs”!
I dug deep and stayed with her through mile 21 but mile 22 was yet another BAH and as I struggled up that hill in 10:34 I watched her quickly leave my sad, tired, old butt behind. Not a damn thing I could do about it! I reached mile 22 in 3:21:29. I had 38 minutes to run the final 4.2 miles. Doable - but not with my legs. They were totally trashed and running on energy fumes! And there just wasn’t enough air/oxygen to light the fumes? I figured it was going to be very- very close! Maybe 4 hrs plus/minus one minute. So I kept plugging away and hoping for a miracle recovery over the final 4 miles? The course re-entered downtown Estes Park at mile 24 – time 3:40:13. But no miracles had occurred and now there wasn’t even any energy fumes left in the legs – there was nothing! I started to console myself that 4:01 wasn’t that bad? At mile 25 I was forced to go into ‘survival’ mode – i.e. try to finish the race ALIVE, w/o an injury and preferably w/o walking! At mile 26 there was a short steep hill from the bike path up to the high school. I didn’t think I could make it – I wanted to sit down and rest (and cry) for a few minutes before I tried to climb that mountain! All I can remember is some idiot volunteer shouting “just a short hill up to the track – you look good – you can make it”! I managed to answer “Well I feel like shit”!
Somehow I did make it up that hill and on to the school track. Normally I can muster up one final jolt of adrenaline to ‘sprint’ across the finish line. But not this day! All I could think as I struggled the final 400 yards was that I had certainly not left anything on the course today! I crossed the finish line in 4:02:11!
At first I was a wee bit disappointed that I had not finished under 4 hrs but then I confirmed that I had won my age group and was also told that I had set a new course record for the Senior/ROF (Real Old Farts) Division. I had beaten the old record by 7 minutes. So I guess I didn’t do too bad after all?
Now that I have run ‘the highest paved marathon in the world’ I figure I should change my mind and also run ‘the highest marathon in the world’ (Mt Everest) in the same year?
With the minor failure and major successes of this race I now feel that I am making some improvement/progress in my base/endurance conditioning. But my ability to run a fast pace for a long time is pitiful! Only speed work can correct this disability. To that end I have signed up for a very fast Half next weekend. It starts at 10,600 ft and drops 2000+ vertical ft over the first 12 miles. That should help improve my leg turnover and speed?
So stay tuned for the next race report – or obituary?
Maddog
Sun, Jun 19/05
Estes Park Marathon
Estes Park, CO
‘The highest paved marathon in the world’
Marathon # 244
Time: 4:02:11 - New course record for 60+ Age Group
16th OA – 1st AG
This marathon was scheduled as part of Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ in order to beat my old, fat, out-of-shape body back into marathon shape. It was described as a tough, hilly marathon and ‘the highest paved marathon in the world’. Just the right medicine needed to do the job!
On Sat morning the sports manager and I drove over to Estes Park, CO using the back roads through Black Hawk and Nederland – a very scenic route along the western slopes of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. When we arrived in Estes Park I picked up my race packet at the high school and then we decided to drive some sections of the course to check out the hills. I had looked at the course map and profile on the Internet and it looked ugly? I had also checked the winning times for my age group last year and nobody had run under 4 hrs so my initial reaction was to set a realistic time goal of 4:15.
However after driving most of the course I decided that the hills did not look that bad and I lowered my time goal to 4 hours.
Enough race preparation – time to explore the town of Estes Park. It is a pretty little town nestled in Estes Valley at an elevation of 7600 ft. The Big Thompson River flows through the middle of the town into Lake Estes on the east side of the town. It has been a ‘tourist’ town/destination for many years since it is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. To the south the Front Range, including Longs Peak (14, 255 ft) towers above the valley and town. To the west Rocky Mountain National Park unveils a stunning array of mountain peaks, 74 of which reach elevations of 12,000 ft or more. The town has a lot of neat shops, bars and cafes overlooking the Big Thompson River.
We enjoyed a great pasta dinner at the main sponsor’s restaurant – Mama Rose’s Italian – overlooking the river while listening to live music being played along the riverbank. It is definitely a neat town to visit! I would have liked to have stayed and sipped some wine/beer while listening to the music but unfortunately alcohol is not permitted the night before a race! So off to bed to get ready for an early race start.
There were 3 races – marathon, half and 10k. They all started and finished at the high school. The marathon and half started together at 7am. It was sunny and a warm 62F at the 7am start and warmed up rapidly to the 80s by the time we finished. I knew a few runners (members of the 50 States Club) as I lined up with about 400 runners to start the race. The marathon started at 7600 ft. The first mile was uphill and mile 2 was downhill. Then the fun began! Miles 3 through 6 climbed 550 vertical ft to the highest elevation (8150 ft) of the course. Fortunately the climb was steady and gentle and my training on my favorite hill loop had prepared me well for the challenge. I crested that BAH (Bad Ass Hill) and reached mile 6 in 53:52. Mile 7 was fairly flat along Mary’s Lake but then the course dropped 700 vertical feet over the next 3 miles. It was difficult to control my pace/speed as I braked all the way down at a sub 8-min pace and passed 10 miles in 1:27:38. I was hoping that those hills had not beaten my legs up too badly?
