Race Report
Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon
Georgetown, CO
Sat, Aug 11/07
1:44:25 - 5 AG
This half marathon is one of my favorite races in Colorado. It starts in Georgetown at 8500 ft and drops 1000 ft over rolling hills to finish in Idaho Springs at 7500 ft. It is considered a fast, downhill course and attracts more than 2000 runners each year – most of them ‘Big Dogs’ or fast/elite runners from Denver, Boulder and the Front Range. It is very competitive and I have never been able to place better than 5th in my Age Group in the five times I have competed in this race! I can’t afford to devote the time and effort for the speed work necessary to compete at this ‘short’ distance (that’s my excuse and I sticking to it!).
This year my friend Cynthia (aka Atilla the Huness) who is visiting from Sarasota joined me. After we climbed Mt Elbert (the highest peak in CO at 14,433 ft) on Thu we decided to rest on Fri for the big race on Sat. Since it is a point-to-point race, which makes the logistics harder, we invited Cynthia and Homayoun to have pasta dinner and stay at our place on Fri night. That way Cynthia and I could drive to the start early Sat morning and Homayoun volunteered to meet us at the finish line. My regular Sports Manager seemed very happy and content to relinquish her duties to Homayoun???
Thus Cynthia and I arrived in Georgetown at 7:15 am to allow time to prepare – stretch, etc. for the 8 am start. It was sunny and unusually warm – low 50s at the start. I warned Cynthia to start slow because the first two miles loop around Georgetown over rolling hills at 8500 ft. If you start too fast the altitude will kill you! I wisely followed my own advice and reached mile 2 back at the start line in16:03. I normally (always) finish this race under 1:40 so I needed to average a 7:30 min/mile pace. No problem as I started the 1000 ft descent over the next 11 miles? I passed mile 4 in 31:17 after two one- mile splits of 7:37. OH! OH! It was not looking good! I needed to lower the pace and I was already hurting and I knew right then that a sub-1: 40 wasn’t going to happen! I was beginning to realize that taking a summer off from racing and speed work is not compatible with expectations of racing fast times and being competitive!
I decided to back off/slow down to 7:45s to see if I could regain some energy? However when I encountered a few miles with lots of rolling hills my splits slowed to 8:15s! When I reached mile 10 in 1:19:30 I was hurting – really hurting- and I began to wonder if I would even be able to break 1:45? I considered saying “Fu** It” and cruising to the finish line but luckily Maddog jumped in (or should I say jumped all over me). He chastised me mercilessly for my ‘quit/give –up/wimpish’ attitude! He reminded me that I should not expect to be competitive in this race – especially after a summer without racing. My goal had been to use this race as a speed workout and to test my race conditioning. So I now knew the answer - my race condition sucked – it was pathetic! And the only way to improve it was to push the old bod as hard as possible to the finish line! A finish slower than 1:45 was totally unacceptable to Maddog!
Unfortunately everything he said was true and I agreed that it was necessary to accept pain and teach the old bod (yet again) how to deal with and run through PAIN! I struggled to reach mile 12 in 1:35:34. The (new) target was in the bag as long as I could keep my feet moving? However the final mile had some bad (but not BAH) hills as we approached the finish line in Idaho Springs. They felt like friggin Mt Everest! I started to become nauseous? I figured it was either because I was pushing my old bod beyond its limits or I was suffering some minor symptoms of altitude sickness because I was pushing too hard at the high altitude. No matter (as long as I didn’t puke in the middle of the course)! I ignored the nausea and pushed the old bod to cross the finish line in 1:44:25! The nausea disappeared almost immediately after I stopped (obviously altitude sickness from pushing too hard).
My new Sports Manager was at the finish line to take a photo. We waited for Cynthia to finish. She was aiming for 2:30 and when that time approached I walked back down the course to meet her and run in with her. Unfortunately I missed her because of cars parked on the course and missed cheering as she crossed the finish line in 2:32. She took one minute off her PR – at 8500 ft – so she was pleased.
Maddog was not pleased! He was very disappointed with the time but not with my performance. He was shocked that I had placed 5th with such a pathetic time? I had run a smart race and given everything I had but the finish time was a clear indication that I have a long and painful road ahead of me to get back into race shape/condition! I will have to start speed work next week to beat my fat, out-of-shape ass back into race shape! Unfortunately there is no easy or fast solution. It will take weeks of intense/dedicated and painful training to become competitive again. But nothing else is acceptable to Maddog!
I must show some improvement at my next race/marathon in early Sept!
Stay tuned for the race report – or Orbituary!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
RR US Half Copper
Race Report
US Half Marathon Copper
Copper Mountain, CO
Sun, Jul 15/07
1:59:06 – 1AG
This was one of two races I had planned to run this summer because – “Are you sitting down”? - I am not running any marathons this summer (Jun/Jul/Aug)!
I am taking the advice offered by several doctors and my trainer during this past spring when I was suffering all the problems with DVT and cramps in my legs –“You need to take some time off from running/racing”! I interpreted that advice to mean marathons?
As most of you know I have not raced since the Christchurch Marathon on Jun 3rd. I have been doing ‘easy’ runs in the mountains and a lot of hiking and climbing 14ers. But I wanted to run a few Halfs in the mountains this summer as ‘speed work’. This race was the first. Last year this race/event was a full marathon but it was changed this year to a Half and organized as one of a series of National US Races. When I looked at the race entries I figured that it would be difficult to be competitive since there were lots of elite athletes registered to compete in the National Series? On top of that Chris and I had just completed a tough climb of three 14ers on Fri. Thus I wasn’t expecting much!
The race started at 9 am on Sun – a bit late even for the mountains. It was sunny and mid 50s at the start. There were 350 runners in the Half. The race started in the center of Copper Village (9600 ft) and the first mile was uphill for about ¼ mile, then dropped down towards the East Village. Because the course had lots of hills and climbed to 11,000 ft I figured it would be difficult to run an 8-min pace and had set a pre-race target of 1:50. By the time I reached mile 3 in 25:42 I was becoming concerned and when mile 4 turned off on to a rocky trail that traversed and climbed the Alpine Ski Run at Copper Mtn I knew that a sub -1:50 wasn’t going to happen. I soon realized three facts:
1) My legs weren’t as tired/trashed as I thought they would/should be after climbing six 14ers in the previous week?
2) I found myself (surprisingly) to be in 1st place in my Age Group when I made the turn at the top of the trail on the Alpine Run?
3) A sub 2-hr finish would probably win my AG
However we were about to start the toughest section of the course! When we returned to the East parking lot at the bottom of the trail (mile 4) the next 5 miles climbed from 9500 ft to 11,000 ft. near the top of Vail Pass! Mile 5 climbed back through Copper Village to a paved bike path at 9600 ft. The path climbed relentlessly for the next 4 miles. I knew I had to save some energy for the final 4 miles back down the path and it was a painful struggle just to hold an average 10:30 pace over those 4 miles to the top of Vail Pass.
I reached mile 9 and the turn-around at 1:26:02. I had 34 minutes to run the final 4.1 miles! I needed to run an 8-min pace on the 1400-ft descent back to Copper Village!
Thankfully I got some incentive/motivation when I saw that another old fart had closed within 1000 ft of me at the top of the Pass. I stretched out my stride and let gravity pull me down the bike path and mtn. I reached mile 10 in 1:34 - a split of 7:58! Surprisingly –and thankfully – my legs felt OK and I managed to hold that pace until I entered Copper Village and crossed the finish line in 1:59:06!
I was very pleased with my time and performance – and very surprised that I had been able to hold off some of the best runners from Denver and the Front Range? And since it was an inaugural race I have the honor of holding the course record for my AG – for at least one year! I did stick around and collect my award because it was useful – running gear!
I am again surprised that my legs feel amazingly fresh after the race so Chris and I are going to climb another 14er on Mon before he heads back to Seattle.
Stay tuned for the report!
US Half Marathon Copper
Copper Mountain, CO
Sun, Jul 15/07
1:59:06 – 1AG
This was one of two races I had planned to run this summer because – “Are you sitting down”? - I am not running any marathons this summer (Jun/Jul/Aug)!
I am taking the advice offered by several doctors and my trainer during this past spring when I was suffering all the problems with DVT and cramps in my legs –“You need to take some time off from running/racing”! I interpreted that advice to mean marathons?
As most of you know I have not raced since the Christchurch Marathon on Jun 3rd. I have been doing ‘easy’ runs in the mountains and a lot of hiking and climbing 14ers. But I wanted to run a few Halfs in the mountains this summer as ‘speed work’. This race was the first. Last year this race/event was a full marathon but it was changed this year to a Half and organized as one of a series of National US Races. When I looked at the race entries I figured that it would be difficult to be competitive since there were lots of elite athletes registered to compete in the National Series? On top of that Chris and I had just completed a tough climb of three 14ers on Fri. Thus I wasn’t expecting much!
The race started at 9 am on Sun – a bit late even for the mountains. It was sunny and mid 50s at the start. There were 350 runners in the Half. The race started in the center of Copper Village (9600 ft) and the first mile was uphill for about ¼ mile, then dropped down towards the East Village. Because the course had lots of hills and climbed to 11,000 ft I figured it would be difficult to run an 8-min pace and had set a pre-race target of 1:50. By the time I reached mile 3 in 25:42 I was becoming concerned and when mile 4 turned off on to a rocky trail that traversed and climbed the Alpine Ski Run at Copper Mtn I knew that a sub -1:50 wasn’t going to happen. I soon realized three facts:
1) My legs weren’t as tired/trashed as I thought they would/should be after climbing six 14ers in the previous week?
2) I found myself (surprisingly) to be in 1st place in my Age Group when I made the turn at the top of the trail on the Alpine Run?
3) A sub 2-hr finish would probably win my AG
However we were about to start the toughest section of the course! When we returned to the East parking lot at the bottom of the trail (mile 4) the next 5 miles climbed from 9500 ft to 11,000 ft. near the top of Vail Pass! Mile 5 climbed back through Copper Village to a paved bike path at 9600 ft. The path climbed relentlessly for the next 4 miles. I knew I had to save some energy for the final 4 miles back down the path and it was a painful struggle just to hold an average 10:30 pace over those 4 miles to the top of Vail Pass.
I reached mile 9 and the turn-around at 1:26:02. I had 34 minutes to run the final 4.1 miles! I needed to run an 8-min pace on the 1400-ft descent back to Copper Village!
Thankfully I got some incentive/motivation when I saw that another old fart had closed within 1000 ft of me at the top of the Pass. I stretched out my stride and let gravity pull me down the bike path and mtn. I reached mile 10 in 1:34 - a split of 7:58! Surprisingly –and thankfully – my legs felt OK and I managed to hold that pace until I entered Copper Village and crossed the finish line in 1:59:06!
I was very pleased with my time and performance – and very surprised that I had been able to hold off some of the best runners from Denver and the Front Range? And since it was an inaugural race I have the honor of holding the course record for my AG – for at least one year! I did stick around and collect my award because it was useful – running gear!
I am again surprised that my legs feel amazingly fresh after the race so Chris and I are going to climb another 14er on Mon before he heads back to Seattle.
Stay tuned for the report!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
TR - Christchurch Marathon
TRIP REPORT
New Zealand and Fiji
5/23 – 6/8/07
Race Results
SBS Christchurch Marathon
Christchurch, NZ
Sun, Jun 3/07
Marathon # 288 – Country # 84
3:40:25 – 5AG
Where were we at the end of the Fiji report – chapter 1 of this long trip? Oh yes – on a plane heading to Christchurch, NZ via Auckland. Let’s continue the story.
Recall that this trip was incubated in the Himalayas during the Everest Marathon (2005) when I met two Kiwi brothers (Robert and Dave) from Christchurch. They invited me to visit. I had been in contact with Robert – a very good ‘fell’ runner (finished 2nd at Everest). He invited us to stay with him. The plan was to arrive in CHC, stay 1 night with Robert and then head off for a 9-day self-drive tour of the South Island. We had toured the North Island with our kids about 20 years ago and were looking forward to touring the South Island. A slight kink occurred in the plan when I lost email contact with Robert about 1 month before the trip. Turned out that he had activated a Spam filter to get rid of Spam but it blocked all his email until he realized the problem. We re-established contact a few days before we left FL but I had already booked a hotel in CHC for our first night and couldn’t cancel the booking.
We had a 4-hour layover in Auckland and had to switch terminals. It was a wee shock when we went outside – the temps were in the low 50s and it was raining! We had to dig into our bags for a jacket! A big change from the weather in Fiji! Late May/early June is the start of the Kiwi winter. But we were lucky – after that brief rain in Auckland we enjoyed sunshine and above- normal warm temps for our whole trip. When we arrived in CHC at 7 pm Robert met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel. We discussed our plans for the tour and agreed to stay with him when we returned in about 9 days. He informed me that he was not going to run the CHC Marathon as planned because he had fallen recently during a training run in the mountains and cracked some ribs. His priority was to heal so that he could train for a 250 Km race across the Atacama Desert in Chile in Aug! But he had family and friends running in the CHC races and would provide support and cheers for us.
The next morning (Thu) I woke early and ran a hard/fast 10 miles around Hagley Park in the center of CHC. It was very nippy with temps in the mid 30s at 6 am. I realized that I had forgotten to pack cold-weather gear! After our rental car was delivered to the hotel we stopped on the way out of CHC at an ‘Outdoor Store’ to purchase some polypro tights and gloves! The Sports Manager did not feel well when she woke up – she thought she was experiencing the same symptoms she suffered many years ago when she had a minor stroke. By the time we reached the outskirts of CHC she had worked herself into a tizzy and was suffering anxiety attacks because she was worried that if she really were on the verge of a stroke there would not be proper medical care available in the remote areas of the South Island. I agreed it would be a problem and it would be safer to turn around and drive back into the city and visit the ER of the CHC Hospital. Thus we spent our 1st day in CHC in the ER where they did every possible test – a Cat scan, EKG, blood tests, etc. Happily all the tests were normal and the doctors assured us that there was no serious problem and we could continue our journey. We had to stay in CHC for the night and I enjoyed another hard/fast run in Hagley Park – but with gloves this time. We finally started our tour on Fri morning even though Nicole was still not feeling well. The symptoms seemed to come and go and after a few days I noticed that she was not eating well. After I convinced her to eat more the symptoms seemed to ease? She later found out when she visited her neurosurgeon in FL that these symptoms can be caused by long flights and jet lag. She announced that her duties of ‘Sports Manager’ were finished for long international trips!
Our first drive and stop was along the Banks Peninsula to the fishing village of Akaroa. It was such a lovely and quaint village that we would have stayed there for 1 night if it had not been so close to CHC (only 82 Km east). We had to move on and drove south on Hwy 1 to Oamaru an old Victorian town with many buildings built out of the local sandstone. We stayed the night in Oamaru and I had a very difficult run in the morning through the hills east of town. We continued our drive along the Otago Coast with a brief stop to view the Moeraki Boulders – giant spherical rocks on the beach that look like alien eggs? We continued on through Dunedin and turned inland through the Southern Alps to Gore and reached our destination – Fiordland or the Southwest Coast. We stayed in a beautiful little village called Te Anau located on Lake Te Anau. This setting was so beautiful that we immediately knew that we wanted to spend a few nights there. We found a lovely new motel on Lake Te Anau and then looked for the tourist center to book a cruise on Millford Sound. By that time we had learned some important facts:
a) Nothing is cheap in NZ
b) Hotels were the only reasonable expense. Since it was off-season we were able to negotiate rates around $100 NZ/night
c) Motels did have TVs and phones – some even had Internet access. However the TV was useless unless you wanted to watch reruns of ‘Get Smart’ (remember that show) in prime time. There is no cable TV in NZ – but they do have satellite TV. The government restricts Satellite TV to 3 stations: Sky News (either CNN or BBC), Sky Sports that shows rugby or cricket 24 X 7, and Sky Movies (like HBO). Most hotels offered Sky News (for a premium charge).
d) Meals were expensive! Breakfast ranged from $10 to $20 NZ so we usually bought a muffin ($3) at a bakery and a small orange juice ($3) for breakfast in our room. The hotels provided ‘free’ coffee/tea in the room. Dinner entrees ranged from $20 to $30 in a restaurant so we ate in Pubs (like the UK) that offered specials for about $10 to $15 NZ. A bowl of soup was $10 to $18 NZ! There were no ‘free’ side dishes. If you wanted bread you paid for it! (at least $4).
e) Beer/wine in a pub or restaurant was about $5 to $10 so we bought 6-packs of beer at the supermarket for about $10 and enjoyed a beer each day at the end of the drive and limited ourselves to one drink with dinner!
f) Gas was about $6/gal and as high as $8/gal in remote areas.
A friend had asked me to check out NZ as a potential retirement spot. I believe it would be cheaper to retire in San Francisco!
Back to Te Anau. A lovely town in a beautiful setting! I would love to go back there for a few weeks to hike on the many trails around Te Anau and Millford Sound. We booked a cruise on Millford Sound for the following day. It is a long but scenic drive into Millford Sound so I had to rise early and do a hard/fast run through the dark streets of Te Anau at 5 am. It was friggin cold! Temps near freezing! But I needed to do some speed work. I knew I probably couldn’t be competitive with the fast Kiwis but I didn’t want to embarrass myself with another 4-hr marathon! We enjoyed the scenic drive in to Millford Sound and the cruise was spectacular. The 18 Km-long Sound is hemmed in by sheer walls of rock that rise 4,000 ft. As you leave the dock the first sights you enjoy are the 5560 ft Mitre Peak and Brown Falls tumbling 520 ft into the sea. What amazed me was the vegetation including trees growing on the sheer cliffs of rock! Millford Sound is definitely a sight that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. The Sports Manager and I agreed that Te Anau and Millford Sound were the highlight of the NZ tour!
