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My UltraRunning log
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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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.0 -
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.0 -
Best of luck, sounds like a cool marathon
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Have a ball. Take (and share!) some photos!0
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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.0 -
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?0 -
nice report,best of luck on ur trip,see u in feb0
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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."0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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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.0 -
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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.Krusty_Clown wrote: »A touch of dehydration mebbe?!
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
will be expectin ur log in spanish from now on...0
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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.0
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