I passed the Half in 1:55:31 and knew at that point that my legs could not manage that same pace through the 2nd Half. But I had almost 5 minutes in the bank so I decided to hold that pace for as long as possible and try to beat 4 hrs! Mile 15 was another BAH that climbed from Lake Estes up into the hills/mountains north of the town. By the time I crested that BAH I was all alone and never saw another runner until mile 17. Then the fun began again. Miles 17 through 20 were uphill! The hill just kept going – and going – and going! I struggled to run a 10-min pace for the first 2 miles and mile 20 was an agonizingly slow and painful 10:30! I reached mile 20 in 3:02:15. I had 58 minutes to run the last 10K! But the hills had really beaten up my legs. I figured I might still have a chance if there were enough downhills to help me recover and make up some time. At that point the 1st-place female caught and passed me. I remember thinking “she is running so smooth and easy – if I can just stay with her she will drag me across the finish line under 4 hrs”!
I dug deep and stayed with her through mile 21 but mile 22 was yet another BAH and as I struggled up that hill in 10:34 I watched her quickly leave my sad, tired, old butt behind. Not a damn thing I could do about it! I reached mile 22 in 3:21:29. I had 38 minutes to run the final 4.2 miles. Doable - but not with my legs. They were totally trashed and running on energy fumes! And there just wasn’t enough air/oxygen to light the fumes? I figured it was going to be very- very close! Maybe 4 hrs plus/minus one minute. So I kept plugging away and hoping for a miracle recovery over the final 4 miles? The course re-entered downtown Estes Park at mile 24 – time 3:40:13. But no miracles had occurred and now there wasn’t even any energy fumes left in the legs – there was nothing! I started to console myself that 4:01 wasn’t that bad? At mile 25 I was forced to go into ‘survival’ mode – i.e. try to finish the race ALIVE, w/o an injury and preferably w/o walking! At mile 26 there was a short steep hill from the bike path up to the high school. I didn’t think I could make it – I wanted to sit down and rest (and cry) for a few minutes before I tried to climb that mountain! All I can remember is some idiot volunteer shouting “just a short hill up to the track – you look good – you can make it”! I managed to answer “Well I feel like shit”!
Somehow I did make it up that hill and on to the school track. Normally I can muster up one final jolt of adrenaline to ‘sprint’ across the finish line. But not this day! All I could think as I struggled the final 400 yards was that I had certainly not left anything on the course today! I crossed the finish line in 4:02:11!
At first I was a wee bit disappointed that I had not finished under 4 hrs but then I confirmed that I had won my age group and was also told that I had set a new course record for the Senior/ROF (Real Old Farts) Division. I had beaten the old record by 7 minutes. So I guess I didn’t do too bad after all?
Now that I have run ‘the highest paved marathon in the world’ I figure I should change my mind and also run ‘the highest marathon in the world’ (Mt Everest) in the same year?
With the minor failure and major successes of this race I now feel that I am making some improvement/progress in my base/endurance conditioning. But my ability to run a fast pace for a long time is pitiful! Only speed work can correct this disability. To that end I have signed up for a very fast Half next weekend. It starts at 10,600 ft and drops 2000+ vertical ft over the first 12 miles. That should help improve my leg turnover and speed?
So stay tuned for the next race report – or obituary?
Maddog
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Run the Rockies Half
Race Report
Sat, Jun 11/05
Run the Rockies
Frisco, CO
Half Marathon
1:50:38 - 2nd AG
Run the Rockies is one of my favorite Half Marathons in the High Country. The race starts at the base of the Copper Mtn ski resort (elevation 9700 ft) and runs downhill on a paved bike path to Frisco. The first 10K drops 600 vertical ft to finish in downtown Frisco (9100 ft). For those stupid enough to run the Half the next 11K runs through a series of rolling hills – many of them BAH (Bad Ass Hills) – on a bike path towards Breckenridge and then loops back on the same path to finish in Frisco.
We had rain and snow again on Fri night so it was sunny and a chilly 29F when 400 runners lined up at Copper Mtn for the 8:30 am start but it warmed up to a balmy 40F at the finish. I had set a goal of 1:50. I wanted to run under 1:45 but believed it was unrealistic to average an 8-min pace in my current marathon shape and the high altitude. Thus my strategy was to run sub 8s for the first 10 Km and then try to run 8:30/8:45s over the final 11K. At mile 2 I was averaging an 8:10 pace and sucking air desperately. Mile 3 was 7:30 and finally by mile 4 I had settled into an 8-min pace. I reached mile 6 in 47:32 and was wishing that I had signed up for the 10K and NOT the Half! But I needed the training/punishment/pain to beat the old bod into marathon shape – continue on! Mile 7 was fairly flat with a few hills – 8:46. Unfortunately mile 8 was all uphill and all I could manage was a 9:28 pushing as hard as I physically could! The pain level was increasing and my goal was not looking good? The hills continued and mile 10 was the toughest mile of the race – a very steep BAH! I managed to crest the top of that BAH in 9:31 but my legs were drained and my lungs were on fire! Thankfully mile 11 had a few downhills that allowed my legs to recover and my lungs to get some air/oxygen back into them –a 9:08 pace but the time was 1:32:38. I needed to run 8:45s for the final 2 miles – on dead legs and burning lungs?
Mile 11 was all downhill and I managed to push the pace back down to 8:14. But the time was 1:40:53 – only 9 minutes to finish the last 1.1 miles? I had noticed at least one or two ‘gray hairs’ or competitors in my age group on the return loop and I knew I could not catch them. But I wasn’t going to give up and continued to push as hard as I could but alas there just wasn’t enough energy in the legs and air in the lungs to hold an 8-min pace through the hills on the final mile and I crossed the finish line in 1:50:38.