The following day was a short drive (172 Km) to Queenstown – the adventure capitol of NZ! It is located on the edge of the glacial Lake Wakatipu with stunning views of the Remarkables Mountain range. We expected Queenstown to be much larger – it reminded us of a small ski resort town in CO. We lucked in when the tourist center guided us into a new, boutique hotel situated in the hills just off the center of the town with fantastic views of the lake and town – only $125 NZ including a full NZ breakfast! And it was close to a bike path so I was able to do another speed work out along the lake. We visited most of the tourist sites including the famous AJ Hackett Bungy jump off the Kawarau Bridge (No – I didn’t jump!) and concluded the first day with a scenic through the gold mining town of Arrowtown and along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy. That evening we found a nice Pub in town that offered delicious lamb shanks as a special.
The next day we set off over the scenic but scary Crown Range Road past the Cardrona Ski Resort to Wanaka as we headed to the Westland National Park and the glaciers on the West Coast. We stopped at Thunder Creek Falls before we reached Haast Pass. The roads became a bit treacherous as we came around a blind curve or over a hill at 70 Km/hr to find a single-lane bridge? Thankfully there was not much traffic and we only had to stop once for oncoming traffic! We reached an entrance into Fox Glacier in the afternoon and hiked about 2 miles into a forest before we saw a paved road going directly into the glacier! Back to the car and drive to the damn glacier! We stayed in Franz Josef that evening and the following morning were disappointed to see rain and clouds. We couldn’t even see the tops of the mountains so decided there was no point in driving and hiking into the Franz Josef Glacier?
As we continued our tour north along the West Coast the weather cleared as we drove through Hokitika and Greymouth. We decided to turn back inland and head to Hanmer Springs. Hanmer Springs is called Waitapu (Sacred Waters) by the Maori for the thermal springs. It is a small Alpine village located 120 Km north of CHC. We explored the area and found a hotel close to the springs so that I could walk over to the springs and enjoy a hot soak. The hottest spring was 41 C – about the same temperature that I keep my hot tub at! The legs felt great the next morning when I did my final speed work out in preparation for the CHC Marathon.
Instead of driving back to CHC we decided to take a detour to Kaikoura on the East Coast. It is known for its whale watching and crayfish. We explored the town and decided to stay for the night to taste the crayfish. Crayfish is the Kiwi version of Maine lobster – and they are proud of it! $100 NZ for a crayfish dinner! We visited a local winery and bought an excellent bottle of Sauvignon Blanc that we took to dinner. I refused to pay $100 for a whole crayfish but did allow myself $50 for a Half that I enjoyed with the excellent wine. It was good but not any better than a $19.95 Maine lobster!
The next day (Fri) we drove back to CHC. We parked downtown, called Robert to let him know we had arrived and spent the afternoon touring downtown CHC. CHC is known as the ‘garden city’ for its many parks and gardens. Founded in 1856 it is the oldest city in NZ. There are many beautiful and historical Victorian buildings in downtown Christchurch. The CHC Tramway allows tourists to get on and off at 11 stops in downtown CHC. We visited Cathedral Square, Victoria Square, Christ’s College, Hagley Park and finished the day by picking up my race packet at City Hall. Then we followed Robert’s directions to his home in Halswell, a suburb on the south side of CHC. He had a beautiful new home – a surprise for a bachelor that spends all his time working and running? After we settled in his brother Dave joined us and we went drove downtown for a Thai dinner – lots of carbs!
On Sat morning the Sports Manager and I made a final drive tour up into the hills of Banks Peninsula overlooking CHC and Lyttelton Harbour. The hills are steep and covered with bike/hiking trails that the CHC runners use for training. The views are spectacular! CHC on one side and Lyttelton and Sumner on the ocean side. We returned the car to the rental agency on Sat afternoon since Robert volunteered to drive us to the race on Sun. Sat night I treated my support team to a pasta dinner.
Sum was M-day. There were 2500 runners in 3 races - Marathon/Half/10K – that started together at 9 am in front of City Hall. The weather was sunny and cool (high 30s F). The course was a Half Marathon loop that started at City Hall and followed the Avon River east for about 8 Km before returning downtown and through Hagley Park in the center of the city. We lucky marathoners got to run the course twice! Robert and Dave had a sister and other family members running the various races and told me that they would be cheering us along the course. Their Mom & Dad even cheered me on at one point along the course. I had some good training runs during our tour and felt that I could run a 3:40. Based on past times in my Age Group that would not be competitive but I told Robert that my goal was to start out at a 3:40 pace and assess the situation at 30 Km. If I still had energy in the tank I might try to push the last 12 Km?
I passed 5 Km in 24:49 – ahead of pace. 10 Km in 50:45 – still ahead of pace! I slowed my pace to reach 15 Km in 1:16:58 and the Half in 1:49:31. I was right on pace but not sure I could hold that same pace for the 2nd Half? When I reached 30 Km in 2:35:24 I felt OK and knew I could hold that pace for the final 12 Km – but I wasn’t sure that if I pushed the pace I wouldn’t ‘hit the wall’? And I saw Robert at that point taking photos and asked him if there were any old farts in front of me? He replied, “yes there were but they were too far ahead to catch”! So I wisely decided to hold the pace and re-evaluate at 35 Km. I passed 35 Km in 3:01:49. I had 32 minutes to run the final 7 Km. I decided to push the pace through Hagley Park since it felt familiar to me. I passed 40 km in 3:28:53 but suddenly my back started to tighten on me? I had never experienced that problem and I had to slow down to let the back loosen up. I was able to push the final 1 Km but it wasn’t enough and I crossed the finish line in 3:40:25! But I was happy with both my time and performance and I had not suffered any problems with leg cramps!
We returned to Robert’s for a quick but wonderful hot soak and shower and then Robert and I decided to go to the awards ceremony or ‘prize giving’ as the Kiwis call it. We couldn’t find the results posted anywhere so we went into the ceremony inside City Hall. I couldn’t believe it? There were 2500 runners in the races and half of them were at the ceremony. You would never see that kind of attendance at a US race! Unfortunately it dragged on too long including the Emcee asking Maddog to stand while he announced his accolades and accomplishments! As suspected I was soundly beat in my AG – finished in 5th place. 1st place ran a 3:15! A 52-year old Kiwi ran a 2:32! Those Kiwis are FAST!
As we were leaving the ceremony a sports announcer for a local radio station asked Maddog for an interview and that delayed us more.
We finally returned home in the afternoon so that Robert and Dave could cook a roast of lamb. Their Mom & Dad and sister joined us for dinner. Dave raises sheep on his Dad’s farm for a hobby and he supplied the lamb. It was so tender and scrumptious! I don’t understand why we can’t get lamb like that in the US?
On Mon we had a very early flight and Robert graciously drove us to the airport. We were on our way back to Fiji. We arrived in Nadi at 5 pm and were met by the staff of the Beachcomber Resort. I had learned that the best beaches in Fiji were on the out islands so I had booked a 4-day stay at the Beachcomber Resort. They didn’t seem to be affected by the coup and drop in tourism. Most of the island resorts were full and the prices were high – ridiculously high! Beachcomber Island is a small private island in the Mamanuca Islands – only a 30-minute boat ride from the mainland. I didn’t think I would like that sort of vacation or R&R but the Sports Manager said she would love it – and it would provide much-needed rest after a hectic 3 weeks of traveling!
I was correct – I hated it! The island was very small – took 10 minutes to walk around the entire island. There were some ’free’ activities like snorkeling and beach volleyball but everything else was expensive. I snorkeled one day and dove another but was still bored. We had a private bure (thatched hut) on the beach but there was no A/C, no TV, no phone and no Internet! Meals were included but they were all buffet and about as tasty as school cafeteria food! They assured us the water was safe to drink and since I didn’t have any marathons to worry about we drank it instead of buying bottled water. No store in the resort – had to buy everything at the bar! We didn’t have any problems (other than boredom) until the last night. The Sports Manager came down with an intestinal bug and was very sick. The final day was pure Hell for her. We had to check out at 10 am but our boat to the mainland left at 5 pm. I rented a lounge chair so she could lay in the shade and suffer all day! Our flight to the US departed at 10 pm. It was a long flight to LA. Fortunately we had to overnight in LA and that gave her a chance to go to bed and sleep. I felt great – did a long run along the beach near LAX and then enjoyed a great steak dinner. Thirty minutes later it all came back up! I had caught the bug. It was not a pleasant journey back home to FL the following day for either of us!
We have since recovered and I have already booked my next international marathon and flights – in Oct. The Sports Manager is not going!
This trip was perhaps a bit too long but we enjoyed both Fiji and NZ. We would go back to NZ in a heartbeat but have no desire to return to Fiji!
I am looking forward to the next trip/adventure.
Stay tuned for the trip report!
New Zealand and Fiji
5/23 – 6/8/07
Race Results
SBS Christchurch Marathon
Christchurch, NZ
Sun, Jun 3/07
Marathon # 288 – Country # 84
3:40:25 – 5AG
Where were we at the end of the Fiji report – chapter 1 of this long trip? Oh yes – on a plane heading to Christchurch, NZ via Auckland. Let’s continue the story.
Recall that this trip was incubated in the Himalayas during the Everest Marathon (2005) when I met two Kiwi brothers (Robert and Dave) from Christchurch. They invited me to visit. I had been in contact with Robert – a very good ‘fell’ runner (finished 2nd at Everest). He invited us to stay with him. The plan was to arrive in CHC, stay 1 night with Robert and then head off for a 9-day self-drive tour of the South Island. We had toured the North Island with our kids about 20 years ago and were looking forward to touring the South Island. A slight kink occurred in the plan when I lost email contact with Robert about 1 month before the trip. Turned out that he had activated a Spam filter to get rid of Spam but it blocked all his email until he realized the problem. We re-established contact a few days before we left FL but I had already booked a hotel in CHC for our first night and couldn’t cancel the booking.
We had a 4-hour layover in Auckland and had to switch terminals. It was a wee shock when we went outside – the temps were in the low 50s and it was raining! We had to dig into our bags for a jacket! A big change from the weather in Fiji! Late May/early June is the start of the Kiwi winter. But we were lucky – after that brief rain in Auckland we enjoyed sunshine and above- normal warm temps for our whole trip. When we arrived in CHC at 7 pm Robert met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel. We discussed our plans for the tour and agreed to stay with him when we returned in about 9 days. He informed me that he was not going to run the CHC Marathon as planned because he had fallen recently during a training run in the mountains and cracked some ribs. His priority was to heal so that he could train for a 250 Km race across the Atacama Desert in Chile in Aug! But he had family and friends running in the CHC races and would provide support and cheers for us.
The next morning (Thu) I woke early and ran a hard/fast 10 miles around Hagley Park in the center of CHC. It was very nippy with temps in the mid 30s at 6 am. I realized that I had forgotten to pack cold-weather gear! After our rental car was delivered to the hotel we stopped on the way out of CHC at an ‘Outdoor Store’ to purchase some polypro tights and gloves! The Sports Manager did not feel well when she woke up – she thought she was experiencing the same symptoms she suffered many years ago when she had a minor stroke. By the time we reached the outskirts of CHC she had worked herself into a tizzy and was suffering anxiety attacks because she was worried that if she really were on the verge of a stroke there would not be proper medical care available in the remote areas of the South Island. I agreed it would be a problem and it would be safer to turn around and drive back into the city and visit the ER of the CHC Hospital. Thus we spent our 1st day in CHC in the ER where they did every possible test – a Cat scan, EKG, blood tests, etc. Happily all the tests were normal and the doctors assured us that there was no serious problem and we could continue our journey. We had to stay in CHC for the night and I enjoyed another hard/fast run in Hagley Park – but with gloves this time. We finally started our tour on Fri morning even though Nicole was still not feeling well. The symptoms seemed to come and go and after a few days I noticed that she was not eating well. After I convinced her to eat more the symptoms seemed to ease? She later found out when she visited her neurosurgeon in FL that these symptoms can be caused by long flights and jet lag. She announced that her duties of ‘Sports Manager’ were finished for long international trips!
Our first drive and stop was along the Banks Peninsula to the fishing village of Akaroa. It was such a lovely and quaint village that we would have stayed there for 1 night if it had not been so close to CHC (only 82 Km east). We had to move on and drove south on Hwy 1 to Oamaru an old Victorian town with many buildings built out of the local sandstone. We stayed the night in Oamaru and I had a very difficult run in the morning through the hills east of town. We continued our drive along the Otago Coast with a brief stop to view the Moeraki Boulders – giant spherical rocks on the beach that look like alien eggs? We continued on through Dunedin and turned inland through the Southern Alps to Gore and reached our destination – Fiordland or the Southwest Coast. We stayed in a beautiful little village called Te Anau located on Lake Te Anau. This setting was so beautiful that we immediately knew that we wanted to spend a few nights there. We found a lovely new motel on Lake Te Anau and then looked for the tourist center to book a cruise on Millford Sound. By that time we had learned some important facts:
a) Nothing is cheap in NZ
b) Hotels were the only reasonable expense. Since it was off-season we were able to negotiate rates around $100 NZ/night
c) Motels did have TVs and phones – some even had Internet access. However the TV was useless unless you wanted to watch reruns of ‘Get Smart’ (remember that show) in prime time. There is no cable TV in NZ – but they do have satellite TV. The government restricts Satellite TV to 3 stations: Sky News (either CNN or BBC), Sky Sports that shows rugby or cricket 24 X 7, and Sky Movies (like HBO). Most hotels offered Sky News (for a premium charge).
d) Meals were expensive! Breakfast ranged from $10 to $20 NZ so we usually bought a muffin ($3) at a bakery and a small orange juice ($3) for breakfast in our room. The hotels provided ‘free’ coffee/tea in the room. Dinner entrees ranged from $20 to $30 in a restaurant so we ate in Pubs (like the UK) that offered specials for about $10 to $15 NZ. A bowl of soup was $10 to $18 NZ! There were no ‘free’ side dishes. If you wanted bread you paid for it! (at least $4).
e) Beer/wine in a pub or restaurant was about $5 to $10 so we bought 6-packs of beer at the supermarket for about $10 and enjoyed a beer each day at the end of the drive and limited ourselves to one drink with dinner!
f) Gas was about $6/gal and as high as $8/gal in remote areas.
A friend had asked me to check out NZ as a potential retirement spot. I believe it would be cheaper to retire in San Francisco!
Back to Te Anau. A lovely town in a beautiful setting! I would love to go back there for a few weeks to hike on the many trails around Te Anau and Millford Sound. We booked a cruise on Millford Sound for the following day. It is a long but scenic drive into Millford Sound so I had to rise early and do a hard/fast run through the dark streets of Te Anau at 5 am. It was friggin cold! Temps near freezing! But I needed to do some speed work. I knew I probably couldn’t be competitive with the fast Kiwis but I didn’t want to embarrass myself with another 4-hr marathon! We enjoyed the scenic drive in to Millford Sound and the cruise was spectacular. The 18 Km-long Sound is hemmed in by sheer walls of rock that rise 4,000 ft. As you leave the dock the first sights you enjoy are the 5560 ft Mitre Peak and Brown Falls tumbling 520 ft into the sea. What amazed me was the vegetation including trees growing on the sheer cliffs of rock! Millford Sound is definitely a sight that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. The Sports Manager and I agreed that Te Anau and Millford Sound were the highlight of the NZ tour!
The following day was a short drive (172 Km) to Queenstown – the adventure capitol of NZ! It is located on the edge of the glacial Lake Wakatipu with stunning views of the Remarkables Mountain range. We expected Queenstown to be much larger – it reminded us of a small ski resort town in CO. We lucked in when the tourist center guided us into a new, boutique hotel situated in the hills just off the center of the town with fantastic views of the lake and town – only $125 NZ including a full NZ breakfast! And it was close to a bike path so I was able to do another speed work out along the lake. We visited most of the tourist sites including the famous AJ Hackett Bungy jump off the Kawarau Bridge (No – I didn’t jump!) and concluded the first day with a scenic through the gold mining town of Arrowtown and along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy. That evening we found a nice Pub in town that offered delicious lamb shanks as a special.
The next day we set off over the scenic but scary Crown Range Road past the Cardrona Ski Resort to Wanaka as we headed to the Westland National Park and the glaciers on the West Coast. We stopped at Thunder Creek Falls before we reached Haast Pass. The roads became a bit treacherous as we came around a blind curve or over a hill at 70 Km/hr to find a single-lane bridge? Thankfully there was not much traffic and we only had to stop once for oncoming traffic! We reached an entrance into Fox Glacier in the afternoon and hiked about 2 miles into a forest before we saw a paved road going directly into the glacier! Back to the car and drive to the damn glacier! We stayed in Franz Josef that evening and the following morning were disappointed to see rain and clouds. We couldn’t even see the tops of the mountains so decided there was no point in driving and hiking into the Franz Josef Glacier?
As we continued our tour north along the West Coast the weather cleared as we drove through Hokitika and Greymouth. We decided to turn back inland and head to Hanmer Springs. Hanmer Springs is called Waitapu (Sacred Waters) by the Maori for the thermal springs. It is a small Alpine village located 120 Km north of CHC. We explored the area and found a hotel close to the springs so that I could walk over to the springs and enjoy a hot soak. The hottest spring was 41 C – about the same temperature that I keep my hot tub at! The legs felt great the next morning when I did my final speed work out in preparation for the CHC Marathon.
