General Discussion Race Reports! » Merida SkyRace Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Merida SkyRace - RunOther


View Member's Race Log
San Rafael de Mucuchies, Merida,
Venezuela
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 16m 58s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Still waiting for official results, but I think I was 18/25 in my AG.
Event warmup:

A SkyRace is a technical mountain race up to 30km distance at altitude between 2,000 and 4,000 meters.
Run
  • 3h 16m 58s
  • 16 kms
  • 12m 19s  min/km
Comments:

The purpose of traveling to the Andes was not to do well at the race, but to get in three technical trail runs at high altitude, one of them (race day) going at ultramarathon pace and maybe a bit faster.

At the starting line, I was feeling tired but acclimatized. 10 hours of running/hiking over the last three days were definitely present. By now, my stomach had settled and the permanent headache of the past three days was gone.

My first goal was to get past the 2-hr cutoff. I had gone by that section in 2:22 on Thursday and 1:58 on Friday. Now, I had to worry about an additional 800 meters through the town at the very start, which I didn't know about. Fortunately, the cutoff was moved up to 2:30 hours. Still, I would attempt to make it in less than 2.

After running the initial section, I looked at my watch and saw that I had to make up 4 minutes. The first climb was done at a constant pace. By the time the first half hour was over, I was only 1:30 min above Friday's split. I ran the few flat sections and ascended consistently. At the waterfall, I had recovered those 4 minutes + 2 more minutes. My legs felt a bit wobbly in the final stretch of the climb to the cutoff area, but I made it in 1 hr 46 m, beating Friday's time by 12 minutes in addition to those 4 unplanned minutes it took me to cover the first run through town.

I began the downhill hard, but a couple of missteps made me slow down. I had no business pushing hard (this was a training race) or risking much (I'm recovering from plantar fasciitis). One of my goals was to keep all efforts close to what they would be in an ultra.

A couple of runners I respect were within sight. I passed one on the downhill (he would finish 6 minutes behind me) toward the second of three lakes and the other one in the flat stretch toward the final lake (he would blow up possibly because of the altitude and finish 12 minutes behind me).

It had rained yesterday and the already sketchy, loose-rock downhills were much more difficult. I took it easier than usual, but held what felt like a consistent effort.

The section I felt the best in was late into the race, a runnable 3 km path slightly uphill leading into the big final descent. I saw a guy at the very end of the downhill and, diverting from game plan, I ran hard on the rocky downhill. It was too little too late as he was over 6 minutes ahead. In the final 2-3 km I descended at a constant pace, having given up on the futile chase. I crossed the finish line with a lot of energy in the bank, happy to have concluded a hard training week in the Andes and glad that my body held up after all the week's punishment.

Now, it's time to welcome the month of May and more hard training weeks ahead leading up to the UltraTrail du Mont Blanc in late August!
Post race



Last updated: 2010-04-26 12:00 AM
Running
03:16:58 | 16 kms | 12m 19s  min/km
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

{postbutton}
2010-04-26 7:18 AM

User image

Extreme Veteran
534
50025
Brisbane
Subject: Merida SkyRace
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Merida SkyRace Rss Feed