I was neither surprised nor disappointed to learn that I had finished 2nd in my age group. I had figured a 1:45 would be needed for 1st place and that was the winning time. But I was disappointed in my time and performance. Even though I pushed as hard as I could and left nothing on the course I was not pleased with my progress and improvement. I guess I need to push harder in my training?
I WILL train/push harder this coming week to prepare myself for a very tough challenge next weekend – the highest paved marathon in the world!
Stay tuned for the next report.
Sat, Jun 11/05
Run the Rockies
Frisco, CO
Half Marathon
1:50:38 - 2nd AG
Run the Rockies is one of my favorite Half Marathons in the High Country. The race starts at the base of the Copper Mtn ski resort (elevation 9700 ft) and runs downhill on a paved bike path to Frisco. The first 10K drops 600 vertical ft to finish in downtown Frisco (9100 ft). For those stupid enough to run the Half the next 11K runs through a series of rolling hills – many of them BAH (Bad Ass Hills) – on a bike path towards Breckenridge and then loops back on the same path to finish in Frisco.
We had rain and snow again on Fri night so it was sunny and a chilly 29F when 400 runners lined up at Copper Mtn for the 8:30 am start but it warmed up to a balmy 40F at the finish. I had set a goal of 1:50. I wanted to run under 1:45 but believed it was unrealistic to average an 8-min pace in my current marathon shape and the high altitude. Thus my strategy was to run sub 8s for the first 10 Km and then try to run 8:30/8:45s over the final 11K. At mile 2 I was averaging an 8:10 pace and sucking air desperately. Mile 3 was 7:30 and finally by mile 4 I had settled into an 8-min pace. I reached mile 6 in 47:32 and was wishing that I had signed up for the 10K and NOT the Half! But I needed the training/punishment/pain to beat the old bod into marathon shape – continue on! Mile 7 was fairly flat with a few hills – 8:46. Unfortunately mile 8 was all uphill and all I could manage was a 9:28 pushing as hard as I physically could! The pain level was increasing and my goal was not looking good? The hills continued and mile 10 was the toughest mile of the race – a very steep BAH! I managed to crest the top of that BAH in 9:31 but my legs were drained and my lungs were on fire! Thankfully mile 11 had a few downhills that allowed my legs to recover and my lungs to get some air/oxygen back into them –a 9:08 pace but the time was 1:32:38. I needed to run 8:45s for the final 2 miles – on dead legs and burning lungs?
Mile 11 was all downhill and I managed to push the pace back down to 8:14. But the time was 1:40:53 – only 9 minutes to finish the last 1.1 miles? I had noticed at least one or two ‘gray hairs’ or competitors in my age group on the return loop and I knew I could not catch them. But I wasn’t going to give up and continued to push as hard as I could but alas there just wasn’t enough energy in the legs and air in the lungs to hold an 8-min pace through the hills on the final mile and I crossed the finish line in 1:50:38.
I was neither surprised nor disappointed to learn that I had finished 2nd in my age group. I had figured a 1:45 would be needed for 1st place and that was the winning time. But I was disappointed in my time and performance. Even though I pushed as hard as I could and left nothing on the course I was not pleased with my progress and improvement. I guess I need to push harder in my training?
I WILL train/push harder this coming week to prepare myself for a very tough challenge next weekend – the highest paved marathon in the world!
Stay tuned for the next report.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Steamboat Springs Marathon
RACE REPORT
Sun, Jun 5/05
Steamboat Marathon
Steamboat Springs, CO
Marathon # 243
Time: 3:57:58 - 1st AG
This was a totally unplanned, impromptu race. There were so many reasons why I shouldn’t run a marathon:
Lack of training – I had run very few training miles since we returned from Europe due to that flu bug and the move from FL to CO
Only one week of altitude training/adjustment
I was in very poor marathon condition
But then again there were a few reasons why I should run a marathon:
I had logged 70 miles in the mtns in my first week in the High Country
What better way to correct all of the above than to run a tough, hilly marathon at high altitude?
Then Mother Nature added some additional concerns/reasons “not to run the marathon”. As you saw by the photos I sent, the weather was horrific for the two days before the race. It snowed Fri and Sat and was still snowing when we (the sports manager and I) left home for Steamboat Springs at noon on Sat. But the weather forecast called for sun and temps in the mid 60s on Sun? The snow soon changed to rain and we even had flashes of sun on the drive to Steamboat – until we drove up Rabbit Ears Pass (9,500 ft) where it was raining and the fog was so thick we couldn’t see more than 25 ft! When we arrived in Steamboat it was raining so I collected my race package and we secluded ourselves in the hotel. We were disappointed because we wanted to stroll and window-shop in Steamboat because it is such a nice place to visit – an old western town – now a ski resort village with lots of neat shops, bars and cafes. No such luck – it was still raining when we went for dinner. I was beginning to worry about the forecast – I did not want to run at high elevations in such terrible weather!
But the weather Gods smiled on us and it was sunny with few clouds when I lined up for the bus at 6am. The course is point-to point and starts at Hahn’s Peak (an extinct volcanic mtn) 26 miles northwest of Steamboat. It was sunny with a light breeze and temps in the mid 40s at the 7:30am start. The temps gradually warmed up to 60F when I crossed the finish line. What great weather for a race!