Instead of driving back to CHC we decided to take a detour to Kaikoura on the East Coast. It is known for its whale watching and crayfish. We explored the town and decided to stay for the night to taste the crayfish. Crayfish is the Kiwi version of Maine lobster – and they are proud of it! $100 NZ for a crayfish dinner! We visited a local winery and bought an excellent bottle of Sauvignon Blanc that we took to dinner. I refused to pay $100 for a whole crayfish but did allow myself $50 for a Half that I enjoyed with the excellent wine. It was good but not any better than a $19.95 Maine lobster!
The next day (Fri) we drove back to CHC. We parked downtown, called Robert to let him know we had arrived and spent the afternoon touring downtown CHC. CHC is known as the ‘garden city’ for its many parks and gardens. Founded in 1856 it is the oldest city in NZ. There are many beautiful and historical Victorian buildings in downtown Christchurch. The CHC Tramway allows tourists to get on and off at 11 stops in downtown CHC. We visited Cathedral Square, Victoria Square, Christ’s College, Hagley Park and finished the day by picking up my race packet at City Hall. Then we followed Robert’s directions to his home in Halswell, a suburb on the south side of CHC. He had a beautiful new home – a surprise for a bachelor that spends all his time working and running? After we settled in his brother Dave joined us and we went drove downtown for a Thai dinner – lots of carbs!
On Sat morning the Sports Manager and I made a final drive tour up into the hills of Banks Peninsula overlooking CHC and Lyttelton Harbour. The hills are steep and covered with bike/hiking trails that the CHC runners use for training. The views are spectacular! CHC on one side and Lyttelton and Sumner on the ocean side. We returned the car to the rental agency on Sat afternoon since Robert volunteered to drive us to the race on Sun. Sat night I treated my support team to a pasta dinner.
Sum was M-day. There were 2500 runners in 3 races - Marathon/Half/10K – that started together at 9 am in front of City Hall. The weather was sunny and cool (high 30s F). The course was a Half Marathon loop that started at City Hall and followed the Avon River east for about 8 Km before returning downtown and through Hagley Park in the center of the city. We lucky marathoners got to run the course twice! Robert and Dave had a sister and other family members running the various races and told me that they would be cheering us along the course. Their Mom & Dad even cheered me on at one point along the course. I had some good training runs during our tour and felt that I could run a 3:40. Based on past times in my Age Group that would not be competitive but I told Robert that my goal was to start out at a 3:40 pace and assess the situation at 30 Km. If I still had energy in the tank I might try to push the last 12 Km?
I passed 5 Km in 24:49 – ahead of pace. 10 Km in 50:45 – still ahead of pace! I slowed my pace to reach 15 Km in 1:16:58 and the Half in 1:49:31. I was right on pace but not sure I could hold that same pace for the 2nd Half? When I reached 30 Km in 2:35:24 I felt OK and knew I could hold that pace for the final 12 Km – but I wasn’t sure that if I pushed the pace I wouldn’t ‘hit the wall’? And I saw Robert at that point taking photos and asked him if there were any old farts in front of me? He replied, “yes there were but they were too far ahead to catch”! So I wisely decided to hold the pace and re-evaluate at 35 Km. I passed 35 Km in 3:01:49. I had 32 minutes to run the final 7 Km. I decided to push the pace through Hagley Park since it felt familiar to me. I passed 40 km in 3:28:53 but suddenly my back started to tighten on me? I had never experienced that problem and I had to slow down to let the back loosen up. I was able to push the final 1 Km but it wasn’t enough and I crossed the finish line in 3:40:25! But I was happy with both my time and performance and I had not suffered any problems with leg cramps!
We returned to Robert’s for a quick but wonderful hot soak and shower and then Robert and I decided to go to the awards ceremony or ‘prize giving’ as the Kiwis call it. We couldn’t find the results posted anywhere so we went into the ceremony inside City Hall. I couldn’t believe it? There were 2500 runners in the races and half of them were at the ceremony. You would never see that kind of attendance at a US race! Unfortunately it dragged on too long including the Emcee asking Maddog to stand while he announced his accolades and accomplishments! As suspected I was soundly beat in my AG – finished in 5th place. 1st place ran a 3:15! A 52-year old Kiwi ran a 2:32! Those Kiwis are FAST!
As we were leaving the ceremony a sports announcer for a local radio station asked Maddog for an interview and that delayed us more.
We finally returned home in the afternoon so that Robert and Dave could cook a roast of lamb. Their Mom & Dad and sister joined us for dinner. Dave raises sheep on his Dad’s farm for a hobby and he supplied the lamb. It was so tender and scrumptious! I don’t understand why we can’t get lamb like that in the US?
On Mon we had a very early flight and Robert graciously drove us to the airport. We were on our way back to Fiji. We arrived in Nadi at 5 pm and were met by the staff of the Beachcomber Resort. I had learned that the best beaches in Fiji were on the out islands so I had booked a 4-day stay at the Beachcomber Resort. They didn’t seem to be affected by the coup and drop in tourism. Most of the island resorts were full and the prices were high – ridiculously high! Beachcomber Island is a small private island in the Mamanuca Islands – only a 30-minute boat ride from the mainland. I didn’t think I would like that sort of vacation or R&R but the Sports Manager said she would love it – and it would provide much-needed rest after a hectic 3 weeks of traveling!
I was correct – I hated it! The island was very small – took 10 minutes to walk around the entire island. There were some ’free’ activities like snorkeling and beach volleyball but everything else was expensive. I snorkeled one day and dove another but was still bored. We had a private bure (thatched hut) on the beach but there was no A/C, no TV, no phone and no Internet! Meals were included but they were all buffet and about as tasty as school cafeteria food! They assured us the water was safe to drink and since I didn’t have any marathons to worry about we drank it instead of buying bottled water. No store in the resort – had to buy everything at the bar! We didn’t have any problems (other than boredom) until the last night. The Sports Manager came down with an intestinal bug and was very sick. The final day was pure Hell for her. We had to check out at 10 am but our boat to the mainland left at 5 pm. I rented a lounge chair so she could lay in the shade and suffer all day! Our flight to the US departed at 10 pm. It was a long flight to LA. Fortunately we had to overnight in LA and that gave her a chance to go to bed and sleep. I felt great – did a long run along the beach near LAX and then enjoyed a great steak dinner. Thirty minutes later it all came back up! I had caught the bug. It was not a pleasant journey back home to FL the following day for either of us!
We have since recovered and I have already booked my next international marathon and flights – in Oct. The Sports Manager is not going!
This trip was perhaps a bit too long but we enjoyed both Fiji and NZ. We would go back to NZ in a heartbeat but have no desire to return to Fiji!
I am looking forward to the next trip/adventure.
Stay tuned for the trip report!
Footnote: I ended up taking a 3-month sabbatical to rest and
try to resolve the nagging leg cramps that had plagued me for the past 6
months.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
TR - Fiji Marathon
TRIP REPORT
Fiji & New Zealand
05/15 – 06/08/07
Race Results:
Fiji International Marathon
Coral Coast, Fiji
Sat, May 19/07
Marathon #287 – Country #83
4:02:26 - 4th OA – 2nd Male
Sorry about the delay in writing this trip report but we just tried to cram too many events into too tight of a time frame!
Now that we have moved and settled into our summer home in CO and our son has visited and thoroughly beat me up climbing 14ers during his visit I am ready and in need of a rest so I hope to get at least one report finished before we leave on another international trip?
So let’s get started!
The idea for this trip was incubated during the Everest adventure in 2005. I met two brothers from Christchurch, NZ and they invited me to visit and run a marathon in NZ. Since it is such a long trip I searched the web and running calendars to find another marathon in the South Pacific to spread the cost over two races. I came up with marathons in Fiji in mid- May and NZ in early June. That would work – we could spend one week in each country?
We wanted to use air miles for free tickets to Fiji and that required booking almost a year in advance because it is a popular destination and even then we had to extend the trip to a total of 24 days. We would spend one week in Fiji to run a marathon and play, and then travel on to NZ for 11 days and return to Fiji for 4 days of R&R! This would break up the long trip and reduce the effect of jet lag and the risk of DVT!
That was the plan. We booked our ‘free’ tickets and bought tickets from Fiji to NZ in the summer of 2006. When I booked the hotels in Fiji availability was scarce and rates not cheap. NZ we decided to leave wide open since we wanted to tour the South Island on our own. Little did we know that there would be a military coup in Fiji in Dec 2006?
The coup killed the tourist industry in Fiji and many tourists cancelled their reservations. That event helped us because the hotels reduced their rates to entice tourists back and we were granted the lower rates for our reservations. The race director informed us that the coup would not result in cancellation of the marathon and that events and turmoil had cooled down so we did not change our plans.
The Fiji Marathon is held on the Coral Coast which is on the west coast of the main island of Viti Levu so we booked a hotel close to the start/finish line. After a long flight to Nadi the first thing we noticed upon arriving at 5:30 am (2 days after leaving FL) was that the Fijians are very friendly and hospitable – and it was sincere. We arrived at our hotel after a bumpy and slow drive along the Queen’s Hwy. – about 120km south of Nadi. The hotel was a small boutique hotel and it was almost empty. Only 4 (of 19) rooms were rented! The coup was still affecting the tourist industry severely. But it was good for us during our whole stay because the Fijians were eager to serve and please the tourists that were there! We quickly learned that Fijians are serious about guests/tourists relaxing – there were no TVs and no telephones in the rooms and Internet access was hard to find! To be honest I didn’t like it!
We had arrived early Thu morning so we spent the rest of the day reconnoitering the area where our hotel was located. We were within walking distance of the small village of Korotogo that had one small grocery store and a short taxi ride to the fishing village of Sigatoka that had shops and restaurants. We went into Sigatoka in the afternoon for lunch and finished all our shopping for souvenirs the first day! We also arranged to hire our taxi driver – an Indian who spoke good English – to be a private driver/tour guide for Fri. It cost $100 FJ to rent a car not including insurance and gas. It cost $120 FJ to hire Babu for a day! That was a no-brainer and a wise decision! We were fortunate that our hotel was noted as the ‘gourmet’ restaurant in that area so we ate most of our meals there.
On Fri Babu drove us south along the Queen’s Hwy to Suva – the capital of Fiji. We stopped at a few ritzy resorts that seemed to have more tourists than the hotels in our area. We visited Pacific Harbour – an exclusive resort area with hotels, private homes, golf courses, etc but it was very isolated. Babu took us to a small native village where a guide escorted us through his village. He showed us one of only three native temples left on the island and explained how the Fijians in the village were self-sufficient. They live off the land using plants for food and medicines and to build their homes – like they have for several hundred years. Babu later explained that native Fijians own about 90% of the land in Fiji although the population is 51% Fijian and 49% Indian. The Indians were brought over by the British in the 1800s as indentured servants and stayed. There is a lot of animosity between the Fijians and the Indians. The Fijians don’t like to work and most live off the land. The Indians run the economy but have to lease most of the land and buildings from the Fijians! We arrived in Suva in time for lunch. Suva is big, congested, dirty and not nice. I would not recommend staying there! Babu drove us past most of the tourist spots – the Parliament Buildings (closed because of the coup), the President’s Palace (now occupied by a military commander), old churches and the harbour. A few hours to visit were all we needed.
We planned to hire Babu to take us into the interior and mountains on Sat but when we returned to the Coral Coast and picked up my race packet I discovered that the marathon was on Sat? I thought it was Sun? I couldn’t find pasta on any dinner menus – even the host hotel – but the chef agreed to cook pasta for us.
Sat was M-Day! The marathon was supposed to start at 6 am but we had already learned that nothing happens on time in Fiji. The start/finish was about ½ mile from our hotel. I lined up with 11 other runners for the marathon – all foreigners – no runners from Fiji! It was still dark but the temps were already in the 80s with humidity to match! The course included a 4 Km loop along a private road where our hotel was located before climbing a BAH (Bad ASS Hill) up to the Queen’s Hwy and along the two-lane hwy to the Naviti Resort where it turned around and returned to the finish line. The race director lined us up about 200m before the finish line and started the race. Maddog was the first runner across the finish line – looked good for the newspapers and TV cameras! But WHOA – what’s going on here? I slowed down and let the younger runners (I was the only runner over 50?) pass me and then I tried to stay behind them. There were ten of us in the lead pack. I stayed with them until we started up the BAH and I decided the pace was too fast. I let them go ahead but tried to keep them in sight. When I passed 5 Km in 24:35 I knew I had started too fast and slowed down more. I passed one runner after the BAH and kept the pack in sight until 10 Km – 51:22. I had slowed the pace and felt OK but was already concerned about the heat and the hills! The course followed the Queen’s Hwy along the coast so there were lots of hills and curves and it passed through several native villages.
It was early Sat so there was not much traffic on the narrow road. Water stops were located every 5 Km. When I reached 15 Km in 1:17:29 the pack had started to stretch out and I had lost sight of the leaders. I was beginning to wonder when I would see them on the return leg? I passed 20 Km in 1:44:25 and still hadn’t seen the lead runners? But I didn’t have to wait too long. As I reached the Half in 1:50:30 the lead male runner flew by me. I knew I wouldn’t see him again. Then the two lead female runners flew by. They were only 100 ft apart and I figured that was going to be a tough race (turned out they finished 1 min. apart). I passed one more male runner when I entered the Naviti Resort before the turn around at 24 Km. I passed 25 Km in 2:11:33 and was starting to hurt but could see two more male runners in front so I continued to push. I passed the 2nd runner just before I reached 30 Km in 2:38:21. By then I was hurting and I knew I was becoming dehydrated because I couldn’t think clearly. I was confused and couldn’t remember how many male runners were still ahead of me? I asked the runner as I passed and he confirmed that there were still 3 male runners (and two females) ahead of us. I knew I couldn’t catch the lead male or the two females but if I wanted to take home some silverware I needed to catch one more male because the awards only went to the top three runners in each sex! So I let Maddog talk me into continuing to push the pace for another 5 Km. But I grabbed two bottles of water at the water station – 1 bottle inside and 1 bottle outside to cool down hoping that would ease the dehydration? It didn’t! By the time I approached 35 Km in 3:06:01 I was in serious trouble. I was overheated, dizzy and nauseous – all symptoms of serious dehydration and heat stroke!
I had promised myself that if I didn’t see any runners ahead when I reached 35 Km I would slow down. It wasn’t difficult to keep that promise! The second I passed 35 Km my body and mind shut down! I started to walk and grabbed 3 bottles of water in a desperate attempt to re-hydrate. I was in BAD shape! The water seemed to help ease the nausea and after a few minutes I tried to jog. That lasted about 1 minute before my body shut down again and the nausea returned. There was not going to be a quick recovery/cure! The next 5 Km were pure Hell and agony! I kept looking over my shoulder expecting one of the runners I had passed to catch me. And each time I tried to jog I would last about 1 to 2 minutes before my body would just shut down again.
I reached the BAH at 40 Km in 3:47:02 – 41 minutes to walk/crawl 5 Km! And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it! I walked up the BAH with still some hope/desire that I could finish the race under 4 hrs? At the top of the BAH I valiantly tried to run the final 1 Km to the finish line. Didn’t last long! My body shut down again after 1 minute and I reluctantly accepted that sub-4 hrs was not going to happen. I would be happy to cross the finish line ALIVE! Finally as I approached the final corner about 500m before the finish line I sucked it up and managed to jog to the finish line and crossed it in 4:02:26! I was so nauseous that I wanted to throw up but started drinking tons of water instead hoping that I could replenish the much-needed fluids that my body needed. The sports manager tried to talk to me but I was hurting too much and was too sick to stand still. I vaguely remember her telling me that I was the 2nd male finisher but that didn’t make sense to my confused mind?
Finally I felt well enough to walk back to our hotel where I drank a liter of hi-carb sports drink to replenish electrolytes. That turned out to be a BIG mistake. It didn’t stay down more than a few minutes. Everything came back up but I felt much better! That has happened twice before – both times at Boston when I pushed my body beyond its limits!
Now that I felt much better I was able to enjoy a nice hot shower and we returned to the awards ceremony. I was even able to enjoy a beer! I was very shocked when the race director announced that I had finished 4th Overall and 2nd place Male? I guess those other two male runners must have dropped out? In addition to that award I also received an award for being the oldest male participant in all the races. I am not sure that is good?
Now that the race was over we could get back to exploring Fiji. Not so easy. Turned out that on Sun the island closes down. Shops are closed – none of the tours operate – and all the museums/public buildings and Parks close! There was no point in hiring Babu to drive us anywhere. We ended up spending the day with a long walk along the beach and walking over to a nearby resort (the Outrigger). It was big – it was fancy – it was nice – but a massage cost $120 FJ and breakfast cost $33 FJ. We considered celebrating with a nice dinner at that resort but I couldn’t convince myself to spend $150 FJ. Instead we found a local restaurant on the beach and enjoyed a delicious red snapper cooked in Fijian style for $30 FJ including beer!
We were booked to stay on the Coral Coast until Tue but we decided to move into Nadi a day early so we could explore that area of the island. Also the beaches on the Coral Coast were not very good. They were nice to look at but there was lots of coral and rocks and some kind of plant that looked like water snakes. They were not dangerous but were scary? We hired Babu to drive us into Nadi and make a few tourist stops along the way. Our first stop was at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes – huge (20 to 60 m high) sand dunes along the ocean. We hiked about 45 min through the dunes and decided they were not as spectacular as the sand dunes in CO. Thus don’t waste your time if you visit Fiji! Next we stopped at the Tavuni Hill Fort –a defensive fort built by the Tongan chief Maile Latumai in the 18th century and destroyed by the British in 1876. The fort overlooks the Sigatoka River and Valley known as the ’salad bowl’ of Fiji because most of the vegetables are grown in that area. We continued into Nadi to make stops at the Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami (Indian) Temple, the market and downtown. Nadi is the 2nd largest city and is also dirty, congested and not nice!
