We stayed with really good friends in PMB on the Friday having collected our goodie bag and numbers. It is really nice shirt so that means I will have to complete the race so I can wear the shirt. Also nice we get a different Male and Female shirt.
On the Saturday we always drive the route even though it is not advised it works for me. We have decided that we will always spend the night before and after race at the same place as we feel it alleviates some stress. Liz was not in a good space the 2 weeks before Comrades so we toyed with a DNS and a DNF and a finish bearing mind that she baled last year. My mind could not get around the benefits of a finish and we therefore both decided that doing the race was the right thing.
We had a member of our club staying at our hotel in Durban who's second would take us to the start, another possible stressfull situation alleviated. Not sure if I was nervous or scared or still asleep but hey it was 4AM. Martin and Liz at least looked happy!!
From the above you can see that the section between halfway and Winston Park is my "slow section", there is a long 7 km long uphill which is pretty tough. I need to include some long uphill climbs in my future training. I really liked the fact that I could could lower my pace as I got near the end.
Overall I found the first 20ks and the last 20ks great but struggled through the middle 50kms. I guess it may have had something to do with trying to keep updated on Liz's progress via SMS which never seems to work properly! No SMS's came through till 58 ks so I was bit worried but then a friend said that Liz had been through at about 64ks and was looking strong.
I had various small niggles in the middle 50ks, from tight calves , cramping arches, sore hamstrings and tight quads, the thing that got me the most was my abs and chest that got quite sore. This could have been a consequence of the downhill and the need to stabilise by using my core. I did struggle in the middle section but remembering we start an hour before sunrise and end at around sunset it is a long day!! With the year I have had I guess the stress also had a bit of an influence on my day.
I do find it interesting how many participants I keep on meeting along the way who I either know from other races or this one. Runners tend to go quite fast downhill and then slow down uphill so we do seem to pass each other quite often. Comrades is a race where I doubt more than 10 entrants actually attempt to walk the whole way, I only know of 3 walkers who attempted it this year, Geoff was 5 minutes ahead of me and he was trying for 10:30 or to average 7:00/km and Gayle who normally just makes it but missed by about 8 minutes.
The most impressive part for me was that I ended strong, I was able to accelerate at the end and really felt good. It is amazing walking along with all the green number club, many who were in their mid 20s, one doing his 27th consecutive race, these are the guys who inspire me to continue, maybe I will still try for my ten, I have done 4 now, Liz is on 8 so she will definitely do 10 to get her permanent number.
When I finished and went up to the club suite and Liz was not there I realised she must be in the medical tend and sure enough her she was on a drip as she was dehydrated from nausea and vomiting again! She could not drink the last 10ks or so and was very dehydrated at the finish. 2 hours after finishing Comrades she walked the 1km + back to the hotel with ease. Overall it was a successful day 2 more medals accumulated and some confidence restored.
You can view some photos here as they are uploaded Photos
There are also some videos here which give an idea of what it is like on the route. Note by blue cap, it makes it easier to pick me out! Video
On the Saturday we always drive the route even though it is not advised it works for me. We have decided that we will always spend the night before and after race at the same place as we feel it alleviates some stress. Liz was not in a good space the 2 weeks before Comrades so we toyed with a DNS and a DNF and a finish bearing mind that she baled last year. My mind could not get around the benefits of a finish and we therefore both decided that doing the race was the right thing.
We had a member of our club staying at our hotel in Durban who's second would take us to the start, another possible stressfull situation alleviated. Not sure if I was nervous or scared or still asleep but hey it was 4AM. Martin and Liz at least looked happy!!
The start of Comrades in PMB for me is amazing somehow the atmosphere is amazing, singing Shosholoza and Nkosi sikelel iafrika our National Anthem is very emotional. A really good build up to the start of such an iconic race ...
I managed to get quite far forward as the pens were opened , but still my feet did not move until 90 seconds after the gun and I managed to cross the line in 6:53 even though it was only 228m. 14622 people started the race from the 20000 odd total entrants a 30% fall out before the start.
My goal was to get average pace to below 7:38/km and then attempt to get a bit lower and keep it as low as possible for as long as possible. The biggest problem with this whole idea is that essentially you have a hard 60 odd km route which is pretty undulating and then follow that with a a tough 30km down hilll. I do find it interesting that my Garmin seems to add distance on the down run but its distance is pretty spot on on the up run! This affects my ave pace so even though my Garmin said 7:40 at Lion Park the official time was on 7:50.
From the above you can see that the section between halfway and Winston Park is my "slow section", there is a long 7 km long uphill which is pretty tough. I need to include some long uphill climbs in my future training. I really liked the fact that I could could lower my pace as I got near the end.
Overall I found the first 20ks and the last 20ks great but struggled through the middle 50kms. I guess it may have had something to do with trying to keep updated on Liz's progress via SMS which never seems to work properly! No SMS's came through till 58 ks so I was bit worried but then a friend said that Liz had been through at about 64ks and was looking strong.
I had various small niggles in the middle 50ks, from tight calves , cramping arches, sore hamstrings and tight quads, the thing that got me the most was my abs and chest that got quite sore. This could have been a consequence of the downhill and the need to stabilise by using my core. I did struggle in the middle section but remembering we start an hour before sunrise and end at around sunset it is a long day!! With the year I have had I guess the stress also had a bit of an influence on my day.
I do find it interesting how many participants I keep on meeting along the way who I either know from other races or this one. Runners tend to go quite fast downhill and then slow down uphill so we do seem to pass each other quite often. Comrades is a race where I doubt more than 10 entrants actually attempt to walk the whole way, I only know of 3 walkers who attempted it this year, Geoff was 5 minutes ahead of me and he was trying for 10:30 or to average 7:00/km and Gayle who normally just makes it but missed by about 8 minutes.
The most impressive part for me was that I ended strong, I was able to accelerate at the end and really felt good. It is amazing walking along with all the green number club, many who were in their mid 20s, one doing his 27th consecutive race, these are the guys who inspire me to continue, maybe I will still try for my ten, I have done 4 now, Liz is on 8 so she will definitely do 10 to get her permanent number.
When I finished and went up to the club suite and Liz was not there I realised she must be in the medical tend and sure enough her she was on a drip as she was dehydrated from nausea and vomiting again! She could not drink the last 10ks or so and was very dehydrated at the finish. 2 hours after finishing Comrades she walked the 1km + back to the hotel with ease. Overall it was a successful day 2 more medals accumulated and some confidence restored.
You can view some photos here as they are uploaded Photos
There are also some videos here which give an idea of what it is like on the route. Note by blue cap, it makes it easier to pick me out! Video
Oh that was cool - I saw you! Clever idea to wear a blue cap! Wow - so many people. so proud of you both.
ReplyDeleteRespect and admiration for you Dave, well done and congratulations on a fantastic achievement. Enjoy some well earned rest.
ReplyDeleteThis is Pintailman from the States. Well Done Dave. You trained Hard. Logged a bunch of Miles. Interesting only 3 walkers. Rest well! Congrats.
ReplyDelete