There were 500 runners in the Marathon and 900 in the Half. The race starts at 8128 ft – drops about 200 vertical ft over the first 3 miles and then climbs to the highest point of the course –8178 ft. at mile 4. The course then drops 1400 vertical ft over the next 17 miles although there are several rolling hills and many of them are BAH (Bad Ass Hills). Coming down off the BAH at mile 4 a runner with a gray hair and beard blew by me. Could he be in my age group? I decided to let him go. I ran this race last year with two mates from the UK. I had been in much better shape and had trained at high altitude for one month. I had started out too fast and struggled over the last 10K so I was determined not to make that mistake this year – especially for the reasons above. My goal was to finish under 4 hours so I tried to run a 9-min pace for the 1st Half. However the hills made it difficult/impossible to run a consistent pace so I decided to pace strictly off my heart monitor. It kind of worked as I passed 10 miles in 1:25 and the Half in 1:54. That was about 3 minutes faster than desired and I hoped it would not bite me in the ass later even though I felt strong and relaxed. I contemplated pushing the pace for the 2nd Half but wisely decided to wait till I reached mile 16 and then make the decision. However at mile fifteen I passed ‘Mr. Gray Beard’ and I decided to charge up the BAH at mile 15 to bury him! When I crested the top I continued to push the pace lest he try to catch me? But it didn’t last long! By mile 18 my legs started to feel tired and I decided to slow down to conserve energy for a really BAH starting at mile 21. I reached mile 20 in 2:57:20 but I was starting to struggle. Another competitor with gray hair blew by me – I had to let him go because I knew I could not survive a ‘running duel’ with 10K left to go!
The lack of training miles was staring to tell!
The course had dropped to 6700 ft at mile 21 and then climbed about 300 vertical ft over the next two miles. I struggled to run a 10:15 pace through those two miles. Finally I crested the BAH at mile 23. The last 5K dropped down to finish at 6728 ft in downtown Steamboat. The time was 3:27:44. All I had to do was run a 10-min pace for the final 5K? But there was no gas/energy left in the old legs and bod – and I was starting to have trouble sucking enough air to keep the legs moving. Only experience and will power kept the old, tired legs running/moving for the final 3 miles. When I saw the finish line with ½ mile to go I asked the old bod to give me one final jolt of adrenaline so I could push the pace and cross the finish line in 3:57:58!
After the obligatory photo at the finish line the sports manager drove me back to the hotel for a soothing hot bath and shower. I wanted to return to the finish line to see where I finished. I figured I had at least placed in my age group. I was surprised to discover that I had finished 1st! Mr. Gray Hair was a youngster in his 50s. We stuck around to collect my award since this race provides nice/practical awards – running gear!
From a race results viewpoint this looked like a successful race but from a personal point of view there was both Good and Bad news.
Good News:
I finished under my goal of 4 hrs
I won 1st place in my age group
I had no pain/problems with my left knee that had surgery in Feb
Bad News:
My time was 13 minutes slower than last year
I finished 119th overall vs 54th last year
My marathon shape can be summed up in one word– PATHETIC
I need to beat my pathetic, old, out-of-shape body back into marathon shape if I ever want to achieve my goal of running sub 3:30 marathons again! To accomplish this goal I have scheduled races (Halfs and Marathons at elevations from 8,500 to 13,800 ft) every weekend for the next month.
I am determined to beat this old bod into good marathon shape or KILL it – whichever comes first!
So stay tuned for more race reports – or an Obituary!
Maddog
Sun, Jun 5/05
Steamboat Marathon
Steamboat Springs, CO
Marathon # 243
Time: 3:57:58 - 1st AG
This was a totally unplanned, impromptu race. There were so many reasons why I shouldn’t run a marathon:
Lack of training – I had run very few training miles since we returned from Europe due to that flu bug and the move from FL to CO
Only one week of altitude training/adjustment
I was in very poor marathon condition
But then again there were a few reasons why I should run a marathon:
I had logged 70 miles in the mtns in my first week in the High Country
What better way to correct all of the above than to run a tough, hilly marathon at high altitude?
Then Mother Nature added some additional concerns/reasons “not to run the marathon”. As you saw by the photos I sent, the weather was horrific for the two days before the race. It snowed Fri and Sat and was still snowing when we (the sports manager and I) left home for Steamboat Springs at noon on Sat. But the weather forecast called for sun and temps in the mid 60s on Sun? The snow soon changed to rain and we even had flashes of sun on the drive to Steamboat – until we drove up Rabbit Ears Pass (9,500 ft) where it was raining and the fog was so thick we couldn’t see more than 25 ft! When we arrived in Steamboat it was raining so I collected my race package and we secluded ourselves in the hotel. We were disappointed because we wanted to stroll and window-shop in Steamboat because it is such a nice place to visit – an old western town – now a ski resort village with lots of neat shops, bars and cafes. No such luck – it was still raining when we went for dinner. I was beginning to worry about the forecast – I did not want to run at high elevations in such terrible weather!
But the weather Gods smiled on us and it was sunny with few clouds when I lined up for the bus at 6am. The course is point-to point and starts at Hahn’s Peak (an extinct volcanic mtn) 26 miles northwest of Steamboat. It was sunny with a light breeze and temps in the mid 40s at the 7:30am start. The temps gradually warmed up to 60F when I crossed the finish line. What great weather for a race!
