My UltraRunning log

mithril

Monday
13:01 KM in 1:01 (4:42 pace) around Marley park.

mithril

Tuesday
15 KM in 1:28 (5:54 pace) from Marley park up and over 3 Rock Mountain along the Wicklow Way and back again. Very easy since some tendontitis still in the back of the ankle and don't feel I can "push-off" agressively without risking it going again. This pace though felt fine and builing up time on the feet and some aerobic stuff is all I need at the moment. Good to be back in the hills again.

Wednesday.
10.11 KM in 57:35 (5:42 pace) along the Royal Canal.

Left lower calf felt very tight so could not risk anything faster than a jog. Sports massage booked for this evening which hopefully will restore some more functionality.

mithril

Summary
6.2KM in about 30 minutes (4:50 pace) in Moshi, Tanzania

Spent Friday evening in Nairobi but neighbourhood around the hotel too dangerous for a run. Less than 1KM from the notorious Kibera slum and 3 layers of steel gates and guards between us and the outside world.

Arrived in Moshi, Tanzania Saturday and atmosphere is entirely different. It's a much more prosperous place because of the rich volcanic soil and tourism and very friendly.

Stretched my legs in the stretch in front of the hotel for about 30 minutes to the great amusement of the locals.
Accompanied for last KM by a local lad about 10 years old who asked could he run with me and by the way he went up the final hill would have destroyed me in a race.

aigster

mithril wrote: »

Summary
6.2KM in about 30 minutes (4:50 pace) in Moshi, Tanzania

Spent Friday evening in Nairobi but neighbourhood around the hotel too dangerous for a run. Less than 1KM from the notorious Kibera slum and 3 layers of steel gates and guards between us and the outside world.

Arrived in Moshi, Tanzania Saturday and atmosphere is entirely different. It's a much more prosperous place because of the rich volcanic soil and tourism and very friendly.

Stretched my legs in the stretch in front of the hotel for about 30 minutes to the great amusement of the locals.
Accompanied for last KM by a local lad about 10 years old who asked could he run with me and by the way he went up the final hill would have destroyed me in a race.

now that is a good one, Im on way to a half mar.was packing a neurofen and it reminded me of your blog....and your post came thru...
Stay safe over there, you'll have plenty of competition I'm sure!

mithril

Sunday
Summary 7KM in 50 minutes cautiously down a slippy trail off Kilimanjaro mountain.


Most enjoyable training run in my life, off Kilimanjaro mountain from Mweka Huts (3106m) down to the park exit at Mweka Gates.(1633m). Even the few up-hill sections seemed easy after the acclimatisation of the previous days at 4,500m. Vegetation continuously changing , initially barren rock, then heath, cloud forest and finally deciduous.

One of the porters ran with me for a bit after I think a bet from his colleagues as to whether he could run faster than the Mazungo. It was a little ambitious though to try and match me when he was carrying 20KG on top of his head so he gave up after a few hundred meters and stopped for photos.

Not so much fun was the 3 hour wait for the others to catch up while I was pestered to buy every kind of knickknack at the bottom.

Krusty_Clown

mithril wrote: »

One of the porters ran with me for a bit after I think a bet from his colleagues as to whether he could run faster than the Mazungo. It was a little ambitious though to try and match me when he was carrying 20KG on top of his head so he gave up after a few hundred meters and stopped for photos.

You should have played fair, and also carried 20Kg on your head.
Sounds like you're having a ball.

mithril

Working as a porter on Kilimanjaro must be one of the toughest jobs in the world.
Some nice things to do out here alright, but I would not go back to East Africa again. You get too much harassment as a Westener as soon as you leave your secure accommodation and can never fully relax.

Back to Ireland on Friday and running the Monaghan 10 mile race on Sunday. The last 3 weeks have been pretty much a clean break from running so fitness has suffered.Disappointingly, my ankle injury is still niggling despite the rest and I need to return to the physio, but should be Ok for a relaxed 10 miles.

mithril

Summary
10.05KM in 45:50 minutes (4:34 pace) in loops of Blackrock Park.

Very enjoyable run in the park although this felt more like 4:15 effort.
Very little running in the last 6 weeks and lack of fitness really showed today.
Ankle injury still niggling but seems to be responding to IbuProfen so will see where I am on Monday and if necessary head back to the physio.

Next up, Monaghan 10 mile race on Sunday which I plan to run at MP, injury permitting.

mithril

Monaghan 10 Mile Race

Summary
16.09 KM in 1:06:16 (4:07 pace)
29/145 Winning Time: 52:58

All I know of Monaghan I have learned from the perhaps unreliable accounts of an alcoholic poet. Those of us who were enriched/traumatized by studying Paddy Kavanagh' poems for the Leaving Cert. know that Monaghan is characterised by stony grey soil and lots of hills.
So I was well prepared in advance for hard labour and lots of small, long, hills as I headed north to Monaghan for this 10 mile race.

It's not far on the map, but the roads have missed the Celtic Tiger upgrade most of the country has managed and it took over 2 hours before I completed the journey up from Mullingar and pulled into the registration point at the Four Seasons Hotel outside town.

I was not expecting the sun, it was surprisingly hot and sunny, still only around 19 degrees, nothing compared to the 30 plus degrees of Tanzania where I have just come from, but enough to have an effect on a hilly course. Counteracting this, the field of approx 200 was small enough for congestion not to be a factor.

I am still struggling to shake off tendonitis in the ankle but had taken 2 Ibuprofen first thing in the morning and this had dampened down the inflammation to the point it barely registered on the day. I had barely run for the last 6 weeks due to a combination of injury and travel so deliberately had set no goal for the race other than completing it without injury and about LT pace.