Fortunately and wisely we had booked a small hotel north of Nadi close to the airport on Wailoaloa Beach. It was a nice area with a few modern hotels and the beach was much nicer than those on the Coral Coast. And although our hotel room had no TV, phone, Internet, etc – at least the lounge had a TV and we were able to catch up on news on CNN and BBC! On Tue we booked an Eco-Tour into Koroyanitu National Park. Four native villages had donated their lands to the country to form the National Park in exchange for government assistance to set up an economy based on Eco tours. The native Fijians from those villages guide tourists on hikes into the Park and allow them to visit their villages. We were joined on our tour by a honeymoon couple from Cleveland, OH. Our native tour guide escorted us on a hike to a scenic viewpoint above the village of Abaca where we enjoyed panoramic views of the Highlands and the Mamanuca Islands.
Then we were ‘invited’ into Abaca. There is an ancient and traditional protocol that must be followed when visiting a Fijian village:
a) You must be invited
b) You must bring a sevusevu (gift) of yaqona (kava)
c) Your legs must be covered with a sulu or sarong
d) You must not wear a hat or sunglasses in the village
e) You must remove your shoes before entering the bure of the turaga-ni-koro (chief)
f) You must participate in a kava ceremony before visiting the village
There are other rules but those are the main ones. Our tour guide brought the kava on our behalf. Since I was the oldest male in our group I was designated the ‘visiting chief’.
After we were welcomed into the chief’s bure the chief and other natives began the kava ceremony. A young woman takes the kava - ground powder from the root of a kava tree/plant. She puts it into a cloth and passes water through the powder into a large wooden bowl that is made specifically for the kava ceremony. OH! OH! I see Fijian revenge coming on since they use water from a local stream? This process produces a thick, brown liquid that looks like mud! The liquid is narcotic! A European drug company uses the kava root to produce an anti-depressant similar to Valium!
The chief blesses the kava and takes the first drink. He then offers a small wooden bowl of kava to the visiting chief – me! Before accepting the bowl of kava I must say “bula”, clap once and accept the bowl with two hands. Then I must drink the complete bowl of kava without the bowl leaving my lips and return the bowl to the chief. I finish by clapping three times and saying “bula” to show that I appreciated the kava. Then the chief repeats the process with all the guests. It is an insult to refuse the kava or not to drink the whole bowl!
Fortunately the kava does not taste as bad as it looks! It numbs your tongue and mouth! I was the only guest to accept seconds – after all I was the visiting chief! After the kava ceremony the young woman escorted us around the village showing us how they are self-sufficient. They grow vegetables/plants in addition to harvesting natural plants from the tropical forests. Their houses were built from bamboo. The village has a central kitchen where all meals are cooked. I did note that the village had a central generator and each house had one light bulb – and a TV and DVD! I told the Sports manager that we should move there because it would be cheap retirement living? I won’t comment on the look I received? But we both agreed that it was the best tour and activity that we enjoyed in Fiji!
After a great farewell dinner at our hotel we rose early on Wed for our flight to NZ where the adventure continued and will be the subject of the next report.
Stay tuned!
Fiji & New Zealand
05/15 – 06/08/07
Race Results:
Fiji International Marathon
Coral Coast, Fiji
Sat, May 19/07
Marathon #287 – Country #83
4:02:26 - 4th OA – 2nd Male
Sorry about the delay in writing this trip report but we just tried to cram too many events into too tight of a time frame!
Now that we have moved and settled into our summer home in CO and our son has visited and thoroughly beat me up climbing 14ers during his visit I am ready and in need of a rest so I hope to get at least one report finished before we leave on another international trip?
So let’s get started!
The idea for this trip was incubated during the Everest adventure in 2005. I met two brothers from Christchurch, NZ and they invited me to visit and run a marathon in NZ. Since it is such a long trip I searched the web and running calendars to find another marathon in the South Pacific to spread the cost over two races. I came up with marathons in Fiji in mid- May and NZ in early June. That would work – we could spend one week in each country?
We wanted to use air miles for free tickets to Fiji and that required booking almost a year in advance because it is a popular destination and even then we had to extend the trip to a total of 24 days. We would spend one week in Fiji to run a marathon and play, and then travel on to NZ for 11 days and return to Fiji for 4 days of R&R! This would break up the long trip and reduce the effect of jet lag and the risk of DVT!
That was the plan. We booked our ‘free’ tickets and bought tickets from Fiji to NZ in the summer of 2006. When I booked the hotels in Fiji availability was scarce and rates not cheap. NZ we decided to leave wide open since we wanted to tour the South Island on our own. Little did we know that there would be a military coup in Fiji in Dec 2006?
The coup killed the tourist industry in Fiji and many tourists cancelled their reservations. That event helped us because the hotels reduced their rates to entice tourists back and we were granted the lower rates for our reservations. The race director informed us that the coup would not result in cancellation of the marathon and that events and turmoil had cooled down so we did not change our plans.
The Fiji Marathon is held on the Coral Coast which is on the west coast of the main island of Viti Levu so we booked a hotel close to the start/finish line. After a long flight to Nadi the first thing we noticed upon arriving at 5:30 am (2 days after leaving FL) was that the Fijians are very friendly and hospitable – and it was sincere. We arrived at our hotel after a bumpy and slow drive along the Queen’s Hwy. – about 120km south of Nadi. The hotel was a small boutique hotel and it was almost empty. Only 4 (of 19) rooms were rented! The coup was still affecting the tourist industry severely. But it was good for us during our whole stay because the Fijians were eager to serve and please the tourists that were there! We quickly learned that Fijians are serious about guests/tourists relaxing – there were no TVs and no telephones in the rooms and Internet access was hard to find! To be honest I didn’t like it!
We had arrived early Thu morning so we spent the rest of the day reconnoitering the area where our hotel was located. We were within walking distance of the small village of Korotogo that had one small grocery store and a short taxi ride to the fishing village of Sigatoka that had shops and restaurants. We went into Sigatoka in the afternoon for lunch and finished all our shopping for souvenirs the first day! We also arranged to hire our taxi driver – an Indian who spoke good English – to be a private driver/tour guide for Fri. It cost $100 FJ to rent a car not including insurance and gas. It cost $120 FJ to hire Babu for a day! That was a no-brainer and a wise decision! We were fortunate that our hotel was noted as the ‘gourmet’ restaurant in that area so we ate most of our meals there.
On Fri Babu drove us south along the Queen’s Hwy to Suva – the capital of Fiji. We stopped at a few ritzy resorts that seemed to have more tourists than the hotels in our area. We visited Pacific Harbour – an exclusive resort area with hotels, private homes, golf courses, etc but it was very isolated. Babu took us to a small native village where a guide escorted us through his village. He showed us one of only three native temples left on the island and explained how the Fijians in the village were self-sufficient. They live off the land using plants for food and medicines and to build their homes – like they have for several hundred years. Babu later explained that native Fijians own about 90% of the land in Fiji although the population is 51% Fijian and 49% Indian. The Indians were brought over by the British in the 1800s as indentured servants and stayed. There is a lot of animosity between the Fijians and the Indians. The Fijians don’t like to work and most live off the land. The Indians run the economy but have to lease most of the land and buildings from the Fijians! We arrived in Suva in time for lunch. Suva is big, congested, dirty and not nice. I would not recommend staying there! Babu drove us past most of the tourist spots – the Parliament Buildings (closed because of the coup), the President’s Palace (now occupied by a military commander), old churches and the harbour. A few hours to visit were all we needed.
We planned to hire Babu to take us into the interior and mountains on Sat but when we returned to the Coral Coast and picked up my race packet I discovered that the marathon was on Sat? I thought it was Sun? I couldn’t find pasta on any dinner menus – even the host hotel – but the chef agreed to cook pasta for us.
Sat was M-Day! The marathon was supposed to start at 6 am but we had already learned that nothing happens on time in Fiji. The start/finish was about ½ mile from our hotel. I lined up with 11 other runners for the marathon – all foreigners – no runners from Fiji! It was still dark but the temps were already in the 80s with humidity to match! The course included a 4 Km loop along a private road where our hotel was located before climbing a BAH (Bad ASS Hill) up to the Queen’s Hwy and along the two-lane hwy to the Naviti Resort where it turned around and returned to the finish line. The race director lined us up about 200m before the finish line and started the race. Maddog was the first runner across the finish line – looked good for the newspapers and TV cameras! But WHOA – what’s going on here? I slowed down and let the younger runners (I was the only runner over 50?) pass me and then I tried to stay behind them. There were ten of us in the lead pack. I stayed with them until we started up the BAH and I decided the pace was too fast. I let them go ahead but tried to keep them in sight. When I passed 5 Km in 24:35 I knew I had started too fast and slowed down more. I passed one runner after the BAH and kept the pack in sight until 10 Km – 51:22. I had slowed the pace and felt OK but was already concerned about the heat and the hills! The course followed the Queen’s Hwy along the coast so there were lots of hills and curves and it passed through several native villages.
It was early Sat so there was not much traffic on the narrow road. Water stops were located every 5 Km. When I reached 15 Km in 1:17:29 the pack had started to stretch out and I had lost sight of the leaders. I was beginning to wonder when I would see them on the return leg? I passed 20 Km in 1:44:25 and still hadn’t seen the lead runners? But I didn’t have to wait too long. As I reached the Half in 1:50:30 the lead male runner flew by me. I knew I wouldn’t see him again. Then the two lead female runners flew by. They were only 100 ft apart and I figured that was going to be a tough race (turned out they finished 1 min. apart). I passed one more male runner when I entered the Naviti Resort before the turn around at 24 Km. I passed 25 Km in 2:11:33 and was starting to hurt but could see two more male runners in front so I continued to push. I passed the 2nd runner just before I reached 30 Km in 2:38:21. By then I was hurting and I knew I was becoming dehydrated because I couldn’t think clearly. I was confused and couldn’t remember how many male runners were still ahead of me? I asked the runner as I passed and he confirmed that there were still 3 male runners (and two females) ahead of us. I knew I couldn’t catch the lead male or the two females but if I wanted to take home some silverware I needed to catch one more male because the awards only went to the top three runners in each sex! So I let Maddog talk me into continuing to push the pace for another 5 Km. But I grabbed two bottles of water at the water station – 1 bottle inside and 1 bottle outside to cool down hoping that would ease the dehydration? It didn’t! By the time I approached 35 Km in 3:06:01 I was in serious trouble. I was overheated, dizzy and nauseous – all symptoms of serious dehydration and heat stroke!
I had promised myself that if I didn’t see any runners ahead when I reached 35 Km I would slow down. It wasn’t difficult to keep that promise! The second I passed 35 Km my body and mind shut down! I started to walk and grabbed 3 bottles of water in a desperate attempt to re-hydrate. I was in BAD shape! The water seemed to help ease the nausea and after a few minutes I tried to jog. That lasted about 1 minute before my body shut down again and the nausea returned. There was not going to be a quick recovery/cure! The next 5 Km were pure Hell and agony! I kept looking over my shoulder expecting one of the runners I had passed to catch me. And each time I tried to jog I would last about 1 to 2 minutes before my body would just shut down again.
I reached the BAH at 40 Km in 3:47:02 – 41 minutes to walk/crawl 5 Km! And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it! I walked up the BAH with still some hope/desire that I could finish the race under 4 hrs? At the top of the BAH I valiantly tried to run the final 1 Km to the finish line. Didn’t last long! My body shut down again after 1 minute and I reluctantly accepted that sub-4 hrs was not going to happen. I would be happy to cross the finish line ALIVE! Finally as I approached the final corner about 500m before the finish line I sucked it up and managed to jog to the finish line and crossed it in 4:02:26! I was so nauseous that I wanted to throw up but started drinking tons of water instead hoping that I could replenish the much-needed fluids that my body needed. The sports manager tried to talk to me but I was hurting too much and was too sick to stand still. I vaguely remember her telling me that I was the 2nd male finisher but that didn’t make sense to my confused mind?
Finally I felt well enough to walk back to our hotel where I drank a liter of hi-carb sports drink to replenish electrolytes. That turned out to be a BIG mistake. It didn’t stay down more than a few minutes. Everything came back up but I felt much better! That has happened twice before – both times at Boston when I pushed my body beyond its limits!
Now that I felt much better I was able to enjoy a nice hot shower and we returned to the awards ceremony. I was even able to enjoy a beer! I was very shocked when the race director announced that I had finished 4th Overall and 2nd place Male? I guess those other two male runners must have dropped out? In addition to that award I also received an award for being the oldest male participant in all the races. I am not sure that is good?
Now that the race was over we could get back to exploring Fiji. Not so easy. Turned out that on Sun the island closes down. Shops are closed – none of the tours operate – and all the museums/public buildings and Parks close! There was no point in hiring Babu to drive us anywhere. We ended up spending the day with a long walk along the beach and walking over to a nearby resort (the Outrigger). It was big – it was fancy – it was nice – but a massage cost $120 FJ and breakfast cost $33 FJ. We considered celebrating with a nice dinner at that resort but I couldn’t convince myself to spend $150 FJ. Instead we found a local restaurant on the beach and enjoyed a delicious red snapper cooked in Fijian style for $30 FJ including beer!
We were booked to stay on the Coral Coast until Tue but we decided to move into Nadi a day early so we could explore that area of the island. Also the beaches on the Coral Coast were not very good. They were nice to look at but there was lots of coral and rocks and some kind of plant that looked like water snakes. They were not dangerous but were scary? We hired Babu to drive us into Nadi and make a few tourist stops along the way. Our first stop was at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes – huge (20 to 60 m high) sand dunes along the ocean. We hiked about 45 min through the dunes and decided they were not as spectacular as the sand dunes in CO. Thus don’t waste your time if you visit Fiji! Next we stopped at the Tavuni Hill Fort –a defensive fort built by the Tongan chief Maile Latumai in the 18th century and destroyed by the British in 1876. The fort overlooks the Sigatoka River and Valley known as the ’salad bowl’ of Fiji because most of the vegetables are grown in that area. We continued into Nadi to make stops at the Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami (Indian) Temple, the market and downtown. Nadi is the 2nd largest city and is also dirty, congested and not nice!
Fortunately and wisely we had booked a small hotel north of Nadi close to the airport on Wailoaloa Beach. It was a nice area with a few modern hotels and the beach was much nicer than those on the Coral Coast. And although our hotel room had no TV, phone, Internet, etc – at least the lounge had a TV and we were able to catch up on news on CNN and BBC! On Tue we booked an Eco-Tour into Koroyanitu National Park. Four native villages had donated their lands to the country to form the National Park in exchange for government assistance to set up an economy based on Eco tours. The native Fijians from those villages guide tourists on hikes into the Park and allow them to visit their villages. We were joined on our tour by a honeymoon couple from Cleveland, OH. Our native tour guide escorted us on a hike to a scenic viewpoint above the village of Abaca where we enjoyed panoramic views of the Highlands and the Mamanuca Islands.
Then we were ‘invited’ into Abaca. There is an ancient and traditional protocol that must be followed when visiting a Fijian village:
a) You must be invited
b) You must bring a sevusevu (gift) of yaqona (kava)
c) Your legs must be covered with a sulu or sarong
d) You must not wear a hat or sunglasses in the village
e) You must remove your shoes before entering the bure of the turaga-ni-koro (chief)
f) You must participate in a kava ceremony before visiting the village
There are other rules but those are the main ones. Our tour guide brought the kava on our behalf. Since I was the oldest male in our group I was designated the ‘visiting chief’.
After we were welcomed into the chief’s bure the chief and other natives began the kava ceremony. A young woman takes the kava - ground powder from the root of a kava tree/plant. She puts it into a cloth and passes water through the powder into a large wooden bowl that is made specifically for the kava ceremony. OH! OH! I see Fijian revenge coming on since they use water from a local stream? This process produces a thick, brown liquid that looks like mud! The liquid is narcotic! A European drug company uses the kava root to produce an anti-depressant similar to Valium!
The chief blesses the kava and takes the first drink. He then offers a small wooden bowl of kava to the visiting chief – me! Before accepting the bowl of kava I must say “bula”, clap once and accept the bowl with two hands. Then I must drink the complete bowl of kava without the bowl leaving my lips and return the bowl to the chief. I finish by clapping three times and saying “bula” to show that I appreciated the kava. Then the chief repeats the process with all the guests. It is an insult to refuse the kava or not to drink the whole bowl!
Fortunately the kava does not taste as bad as it looks! It numbs your tongue and mouth! I was the only guest to accept seconds – after all I was the visiting chief! After the kava ceremony the young woman escorted us around the village showing us how they are self-sufficient. They grow vegetables/plants in addition to harvesting natural plants from the tropical forests. Their houses were built from bamboo. The village has a central kitchen where all meals are cooked. I did note that the village had a central generator and each house had one light bulb – and a TV and DVD! I told the Sports manager that we should move there because it would be cheap retirement living? I won’t comment on the look I received? But we both agreed that it was the best tour and activity that we enjoyed in Fiji!
After a great farewell dinner at our hotel we rose early on Wed for our flight to NZ where the adventure continued and will be the subject of the next report.
Stay tuned!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Central States Marathon
Race Report
Central States Marathon
Ames, IA
Sun, May 13/07
# 286 – State # 47 (2nd loop)
3:47:37 - 2 OA
I apologize that this report is two months late but I had a very hectic travel schedule after the race. Better late than never?
I needed to run a marathon in Iowa to continue my (silly) quest to finish the 50 States for a 2nd time. The Central States Marathon was the only race in IA that fit my schedule for the year even though it was not convenient since I would have to leave on the following Tue for the South Pacific- i.e. I would only have one day to get ready and pack for a long trip!