There were 500 runners in the Marathon and 900 in the Half. The race starts at 8128 ft – drops about 200 vertical ft over the first 3 miles and then climbs to the highest point of the course –8178 ft. at mile 4. The course then drops 1400 vertical ft over the next 17 miles although there are several rolling hills and many of them are BAH (Bad Ass Hills). Coming down off the BAH at mile 4 a runner with a gray hair and beard blew by me. Could he be in my age group? I decided to let him go. I ran this race last year with two mates from the UK. I had been in much better shape and had trained at high altitude for one month. I had started out too fast and struggled over the last 10K so I was determined not to make that mistake this year – especially for the reasons above. My goal was to finish under 4 hours so I tried to run a 9-min pace for the 1st Half. However the hills made it difficult/impossible to run a consistent pace so I decided to pace strictly off my heart monitor. It kind of worked as I passed 10 miles in 1:25 and the Half in 1:54. That was about 3 minutes faster than desired and I hoped it would not bite me in the ass later even though I felt strong and relaxed. I contemplated pushing the pace for the 2nd Half but wisely decided to wait till I reached mile 16 and then make the decision. However at mile fifteen I passed ‘Mr. Gray Beard’ and I decided to charge up the BAH at mile 15 to bury him! When I crested the top I continued to push the pace lest he try to catch me? But it didn’t last long! By mile 18 my legs started to feel tired and I decided to slow down to conserve energy for a really BAH starting at mile 21. I reached mile 20 in 2:57:20 but I was starting to struggle. Another competitor with gray hair blew by me – I had to let him go because I knew I could not survive a ‘running duel’ with 10K left to go!
The lack of training miles was staring to tell!
The course had dropped to 6700 ft at mile 21 and then climbed about 300 vertical ft over the next two miles. I struggled to run a 10:15 pace through those two miles. Finally I crested the BAH at mile 23. The last 5K dropped down to finish at 6728 ft in downtown Steamboat. The time was 3:27:44. All I had to do was run a 10-min pace for the final 5K? But there was no gas/energy left in the old legs and bod – and I was starting to have trouble sucking enough air to keep the legs moving. Only experience and will power kept the old, tired legs running/moving for the final 3 miles. When I saw the finish line with ½ mile to go I asked the old bod to give me one final jolt of adrenaline so I could push the pace and cross the finish line in 3:57:58!
After the obligatory photo at the finish line the sports manager drove me back to the hotel for a soothing hot bath and shower. I wanted to return to the finish line to see where I finished. I figured I had at least placed in my age group. I was surprised to discover that I had finished 1st! Mr. Gray Hair was a youngster in his 50s. We stuck around to collect my award since this race provides nice/practical awards – running gear!
From a race results viewpoint this looked like a successful race but from a personal point of view there was both Good and Bad news.
Good News:
I finished under my goal of 4 hrs
I won 1st place in my age group
I had no pain/problems with my left knee that had surgery in Feb
Bad News:
My time was 13 minutes slower than last year
I finished 119th overall vs 54th last year
My marathon shape can be summed up in one word– PATHETIC
I need to beat my pathetic, old, out-of-shape body back into marathon shape if I ever want to achieve my goal of running sub 3:30 marathons again! To accomplish this goal I have scheduled races (Halfs and Marathons at elevations from 8,500 to 13,800 ft) every weekend for the next month.
I am determined to beat this old bod into good marathon shape or KILL it – whichever comes first!
So stay tuned for more race reports – or an Obituary!
Maddog
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Trip report - Poland
TRIP REPORT
POLAND & ENGLAND
May 5 –10/05
Photos may be viewed on www.maddog.smugmug.com.
Now where were we? Oh yes – this is part two of a two-week European trip and we had just traveled from Belfast to London (Luton airport) and were now departing Luton for Krakow, Poland.
We met up with about 16 runners/mates from London and the Midlands at Luton. I had met most of them on other trips. They are members of the 100 Marathon Club (UK).
When we arrived in Krakow we had a brilliant idea to take a local bus from the airport into the city. Eighteen of us loaded ourselves and all our baggage on to a local bus. Forty-five minutes and another tram later we finally arrived at our hotel. Everyone vowed that they would take a taxi back to the airport when they departed?
Waiting at the hotel was another good friend/runner from London who was our unofficial guide and translator for the trip. Tad is of Polish ancestry and still has family in Poland - and fortunately still speaks Polish! After helping us check in Tad escorted us to Race HQ to pick up our race packets and show us where the race started. His language skills were much in demand and appreciated. After registration most of the runners decided to accompany Tad to a popular local restaurant to enjoy Polish food and beer. However I had still not recovered from the flu – in fact it seemed that I always suffered a relapse each evening. So the sports manager and I found a Thai restaurant near the hotel and enjoyed a nice relaxing dinner. What a difference from Ireland and the UK. Our dinner with wine cost about $15 US! Poland is still a relatively good tourist bargain compared with most of Europe. This is true of most of the former Soviet countries but unfortunately it is changing fast so take advantage of these tourist destinations/bargains while you can.