The start was a short walk from the hotel, we assembled 15 minutes beforehand, and the race kicked off promptly at 12:30. We had the benefit of a predominently downhill stretch for the first KM but I was still pleased to see 3:55 showing on the Garmin, and when I ran 4:01 still fairly easily for the second KM, I thought it might be possible to run a PB for the distance which for me was set in the Adidas 10 mile in 2009 at 1:05:20

I was worried though at the lack of proper training in the build-up to the race, and I feared blowing up or getting injured if I went out too aggressively, so I decided to stick to the plan of taking it easy until the half way mark. I was overtaken by about 10 runners in the next 5K, but I was running comfortably within myself and was not concerned.

Once we reached the 5 mile mark, I started to burn the reserves and reel in the runners ahead of me one by one; first a surge to overtake and open a gap of about 10 metres, then ease off, gradually close the gap to the next runner until close enough to overtake and then repeat the manouvre. In this way, I managed to move up about 10 places i.e. regain the position I was in after the second KM.

If the race had ended at this point, I would have been very happy with my day. However, once we hit the 8 mile mark, I lost the forward momentum I previously had; I closed to the next runner but did not have the pace to overtake and he shortly afterwards opened a gap of about 30M. The pace on the Garmin dropped alarmingly as I went up the last couple of hills, properly called drumlins and probably less than 100 feet height gain but I could no longer handle the constant undulation of the course. Several people mentioned to me afterwards about the village with the lovely stone bridge we passed through but I don't even remember it. I got overtaken twice in the final run-in and was prepared for worse as the Garmin indicated still another 500M to go and I knew that I had weaved quite a bit to avoid traffic so the true figure was probably more.

One of the marshalls told me the finish was around the next corner - it was not - but I was able to relate at last where I was on the course to the route we had taken outward and knew we did not not have as long to travel as I had anticipated. We reached the top of what I knew was the final hill and I could see the starting line we had passed earlier. I knew there was another 400 m after this to the finish but it was easy now. I weas able to power my way home and felt fairly fresh coming over the line as I opened a commanding lead on the challenger behind me who moments earlier looked certain to overtake.

15 Eur for race entry, water, bananas and a rare luxury of hot showers afterwards made the entrance fee extraordinary good value.
Still digesting the race outcome; satisfactory time but I rarely blow up like that in a race and no obvious excuse for it.
Next up is the Midlands Half Marathon on Portlaoise next Monday where I will be targeting 1:27:xx.

mithril

Monday
8.17KM in 45:30 (5:34 pace) recovery run along the Royal Canal, Mullingar

Tuesday
12.04KM in 55:49 (4:38 pace)
Seemed to be finding it a lot more difficult than it should be at the start but got a lot easier and faster as the run progressed.
Aerobic fitness has gone back a bit during lay-off, body feels very fresh , ankle still niggling though and not sure I can target a competitive marathon until this goes away.

menoscemo

mithril wrote: »

Next up is the Midlands Half Marathon on Portlaoise next Monday where I will be targeting 1:27:xx.

Nice one, I'll see you up there Pat. I have organised the pacing crew for this and will be hoping to run just under 1'35 (PMP run).

mithril

Wednesday
10.04KM in 40:50 (4:04 pace) on UCD track.

Another solid effort. Reasonable chance of a sub 3 in Buenos Aires (October 9th) if I can build on this without breaking down.

mithril

Thursday
12KM in 51:36 (4:18 pace) in laps of perimeter of UCD GAA pitch.
Started aerobic and gradually brought speed up to marathon pace.

They have the nets down for the summer to give the grass a chance to re-generate so ideal spot for some soft surface running without having to dodge a wayward sliothar for a change.
Tiring after the eighth KM until I made a conscious effort to do everything Cathriona McKiernan recommended re. good running form (relax shoulders, lean forward, peel feet off ground) and it got a lot easier for the next 2KM which were the fastest. But there are limits to how far even that gets you, and I was tiring and slowing down near the end again.

mithril

Friday
15.08 KM in 1:20 (5:19 pace)

Headed out to Glendalough to put a new camera through its paces and was not going to miss the chance of a run in such nice surroundings.
Tempted to do the loop of the Upper Lake which is where I did my training for The Inca Trail a few years ago , but in the end stuck to the flat trails on the edge of the lakes, since I think hill running would aggravate the ankle at the moment.
Pace a little too last for recovery and slow for aerobic so probably junk miles but very enjoyable nonetheless.

donothoponpop

mithril wrote: »

Headed out to Glendalough ... so probably junk miles but very enjoyable nonetheless.

Wash your mouth out with soap Pat, no such thing as junk miles around those parts.;)

mithril

Summary
13.1 KM in 1:30:26 (4:18 pace)
14/180 Winning time (1:14:27)

I had taken the two previous days off as rest, and its only a short drive from Mullingar so I had a full nights sleep and arrived at the start line as rested as I ever have been for a race.

In many respects this race is similar to the Larne Half Marathon, my previous attempt at the distance last year, where I had run a morale boosting 1:27:xx, 3 weeks before the Connemara Ultra without full extending myself. There is an initial drag to half-way where it gets very steep, and then downhill the rest of the way.
We had good conditions for the race, around 17 degrees, a bit humid, but not too hot and the relatively poor turnout ensured that congestion would not be a problem. I had anticipated running around 1:28.

The race kicked off and I found myself running for a bit with a group of about 6 runners who all seemed to be targeting, like myself, slightly under 1:30.
I made my first mistake of the day when we came to the first hill in trying to break away from the group, but I could not sustain the pace needed to build up a big enough gap, and was gradually pulled back and ran at the tail of the group then up until half way.

Since I have a light build normally I am a relatively strong up-hill runner compared with flat and I had anticipated gradually making my way to the head of the group but on this occasion I could not make headway which should have been a warning sign for what was to come later.

I could see the Rock of Dunamase from couple of kilometers away, it's not high but forms a dramatic outcrop against the plain. It took me a few moments to realize we were heading for it and the route would take us most of the way up it. The pace dropped alarmingly as we ascended , but it was short enough not to cause too much of a time loss and we now had the worst of the course completed.

We passed a mark in the road shortly after indicating the half way point, I checked the Garmin and I was a few seconds under 45 minutes.
This was actually a few seconds better than I had managed last year in Larne, but it had taken an awful lot more out of me.