There were a few benefits to picking this race. A friend, Rick K. from Tampa was also running and we agreed to share expenses and the cost of the race was $10! No entry fee but we had to join the Ames Running Club to get our free entry! Rick and I flew out separately from Tampa on Sat and met in Des Moines for a short drive to Ames. We checked out the route to Brookside Park to make sure we knew the route and then enjoyed a traditional pasta dinner.
It was a very small and informal race. The race was on Sun and 47 runners had the option of starting at 6 or 7 am. You just signed in at the appropriate hour and your time started from that hour! We chose to start at 6 am to enjoy cooler weather and finish earlier so that we could catch our flights home. The weather was sunny and cool (50s F) when we started but it was forecast to reach the low 80s. About 35 runners started at 6am. Rick and I had returned to the rental car to change into singlets for the warmer weather and the race started (on time) as we were walking back to the start line! We had to sprint to the start line and then turn around and chase the group! It took about 1 mile to catch/pass most of the runners. Finally I pulled up behind the 3rd place runner – a young male runner from Des Moines. I confirmed that there were only two runners (male) in font of us. The course was a 5.25-mile loop that consisted of a 3.75-mile loop back to the start/finish line followed by a 1.75-mile loop. Since I had no idea where the loops went I decided to stay with the young runner until we finished the first total loop. At the turn-around on the smaller loop we met the two lead runners who had about ¼ mile lead. We reached the start/finish line at the end of the first 5.25-mile loop in 44:54. Since there were no other distance markers on the course that was the only gauge I had to set pace. I calculated that if I could hold that pace I would finish in 3:45. I still didn’t have much confidence that I could run that fast without suffering cramps in my legs so I decided to hold that pace and see what happens?
I soon left the young male runner behind and continued to chase the two lead runners. At first I thought that I would be bored with the short 5.25-mile loop but it turned out OK. Many of the runners were fellow members of the 50 State Club trying to add another state to their list and I knew most of them. So we kept passing each other through the race and eventually I even lapped some of them. By the time I had completed my 3rd loop in 2:14:53 (fairly even 45-min splits) the 1st place runner had increased his lead to almost 1 mile but I was still within ½ mile of 2nd place. I decided to hold the pace for the 4th loop.
I completed the 4th loop in 3:00:19 but was starting to tire. However I was closing the lead on 2nd place so I used the course layout to my advantage. I convinced myself that I could hold the pace for at least the next 3.75-mile loop and then assess the situation for the final short loop. When I returned to the finish line for the 9th time the lead runner had just crossed the finish line and won the race in 3:30. But I could now see the 2nd place runner in front of me and he was fading. That was enough incentive to accept some pain and continue to push the pace! I caught and passed him near mile 25. I was hoping he wouldn’t respond because I didn’t have much left? Fortunately he was hurting too much to respond and wished me good luck. At that point I figured there was no reason to continue to hurt so I slowed down and cruised to the finish line in 3:47:37!
I was pleased with my time and place – 2nd place overall! I was even more pleased that I had not experienced any cramps in my legs! Maybe those problems were finally behind me? Because the race was so small the race director was handing out awards as runners crossed the finish line. He offered me an award – a second hand trophy from another race! I graciously refused. I didn’t need another running trophy. I only accept awards that are unusual/unique or practical like running gear.
I then had to wait for Rick to finish but there were lots of other friends still on the course so I cheered them to the finish line. One running mate from the UK was in the race so I walked/jogged about ¼ mile of the course with him to catch up on the latest news in the UK. Finally Rick finished in 5+ hrs and we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and back to the airport.
I arrived home late and thus had only one day to prepare and pack for a 3-week international trip to the South Pacific for two marathons/countries. Now I have to write the trip reports for those races and they will be much longer.
But I did finish state #47. I only have three states left – RI, WV, PA – the same three states that I should have finished last year but missed due to that darn DVT/blood clot! I will finish them and my quest this fall!
Stay tuned for the reports!
Central States Marathon
Ames, IA
Sun, May 13/07
# 286 – State # 47 (2nd loop)
3:47:37 - 2 OA
I apologize that this report is two months late but I had a very hectic travel schedule after the race. Better late than never?
I needed to run a marathon in Iowa to continue my (silly) quest to finish the 50 States for a 2nd time. The Central States Marathon was the only race in IA that fit my schedule for the year even though it was not convenient since I would have to leave on the following Tue for the South Pacific- i.e. I would only have one day to get ready and pack for a long trip!
There were a few benefits to picking this race. A friend, Rick K. from Tampa was also running and we agreed to share expenses and the cost of the race was $10! No entry fee but we had to join the Ames Running Club to get our free entry! Rick and I flew out separately from Tampa on Sat and met in Des Moines for a short drive to Ames. We checked out the route to Brookside Park to make sure we knew the route and then enjoyed a traditional pasta dinner.
It was a very small and informal race. The race was on Sun and 47 runners had the option of starting at 6 or 7 am. You just signed in at the appropriate hour and your time started from that hour! We chose to start at 6 am to enjoy cooler weather and finish earlier so that we could catch our flights home. The weather was sunny and cool (50s F) when we started but it was forecast to reach the low 80s. About 35 runners started at 6am. Rick and I had returned to the rental car to change into singlets for the warmer weather and the race started (on time) as we were walking back to the start line! We had to sprint to the start line and then turn around and chase the group! It took about 1 mile to catch/pass most of the runners. Finally I pulled up behind the 3rd place runner – a young male runner from Des Moines. I confirmed that there were only two runners (male) in font of us. The course was a 5.25-mile loop that consisted of a 3.75-mile loop back to the start/finish line followed by a 1.75-mile loop. Since I had no idea where the loops went I decided to stay with the young runner until we finished the first total loop. At the turn-around on the smaller loop we met the two lead runners who had about ¼ mile lead. We reached the start/finish line at the end of the first 5.25-mile loop in 44:54. Since there were no other distance markers on the course that was the only gauge I had to set pace. I calculated that if I could hold that pace I would finish in 3:45. I still didn’t have much confidence that I could run that fast without suffering cramps in my legs so I decided to hold that pace and see what happens?
I soon left the young male runner behind and continued to chase the two lead runners. At first I thought that I would be bored with the short 5.25-mile loop but it turned out OK. Many of the runners were fellow members of the 50 State Club trying to add another state to their list and I knew most of them. So we kept passing each other through the race and eventually I even lapped some of them. By the time I had completed my 3rd loop in 2:14:53 (fairly even 45-min splits) the 1st place runner had increased his lead to almost 1 mile but I was still within ½ mile of 2nd place. I decided to hold the pace for the 4th loop.
I completed the 4th loop in 3:00:19 but was starting to tire. However I was closing the lead on 2nd place so I used the course layout to my advantage. I convinced myself that I could hold the pace for at least the next 3.75-mile loop and then assess the situation for the final short loop. When I returned to the finish line for the 9th time the lead runner had just crossed the finish line and won the race in 3:30. But I could now see the 2nd place runner in front of me and he was fading. That was enough incentive to accept some pain and continue to push the pace! I caught and passed him near mile 25. I was hoping he wouldn’t respond because I didn’t have much left? Fortunately he was hurting too much to respond and wished me good luck. At that point I figured there was no reason to continue to hurt so I slowed down and cruised to the finish line in 3:47:37!
I was pleased with my time and place – 2nd place overall! I was even more pleased that I had not experienced any cramps in my legs! Maybe those problems were finally behind me? Because the race was so small the race director was handing out awards as runners crossed the finish line. He offered me an award – a second hand trophy from another race! I graciously refused. I didn’t need another running trophy. I only accept awards that are unusual/unique or practical like running gear.
I then had to wait for Rick to finish but there were lots of other friends still on the course so I cheered them to the finish line. One running mate from the UK was in the race so I walked/jogged about ¼ mile of the course with him to catch up on the latest news in the UK. Finally Rick finished in 5+ hrs and we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and back to the airport.
I arrived home late and thus had only one day to prepare and pack for a 3-week international trip to the South Pacific for two marathons/countries. Now I have to write the trip reports for those races and they will be much longer.
But I did finish state #47. I only have three states left – RI, WV, PA – the same three states that I should have finished last year but missed due to that darn DVT/blood clot! I will finish them and my quest this fall!
Stay tuned for the reports!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
RR Delaware Trail Marathon
RACE REPORT
Triple Crown Trail Marathon
Newark, DE
Sat, Apr 28/07
Marathon # 285 - State # 46 (2nd loop)
4:46:12 - 1AG
The only reason I even considered running this marathon (because of its name – TRAIL) was because it was in Delaware. I have decided that I am tired of pursuing my quest to complete all 50 States + DC for a 2nd time and want to finish the quest this year! Since DE has only two marathons and the road marathon is being held on May 20 – the same day I run the Fiji Marathon - I was stuck with running the trail marathon if I wanted to finish this year. It couldn’t be that bad?
So I flew to Philadelphia on Fri and drove 45 miles south to Newark. I arrived in time to find the White Clay Creek State Park a few miles north of downtown Newark where the race was being held. It had rained the past few days and my flight was delayed because of storms so I figured that was going to impact the marathon since the course was single track trails through forests and meadows with four crossings over White Clay Creek.
The race started at 7:30 am. Because they had a large turnout for the Half they decided to start the Half at 7:30 am and delay the marathon for 10 minutes because of the narrow single track trails. I was on a tight schedule. I had booked a 4 pm flight out of Philly on the expectation of running a 4:30 marathon. The delay was cutting into my time?
The rain had stopped and the weather was nice – sunny and 52 F at the start. Unfortunately the rain had turned the meadows and trails into mud bogs and the creek was running higher than normal. Oh goody!
The course was a Half marathon loop consisting of four hiking loops within the Park. The 1st loop was 10 Km followed by three short loops of 2 miles each and there were two points where we had to cross Clay Creek – at 3 miles and again at 10 miles. At the start the race director warned us that the trails were muddy and slippery and the water a bit higher than normal.
We watched and cheered as the half marathoners took off and 10 minutes later we followed. We reached the first mud bog at mile 1. A local runner called it a ‘shoe stealer’ and sure enough a runner in front of me came out of the bog with only one shoe. He was forced to crawl back into the bog on his hands and knees to find his missing shoe! I was not looking forward to the first river crossing at mile 3. I reached the crossing in 29:31 so I was on pace – I figured that a 10-minute pace would be the best I could expect to average. I watched a few runners pick their path across Clay Creek. The crossing was about 80 m wide. The bottom was slippery and the water was knee-deep and ice-cold! I made that first crossing very slowly, carefully and safely!
After crossing the creek we reached the start of the 2nd loop and lots of rolling hills. Surprisingly my socks and shoes dried out fairly quickly. By the time I reached the start of the 4th and final loop at 5 miles and started the back half of the loops I had caught the back of the half marathon pack. As we ran the back sides of the loops I was thinking that the hills weren’t as bad as expected until we reached the back side of the 2nd loop. What a bitch as I struggled to run to the top of that loop. I figured there would be no way I could run that loop on the 2nd Half of the marathon? I reached 10 miles and the 2nd river crossing in 1:40:05. This time I was not so scared of the water and charged across the Creek. After crossing the Creek we were faced with a series of nasty hills and more mud bogs that slowed all runners down. I had passed all the runners in the back pack of the Half and now started to catch the mid-pack runners (and they had a 10-min head start!). That observation should have been enough to confirm what my legs were already telling me. I had started too fast and with the hills and mud my legs felt like they had been beaten with a 2X4 as I struggled to run the final 3 miles of the 1st Half in 32:30 and reach the start/finish line in 2:12:35!
I thought about changing my goal to become a Half marathoner – I did not want to turn around and run that half-marathon loop - AGAIN! But Maddog didn’t give me any choice as he charged off through the meadow – back to the mud bog and the river crossing! I reached the river crossing at mile 16 in 2:46:05. It had taken 33:08 (an 11-min pace) to run those 3 miles! This time the cold water felt good on my beaten-up/tired legs and I walked across the Creek! I was not looking forward to the 7 miles of hills over the next three loops back to the Creek. I struggled just to keep the old, wasted legs moving/running and was doing OK until I reached the nasty BAH (Bad Ass Hills) on the back side of the 2nd loop (the ones where I knew I would have to walk!). I tried to run the hills but my left quad started to cramp. Luckily it did not lock up and I was able to stop to stretch and massage it but I was forced to walk for about 5 minutes to get it to relax enough to start running again. (That’s my story/excuse for walking the hills and I am sticking to it!).
I was really afraid that it would cramp again on the steep decline down to the Creek but luckily it didn’t. I reached the Creek at mile 23 in 4:10:37 – 1:24:31 for 7 miles/ a 12-min pace – and I was hurting! This time I deliberately looked for a ‘fishing’ hole in the Creek where the water was deeper and covered all my legs. I stood in that hole for about 1 minute giving my wasted old legs a much needed ice-cold bath! That therapy seemed to work because my legs felt much better when I emerged from the Creek. I tried to lower the hammer for the final 3 miles but there just wasn’t any energy left in the old legs. However I managed to run the entire final loop though the nasty hills and bogs. I even enjoyed a few laughs when I caught up to a young runner who was struggling to get to the finish line. He was totally exhausted and beat up (almost delirious)and each time we would reach a hill he would scream in agony and curse the course and race director! I told him to save his energy for the hills and left him behind screaming as I pushed ahead to reach the finish line in 4:46:12.
Because I was on such a tight schedule I could not wait around for results. I only had time to take a customary finish line photo and rush back to the hotel for a quick shower and head to the airport in Philly to catch my 4 pm flight. I made it in time to enjoy a much-deserved beer before catching my flight.
In summary it wasn’t much fun but it was definitely a challenging long training run that I needed to get the old bod back in shape and ready for my next road race. Hopefully I can start some speed work next week to get ready for that race and the international races that follow shortly.
Stay tuned!
Footnote:
I delayed posting this race report while I waited for the race results to be posted on the race website. When that didn’t happen I attempted to contact the race director – 3 emails and 2 phone calls that he refused to answer? Thus I am forced to write a POOR evaluation for this race!
The course was tough but it was advertised to be tough. Most of the organization and logistics were OK. The negatives were:
1) The 10 min delay at the start. (I was on a tight time schedule).
2) No water station at the half mark. There was water at the finish for the Half but we did not cross that line and thus I missed the water station and had to run 6 miles (more than 1 hour) between water stops!
3) No race results for the marathon posted at the finish line (and I finished more than 1 hr behind the winners?)
4) The very rude, uncaring and unresponsive attitude of the race director
For these reasons I recommend that you AVOID this race unless you absolutely need to run it to complete the 50 states. A better alternative would be to run the Delaware road marathon in late May.
Added footnote:
I finally received the results and an apology from the race director. I won my Age Group as suspected but didn't want to declare that fact w/o the official results.
Triple Crown Trail Marathon
Newark, DE
Sat, Apr 28/07
Marathon # 285 - State # 46 (2nd loop)
4:46:12 - 1AG
The only reason I even considered running this marathon (because of its name – TRAIL) was because it was in Delaware. I have decided that I am tired of pursuing my quest to complete all 50 States + DC for a 2nd time and want to finish the quest this year! Since DE has only two marathons and the road marathon is being held on May 20 – the same day I run the Fiji Marathon - I was stuck with running the trail marathon if I wanted to finish this year. It couldn’t be that bad?
So I flew to Philadelphia on Fri and drove 45 miles south to Newark. I arrived in time to find the White Clay Creek State Park a few miles north of downtown Newark where the race was being held. It had rained the past few days and my flight was delayed because of storms so I figured that was going to impact the marathon since the course was single track trails through forests and meadows with four crossings over White Clay Creek.
The race started at 7:30 am. Because they had a large turnout for the Half they decided to start the Half at 7:30 am and delay the marathon for 10 minutes because of the narrow single track trails. I was on a tight schedule. I had booked a 4 pm flight out of Philly on the expectation of running a 4:30 marathon. The delay was cutting into my time?
The rain had stopped and the weather was nice – sunny and 52 F at the start. Unfortunately the rain had turned the meadows and trails into mud bogs and the creek was running higher than normal. Oh goody!
The course was a Half marathon loop consisting of four hiking loops within the Park. The 1st loop was 10 Km followed by three short loops of 2 miles each and there were two points where we had to cross Clay Creek – at 3 miles and again at 10 miles. At the start the race director warned us that the trails were muddy and slippery and the water a bit higher than normal.
We watched and cheered as the half marathoners took off and 10 minutes later we followed. We reached the first mud bog at mile 1. A local runner called it a ‘shoe stealer’ and sure enough a runner in front of me came out of the bog with only one shoe. He was forced to crawl back into the bog on his hands and knees to find his missing shoe! I was not looking forward to the first river crossing at mile 3. I reached the crossing in 29:31 so I was on pace – I figured that a 10-minute pace would be the best I could expect to average. I watched a few runners pick their path across Clay Creek. The crossing was about 80 m wide. The bottom was slippery and the water was knee-deep and ice-cold! I made that first crossing very slowly, carefully and safely!
After crossing the creek we reached the start of the 2nd loop and lots of rolling hills. Surprisingly my socks and shoes dried out fairly quickly. By the time I reached the start of the 4th and final loop at 5 miles and started the back half of the loops I had caught the back of the half marathon pack. As we ran the back sides of the loops I was thinking that the hills weren’t as bad as expected until we reached the back side of the 2nd loop. What a bitch as I struggled to run to the top of that loop. I figured there would be no way I could run that loop on the 2nd Half of the marathon? I reached 10 miles and the 2nd river crossing in 1:40:05. This time I was not so scared of the water and charged across the Creek. After crossing the Creek we were faced with a series of nasty hills and more mud bogs that slowed all runners down. I had passed all the runners in the back pack of the Half and now started to catch the mid-pack runners (and they had a 10-min head start!). That observation should have been enough to confirm what my legs were already telling me. I had started too fast and with the hills and mud my legs felt like they had been beaten with a 2X4 as I struggled to run the final 3 miles of the 1st Half in 32:30 and reach the start/finish line in 2:12:35!