It was an early evening for us as I hoped that lots of rest would finally kill that damn flu bug? On Friday morning several runners decided to visit a 1000-year old salt mine in Wieliczka that contains many underground sculptures but we decided we would rather explore Krakow. Unlike many other Polish cities Krakow miraculously survived WWII and years of socialist planning relatively unscathed. The Old Town (Stare Miasto) is compact and easy to explore on foot. In the center of the Old Town are the Main Marketplace (Rynek Glowny) and the Cloth Hall. The square is ringed with bars and cafes and several interesting buildings and sites such as: St Mary’s Church with a 500-year old wooden altar – the oldest Gothic altar in the world and the small church of St Wojciech – one of the oldest churches in Krakow. Going south out of the Old Town is the Royal Road that leads past many more churches to the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill. The Wawel Castle (Zamek Wawelski) was originally built in the 10th century and remodeled in the 1500s. The royal apartments and staterooms contain the original furnishings and can be visited. The castle complex includes Wawel Cathedral where many polish kings were coronated and Pope John Paul II was the Archbishop. We spent the whole day exploring Wawel Castle and Old Town.
Friday evening many of the runners/mates decided to go to the official marathon pasta party but some including the sports manager and I decided to find a local Italian restaurant to enjoy better pasta. Nicole and I again did our own thing and enjoyed a nice pasta dinner ($15US vs the $40 at the Pizza Hut in Belfast?). I retired early because the flu was still dragging me down.
Saturday was M-day! The race started at 9am. The weather was miserable as we walked from the hotel to the start line – very cold and raining! There were about 2000 runners in the Marathon and a Half marathon. I wore my typical rain gear (garbage bag) for the first three miles because it was so cold and miserable. I felt sorry for those runners just wearing shorts and a singlet. But this race was much better organized than Belfast. There were distance markers every 1Km and water every 3 – 5 Km. Much of the course was on paved bike paths along the Wisla River and when it did run on roads the roads were blocked off to traffic.
I was not sure or confident in my health/condition because of the flu bug and did not want to repeat the same mistake (and pain) as Belfast so I started out very slowly. I watched my heart monitor closely and kept my pace just under 9 min/mile through the first Half. Many of my mates that I normally beat passed me and I just let them go. I reached the Half in 1:57:09 and felt OK. I thought about picking up the pace at that point to see if I could catch some of my mates but decided it was still too early to make a push. I reached 27Km in 2:30 and still felt OK except for the occasional, uncontrollable coughing spasms that hurt like heck but I decided it was now or never to make a push. Besides it was raining hard again and I was so cold and miserable that I needed to get this over with? I dropped the pace to 8:20/8:30s.
I caught and passed a few mates but was looking for one mate in particular – yes Roger I was looking for you! After 8 Km of pushing hard I still couldn’t see Roger? I figured that if I could just see him by 38K I could make an interesting/challenging race out of it? At 37K there was a loop in the course and I still couldn’t see him (regretfully it turned out that Roger did see me at 37K although I didn’t see him – he was only one minute ahead at that point?). So I decided it wasn’t worth killing myself for the last 5 Km and eased off some. I crossed the finish line in the Old Town Square in 3:53:58 – about 1-½ minutes behind Roger!
I was pleased with my race. The time was not great but I had run a smart race and even ran a negative split in the second Half. However I will now have to wait for another opportunity to regain my bragging rights over Roger and a few other mates.
It was still raining when I finished the race and I felt cold and miserable. Unfortunately our hotel room did not have a bath so I had to stand in a shower for more than 30 minutes while running the hottest water I could stand over my poor cold body. Finally I felt like living again and decided it was time to explore some more of Krakow and work up an appetite for some Polish food and beer. Thankfully the sun had come out and the sports manager and I walked over to the Castle to take some pictures and then we walked through Kazimierz – Krakow’s 600-year old Jewish Quarter and back to the Old Town for some food and beer.
Later that evening we met with a group of mates to accompany Tad back to the favorite restaurant for an evening of celebration, food and beer. It was an old Polish restaurant – much like a huge beer hall. They brewed their own beers – the light beer was 11% alcohol and the dark was 14%. The beer was delivered to the table in casks and you poured your own pints. There were over 20 runners/mates at the party/celebration. The food, beer and company were all great! Near the end of the meal Tad ordered a ‘special’ local drink for the table. The drink contains the colors of the Polish flag – white vodka, red raspberry juice and Tabasco sauce. The idea is to ‘shoot’ it and then chase it down with some 11 or 14% beer. Tad ordered a second round. However some couldn’t drink the second one so Tad and I volunteered to finish off them off. Needless to say I was feeling real goooooooodddddddd when we left the restaurant. What stinking flu?
Only later did Tad explain that the special drink is called ‘Wsciekly Pies’ - that literally translates to ‘Mad Dog’! Don’t you think I should be getting royalties for all the use of my nickname?
On Sunday morning I was surprised/pleased to discover that I did not have a huge hangover? Many of the group wanted to visit the concentration camps at Auschwitz. Since the normal tours required a full day and we were leaving on a 5pm flight we hired three taxis to be our private drivers and guides. They drove us to Auschwitz, explained the layout of the camps and how to visit them and waited for us. At the first camp, Auschwitz I with the infamous gate “Arbeit macht frei” (Work brings freedom) the original barracks now house exhibits and artifacts describing the atrocities that were conducted there. Fortunately we had seen many TV documentaries on the camps and were somewhat prepared for the gruesome and depressing things we saw. But the sheer size of the camp and the other two camps Auschwitz – Birkenau II & III boggles the mind how so many people could have been forced and duped to their death. We also visited Auschwitz-Birkenau II with the ‘Gate of Death” where the trains entered the camp and unloaded the prisoners. A depressing but educational tour!