In Larne I had managed to maintain consistent down-hill assisted sub 4 minute pace all the way to the finish, but when I upped the tempo on this occasion, I was only hitting 4:05 and then slipped back to marathon pace again after about a minute.
I went through the same cycle three or four times, and tried to consciously relax and follow good running form - which was a help the preceding week in the Monaghan 10 mile race - but on this occasion the body was not up to it. I was breathing quite easily, and had no real sensation of tiredness, but could not generate the customary power I expect and my running motion was not flowing.

At this point I decided it was not going to be my day, and eased off with the goal of at least maintaining marathon pace to the end. I had expected the 1:30 pacers to catch me before the line, but it came a good bit earlier than I expected. I think i might have been able to salvage a sub 1:30 but I got caught up in assisting another runner who I thought was trying to get under, ran with her for a bit , and mis-calculated the remaining distance so it was 1:30:26 by the time I finally crossed the line.

My worst case scenario beforehand was 1:29 which I missed by a wide margin. Early days yet since I am just back in training after an enforced injury break but I definitely underestimated how much fitness I have lost in the interim.

mithril

Tuesday
9.89 KM in 1:27:27 (8:50 pace) Around the Slieve League Cliffs, Teelin, Donegal.

Not nearly as tired as I expected to be and solid ascent to the top of the cliffs along the road. At 1972 feet these are Ireland's highest cliffs but since they are remote they are not as well known as the Cliffs of Moher. Then scramble along the top and plenty of stops for photos brought the overall pace down.

Wednesday
10.10 KM in 49:24 (4:53 pace) aerobic run around Malin Head, at the top of Ireland. Passed the met station on route but resisted the temptation to change the weather forecast for the whole of Western Europe by pouring the contents of my water bottle down the bucket they had on the lawn to measure the precipation. Somehow, I was expecting something a bit more sophisticated.

Thursday
10.01 KM in 39:07 (3:54 pace) time trial around UCD track. Decent enough run, although at my best, I would be 90 seconds faster. No sure why I sturggled so much on Monday since I would expect this to translate into under 1:28 for a half marathon even on a reasonably hilly course.

4-6 months for the torn tendon in the ankle to fully repair but I can continue to run through it provided I keep the mileage down. Steroid injections will be the next step if it does not naturally heal and my age is counting against me on this.

mithril

Friday
11 KM in 1:08:45 (6:50 pace) recovery run up Barnaslingan Lane and then up Carrickgollogan. 2 motor bikers were having a race at awesome speed along the main trail which looked like an inevitable accident so headed over the back of the hill and ran just fast enough to avoid the flies while listening to the radio.

mithril

Saturday
17.0 KM in 1:25:17 (5:01 pace) in loops of Blackrock Park
Experimented with the Montrail Continental shoes, which I have used before for off-road Ultra running. I thought the extra ankle support might work better than a conventional running shoe. But it did not work out and the extra weight of the shoe if anything, made it worse.
The shoes also started to cut badly into the side of foot and I abandoned the run early to prevent blistering. The original plan was 25 KM.

Sunday
17.0 KM in 1:22:36 (4:51 pace) around Parque 3 de Febrero, Palermo, Buenos Aires.

After a decent night's sleep during the 14 hour overnight flight, felt up to checking out my surroundings with a recovery run but found I had more in the tank than I realized. The novel surroundings in the Argentinian equivalent of the Phoenix Park helped, as did the softer gravel surface, and was able to ramp the distance up to match yesterday's run.
I was able to get a good improvement in functionality by stopping to do a calf massage a few times during the run,but could not hold onto the gain and after about 5 minutes I was back to my previous level.
I have entered 2 marathons while I am are here. The first, Mendoza, in 2 weeks time will just be a fun run but I am hoping for a more serious effort for the Buenos Aires marathon at the start of October.

mithril

Monday
Ankle very sore so rest and ibuprofen.

Tuesday
10.0 KM in 45:30 (4:33 pace) around Parque 3 de Febrero, Palermo, Buenos Aires.

Good improvement after the rest day so got up early and tried to undo some of the damage caused by that lovely t-bone steak and bottle of red wine the previous night. Some very indifferent food to be had in Buenos Aires, but prime Argentinian beef deserves its reputation.

mithril

Summary
21K in 2:00 (4:54 pace) in loops of the Reserva Ecologica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires.

The ecological park is marshland- which acts as a bird sanctuary and recreational area - that is squeezed between the dockland high rise and the sea (kind of like of bigger version of Booterstown bird reserve).
A 20 minutes taxi journey (which only cost 3 Euro) deposited me at the entrance to the park.
I found the first loop tough but stretched a few times, and while there was always some discomfort when the right foot landed, it was bearable and did not seem to get worse.
Vegetation is quite similar to Ireland and there is a power station nearby whose chimney looks uncannily like Poolbeg so felt at home. Brought the second last KM down to marathon pace (4:09) and surprised how comfortable it felt(I think the more forward lean of fast running may relieve pressure on the ankle.
Felt exhausted though about an hour afterwards, could have done with a nap, and surprised how much it took out of me.

mithril

I took the advice I was so quick to offer to others, and have rested my ankle since Buenos Aires with a good improvement, but one that I think will not be sustained. Mendoza marathon tomorrow, and at least that strategy has allowed me to reach the start line. We are being bused into the foothills of the Andes tomorrow at 6:30 to Potrenillos and are running from there back to the finish in Mendoza.

It´s below 0 first thing in the morning even in Mendoza so could be very bad further up but if I survive the exposure should be OK. I have not been able to go further than 13 miles in preparation for this one, but with a goal of just getting around, I should be OK on the day.

Woddle

Best of luck, sounds like a cool marathon

Krusty_Clown

Have a ball. Take (and share!) some photos!

mithril

Mendoza Marathon


Summary
42.2 ? KM in 2:56:27 (4:12 pace)
Classification 12/317
Winning Time : 2:29:31

The day started early for me with a 5:15 alarm call to make the 6:30 bus to the marathon start. I was not sure exactly where the buses were going from, so gave myself plenty of time to make it down to Parque Saint Martin, and soon picked up a trail of people who clearly had the same objective.