I thought about changing my goal to become a Half marathoner – I did not want to turn around and run that half-marathon loop - AGAIN! But Maddog didn’t give me any choice as he charged off through the meadow – back to the mud bog and the river crossing! I reached the river crossing at mile 16 in 2:46:05. It had taken 33:08 (an 11-min pace) to run those 3 miles! This time the cold water felt good on my beaten-up/tired legs and I walked across the Creek! I was not looking forward to the 7 miles of hills over the next three loops back to the Creek. I struggled just to keep the old, wasted legs moving/running and was doing OK until I reached the nasty BAH (Bad Ass Hills) on the back side of the 2nd loop (the ones where I knew I would have to walk!). I tried to run the hills but my left quad started to cramp. Luckily it did not lock up and I was able to stop to stretch and massage it but I was forced to walk for about 5 minutes to get it to relax enough to start running again. (That’s my story/excuse for walking the hills and I am sticking to it!).
I was really afraid that it would cramp again on the steep decline down to the Creek but luckily it didn’t. I reached the Creek at mile 23 in 4:10:37 – 1:24:31 for 7 miles/ a 12-min pace – and I was hurting! This time I deliberately looked for a ‘fishing’ hole in the Creek where the water was deeper and covered all my legs. I stood in that hole for about 1 minute giving my wasted old legs a much needed ice-cold bath! That therapy seemed to work because my legs felt much better when I emerged from the Creek. I tried to lower the hammer for the final 3 miles but there just wasn’t any energy left in the old legs. However I managed to run the entire final loop though the nasty hills and bogs. I even enjoyed a few laughs when I caught up to a young runner who was struggling to get to the finish line. He was totally exhausted and beat up (almost delirious)and each time we would reach a hill he would scream in agony and curse the course and race director! I told him to save his energy for the hills and left him behind screaming as I pushed ahead to reach the finish line in 4:46:12.
Because I was on such a tight schedule I could not wait around for results. I only had time to take a customary finish line photo and rush back to the hotel for a quick shower and head to the airport in Philly to catch my 4 pm flight. I made it in time to enjoy a much-deserved beer before catching my flight.
In summary it wasn’t much fun but it was definitely a challenging long training run that I needed to get the old bod back in shape and ready for my next road race. Hopefully I can start some speed work next week to get ready for that race and the international races that follow shortly.
Stay tuned!
Footnote:
I delayed posting this race report while I waited for the race results to be posted on the race website. When that didn’t happen I attempted to contact the race director – 3 emails and 2 phone calls that he refused to answer? Thus I am forced to write a POOR evaluation for this race!
The course was tough but it was advertised to be tough. Most of the organization and logistics were OK. The negatives were:
1) The 10 min delay at the start. (I was on a tight time schedule).
2) No water station at the half mark. There was water at the finish for the Half but we did not cross that line and thus I missed the water station and had to run 6 miles (more than 1 hour) between water stops!
3) No race results for the marathon posted at the finish line (and I finished more than 1 hr behind the winners?)
4) The very rude, uncaring and unresponsive attitude of the race director
For these reasons I recommend that you AVOID this race unless you absolutely need to run it to complete the 50 states. A better alternative would be to run the Delaware road marathon in late May.
Added footnote:
I finally received the results and an apology from the race director. I won my Age Group as suspected but didn't want to declare that fact w/o the official results.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
TR Santiago Marathon
TRIP REPORT
CHILE
Mar 28 – Apr 05/07
Santiago International Marathon
Santiago, Chile
Apr 1/07
Marathon # 284 – Country # 82
3:50:19 – 2AG
I started planning for this marathon/trip last fall when the Sports Manager and I were running three marathons in two countries (Argentina and Uruguay). I had asked my friend (Francisco) from Buenos Aries if he had run the Santiago Marathon and if he would meet us there for the next marathon in 2007?
I started booking the air travel and hotel as soon as we returned home.
There were a few unfortunate surprises as we packed to leave. Francisco could not join us because of work commitments and I had picked up a bad cold on the return flight from Korea a few weeks earlier and was feeling sick. I was hoping that I would recover in the few days we had before the race.
As usual most flights to S. America are red-eyes so we arrived in Santiago at 7:30am on Thu. We checked into our hotel in downtown Santiago and set off to explore the city. We were in a shop around 12 pm when suddenly the shop owner and the security guard scrambled to close the iron shutters at the front of the store. Thousands of young students were marching past downtown stores on their way to the University. They were celebrating the anniversary of a protest 22 years ago when two students were killed by the military government. They celebrated their right to protest – by protesting? The shop owners obviously had seen this before because everyone locked their stores and pulled the security bars down? After the students passed our block we left the store and went in the opposite direction to get away from the protest and made our way back to the hotel for a nap.
A few hours later we decided to do some more exploring. When we reached the lobby hundreds of residents were streaming by the hotel with scarves over their faces? When the security guard opened the door to let some people into the hotel we got a whiff of tear gas that made our eyes sting and tear. Apparently the protest had turned ugly and the police/military had used tear gas on the students. Our hotel was only one block from the university so we sat in the lobby and watched the action for about one hour as many students and citizens scurried by. Whenever somebody ducked into the hotel we would get another whiff of tear gas – we had front row seats to the riot! Finally the crowds thinned out and we decided to venture outside against the advice of the hotel staff. We went in the opposite direction and didn’t have any problems but every store downtown was locked and barricaded. We bought a bottle of wine and some cheese and returned to our room for a picnic. After the picnic we decided to walk downtown to find a restaurant but the hotel staff stopped us and warned us that it was not safe to go outside. This time we followed their advice and retreated to the hotel restaurant for a nice traditional Chilean dinner.
On Friday everything in the city was back to normal. We took a city tour in the morning to get the layout of the city while touring most of the tourist sites in the downtown area: Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, Mercado Central, Cerro Santa Lucia, Palacio de la Moneda (President’s office) and the Barrio Bellavista – an upscale neighborhood with lots of pubs and restaurants. We had the tour guide leave us there so we could take a funicular to the summit of Cerro San Cristobal. Santiago sits in a big bowl surrounded by the Andes and Coastal Mtns. On a clear day (and fortunately Fri was one of those few days) you can see the entire city and both mountain ranges from Cerro San Cristobal – a spur of the Andes that is 860m high and topped with a 22m statue of the Virgen de la Immaculada.
By the end of our tour my cold had congested my sinus so badly that I went to a local pharmacy for help. In these countries you can speak to a pharmacist and get drugs over the counter that would require a prescription in the US. I bought a spray mist and it worked so well that my sinus/nose started to run like a water tap and I couldn’t turn it off. Back to another pharmacy. This time I asked for a pill that would clear up the sinus. It worked well also but knocked me flat on my ass! I was like a walking zombie so we had an early dinner and I went to bed and slept 12 hours!
On Sat morning I felt much better and we headed off to Parque Araucano to pick up my race packet. The park is about 15km east of downtown. I learned that the race started and finished in the Park – they had changed the course from the one posted on their website? Fortunately I was able to find a few volunteers that spoke English so I was able to learn all the important facts I needed. We would have to take a taxi to/from the race on Sun. By the time we returned to the hotel, I was sliding downhill fast with the cold. I went to bed with a high fever and hot/cold sweats and stayed there for the rest of the day. The cold seemed to peak late Sat night but I was very concerned about how well I would be on race day?
Sun was M-day. I felt better but was still suffering from a mild fever and had developed a bad chest cough. I really didn’t want to run the marathon but didn’t have a choice (spent too much money to get there) so we took a taxi to the Park and I lined up with 5000 runners for the 8am start. Fortunately the weather was nice- a temp of 9 C and foggy. It stayed foggy until the last ½ hour of the race so heat was not a problem. There were about 600 runners in the marathon and 4,000 in the Half. They seeded all the marathoners at the front which was foolish because as soon as the race started we had the fast Half racers almost bowling us over? I wasn’t sure what to do. I have run a few races under the same circumstances and learned that no matter what you do you are still going to run out of energy by 20 miles because the body is tired/weak from fighting the illness!
Thus I let myself be carried along with a fast group and passed 5Km in 25:47. If I had not been sick that would have been my target pace so I decided to stay with it. When I passed 10Km in 51:08 I was coughing and hacking and already starting to struggle. At 15Km (1:17:01) I passed our hotel and seriously thought about detouring to my bed. However I hung on and passed the Half in 1:48:53 but I could already tell that the 2nd half was going to get ugly! By the time I reached 25Km in 2:11:08 I was struggling to hold a 5:40/km (9 min/mile) pace. When I reached 30Km in 2:38:31 there was no energy left and I switched to ‘survival’ mode and started playing mental games because I knew that sheer willpower was the only thing that would get me to the finish line. When I reached 35Km in 3:07:57 Maddog and I started having a fierce /angry discussion – I wanted to walk and he refused! At that point a young Chilean runner passed me and asked me if I was OK? I guess if I looked as bad as I felt that was a reasonable question? Anyways he decided that he was going to stay with me to the finish line. At first I was appreciative because he used all the standard mental and motivational tricks to keep me moving. But a few Km later I wanted to kill the whining, mean bastard so he would leave me alone and let me die in peace! He refused to go away and when we reached 40Km in 3:39:15 I decided that I needed to dig deep and stay with him for the final 2 Km. He dragged me across the finish line in 3:50:19.
I grabbed my new friend and thanked him sincerely for his kindness and effort to carry me to the finish line. I would have finished at least 3 to 4 minutes slower without his help. I found the Sports Manager to take the obligatory finish line photo and asked if the results would be posted at the finish line – not until later that day. I later learned that my official time was 3:50:19 and 2nd place in my age group.
We returned to the hotel for a hot soak and then headed over the Barrio Bellavista for some Chilean food and beer. I believe that I felt better after the race than I did at the start line – I always believed that a hard run raises the body temp and burns up the bad germs/bugs?
On Mon we had decided we would leave the city and tour other parts of the country. We planned to drive over to the Pacific Coast and to Mendoza, Argentina. Our plans quickly hit a snag when the rental agency warned us that the car could not be taken out of the country. Bummer! Since we were playing this part of the trip by ear we drove to Valparaiso first. Valparaiso is one of the most memorable cities in Chile. It is spread over an amphitheatre of hills encircling a wide bay along the Pacific Ocean. The hills are covered with brightly colored houses and most of the hills are so steep that there are no roads. There is a network of 15 funiculars to take people to their houses. The few roads they have along the coast are so congested that we explored but decided to drive further north to Vina del Mar to find a hotel. Vina del Mar is Chile’s biggest seaside resort and has lots of nice beaches, hotels, bars, etc. We booked a hotel overlooking the Ocean and planned to enjoy a nice seafood dinner. However I had a relapse of the sinus congestion/fever and had to go to bed without dinner.
The following day we decided to drive through the wine valleys and up into the Andes Mtns. Although we couldn’t cross the border we wanted to visit the Portillo Ski Resort that is only 7 Kms from the border. It was not what we expected! The Andes Mtns are very rugged but desolate. There is very little vegetation/trees. The road climbs steeply via switchbacks (no guard rails) from 500m to 3500m and there are lots of transport trucks since it is the main highway between Chile and Argentina. A scary drive! The Portilla Ski Resort is an exclusive ski resort located at 3150m overlooking the Laguna del Inca. The views are very rugged and spectacular. And it was definitely nippy at 3000m! Nevertheless we decided to spend a night there with only one other couple so we enjoyed great service. I did manage to hike up into the Andes along the lake to get some photos for y’all.
Now what to do? Return to the city or back to the beach for our final night? By then the Sports Manager was coming down with ‘the’ cold and neither of us wanted to suck in the smog in Santiago so we decided to drive back to Vina del Mar, rent another room on the beach and finally enjoyed a scrumptious seafood dinner. Since we had a late flight out of Santiago we explored Vina del Mar in the morning and then stopped in the Casablanca wine valley on the way back to Santiago and the airport.
So it was good trip – would have been much more enjoyable without the cold/illness. Chile is nice but I would recommend Argentina or Brazil for anyone making a first visit to S. America.
We are back home still suffering from this ‘cold from Hell’ that won’t go away! Fortunately we have 5 weeks to rest and recover for the next international marathon/adventure.
Stay tuned!
CHILE
Mar 28 – Apr 05/07
Santiago International Marathon
Santiago, Chile
Apr 1/07
Marathon # 284 – Country # 82
3:50:19 – 2AG
I started planning for this marathon/trip last fall when the Sports Manager and I were running three marathons in two countries (Argentina and Uruguay). I had asked my friend (Francisco) from Buenos Aries if he had run the Santiago Marathon and if he would meet us there for the next marathon in 2007?
I started booking the air travel and hotel as soon as we returned home.
There were a few unfortunate surprises as we packed to leave. Francisco could not join us because of work commitments and I had picked up a bad cold on the return flight from Korea a few weeks earlier and was feeling sick. I was hoping that I would recover in the few days we had before the race.
As usual most flights to S. America are red-eyes so we arrived in Santiago at 7:30am on Thu. We checked into our hotel in downtown Santiago and set off to explore the city. We were in a shop around 12 pm when suddenly the shop owner and the security guard scrambled to close the iron shutters at the front of the store. Thousands of young students were marching past downtown stores on their way to the University. They were celebrating the anniversary of a protest 22 years ago when two students were killed by the military government. They celebrated their right to protest – by protesting? The shop owners obviously had seen this before because everyone locked their stores and pulled the security bars down? After the students passed our block we left the store and went in the opposite direction to get away from the protest and made our way back to the hotel for a nap.
A few hours later we decided to do some more exploring. When we reached the lobby hundreds of residents were streaming by the hotel with scarves over their faces? When the security guard opened the door to let some people into the hotel we got a whiff of tear gas that made our eyes sting and tear. Apparently the protest had turned ugly and the police/military had used tear gas on the students. Our hotel was only one block from the university so we sat in the lobby and watched the action for about one hour as many students and citizens scurried by. Whenever somebody ducked into the hotel we would get another whiff of tear gas – we had front row seats to the riot! Finally the crowds thinned out and we decided to venture outside against the advice of the hotel staff. We went in the opposite direction and didn’t have any problems but every store downtown was locked and barricaded. We bought a bottle of wine and some cheese and returned to our room for a picnic. After the picnic we decided to walk downtown to find a restaurant but the hotel staff stopped us and warned us that it was not safe to go outside. This time we followed their advice and retreated to the hotel restaurant for a nice traditional Chilean dinner.
On Friday everything in the city was back to normal. We took a city tour in the morning to get the layout of the city while touring most of the tourist sites in the downtown area: Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, Mercado Central, Cerro Santa Lucia, Palacio de la Moneda (President’s office) and the Barrio Bellavista – an upscale neighborhood with lots of pubs and restaurants. We had the tour guide leave us there so we could take a funicular to the summit of Cerro San Cristobal. Santiago sits in a big bowl surrounded by the Andes and Coastal Mtns. On a clear day (and fortunately Fri was one of those few days) you can see the entire city and both mountain ranges from Cerro San Cristobal – a spur of the Andes that is 860m high and topped with a 22m statue of the Virgen de la Immaculada.
By the end of our tour my cold had congested my sinus so badly that I went to a local pharmacy for help. In these countries you can speak to a pharmacist and get drugs over the counter that would require a prescription in the US. I bought a spray mist and it worked so well that my sinus/nose started to run like a water tap and I couldn’t turn it off. Back to another pharmacy. This time I asked for a pill that would clear up the sinus. It worked well also but knocked me flat on my ass! I was like a walking zombie so we had an early dinner and I went to bed and slept 12 hours!
On Sat morning I felt much better and we headed off to Parque Araucano to pick up my race packet. The park is about 15km east of downtown. I learned that the race started and finished in the Park – they had changed the course from the one posted on their website? Fortunately I was able to find a few volunteers that spoke English so I was able to learn all the important facts I needed. We would have to take a taxi to/from the race on Sun. By the time we returned to the hotel, I was sliding downhill fast with the cold. I went to bed with a high fever and hot/cold sweats and stayed there for the rest of the day. The cold seemed to peak late Sat night but I was very concerned about how well I would be on race day?
Sun was M-day. I felt better but was still suffering from a mild fever and had developed a bad chest cough. I really didn’t want to run the marathon but didn’t have a choice (spent too much money to get there) so we took a taxi to the Park and I lined up with 5000 runners for the 8am start. Fortunately the weather was nice- a temp of 9 C and foggy. It stayed foggy until the last ½ hour of the race so heat was not a problem. There were about 600 runners in the marathon and 4,000 in the Half. They seeded all the marathoners at the front which was foolish because as soon as the race started we had the fast Half racers almost bowling us over? I wasn’t sure what to do. I have run a few races under the same circumstances and learned that no matter what you do you are still going to run out of energy by 20 miles because the body is tired/weak from fighting the illness!