Finally our taxis/guides dropped us off at the airport and we were on our way back to London. We arrived at our hotel around 8pm. I had used an award/free points to book the Marriott Grosvenor House near Hyde Park. Usually they give you the worst room in the hotel with these vouchers but the hotel was being renovated and was almost empty so they put us in a corner suite. Biggest damn hotel room I ever saw – a one- bedroom apartment/suite. I could get used to that kind of living? Of course we couldn’t afford to eat at that hotel – breakfast was 20 Pounds/person ($40US). I don’t know how people can afford to live there. Needless to say we found a pub nearby and enjoyed a full English breakfast for 3 Pounds! Maddog knows how to travel like the locals.
In all our trips to London and living there for a year I had never visited the British Museum and that was one of my primary goals on this trip. So on Monday we spent the whole afternoon at the Museum. I especially liked the sections on Egypt, Greece and Roman artifacts. The Rosetta Stone is one of the main artifacts at the Museum. On Monday evening – our last evening in Europe we attended the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “The Woman in White”. The story and music were good but they substituted high-tech for the normal stage scenery and it distracted the audience from the performers. It was OK but not as good as my favorite “The Phantom of the Opera” and certainly not worth the $200 tickets?
Finally it was Tuesday and time to go home. I had managed to get rid of that damn flu by giving it to my sports manager. I felt sorry for her because it was going to be a very long and miserable flight home with that nasty bug. After 14 hours of airport and flight time (London to Chicago to Tampa) we were finally back home. The weather was sunny and mid 80s when we got off the plane in Tampa. Good to be back home – and WARM again!
I don’t believe I will ever be able to get the sports manager to accompany me on any more trips to Europe but I still have three countries left to run so stay tuned for the next adventure!
POLAND & ENGLAND
May 5 –10/05
Photos may be viewed on www.maddog.smugmug.com.
Now where were we? Oh yes – this is part two of a two-week European trip and we had just traveled from Belfast to London (Luton airport) and were now departing Luton for Krakow, Poland.
We met up with about 16 runners/mates from London and the Midlands at Luton. I had met most of them on other trips. They are members of the 100 Marathon Club (UK).
When we arrived in Krakow we had a brilliant idea to take a local bus from the airport into the city. Eighteen of us loaded ourselves and all our baggage on to a local bus. Forty-five minutes and another tram later we finally arrived at our hotel. Everyone vowed that they would take a taxi back to the airport when they departed?
Waiting at the hotel was another good friend/runner from London who was our unofficial guide and translator for the trip. Tad is of Polish ancestry and still has family in Poland - and fortunately still speaks Polish! After helping us check in Tad escorted us to Race HQ to pick up our race packets and show us where the race started. His language skills were much in demand and appreciated. After registration most of the runners decided to accompany Tad to a popular local restaurant to enjoy Polish food and beer. However I had still not recovered from the flu – in fact it seemed that I always suffered a relapse each evening. So the sports manager and I found a Thai restaurant near the hotel and enjoyed a nice relaxing dinner. What a difference from Ireland and the UK. Our dinner with wine cost about $15 US! Poland is still a relatively good tourist bargain compared with most of Europe. This is true of most of the former Soviet countries but unfortunately it is changing fast so take advantage of these tourist destinations/bargains while you can.
It was an early evening for us as I hoped that lots of rest would finally kill that damn flu bug? On Friday morning several runners decided to visit a 1000-year old salt mine in Wieliczka that contains many underground sculptures but we decided we would rather explore Krakow. Unlike many other Polish cities Krakow miraculously survived WWII and years of socialist planning relatively unscathed. The Old Town (Stare Miasto) is compact and easy to explore on foot. In the center of the Old Town are the Main Marketplace (Rynek Glowny) and the Cloth Hall. The square is ringed with bars and cafes and several interesting buildings and sites such as: St Mary’s Church with a 500-year old wooden altar – the oldest Gothic altar in the world and the small church of St Wojciech – one of the oldest churches in Krakow. Going south out of the Old Town is the Royal Road that leads past many more churches to the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill. The Wawel Castle (Zamek Wawelski) was originally built in the 10th century and remodeled in the 1500s. The royal apartments and staterooms contain the original furnishings and can be visited. The castle complex includes Wawel Cathedral where many polish kings were coronated and Pope John Paul II was the Archbishop. We spent the whole day exploring Wawel Castle and Old Town.
Friday evening many of the runners/mates decided to go to the official marathon pasta party but some including the sports manager and I decided to find a local Italian restaurant to enjoy better pasta. Nicole and I again did our own thing and enjoyed a nice pasta dinner ($15US vs the $40 at the Pizza Hut in Belfast?). I retired early because the flu was still dragging me down.
Saturday was M-day! The race started at 9am. The weather was miserable as we walked from the hotel to the start line – very cold and raining! There were about 2000 runners in the Marathon and a Half marathon. I wore my typical rain gear (garbage bag) for the first three miles because it was so cold and miserable. I felt sorry for those runners just wearing shorts and a singlet. But this race was much better organized than Belfast. There were distance markers every 1Km and water every 3 – 5 Km. Much of the course was on paved bike paths along the Wisla River and when it did run on roads the roads were blocked off to traffic.