The buses were well organized, but it was after 7 by the time our one had filled up sufficiently, and we headed up the hills towards the start line at Potreillos . It was still dark as we left, but dawn gradually broke as we ascended, and we had good views of the foot-hills around Aconcagua. I got taking to a Chilean runner on the bus who had been up it eight times (and done some serious climbing around the world) and he talked me out of the idea of making an attempt on it while I am here. It’s a good deal tougher than Kilimanjaro or Mont Blanc, and I would have to climb it out of the normal season, which would make it more difficult.

We got dumped shortly after 8 at the start line, which was actually the most scenic section of the course, it’s like a cauldron where you can see rising mountains in every direction. There was snow at the edge of the road, but it was dry and calm, and I found it a good deal more comfortable than Florence in December or Cork last year. Judging from the comments abound me, most of the other runners seemed to find it unbearably cold and were shocked when they saw the skimpy Boards singlet I proposed running in.

We lined up just before 9, I was hoping for a rendition of the Argentinian national anthem, but was disappointed, there was a count-down in Spanish and we were off. The first 5KM was generally downhill, but undulating in parts, and I kept an eye on the Garmin to keep to roughly 4:15 pace, as I had planned beforehand. This is around my normal marathon pace but a good bit easier to maintain on a descent. I saw a clump of 8 runners about 100 M ahead of me who I thought were targeting sub 3, but I thought that this might be too ambitious a goal for me, judging by the fact I could not break 1:30 for the half marathon in my previous race, so I let them go ahead.

I have not trained regularly since I tore one of the tendons in the ankle in May, and initially this felt a bit painful , but gradually this settled into a dull ache, until by the half-way point it had eased to the point it was not a factor. My feet were badly cut up due to burst blisters after the race, but as always, I never notice this during a race.

I had not been able to resist the temptation to have a half bottle of wine with my pasta the previous day, then felt very dehydrated , started to drink too much water to compensate, and then behaved as if I had a urinary tract infection and needed to pee every 15 minutes. To prevent enforced stoppages, I determined I would drink as little as possible during the race and only had a few sips of Powerade before the half way point and no more than 500 ml of fluid in the entire race which seemed to work well. I think most people exaggerate how much water they need during a race.

There was 250m descent in the first half of the race and as I warmed up, I gradually felt the running become easier, and I was able to effectively use the slope to cruise at faster than my planned marathon pace while taking very little out of me. I gradually closed the gap to the clump ahead of me and caught them at about 16KM and stayed with the group until the halfway point. The sensor beeped as we crossed the mat for all the other runners except me , I looked down, and saw the timing chip had fallen off. Since this was not in any-way a goal race, I was not too upset, and was encouraged when I looked down and day 1:28:05 on the watch . The other surprise was the Garmin was registering the distance to the half-way point as only 21.0 when normally I expect 21.3 to show up due to the inherent inaccuracies to GPS measurement.

I did a quick calculation, running 1:32 on a generally downhill course would get me a sub-3, which seemed very achievable even though I had not done any training runs over 21K in months.

I realized at this point that the group I was with were targeting faster than sub 3 so deliberately dropped off the pace and maintained a steady 4:10 for the next 10K running very comfortably within myself. I had expected the entire course to be very scenic, but after the initial quarter, gradually the mountains got further and further away and the road got busier and less enjoyable.

We emerged onto a very busy road at 32 K, the hard shoulder was rocky and difficult to run fast on, so I found myself running on the very edge of the road and getting flashed by angry Argentinian drivers. It was as bad as anything I have ever run on and was not enjoyable.

That ordeal was over once I reached the start of the 10K race (32K point for us) and from there to the finish we were on a closed road. I got shouted at as I passed the start, realized they were referring to the missing chip and someone handed me one at the aid station. Given the very flimsy way the chip was secured, I suspect it was a common occurrence on the day. I think they were expecting me to attach it to the shoe, but I had enough sense not to trust the binding again, and carried it in my hand to the finishing line.

The next 8K up until 40K was quite enjoyable . There was a good downhill slope, and I was able to glide my way down it maintaining a pace I knew would get me a sub 3 without burning my reserves.

At this point I started to overtake a couple of runners who had dropped off the group which had broken away from me at the half-way point, which also gave me a lift.

The Garmin hit 40K and we were still on the closed road with no support. There was no KM markers at any point of the course so I was relying on the Garmin to judge the distance. I knew the race was ending in the lovely Parque Saint Martin and had been anticipating doing a circuit of the lake and at last getting some support. Finally at 41K we turned into the park, there was a brief up-hill section which I found difficult to deal with after the relentless down-hill of the previous 30 minutes. I have never finished a race before with less than 42.5 on a Garmin so I anticipated at least another 1.5 k.

I felt the power going from the legs and slowing to jogging pace and wanted to stop. I gradually pulled myself together, remembered I still had an unused Powergel, and once I forced it down, I got a bit of strength back and when I next glanced at the Garmin I was back on 4:30 pace which I knew was fine for a sub-3

I turned a corner and was stunned to find the finishing line ahead of me when the Garmin was only showing 41.7 I managed to accelerate but did not go flat out since all the time I was anticipating being re-directed for another loop to make up the expected distance but it soon became clear that was it.
The end was farcical. I stopped under the arch, checked the watch which was showing 2:56:20, and ducked down to touch the chip in my hand against the mat. No beep and I fell and cut my knee as I lost control due to the sudden acceleration. I stopped the watch at 2:56:38, started drinking a bottle of water and then noticed another arch 80 M ahead of me with a clock which was the real finishing line, walked over and tried again, to register the chip without hearing any ring.

At this point I gave up, helped myself to a banana and Powerade and enjoyed the music and festivities in the sunny park , warm in the middle of the day even though we are supposed to be in the depths of winter. There ended the strangest race I have ever run.