Thus I let myself be carried along with a fast group and passed 5Km in 25:47. If I had not been sick that would have been my target pace so I decided to stay with it. When I passed 10Km in 51:08 I was coughing and hacking and already starting to struggle. At 15Km (1:17:01) I passed our hotel and seriously thought about detouring to my bed. However I hung on and passed the Half in 1:48:53 but I could already tell that the 2nd half was going to get ugly! By the time I reached 25Km in 2:11:08 I was struggling to hold a 5:40/km (9 min/mile) pace. When I reached 30Km in 2:38:31 there was no energy left and I switched to ‘survival’ mode and started playing mental games because I knew that sheer willpower was the only thing that would get me to the finish line. When I reached 35Km in 3:07:57 Maddog and I started having a fierce /angry discussion – I wanted to walk and he refused! At that point a young Chilean runner passed me and asked me if I was OK? I guess if I looked as bad as I felt that was a reasonable question? Anyways he decided that he was going to stay with me to the finish line. At first I was appreciative because he used all the standard mental and motivational tricks to keep me moving. But a few Km later I wanted to kill the whining, mean bastard so he would leave me alone and let me die in peace! He refused to go away and when we reached 40Km in 3:39:15 I decided that I needed to dig deep and stay with him for the final 2 Km. He dragged me across the finish line in 3:50:19.
I grabbed my new friend and thanked him sincerely for his kindness and effort to carry me to the finish line. I would have finished at least 3 to 4 minutes slower without his help. I found the Sports Manager to take the obligatory finish line photo and asked if the results would be posted at the finish line – not until later that day. I later learned that my official time was 3:50:19 and 2nd place in my age group.
We returned to the hotel for a hot soak and then headed over the Barrio Bellavista for some Chilean food and beer. I believe that I felt better after the race than I did at the start line – I always believed that a hard run raises the body temp and burns up the bad germs/bugs?
On Mon we had decided we would leave the city and tour other parts of the country. We planned to drive over to the Pacific Coast and to Mendoza, Argentina. Our plans quickly hit a snag when the rental agency warned us that the car could not be taken out of the country. Bummer! Since we were playing this part of the trip by ear we drove to Valparaiso first. Valparaiso is one of the most memorable cities in Chile. It is spread over an amphitheatre of hills encircling a wide bay along the Pacific Ocean. The hills are covered with brightly colored houses and most of the hills are so steep that there are no roads. There is a network of 15 funiculars to take people to their houses. The few roads they have along the coast are so congested that we explored but decided to drive further north to Vina del Mar to find a hotel. Vina del Mar is Chile’s biggest seaside resort and has lots of nice beaches, hotels, bars, etc. We booked a hotel overlooking the Ocean and planned to enjoy a nice seafood dinner. However I had a relapse of the sinus congestion/fever and had to go to bed without dinner.
The following day we decided to drive through the wine valleys and up into the Andes Mtns. Although we couldn’t cross the border we wanted to visit the Portillo Ski Resort that is only 7 Kms from the border. It was not what we expected! The Andes Mtns are very rugged but desolate. There is very little vegetation/trees. The road climbs steeply via switchbacks (no guard rails) from 500m to 3500m and there are lots of transport trucks since it is the main highway between Chile and Argentina. A scary drive! The Portilla Ski Resort is an exclusive ski resort located at 3150m overlooking the Laguna del Inca. The views are very rugged and spectacular. And it was definitely nippy at 3000m! Nevertheless we decided to spend a night there with only one other couple so we enjoyed great service. I did manage to hike up into the Andes along the lake to get some photos for y’all.
Now what to do? Return to the city or back to the beach for our final night? By then the Sports Manager was coming down with ‘the’ cold and neither of us wanted to suck in the smog in Santiago so we decided to drive back to Vina del Mar, rent another room on the beach and finally enjoyed a scrumptious seafood dinner. Since we had a late flight out of Santiago we explored Vina del Mar in the morning and then stopped in the Casablanca wine valley on the way back to Santiago and the airport.
So it was good trip – would have been much more enjoyable without the cold/illness. Chile is nice but I would recommend Argentina or Brazil for anyone making a first visit to S. America.
We are back home still suffering from this ‘cold from Hell’ that won’t go away! Fortunately we have 5 weeks to rest and recover for the next international marathon/adventure.
Stay tuned!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
TR Korea
Trip Report
Korea
Mar 14 –20/07
Seoul International Marathon
Seoul, Korea
Sun, Mar 18/07
Marathon #283 – Country # 81
3:46:28
Note: Photos for this trip (and all Maddog’s trips) are posted to www.maddog.smugmug.com.
This marathon/trip was not initially included in my 2007 race calendar although it is one I had wanted to run for a few years. It was only in late 2006 when I learned that a good friend from NYC was planning to run the race did I become interested. I checked my calendar and figured I could squeeze another race into my schedule in March. In fact it would be right after my hometown marathon and I figured I would be in good shape? So I started planning – and immediately ran into a few minor problems. Registration was closed for the race! I contacted the race director and presented my credentials and asked if he could make an exception for Maddog? He quickly and kindly responded by welcoming me to visit his country and to run his race and assigned an English-speaking volunteer to assist me in the registration and to book a hotel near the start line.
Thus on Wed 03/14 I departed on the long trip to Korea – I left home at 5am and 28 hours later (Thu 10 pm) landed at Incheon Airport. It is a new, ultra-modern airport located about 50 km from the city and is very nice and efficient. By midnight I was through immigration and customs and dropped off near city hall in downtown Seoul. I had a map showing me that my hotel was about 3 blocks from city hall but I couldn’t find it – I couldn’t even determine which direction it was in? The guidebook had warned me that it was very difficult to find your way around Seoul – they didn’t lie!
Seoul is a big city with a population of 11 million that is 25 % of Korea’s population. When you add the suburbs the population increases to 21 million and 47 % of the country’s population – it is the most densely populated city in the world! Few of the streets have names or street signs. Buildings and homes do not have street addresses! The city is divided into 25 districts (gu) and 522 smaller neighborhoods (dong). A building is identified by a name or number and is located by knowing the district, neighborhood and number/name? Confused yet? My hotel was brand new and nobody knew where it was? I finally went to another hotel and asked for directions. They didn’t know where it was nor did two taxi drivers? Finally a kind local resident (on his way home from a bar) walked up to me and asked if he could help. He called my hotel on his cell phone for directions and then told a taxi driver how to get me there! It was indeed only 3 blocks from city hall! I made it to bed about 1:30 am and I had a tour guide meeting me at 8 am for a tour to the DMZ! Surprisingly I was awake and ready at 8 am!
I was the only English –speaking client for the DMZ tour so I had a private tour guide. As we left the city and drove north along the Han River I noticed double chain link fences topped with barbed wire on both sides of the Han River and the Imjin River that flows into the Han River from North Korea. As we got closer to North Korea there were military guard posts located every 500 m along the fences and manned 24 x 7 by the South Korean army! Then we started to drive through tunnels and overpasses that were filled with dynamite/explosives so the roads could be blown up in the event of an invasion. The South Koreans are very concerned/paranoid about being invaded by the North? The DMZ is 4 km wide and the only buildings located inside the DMZ are the JSA (Joint Security Area) that straddles the ceasefire line and two ‘propaganda’ villages that face each other across the DML. On each side of the DMZ there are two ‘Civilian’ zones that are 3 km wide. On the South Korea side there are a number of sites open to tourists and one farming village. We visited the Imjingak Tourist Pavilion in the civilian zone where we saw the Bridge of Freedom and the Dora Observatory (Observation Post) where you could overlook most of the DMZ. Then we boarded military buses and were escorted into the DMZ by the South Korean army because the DMZ is heavily mined and booby-trapped for tanks/vehicles, etc. We visited the Third Tunnel in the DMZ – a tunnel that was discovered in 1974. The North Koreans dug the tunnel through a granite mountain to provide an invasion route into the South. They obviously dug it for Korean soldiers because the height of the tunnel is about 5 ft 6 in. If I hadn’t worn a hard hat when exploring the tunnel I would have knocked myself out several times when I forgot and tried to stand up! It was an interesting tour but I guess I just don’t understand the fear and practicality of the North invading the South – at least today?
At the end of the tour my guide dropped me off in the Itaewon district that is south of downtown. This is where the US military base is located so the district has lots of shops and bars that cater to international (and English-speaking) tourists. I toured Itaewon and then tried to find my way home – and got hopelessly lost! I quickly discovered that the easiest way to ‘find’ my way around the city was to take the subway to a known or clearly marked location and venture off by foot from that point until I got hopelessly lost again and look for the subway. Fortunately the subway is modern, efficient, easy-to-use and cheap – 90 cents per trip! I can find my way anywhere in Seoul – via the subway! I finally found my way back to downtown Seoul and the hotel where registration was located. I picked up my race packet and got some final information from the race volunteer that I had communicated with. I was disappointed to learn that there were no age groups or awards in the race. I decided there was no incentive/reason to hurt myself and would run smart and easy!
On Sat I had booked a city tour and again had a private tour guide since I was the only English-speaking client? We visited many of the main tourist sites in the downtown area starting with the Cheonggye Stream – a stream that flows through the center of Seoul. It had been covered by roads and buildings for centuries but 6 km of the stream were uncovered and the stream restored in Oct 2005. Many fountains and waterfalls were added to the stream along with lights so it is a pleasant place to walk/jog in downtown Seoul. Then we drove past Cheongwadae (the ‘Blue House’) where the President lives to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gyeongbokgung was the primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty and was built in 1395. It was burned down many times by the Japanese and many of the buildings have been restored in the past decade. There are several other palaces in the downtown area that have been restored. The only ‘original’ buildings or sites remaining after many wars and destruction are the four gates from the original fortified walls of the city! After visiting the Jogyesa (Buddhist Temple) built in 1395 the guide left me in the Insadong district where many souvenir shops are located. I tried to find my way (on foot) to the Seoul Tour south of downtown and again got hopelessly lost. After a few hours of wandering aimlessly I finally had to go down into the subway to find my way to the Hilton Hotel to meet my friends from NYC. We planned to meet again for dinner but I got so lost and pissed off (at getting lost) on the way back to my hotel that I decided to eat at my hotel. I had spaghetti Bolognaise that was excellent but the meat certainly wasn’t beef – and I was scared to ask what it was?
Sun was M-day! The race started in downtown Seoul and finished at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in SE Seoul. The weather was milder than the freezing temps that had been forecast. It was sunny and 2 C when I lined up with 24,000 runners for the 8am start. I figured I was overdressed with tights and a long-sleeve T-shirt? Edson and I were both seeded in the B-corral which meant we had 4,000 runners in front and 20,000 runners behind us at the start. I looked for him but could not find him - in fact I only saw two ‘white’ runners during the entire race! I had already decided to go out at a 3:45 pace (5:20/km or 8:30/mile) and see how long my legs would last? The course was crowded and required lots of elbow swinging to maintain space for the first 15 km! I was surprised and concerned when I found myself following the 3:10 pace group for the first 5 km? When we passed 5 km in 26:52 I confirmed that I was on pace but they needed to speed up which they did. Then the 3:20 pace group passed me. I followed them to 10km in 52:23 and then the 3:30 pace group passed me? I concluded that the Koreans followed a strange (and difficult) race strategy. They started out slow and picked up speed and needed to run negative splits to attain their time goal? Not many runners can do that! Most of the 1st Half was run in downtown Seoul and about 10 km was along both sides of the Cheonggycheon Stream. I had been advised that there would be distance markers, clocks and water every 5 km. It was difficult to get water because of the sheer mass of runners. At 11km I noticed that there was in fact distance markers every 1 km and that helped me manage my pace better. When I passed 15 km in 1:18:35 the 3:40 pace group passed me and I kept them in sight for the next 20 km!
I passed the Half in 1:51:08 – a little faster than planned but I felt OK and decided to hold that pace until 30Km and re-evaluate? I reached 30Km in 2:37:47 and felt good. I thought about lowering my pace but decided to wait till 35km. The 35Km marker was on the Jasmil Bridge across the Han River. As I ran the gentle climb over the bridge and passed 35Km in 3:05:24 my legs started talking to me! That was the farthest and fastest I had run in four months and my legs were tired! I did not want to crash so I slowed down and let my tired legs set the pace as we jogged the final 7 km to the Jasmil Stadium. Only when I entered the Stadium did the old bod give me one final short burst of energy to let me sprint the final 200m on the track to cross the finish line in 3:46:28.
As soon as I crossed the finish line two sports reporters converged on me requesting an interview for the local papers. It took me five minutes to get through the finish chute and collect my finisher’s medal. And although the logistics of the race were well organized it was a long and confusing maze to navigate to find my drop-off bag and refreshments. Then the next problem was to find a subway station to get back downtown? Nobody spoke English but thankfully they seemed to understand “subway” and kept pointing in the same direction. Thirty minutes later I found a subway station and returned to my hotel for a much-needed hot shower! After the shower I evaluated my results: I was happy – I had finished close to my target time – I had run the entire marathon distance w/o any problems and w/o any cramps – and I had no aches or pains after the race! It was time to explore some more of the city and meet my friends for a celebration beer!
After a very tasty beer my friends wanted to eat an expensive (Western) buffet dinner at the Hilton but I wanted to enjoy a Korean dinner of BBQ beef so I set off on my own to find a good Korean restaurant. I enjoyed the BBQ but did not like the Kimchi (pickled and fermented cabbage and other veggies served as a side dish). Not my cup of tea – nor was the Korean tea they served with dinner. But the Korean beer was good!
Since Mon was my final full day in Seoul I figured I should explore more of the city and take more photos to share with my readers. I also had the hotel book me a ‘sports massage’. Although the masseuse didn’t speak English I managed to explain what I needed and she did a good job of ‘flushing’ my legs w/o any pain/torture – until she got to the left foot! When she dug her knuckles into the plantar fascia I almost flew off the table. She didn’t need to understand English to know “that hurt like Hell”! However she was able to fix the problem/injury in spite of my screams. I believe it is part of their universal training – to ignore screams/cries and pleas of mercy! But it worked! The legs and foot felt so good after the massage I was able to climb up Mt Namsan to the cable car station to take the cable car to Seoul Tower. Mt Namsan is located in the center of the city south of downtown and most of the mountain is preserved as Namsan Park with lots of trees and hiking trails. Seoul Tower is located on top of Mt Namsan and rises 360 m above sea level and offers a 360-degree panoramic vista of Seoul and on a clear day one can see the seacoast and mountains in North Korea. Travel tip: One of your first visits should be to Seoul Tower. After you see the physical view and layout of the city it is much easier to get your bearings and find your way around the city. I never got lost again after I left Seoul Tower!
My flight left Tue afternoon so I woke early and did an easy 10Km run along Cheonggyecheon Stream. I met two Kenyans trying to loosen their legs after the marathon and ran a few miles with them. After a shower and breakfast I returned to Insadong (w/o getting lost) to buy a few last-minute souvenirs and headed to Incheon Airport for the lonnnnggggggggg (another 28 hrs of travel time) trip home. I arrived home at 1 am on Wed!
Now I have only one week to recover from jet lag, write my trip report (finished!), and run some training miles to prepare for the next international marathon/adventure! “Where is that” you ask? Hint: the Sports manager and I are headed back to South America.
Stay tuned for the trip report!
Korea
Mar 14 –20/07
Seoul International Marathon
Seoul, Korea
Sun, Mar 18/07
Marathon #283 – Country # 81
3:46:28
Note: Photos for this trip (and all Maddog’s trips) are posted to www.maddog.smugmug.com.
This marathon/trip was not initially included in my 2007 race calendar although it is one I had wanted to run for a few years. It was only in late 2006 when I learned that a good friend from NYC was planning to run the race did I become interested. I checked my calendar and figured I could squeeze another race into my schedule in March. In fact it would be right after my hometown marathon and I figured I would be in good shape? So I started planning – and immediately ran into a few minor problems. Registration was closed for the race! I contacted the race director and presented my credentials and asked if he could make an exception for Maddog? He quickly and kindly responded by welcoming me to visit his country and to run his race and assigned an English-speaking volunteer to assist me in the registration and to book a hotel near the start line.
Thus on Wed 03/14 I departed on the long trip to Korea – I left home at 5am and 28 hours later (Thu 10 pm) landed at Incheon Airport. It is a new, ultra-modern airport located about 50 km from the city and is very nice and efficient. By midnight I was through immigration and customs and dropped off near city hall in downtown Seoul. I had a map showing me that my hotel was about 3 blocks from city hall but I couldn’t find it – I couldn’t even determine which direction it was in? The guidebook had warned me that it was very difficult to find your way around Seoul – they didn’t lie!
Seoul is a big city with a population of 11 million that is 25 % of Korea’s population. When you add the suburbs the population increases to 21 million and 47 % of the country’s population – it is the most densely populated city in the world! Few of the streets have names or street signs. Buildings and homes do not have street addresses! The city is divided into 25 districts (gu) and 522 smaller neighborhoods (dong). A building is identified by a name or number and is located by knowing the district, neighborhood and number/name? Confused yet? My hotel was brand new and nobody knew where it was? I finally went to another hotel and asked for directions. They didn’t know where it was nor did two taxi drivers? Finally a kind local resident (on his way home from a bar) walked up to me and asked if he could help. He called my hotel on his cell phone for directions and then told a taxi driver how to get me there! It was indeed only 3 blocks from city hall! I made it to bed about 1:30 am and I had a tour guide meeting me at 8 am for a tour to the DMZ! Surprisingly I was awake and ready at 8 am!
