08-12-2014, 08:38 PM
Well I have been back in Canada for a little over a week. What an eye opener it was to see what it's like on the other side or the Atlantic. With all the recent bad news coming out of Jamaica hopefully some of you will take a break and have a read, will continue where I left off.
I wrote this chapter shortly after the race and just re-read it last night. It's a bit of a ramble but I figured it would be easier to cut and paste than re-write...
After my pre race nap I had a somewhat cold shower to try and cool myself off and wake up. Got dressed and walked to the starting area, it was only about 3 blocks away. It wasn't a huge crowd, there were about 400 runners, and about the same number of spectators lingering. It wasn't long before the countdown started and we were off. It was apparent after about a minute my pre race pizza was a little too much, I was cramping in my side, a sure sign of over eating, nothing new to me. The early part of the race took us right passed our hotel and by many sidewalk cafes. It was really nice to have the crowds cheering as you ran by, a bit of a adrenaline booster. Our race consisted of 3 laps of about 7kms, once passing through the maze of narrow cobblestone streets we followed a paved walkway out of town along the riverbank, then past a couple small lakes before making a 180 back towards town. The race was advertised as flat but I guess that would be if you lived in the mountains as I would describe it as quite hilly. Each lap meant about 5 leg burners, not bad on the first lap, but progressively tougher. I actually felt pretty good after lap one but by the end of the second I was getting pretty beat. I was way more fatigued at 14k then after the 16km run we did in Amsterdam only 6 days before. It was a combination of the heat and hills but I make up for my lack of fitness with perserverance, and was determined to keep going without stopping to walk. There were only 2 water stations on each lap, 4 would have been a better amount. There weren't a huge amount of spectators but the ones there were watching were very vocal. Our names were printed on our number bibs, and they would call you by name. From all the downhill ski races I have watched on TV I recognized the cheer - hopp,hopp,hopp!!! I'm not sure what it means but it felt good knowing they were cheering for you. Half way through the 3rd lap I was slowing down, but was determined to keep running. But at the second last (and longest, steepest) hill I had to slow to a walk, but resumed running once on top, then once again on the final hill I had to walk again. After that it was only about a 1/2km to the finish line which was on a slight decline as well. I dug deep and increased my speed a bit to look "good" at the finish line. It was a relief to guzzle a bunch of water then switch to the free beer they were pouring as fast as people could drink it. I actually recovered (lung wise) in about a minute but my legs were beat. Even my knees were a bit sore, which has never happened in all my half marathons. My time wasn't great, almost 20 minutes slower than my personal best, but it felt great to finish a run in such a beautiful location.
For now I get to enjoy the german beer to my stomachs content, although will be up early to send off my wife in the 42km marathon tomorrow morning.
I wrote this chapter shortly after the race and just re-read it last night. It's a bit of a ramble but I figured it would be easier to cut and paste than re-write...
After my pre race nap I had a somewhat cold shower to try and cool myself off and wake up. Got dressed and walked to the starting area, it was only about 3 blocks away. It wasn't a huge crowd, there were about 400 runners, and about the same number of spectators lingering. It wasn't long before the countdown started and we were off. It was apparent after about a minute my pre race pizza was a little too much, I was cramping in my side, a sure sign of over eating, nothing new to me. The early part of the race took us right passed our hotel and by many sidewalk cafes. It was really nice to have the crowds cheering as you ran by, a bit of a adrenaline booster. Our race consisted of 3 laps of about 7kms, once passing through the maze of narrow cobblestone streets we followed a paved walkway out of town along the riverbank, then past a couple small lakes before making a 180 back towards town. The race was advertised as flat but I guess that would be if you lived in the mountains as I would describe it as quite hilly. Each lap meant about 5 leg burners, not bad on the first lap, but progressively tougher. I actually felt pretty good after lap one but by the end of the second I was getting pretty beat. I was way more fatigued at 14k then after the 16km run we did in Amsterdam only 6 days before. It was a combination of the heat and hills but I make up for my lack of fitness with perserverance, and was determined to keep going without stopping to walk. There were only 2 water stations on each lap, 4 would have been a better amount. There weren't a huge amount of spectators but the ones there were watching were very vocal. Our names were printed on our number bibs, and they would call you by name. From all the downhill ski races I have watched on TV I recognized the cheer - hopp,hopp,hopp!!! I'm not sure what it means but it felt good knowing they were cheering for you. Half way through the 3rd lap I was slowing down, but was determined to keep running. But at the second last (and longest, steepest) hill I had to slow to a walk, but resumed running once on top, then once again on the final hill I had to walk again. After that it was only about a 1/2km to the finish line which was on a slight decline as well. I dug deep and increased my speed a bit to look "good" at the finish line. It was a relief to guzzle a bunch of water then switch to the free beer they were pouring as fast as people could drink it. I actually recovered (lung wise) in about a minute but my legs were beat. Even my knees were a bit sore, which has never happened in all my half marathons. My time wasn't great, almost 20 minutes slower than my personal best, but it felt great to finish a run in such a beautiful location.
For now I get to enjoy the german beer to my stomachs content, although will be up early to send off my wife in the 42km marathon tomorrow morning.