I was not expecting an official time given the issues with the chips but I see I am showing on the results with a time of 2:56:27 which agrees closely with my own time. Not sure why the distance discrepancy was so big between the Garmin and the course. I can’t think of anywhere I might have missed a turning so either the Garmin was inaccurately measuring the distance, which can happen on a very hilly course, or it’s simply measured short. Although the time is around 2 minutes faster for a marathon than I have managed previously , I don’t regard it as a personal best for the same reason as a world record would never be recognized on the course. I do however take some considerable positives from the day, the main one being how well I lasted the distance with very little training .
I am also second in the M45 category, so looks like a left a big shiny cup behind me on the day since there were prizes for top 3, but I would have to lug it around South America for the next 3 months so probably just as well.


Next up Buenos Aires marathon at start of October.

Woddle

Well done, enjoyed reading that and super result given your lack of consistent training.
What's the course like on October? will it be a PB attempt?

ultraman1

nice report,best of luck on ur trip,see u in feb

mithril

Woddle wrote: »

Well done, enjoyed reading that and super result given your lack of consistent training.
What's the course like on October? will it be a PB attempt?

I think it might have to be for my own safety.
Here is one description I found of the route on the web:

"The course has 2 big problems: (i) the first half is filled with rolling hills, which of course doesn't help at all; (ii) save for a few miles, the latter half passes by some pretty freaky sites. I was injured from mile 15 onwards but didn't dare to stop in several moments on fear of being attacked by any of the bystanders."

mithril

A lot more muscle damage than normal and limping around for a few days which I put down to the predominantly down-hill of the course.

By Thursday , I was ready for a recovery run but could not find anywhere around Valparaiso where I would not be risking my life so deferred it until I arrived in Santiago (Chile) on Saturday.

Saturday
6 KM in 28:59 (4:50 pace)

Sunday
8.85 KM in 50:24 (5:42 pace)

No sensation of tiredness in the legs but ankle injury persists and painful to run on a hard surface.

mithril

Summary
10.01KM in 45:10 minutes (4:30 pace) along Baquedano Park, Santiago Chile.

Really happy with this run. It was after sunset when I returned to the hostel after a day's sightseeing and I thought it might be too late/dangerous to fit in a run but noticed this small park with a lot of people still in it so knew it was OK.f. Felt much more comfortable than yesterday on the softer , gravel surface and could have brought this down to marathon pace if I did not have to weave around the walkers.

mithril

Wednesday

Summary 6.25 KM in 32:28 (5:11 pace)
Road run around San Pedro de Atacama town which is at 2407M elevation.
This run told me that the altitude acclimatisation from Kilimanjaro is still in the body to some extent. When I attempted running on the first day on Kili at 2000M, I started to hyperventilate, and gave up after a few hundred meters. I never had any issues with breathing on this run until I briefly increased the speed to MP at which point I could not sustain it.


Thursday
Summary 16.61 in 1:23 (11.9 KM/H)

Off-road biking in the desert around Atacama.
Trying to recce some trail runs on bike first.

Headed out of town into the desert and followed a marked trail 8KM out of town to the first set of Inca ruins but they were in poor shape and you needed a guide to relate the small piles of stones on the cliff to the original settlement. Then followed a steep path (probably struggling a bit with the altitude) to a tunnel leading from the San Pedro valley to another valley ominously titled "Valle de la Muerte" or Death Valley. The tunnel was about 150M long and there was not enough visibility to safely walk through it so walked the bike. The other side was completely different, pure sand with no hint of vegetation. The map I was given by the bike rental company indicated 30 minutes back to town but I was down to my last 100 ml of water (another bottle had fallen out of my bag somewhere along the way) and I knew that if I misread the sketchy map I would be in serious trouble in the desert. There was actually plenty of water in the river on the Saint Pedro side of the valley, which normally I would have chanced, if I had not been warned in advance it was contaminated with arsenic. Instead I re-traced my steps and did a minor detour to take in the second Inca ruins in the area, the hilltop fortress of Quittor. This was stunningly well preserved, or probably re-constructed, since you could see the buildings were held together mainly with mortar which the Incas did not use. The Incas had held out here against the Spanish for 4 years. When it eventually fell, the Spaniards slaughtered the garrison of 300 and decorated the ramparts with their heads to discourage any further resistance. Then back to town. Probably the most interesting bike ride I have ever done, and hope to run the bulk of the route later this week with plenty of water in my backpack.

Friday

Summary 8.62 KM in 47:13 (5:28 pace)

Ran from the hostel I am staying in to Quittor Fortress and back again.
Felt in really bad shape before heading out, since I was up at 4 AM to see the geyser field at El Tato at dawn, and felt very run down from lack of sleep and perhaps altitude. Still got some satisfaction from having completed any sort of run.

Krusty_Clown

mithril wrote: »

I think most people exaggerate how much water they need during a race.

mithril wrote: »

I felt the power going from the legs and slowing to jogging pace and wanted to stop.

A touch of dehydration mebbe?!

mithril

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

A touch of dehydration mebbe?!

Could be but I had no great sense of thirst after the race either.I put it down at the time to the sudden change from downhill running to a brief uphill which needed more effort. If I had known the finishing line was so close at that point, there would not have been an issue either. I always get a second wind when I see the final KM marker which was missing on this occasion.

mithril

Saturday
Summary 21.1KM in 2:12 (6:15 pace) in Atacama Desert

Trail run into the desert slowed down by a backpack with a lot of water. Past the Inca Fortress, through the tunnel, into Death Valley. Its a lot less intimidating than the version óf the same name in Nevada since it´s only low twenties at this time of year but it´s bone dry and has not rained in years. There looked to be a loop back to town if I continued far enough according to the sketchy map I am using but when the Garmin showed me still heading north away from town after 10KM, I decided the best thing was to to retrace my steps.