I was not sure or confident in my health/condition because of the flu bug and did not want to repeat the same mistake (and pain) as Belfast so I started out very slowly. I watched my heart monitor closely and kept my pace just under 9 min/mile through the first Half. Many of my mates that I normally beat passed me and I just let them go. I reached the Half in 1:57:09 and felt OK. I thought about picking up the pace at that point to see if I could catch some of my mates but decided it was still too early to make a push. I reached 27Km in 2:30 and still felt OK except for the occasional, uncontrollable coughing spasms that hurt like heck but I decided it was now or never to make a push. Besides it was raining hard again and I was so cold and miserable that I needed to get this over with? I dropped the pace to 8:20/8:30s.
I caught and passed a few mates but was looking for one mate in particular – yes Roger I was looking for you! After 8 Km of pushing hard I still couldn’t see Roger? I figured that if I could just see him by 38K I could make an interesting/challenging race out of it? At 37K there was a loop in the course and I still couldn’t see him (regretfully it turned out that Roger did see me at 37K although I didn’t see him – he was only one minute ahead at that point?). So I decided it wasn’t worth killing myself for the last 5 Km and eased off some. I crossed the finish line in the Old Town Square in 3:53:58 – about 1-½ minutes behind Roger!
I was pleased with my race. The time was not great but I had run a smart race and even ran a negative split in the second Half. However I will now have to wait for another opportunity to regain my bragging rights over Roger and a few other mates.
It was still raining when I finished the race and I felt cold and miserable. Unfortunately our hotel room did not have a bath so I had to stand in a shower for more than 30 minutes while running the hottest water I could stand over my poor cold body. Finally I felt like living again and decided it was time to explore some more of Krakow and work up an appetite for some Polish food and beer. Thankfully the sun had come out and the sports manager and I walked over to the Castle to take some pictures and then we walked through Kazimierz – Krakow’s 600-year old Jewish Quarter and back to the Old Town for some food and beer.
Later that evening we met with a group of mates to accompany Tad back to the favorite restaurant for an evening of celebration, food and beer. It was an old Polish restaurant – much like a huge beer hall. They brewed their own beers – the light beer was 11% alcohol and the dark was 14%. The beer was delivered to the table in casks and you poured your own pints. There were over 20 runners/mates at the party/celebration. The food, beer and company were all great! Near the end of the meal Tad ordered a ‘special’ local drink for the table. The drink contains the colors of the Polish flag – white vodka, red raspberry juice and Tabasco sauce. The idea is to ‘shoot’ it and then chase it down with some 11 or 14% beer. Tad ordered a second round. However some couldn’t drink the second one so Tad and I volunteered to finish off them off. Needless to say I was feeling real goooooooodddddddd when we left the restaurant. What stinking flu?
Only later did Tad explain that the special drink is called ‘Wsciekly Pies’ - that literally translates to ‘Mad Dog’! Don’t you think I should be getting royalties for all the use of my nickname?
On Sunday morning I was surprised/pleased to discover that I did not have a huge hangover? Many of the group wanted to visit the concentration camps at Auschwitz. Since the normal tours required a full day and we were leaving on a 5pm flight we hired three taxis to be our private drivers and guides. They drove us to Auschwitz, explained the layout of the camps and how to visit them and waited for us. At the first camp, Auschwitz I with the infamous gate “Arbeit macht frei” (Work brings freedom) the original barracks now house exhibits and artifacts describing the atrocities that were conducted there. Fortunately we had seen many TV documentaries on the camps and were somewhat prepared for the gruesome and depressing things we saw. But the sheer size of the camp and the other two camps Auschwitz – Birkenau II & III boggles the mind how so many people could have been forced and duped to their death. We also visited Auschwitz-Birkenau II with the ‘Gate of Death” where the trains entered the camp and unloaded the prisoners. A depressing but educational tour!
Finally our taxis/guides dropped us off at the airport and we were on our way back to London. We arrived at our hotel around 8pm. I had used an award/free points to book the Marriott Grosvenor House near Hyde Park. Usually they give you the worst room in the hotel with these vouchers but the hotel was being renovated and was almost empty so they put us in a corner suite. Biggest damn hotel room I ever saw – a one- bedroom apartment/suite. I could get used to that kind of living? Of course we couldn’t afford to eat at that hotel – breakfast was 20 Pounds/person ($40US). I don’t know how people can afford to live there. Needless to say we found a pub nearby and enjoyed a full English breakfast for 3 Pounds! Maddog knows how to travel like the locals.
In all our trips to London and living there for a year I had never visited the British Museum and that was one of my primary goals on this trip. So on Monday we spent the whole afternoon at the Museum. I especially liked the sections on Egypt, Greece and Roman artifacts. The Rosetta Stone is one of the main artifacts at the Museum. On Monday evening – our last evening in Europe we attended the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “The Woman in White”. The story and music were good but they substituted high-tech for the normal stage scenery and it distracted the audience from the performers. It was OK but not as good as my favorite “The Phantom of the Opera” and certainly not worth the $200 tickets?
Finally it was Tuesday and time to go home. I had managed to get rid of that damn flu by giving it to my sports manager. I felt sorry for her because it was going to be a very long and miserable flight home with that nasty bug. After 14 hours of airport and flight time (London to Chicago to Tampa) we were finally back home. The weather was sunny and mid 80s when we got off the plane in Tampa. Good to be back home – and WARM again!
I don’t believe I will ever be able to get the sports manager to accompany me on any more trips to Europe but I still have three countries left to run so stay tuned for the next adventure!
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