I was the only English –speaking client for the DMZ tour so I had a private tour guide. As we left the city and drove north along the Han River I noticed double chain link fences topped with barbed wire on both sides of the Han River and the Imjin River that flows into the Han River from North Korea. As we got closer to North Korea there were military guard posts located every 500 m along the fences and manned 24 x 7 by the South Korean army! Then we started to drive through tunnels and overpasses that were filled with dynamite/explosives so the roads could be blown up in the event of an invasion. The South Koreans are very concerned/paranoid about being invaded by the North? The DMZ is 4 km wide and the only buildings located inside the DMZ are the JSA (Joint Security Area) that straddles the ceasefire line and two ‘propaganda’ villages that face each other across the DML. On each side of the DMZ there are two ‘Civilian’ zones that are 3 km wide. On the South Korea side there are a number of sites open to tourists and one farming village. We visited the Imjingak Tourist Pavilion in the civilian zone where we saw the Bridge of Freedom and the Dora Observatory (Observation Post) where you could overlook most of the DMZ. Then we boarded military buses and were escorted into the DMZ by the South Korean army because the DMZ is heavily mined and booby-trapped for tanks/vehicles, etc. We visited the Third Tunnel in the DMZ – a tunnel that was discovered in 1974. The North Koreans dug the tunnel through a granite mountain to provide an invasion route into the South. They obviously dug it for Korean soldiers because the height of the tunnel is about 5 ft 6 in. If I hadn’t worn a hard hat when exploring the tunnel I would have knocked myself out several times when I forgot and tried to stand up! It was an interesting tour but I guess I just don’t understand the fear and practicality of the North invading the South – at least today?
At the end of the tour my guide dropped me off in the Itaewon district that is south of downtown. This is where the US military base is located so the district has lots of shops and bars that cater to international (and English-speaking) tourists. I toured Itaewon and then tried to find my way home – and got hopelessly lost! I quickly discovered that the easiest way to ‘find’ my way around the city was to take the subway to a known or clearly marked location and venture off by foot from that point until I got hopelessly lost again and look for the subway. Fortunately the subway is modern, efficient, easy-to-use and cheap – 90 cents per trip! I can find my way anywhere in Seoul – via the subway! I finally found my way back to downtown Seoul and the hotel where registration was located. I picked up my race packet and got some final information from the race volunteer that I had communicated with. I was disappointed to learn that there were no age groups or awards in the race. I decided there was no incentive/reason to hurt myself and would run smart and easy!
On Sat I had booked a city tour and again had a private tour guide since I was the only English-speaking client? We visited many of the main tourist sites in the downtown area starting with the Cheonggye Stream – a stream that flows through the center of Seoul. It had been covered by roads and buildings for centuries but 6 km of the stream were uncovered and the stream restored in Oct 2005. Many fountains and waterfalls were added to the stream along with lights so it is a pleasant place to walk/jog in downtown Seoul. Then we drove past Cheongwadae (the ‘Blue House’) where the President lives to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gyeongbokgung was the primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty and was built in 1395. It was burned down many times by the Japanese and many of the buildings have been restored in the past decade. There are several other palaces in the downtown area that have been restored. The only ‘original’ buildings or sites remaining after many wars and destruction are the four gates from the original fortified walls of the city! After visiting the Jogyesa (Buddhist Temple) built in 1395 the guide left me in the Insadong district where many souvenir shops are located. I tried to find my way (on foot) to the Seoul Tour south of downtown and again got hopelessly lost. After a few hours of wandering aimlessly I finally had to go down into the subway to find my way to the Hilton Hotel to meet my friends from NYC. We planned to meet again for dinner but I got so lost and pissed off (at getting lost) on the way back to my hotel that I decided to eat at my hotel. I had spaghetti Bolognaise that was excellent but the meat certainly wasn’t beef – and I was scared to ask what it was?
Sun was M-day! The race started in downtown Seoul and finished at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in SE Seoul. The weather was milder than the freezing temps that had been forecast. It was sunny and 2 C when I lined up with 24,000 runners for the 8am start. I figured I was overdressed with tights and a long-sleeve T-shirt? Edson and I were both seeded in the B-corral which meant we had 4,000 runners in front and 20,000 runners behind us at the start. I looked for him but could not find him - in fact I only saw two ‘white’ runners during the entire race! I had already decided to go out at a 3:45 pace (5:20/km or 8:30/mile) and see how long my legs would last? The course was crowded and required lots of elbow swinging to maintain space for the first 15 km! I was surprised and concerned when I found myself following the 3:10 pace group for the first 5 km? When we passed 5 km in 26:52 I confirmed that I was on pace but they needed to speed up which they did. Then the 3:20 pace group passed me. I followed them to 10km in 52:23 and then the 3:30 pace group passed me? I concluded that the Koreans followed a strange (and difficult) race strategy. They started out slow and picked up speed and needed to run negative splits to attain their time goal? Not many runners can do that! Most of the 1st Half was run in downtown Seoul and about 10 km was along both sides of the Cheonggycheon Stream. I had been advised that there would be distance markers, clocks and water every 5 km. It was difficult to get water because of the sheer mass of runners. At 11km I noticed that there was in fact distance markers every 1 km and that helped me manage my pace better. When I passed 15 km in 1:18:35 the 3:40 pace group passed me and I kept them in sight for the next 20 km!
I passed the Half in 1:51:08 – a little faster than planned but I felt OK and decided to hold that pace until 30Km and re-evaluate? I reached 30Km in 2:37:47 and felt good. I thought about lowering my pace but decided to wait till 35km. The 35Km marker was on the Jasmil Bridge across the Han River. As I ran the gentle climb over the bridge and passed 35Km in 3:05:24 my legs started talking to me! That was the farthest and fastest I had run in four months and my legs were tired! I did not want to crash so I slowed down and let my tired legs set the pace as we jogged the final 7 km to the Jasmil Stadium. Only when I entered the Stadium did the old bod give me one final short burst of energy to let me sprint the final 200m on the track to cross the finish line in 3:46:28.
As soon as I crossed the finish line two sports reporters converged on me requesting an interview for the local papers. It took me five minutes to get through the finish chute and collect my finisher’s medal. And although the logistics of the race were well organized it was a long and confusing maze to navigate to find my drop-off bag and refreshments. Then the next problem was to find a subway station to get back downtown? Nobody spoke English but thankfully they seemed to understand “subway” and kept pointing in the same direction. Thirty minutes later I found a subway station and returned to my hotel for a much-needed hot shower! After the shower I evaluated my results: I was happy – I had finished close to my target time – I had run the entire marathon distance w/o any problems and w/o any cramps – and I had no aches or pains after the race! It was time to explore some more of the city and meet my friends for a celebration beer!
After a very tasty beer my friends wanted to eat an expensive (Western) buffet dinner at the Hilton but I wanted to enjoy a Korean dinner of BBQ beef so I set off on my own to find a good Korean restaurant. I enjoyed the BBQ but did not like the Kimchi (pickled and fermented cabbage and other veggies served as a side dish). Not my cup of tea – nor was the Korean tea they served with dinner. But the Korean beer was good!
Since Mon was my final full day in Seoul I figured I should explore more of the city and take more photos to share with my readers. I also had the hotel book me a ‘sports massage’. Although the masseuse didn’t speak English I managed to explain what I needed and she did a good job of ‘flushing’ my legs w/o any pain/torture – until she got to the left foot! When she dug her knuckles into the plantar fascia I almost flew off the table. She didn’t need to understand English to know “that hurt like Hell”! However she was able to fix the problem/injury in spite of my screams. I believe it is part of their universal training – to ignore screams/cries and pleas of mercy! But it worked! The legs and foot felt so good after the massage I was able to climb up Mt Namsan to the cable car station to take the cable car to Seoul Tower. Mt Namsan is located in the center of the city south of downtown and most of the mountain is preserved as Namsan Park with lots of trees and hiking trails. Seoul Tower is located on top of Mt Namsan and rises 360 m above sea level and offers a 360-degree panoramic vista of Seoul and on a clear day one can see the seacoast and mountains in North Korea. Travel tip: One of your first visits should be to Seoul Tower. After you see the physical view and layout of the city it is much easier to get your bearings and find your way around the city. I never got lost again after I left Seoul Tower!
My flight left Tue afternoon so I woke early and did an easy 10Km run along Cheonggyecheon Stream. I met two Kenyans trying to loosen their legs after the marathon and ran a few miles with them. After a shower and breakfast I returned to Insadong (w/o getting lost) to buy a few last-minute souvenirs and headed to Incheon Airport for the lonnnnggggggggg (another 28 hrs of travel time) trip home. I arrived home at 1 am on Wed!
Now I have only one week to recover from jet lag, write my trip report (finished!), and run some training miles to prepare for the next international marathon/adventure! “Where is that” you ask? Hint: the Sports manager and I are headed back to South America.
Stay tuned for the trip report!
Monday, March 05, 2007
RR Sarasota Marathon 03-07
Race Report
Sarasota Marathon
Sarasota, FL
Sun, Mar 4/07
#282
3:59:14 – 3 AG
Since this is my hometown marathon and I won my Age Group and Senior Division in the inaugural race in 2006 I had no choice but to return to defend my title! Also I had run my best time (a blazing 3:22) in more than 8 years. Alas as most of you know I had been experiencing a lot of problems with leg cramps ever since my bout with DVT in Oct 06 and I figured that there was no way I would be able to defend my title!
Since it was unlikely that I could even finish without cramps let alone run close to 3:30 I volunteered to pace a good friend (Dr Chuck) to a sub 4-hr marathon so that he could qualify for Boston. After a very painful visit to my masseuse (Attila the Huness) a few days before the race my right calf was so sore that I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to get through the 26 miles?
Nevertheless the sports manager drove me to the start line on Sun for a 6am start in the dark near the John Ringling Museum. The weather was milder than forecast with a temp of 57 F that climbed to the low 70s by the time I finished. After I exited the car my ankles started to itch and felt like they were on fire. I stopped under a streetlight to discover that I must have stepped on an anthill because hundreds of the little buggers were enjoying breakfast on my ankles. It was not starting out to be a good day?
Then I couldn’t find Chuck at the start line. However I did find a couple of young ladies from Maddog’s Running Harem and started with them. They dragged me through the first mile in 8:49 and mile 4 in 34:34. At that point another friend from our running club passed us and informed us that Chuck was a few minutes behind us. I let the ladies push on and slowed down to wait for Chuck. When I passed mile 5 in 43:24 I walked for 1 minute because that was part of our race strategy – to walk for 1 minute every 5 miles. I figured that a scheduled walk would be good for my legs and Chuck needed a ‘rest’ because he always seems to crash around 20 miles? I jogged up the Ringling Bridge on mile 6 but still no Chuck? As I approached a turn-around point/loop at mile 8 I asked some friends to tell Chuck that I had slowed down and was waiting for him. I finally saw him as I was on the return loop and told him that I would slow down more so he could catch me. When I reached mile 10 in 1:29:42 I had to stop and wait for chuck and then we walked for another 1 minute. I was already becoming concerned that we were too close to the limit? At mile 13 we walked for another minute and passed the Half in 2:00:09!
I was really concerned because we would have to run the same pace in the 2nd Half and we planned to walk every 3 miles in the 2nd Half? I told Chuck that we needed to pick up the pace and took off hoping he would try to stay with me? When I reached mile 15 at the top of the Ringling Bridge (the highest hill in Sarasota) in 2:18:21 I had to wait for Chuck and we walked again. At that point I knew that Chuck would not finish under 4 hrs but I didn’t tell him that because I didn’t want to discourage him! Another running friend joined us that that point to help pace Chuck. I informed Chuck that we would have to push the pace to 20 miles and eliminate some of the planned walks. I told them that I was going to push the pace and guaranteed them that Chuck would finish under 4 hrs if he stayed with me! I took off!
When I passed mile 16 in 2:28:21 I figured that I had to run a 9-min pace for the last 10 miles with no more walk breaks to finish under 4 hrs. I was just starting to approach the danger zone with regards to distance and legs cramps so I had to be cautious! I passed mile 20 in 3:04:20! I had 55 minutes to run the last 10 Km! I figured that I did not have the luxury or time for any more walks so if I cramped I was in big trouble! However I did allow myself to stop for 1 minute to stretch and massage both calves in the hopes that this therapy would prevent any cramps.
Then it was time to get serious! I felt OK and wanted to lower the pace but was too scared of increasing the risk of cramps so I held the pace at 9min/mile. When I passed mile 23 in 3:22:30 I finally had some hope/confidence that I was going to make it to the finish line without cramping up? I even tried to lower the pace to 8:45s but at that point the old bod and legs were just too tired to respond and all I could do was hang on to the 9- min pace because I knew that would get me across the finish line under 4 hrs. Fortunately two lovely young ladies passed me at that point and I decided to follow the nice scenery and let them drag me across the finish line in 3:59:14!
I was pleased that I had achieved my goal of sub 4 hrs and especially happy that I had managed to run/walk the entire race without any cramps! Maybe there is hope?
I later learned of two disappointments:
1) Chuck didn’t stay with me and dropped out at 20 miles
2) My time placed me 3rd/23 runners in my Age Group. There was only 1:13 between the top 3 runners in our Age Group! Hell – I could have won the age group and defended my title if I had known it was that close!
But I am still happy with the results! And most importantly I felt good after the race with no serious aches or pains so I should be able to train hard in preparation for my next (international) marathon in 2 weeks. Maybe I will be able to push the pace in that race and get my times back down to a more respectable level (for Maddog)!
I will leave the destination for the next race as a surprise but here is one hint. It will be a lonngggggg 24-hr flight to Asia!
Stay tuned for the trip report.
Sarasota Marathon
Sarasota, FL
Sun, Mar 4/07
#282
3:59:14 – 3 AG
Since this is my hometown marathon and I won my Age Group and Senior Division in the inaugural race in 2006 I had no choice but to return to defend my title! Also I had run my best time (a blazing 3:22) in more than 8 years. Alas as most of you know I had been experiencing a lot of problems with leg cramps ever since my bout with DVT in Oct 06 and I figured that there was no way I would be able to defend my title!
Since it was unlikely that I could even finish without cramps let alone run close to 3:30 I volunteered to pace a good friend (Dr Chuck) to a sub 4-hr marathon so that he could qualify for Boston. After a very painful visit to my masseuse (Attila the Huness) a few days before the race my right calf was so sore that I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to get through the 26 miles?
Nevertheless the sports manager drove me to the start line on Sun for a 6am start in the dark near the John Ringling Museum. The weather was milder than forecast with a temp of 57 F that climbed to the low 70s by the time I finished. After I exited the car my ankles started to itch and felt like they were on fire. I stopped under a streetlight to discover that I must have stepped on an anthill because hundreds of the little buggers were enjoying breakfast on my ankles. It was not starting out to be a good day?
Then I couldn’t find Chuck at the start line. However I did find a couple of young ladies from Maddog’s Running Harem and started with them. They dragged me through the first mile in 8:49 and mile 4 in 34:34. At that point another friend from our running club passed us and informed us that Chuck was a few minutes behind us. I let the ladies push on and slowed down to wait for Chuck. When I passed mile 5 in 43:24 I walked for 1 minute because that was part of our race strategy – to walk for 1 minute every 5 miles. I figured that a scheduled walk would be good for my legs and Chuck needed a ‘rest’ because he always seems to crash around 20 miles? I jogged up the Ringling Bridge on mile 6 but still no Chuck? As I approached a turn-around point/loop at mile 8 I asked some friends to tell Chuck that I had slowed down and was waiting for him. I finally saw him as I was on the return loop and told him that I would slow down more so he could catch me. When I reached mile 10 in 1:29:42 I had to stop and wait for chuck and then we walked for another 1 minute. I was already becoming concerned that we were too close to the limit? At mile 13 we walked for another minute and passed the Half in 2:00:09!
I was really concerned because we would have to run the same pace in the 2nd Half and we planned to walk every 3 miles in the 2nd Half? I told Chuck that we needed to pick up the pace and took off hoping he would try to stay with me? When I reached mile 15 at the top of the Ringling Bridge (the highest hill in Sarasota) in 2:18:21 I had to wait for Chuck and we walked again. At that point I knew that Chuck would not finish under 4 hrs but I didn’t tell him that because I didn’t want to discourage him! Another running friend joined us that that point to help pace Chuck. I informed Chuck that we would have to push the pace to 20 miles and eliminate some of the planned walks. I told them that I was going to push the pace and guaranteed them that Chuck would finish under 4 hrs if he stayed with me! I took off!
When I passed mile 16 in 2:28:21 I figured that I had to run a 9-min pace for the last 10 miles with no more walk breaks to finish under 4 hrs. I was just starting to approach the danger zone with regards to distance and legs cramps so I had to be cautious! I passed mile 20 in 3:04:20! I had 55 minutes to run the last 10 Km! I figured that I did not have the luxury or time for any more walks so if I cramped I was in big trouble! However I did allow myself to stop for 1 minute to stretch and massage both calves in the hopes that this therapy would prevent any cramps.
Then it was time to get serious! I felt OK and wanted to lower the pace but was too scared of increasing the risk of cramps so I held the pace at 9min/mile. When I passed mile 23 in 3:22:30 I finally had some hope/confidence that I was going to make it to the finish line without cramping up? I even tried to lower the pace to 8:45s but at that point the old bod and legs were just too tired to respond and all I could do was hang on to the 9- min pace because I knew that would get me across the finish line under 4 hrs. Fortunately two lovely young ladies passed me at that point and I decided to follow the nice scenery and let them drag me across the finish line in 3:59:14!
I was pleased that I had achieved my goal of sub 4 hrs and especially happy that I had managed to run/walk the entire race without any cramps! Maybe there is hope?
I later learned of two disappointments:
1) Chuck didn’t stay with me and dropped out at 20 miles
2) My time placed me 3rd/23 runners in my Age Group. There was only 1:13 between the top 3 runners in our Age Group! Hell – I could have won the age group and defended my title if I had known it was that close!
But I am still happy with the results! And most importantly I felt good after the race with no serious aches or pains so I should be able to train hard in preparation for my next (international) marathon in 2 weeks. Maybe I will be able to push the pace in that race and get my times back down to a more respectable level (for Maddog)!
I will leave the destination for the next race as a surprise but here is one hint. It will be a lonngggggg 24-hr flight to Asia!
Stay tuned for the trip report.
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