Sunday on Road North from San Pedro, Atacama
Summary 10KM in 46:52 (4:41 pace)

First fast run in a while and with the altitude this was more like marathon pace. Headed north on the road from hostel initially at 4:30 pace, and started to breath very heavily after first KM, and then slowed to a more sustainable pace. Struggling a bit for the first 5KM, but when I started to return found it a lot easier and realized that I had been running up-hill without realizing it. Was able to bring the pace down to MP quite comfortably to finish strongly. Then felt very lightheaded, dehydrated and tired.

Definite improvement in my ankle injury and I think it will recover without surgery. Space in my backpack is at a premium but I found room for "The Stick" and am doing calf massages a couple of times a day with good results.

mithril

Monday
Summary 7 KM in 46:36 (6:39 pace)
Recovery run around San Pedro de Atacama town.

Tuesday
Summary 16.86 in 1:23 (4:57 pace)

Off road run in the desert around Atacama.
Tried to run this at a higher intensity but realized when I encountered a strong wind why so many people in town were wearing dust masks. Had to slow down to fight the wind and got very dehydrated near the end as the hot dry air sucked every bit of moisture from the body.


Wednesday
Summary 8.15 in 49:24 (6:03 pace) recovery run on road out of town.

I don´t do my recovery runs much faster than this at home, so this was a pretty good effort, since it did feel effortless despite the altitude. Chased by a little dog nearly all the way, who just wanted attention, but I was terified would start licking me, or give me a playful nip requiring a trip to hospital for a rabies shot. I Ddid not have the hear though to throw a stone at him.


Thursday

Long day trekking at altitude so no run.

mithril

Sunday
Summary 5KM in 24:52 (4:58 pace) around the streets of Uyuni,Bolivia.

Cooped in a 4x4 for the last 3 days crossing the Salar De Uyuni salt flats from Northern Chile into Bolivia so glad for a chance to stretch the legs when I finally arrived.

No obvious running route, so opted to run around the streets of the town. After about 2KM, 2 Bolivian cops came up on a motorcycle and said something to me which I did not understand, but guessed it was probably "Be Careful" even though there was plenty of people around me and it felt safe enough. Found a very small public park near the hotel with a lot of people around so finished the run doing circuits around it. I will upload the log to Garmin Connect if I can find a wi-fi cafe in Bolivia, if such exists. It´s some contrast with the prosperous part of Chile I was in a few days ago.

Coped well with both the hard concrete surface and the 3691m elevation and was always running comfortably a good bit extra in reserve.
I could not sustain a recovery run on Kilimanjaro at 2000m when I first attempted it so I am well acclimatized to running at altitude now. Whether it means anything when I start running competitively again at a lower altitude is a good question. I think the maximum benefits of altitude training are normally acquired while running a bit lower than I am now.

mithril

Tuesday
Summary 6.33KM in 37:55 (5:53 pace) around the streets of Potosi,Bolivia.

Potosi is a mining town at 4,000m which has long since passed its heyday, and probably the most dangerous place I have been yet on my travels with numerous reports of attacks on tourists.
Really wanted a chance to stretch the legs but could not find anywhere suitable to run in.
Covered up the Garmin with a long sleeve t-short and started on a recce.
My initial thoughts were to head up the Cerro Rico behind the town, the site of the most valuable mine in history but it rapidly turned into a slum and became too dangerous to continue. Resorted in the end to doing repeats on the hard shoulder of the main road out of town. Horrible concrete surface, but at least plenty of traffic provided re-assurance. Needed to be be alert to potential hazards the whole time, so content with recovery pace which was a solid enough effort given the altitude.


Thursday.
Summary 5.14KM in 23:01 (4:29 pace) in loops of central park, Sucre, Bolivia.

Sucre is the twin city of Potosi, 120KM away and over 1000m lower; it has a much nicer climate and is where the wealthy mine owners of Potosi lived and spent their colossal riches while their staff slaved at altitude in horrendous conditions. It's a much wealthier and safer place to be.

Found a convenient park close to the hostel where I am staying with a approx 700m loop and attempted to run around it at marathon pace. Although lower than Potosi, its' still at 2800m which means altitude has a noticeable impact. Could only sustain marathon pace for the first few loops and gradually got slower until I started running the last few laps at 4:40 which I think I could sustain indefinitely . I judge this about equivalent to 4:15 on the flat for me.
We then got a series of flashes in the sky , which at first I thought was the street lights turning on, but it then became clear was a pretty severe lightning storm. Unlike most cities, Sucre is built on a bowl, with the wealthy, central area at the bottom (view sacrificed for milder climate) which meant that most likely the strikes would be above me. No-one around me appeared that concerned, but I learned yesterday in the Potosi mines that the Bolivian attitude to risk differs from what we are accustomed to. I cut the run short at 5KM , although I had planned 8KM. I will live to run another day.

mithril

Friday
Summary 12.17KM in an 1:00:01 (4:56 pace) in loops of city park, Sucre, Bolivia.

I was hoping to find a nice grass loop for running in Sucre , but its very badly provisioned with parks and green space generally, and the only option is a 700m loop of the only park on a pretty hard surface.
Ther is an incline in the park , which Garmin indicates is only 12m but must be at least 25m. Still not huge, but you notice any climb at altitude.

So a very boring run of 20 loops of a not very attactive park , trying to preserve the same pace throughout, which meant panting on the up-hills and recovering on the downhill for a decent aerobic workout.


Saturday
Summary 7.55in in 45.04 (6:30 pace) recovery run around streets of Sucre.
Sucre does not have the same air of menace as Potosi, and felt fairly safe leaving the central area in search of some quite streets to run around in, but pavement too broken and congested for this to be workable. Finished the recovery run in the park.

ultraman1

will be expectin ur log in spanish from now on...

mithril

Sunday
Summary 22.50 KM in 2:15:22 (6:01 pace) long run in hills above Tarabuco.

Tarabuco is an isolated village community about 100KM from Sucre which the Bolivian government is trying to assist by promoting a weekly craft market and laying on buses from Sucre for the tourists to visit it.
I have no interest in Bolivian handicrafts -I picked up more than my fair share when I last visited Bolivia 6 years ago - but the bus gave me a chance to get up into the hills and get in some kind of long run in nice surroundings.

I got off the bus and stared at the locals in their black hats and shawls reminiscent of Peig Sayers in the Blasket Islands while they stared back at me in my lurid orange pac-lite jacket and red shorts. The last few days in Sucre have been warm and sunny , but it was barely above freezing in the hills, so I quickly started running back along the road in the direction I had come from getting friendly exclaims of astonishment from all who saw me. At 3,378m, the village is not quite as high as Potosi, but a good bit higher than Sucre, and the road had a few climbs that would be nasty enough even at sea level, so running at this pace quite comfortably was solid enough.

Managed some kind of wash with bottled water after I finished but had forgotten to bring a change of clothes so cold and dirty on the bus journey back .

3 weeks out now from Buenos Aires marathon and I think that will be as long as I will go before the race.

mithril

ultraman1 wrote: »

will be expectin ur log in spanish from now on...

For your sake, I will be keeping it in English. I have no talent for languages. 10 years studying Irish, and I learned so little. I am realistic about how much Spanish I will pick up in a week.

mithril

Monday
Summary 7.21 KM in 46:08 (6:24 pace) recovery run, Parque Bolivar,Sucre.


Tuesday
Summary 10.06 KM in 46:14 (4:36 pace) lactate threshold, Parque Bolivar.
The aerobic intensity of this run felt more like marathon pace, although since the legs would not be moving as fast, not quite the same stress on the legs. Paced this a lot better than my initial fast effort and coped well with the climb at the end of each lap (only about 25M) but you notice it at altitude.

Wednesday
Woke up with a sore throat which degenerated as the day progressed into a head cold. At home, I would run through this, but when travelling you need to be a bit more careful with your health. I neglectedwhat I thought was just a bad cold when travelling in Cambodia 3 years ago, and had it diagnosed as pnumonia when I returned to Ireland. Off work sick for 6 weeks sunsequently. So no running today.

Thursday
Summary 6.25 KM in 36:32 (5:51 pace) , Parque Bolivar.
Cold no worse anyway so thought I would chance an easy run. Felt quite comfortable but will not be sorry to see the back of this underwhelming, overcrowded excuse for a park. No other alternative in Sucre for a safe run, other than possibly the cemetery.

Krusty_Clown

It's great having those Garmin Connect links. Have to zoom out pretty far to see exactly where you are!

mithril

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

It's great having those Garmin Connect links. Have to zoom out pretty far to see exactly where you are!

Yes, I will enjoy them as well once I get back to Ireland. I will have fond memories of most of them. Map coverage of Bolivia is not a priority for Bing but I think it gets a lot better in Argentina where I am heading next, especially in Buenos Aires.

mithril

Saturday
Summary 10.08 KM in 52:40 (5:13 pace) , Parque Bolivar,Sucre.

Had a morning to kill in Sucre before my bus left for Tarija so headed into tiny Parque Bolivar park for one final series of laps on concrete.
An Argentinian student I spoke to had a theory that you only get decent public parks where there is a strong middle class which never developed in Bolivia.
For whatever reason, hard to believe in a city full of students that the recreational facilities are so bad, and that every blade of scarce grass is kept locked up behind a fence.
With the benefit of hindsight, Cordoba might have been a better idea for a weeks break.


Sunday
Summary 16.73 KM in 1:32:04 (5:30 pace) , Tarija, Bolivia
The words "sleepy provincial town" suit Tarija very well, but it was an obvious place to break the long journey south into Argentina. 14 hours in an uncomfortable bus got me into Tarija at 6 in the morning, but luckily I was able to quickly find a comfortable hotel, and get a few extra hours of additional sleep.
The plan was always 16KM , and I was hoping to run it at around 4:40 pace with a couple of KM a marathon pace but this rapidly fell apart.
I knew there was a nice park about 8KM outside town marking the site of one of the key battles of the Bolivian War of Independence so I thought this might be a good route, but it was not sign-posted and when I took what appeared to be the most likely route, the road was blocked by 5 dogs barking furiously. Even in Ireland I am afraid of dogs, and in Bolivia rabies is a real concern, so I rapidly retraced my steps and did the bulk of the run alongside a rather scrappy park beside the river which I think is called Guadalquivir. I had drunk very little water on the bus journey since there were no toilets onboard, and started the run still dehydrated and within 30 minutes my throat was bone dry and quite sore. Tarija is a good bit lower than the places I have been running in for the last few weeks, and I had hoped that I would get a good boost once I descended, but the lingering effects of a head cold I picked up in Sucre more than outweighed any aerobic improvement through running at altitude. I managed one KM at 4:30 but knew that any faster would bring me into oxygen deficit so decided just to make sure I completed the distance and as the run progressed I got slower and slower until 5:00 pace was all I could manage. (I stopped a few times and had not the auto-stop on the Garmin enabled so the true pace of the run was about 5:00) .There is a statue of Jesus on a hill over the town so for the last couple of KM, I jogged up the hill to see it and the corresponding wonderful view over the bowl of hills surrounding the town. It was actually quite tasteful and more abstract than some of the hideous examples of the genre I have come across in South America and by this point it was sunset and you could see the hills around turning a lovely pink. I then jogged downhill to be met with an unwelcome surprise - mosquitoes - the last few weeks I have been at too high an elevation for them. The run then finished where it began - in the Plaza Des Armas - the original site where the town was founded in 1574 before the first English settlements in what is now the United States

mithril

Tuesday
Summary 12.01 KM in 57:45 (4:49 pace) Parque San Martin, Salta, Argentina.
Parque Saint Martin in Salta is about 5 times larger in area than any of the postage stamp parks in Bolivia, but still not quite what I was hoping for. It's broken up by busy roads with a lot of thru traffic, so you don't get a long continuous section on which you can run safely, and the path surface is concrete rather than tarmac.
Now down at a normal altitude, and I did notice less aerobic effort was required to sustain the same pace, even compared with Tarija a few days ago, but it’s also clear that nothing magical has happened to my running ability as a result of a living and running for a month at high altitude.
Hoped to run this at 4:40 with a couple of 4:15 kms , but 4:25 felt more like normal marathon pace and as the run progressed, and it got dark in the park, got slower as the lack of conditioning showed until I was running the last few laps at 5:00

Wednesday
Summary 15.01 KM in 1:34:22 (6:14 pace) Cerro San Bernardo, Salta, Argentina.
Salta has its very own version of 3 Rock Mountain in Dublin or should that be the other way around) with a 300 m hill at the back of the park. This has a lookout and restaurant at the top and is normally accessed via cable car. I knew from my guidebook that there was an alternative trail from the Guilmes monument to the top, so went looking for this after breakfast, and found the trail without difficulty. It was a series of steep concrete steps rather than the single-track I was hoping for, winding its way to the summit via a series of hairpin bends. On each bend there was a concrete station of the cross with a watercolour inlay, which might have been attractive enough in its day, but now was a eyesore due to extensive graffiti. The steps provided a vigorous enough workout, although probably not very useful as preparation for the Buenos Aires marathon, and I found myself at the top in about 30 minutes and rehydrated with a bottle of water from the restaurant. From the top of the hill, it was clear that the city was a lot bigger than I realized, but there was significant smog which restricted the views. There was a 4*4 route over to a second peak about 1 KM away, adorned like 3 Rock with telecom masks, which provided another viewpoint, before I found a third route, this time on tarmac, leading down to the town below. I tried to bomb down this, and I managed my first decent run at speed with a 3:42 KM, until my right ankle started to growl and I eased off.

The tarmac road to the top is probably the best training circuit I have come across so far in South America, with water available at the top and bottom of the mountain, and I think I could have done good things on it a few weeks ago, but have run out of time, and need to taper.

jeffontour

Not spending that much time on here now Pat but great to see you running all over the world! Safe training and traveling.

mithril

Thursday

Summary 60.78KM in 3:52 (15.7 KM/h) cycle near Cafayate,Argentina.

Cafayate is a town almost 200 KM to the south of Salta which is famous for two things; it's one of the main wine producing regions of Argentina, and outside the town are red sandstone outcrops which resemble Monument Valley in Arizona; the small, uncharacteristic but spectacular desert spot where most "western" films of the fifties and sixties were made, and which defines our image of the genre.

There are many day tours from Salta to Cafayate, but sitting on a bus all day wondering how many minutes to the next rest stop is not my thing, it’s a very similar experience to American tourists being driven from one tourist trap to the next around the Ring of Kerry.

A quick check in the bus station discovered an alternative via public transport which offered a lot more flexibility for a fraction of the price.

So struggled out of bed early and onto the bus at 7, for the 3.5 hour journey south through the scenic Quebrada De Cafayate, where the most spectacular rock formations are located, to the town itself. I had been to Monument Valley itself 10 years ago, and also seen very similar scenery in the Atacama 3 years previously, so was glad I did not waste my day on a tour.
My ankle was still sore from downhill running on a hard surface the day previously, and the bus schedule meant that any activity would need to be done in hottest time of day, so decided that cycling was a better idea than running. I had forgotten to take my passport with me, but managed to rent a mountain bike without any id, and after a leisurely breakfast set out to explore the region around the town.

There are 6 wineries in the immediate vicinity of the town, so a popular option is to bike to each in turn, and consume the free samples on offer, until you hopefully arrive back in the main square in a confused but happy state of mind.

Since I had only a few hours free, I decided to instead link up some of the small routes in the sketchy map I was given when I rented the bike; initially to some of the wineries east of town on dirt roads and then south of town along the good quality national route to Tolombon . A sign outside the town Indicated the site of one of the last Indian settlements to hold out against the Spanish was nearby so went in search. It was not signposted but I managed to navigate to the site by following the general direction indicated on the crude map and then asking for directions until I was told it was 100m away. lt was no Machu Picchu, just a collection of tumbled stones that appeared to have been extensively mined for building work over the centuries, and you would need to be an expert to read anything into it of the original layout.

Retraced the route to Cafayate and went in search of the final trail on my map which was uphill on a very rough path to a waterfall on the Rio Colorado. I found the river Colorado but was very dehydrated by this point despite consuming 1.5 lites of water plus another 1.5 lites of grapefruit juice which was the only drink I could buy in Cafayate (no bottled water for sale there surprisingly),and it was getting tight for the return bus back. Once you have seen Iguazu falls, no other waterfall will be as impressive again so decided not to push my luck and returned the bike. Really enjoyable outing and gl;ad I went.

I picked up a cold in Sucre last week which was doing the rounds of the language school, thought I had shaken it off, but it came back with redoubled force during the cycle, and I was depositing lakes of snot every few minutes by the end of the trip with also a good bit of chest inflammation. I think the air conditioning on the Argentinian buses is the problem; in Bolivia you worry continuously about the bus falling off a cliff but the natural ventilation is better for your health.

I had a trip to the pharmacist before I got on the bus looking for help, he had no English and I did not know the Spanish for “decongestant”, so might have ended up with leprosy medicine but it did seem to relieve the symptoms. I will track down a doctor tomorrow in Cordoba if no improvement by then.

menoscemo

I really enjoyed Salta when I stayed there a few years ago, didn't make it to cafayate, but did do a lovely day trip to the north through the canyons. Spectacular scenery, with the Andes in the Background.

mithril

menoscemo wrote: »

I really enjoyed Salta when I stayed there a few years ago, didn't make it to cafayate, but did do a lovely day trip to the north through the canyons. Spectacular scenery, with the Andes in the Background.

Yes Salta is enjoyable and a pleasant contrast when you arrive from Bolivia other than the increase in prices. The day trips to the north appeared to be quite similiar to what I had already seen in Northern Chile and Uyuni so I decided to spend a bit more time around Cordoba instead.