January 2010

[El Gordo]

Fab -- looks great. Will digest more fully later. Am having an intense work day.

I'm actually deep into my own report, unusually for me. Lots of duplication of course but that's to be expected.

[Nigel]

That's heroic stuff, Sweder. I feel knackered now, exactly as if I've just run the race myself.

There's great writing here. Not many donkeys in a Spanish race, yes -- and that indoor area of the stadium with its aroma of Ralgex and defecation. The scene comes alive in all the pungency of a pre-race panic.

The course sounds different this year. You ran all the way up to the Tryp Indalo -- one more long climb to add to the three already in the route? If so, that makes your PB all the more remarkable, and the race organisers even more sadistic than before...

Great run. Heroic, and brilliantly captured.

[stillwaddler]

Oh wow Sweeder that was immense, I'm almost out of breath myself just reading it. You really earned you PB - wear it with pride:-)

[Antonio247]

That's heroic stuff, Sweder. I feel knackered now, exactly as if I've just run the race myself.

There's great writing here. Not many donkeys in a Spanish race, yes -- and that indoor area of the stadium with its aroma of Ralgex and defecation. The scene comes alive in all the pungency of a pre-race panic.

The course sounds different this year. You ran all the way up to the Tryp Indalo -- one more long climb to add to the three already in the route? If so, that makes your PB all the more remarkable, and the race organisers even more sadistic than before...

Great run. Heroic, and brilliantly captured.

Congratulations, S., on your PB and report. It made me relive the experience although at a slower pace.

Nigel, the climb at avenida del Mediterráneo was just as last year as far as the bridge. On the second lap this year we didn´t have to get so far since we turned right along the course followed by the 10 km participants last year.

Saludos desde Almería

[suzieq]

Wow - great report! You all deserve medals for running in that heat. And I don't know how you do it Sweder, digging deep and managing to pull off a sub-5:00 min. pace. I'm just in awe. You're obviously in pretty good (read great!) shape to do that over a half marathon. Hats off to you all.


Suzie

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

A great effort Sweder - but can we look forward to an attempt at breaking 100 minutes next year? You were so close! If you could just pace yourself a little more evenly I'm sure it would be possible!

[Sweder]

Thanks guys. I cannot over emphasise Ladyrunners' part in all this. She's a trooper and deserves a medal the size of a dustbin lid for not dropping me like a hot rolex. I confess to feeling churlish after the race. I'd bagged a PB but it had taken a great deal of help to do it. Then I remembered that wonderful scene at the end of My Cousin Vinny. The utterly stunning Morisa Tomei plays Joe Pesci's long-suffering motor mechanic doll, Mona Lisa Vito. Pesci is a wanna-be trial lawyer. He's just sprung his nephew from a bum stick-up/ murder rap. He's won his first case but he's gutted; he needed his Miss Vito's help to close the deal.

Mona Lisa Vito: So what's your problem?
Vinny Gambini: My problem is, I wanted to win my first case without any help from anybody.
Mona Lisa Vito: Well, I guess that plan's moot.
Vinny Gambini: Yeah.
Mona Lisa Vito: You know, this could be a sign of things to come. You win all your cases, but with somebody else's help, right? You win case after case, and then afterwards you have to go up to somebody and you have to say, "thank you."
[pause]
Mona Lisa Vito: Oh my God, what a fuckin' nightmare!

I guess same rules apply. If I could bag a PB half every year but had to thank someone for helping me get there, I could live with that. I just have to learn to stop whining when they're dragging me off to a blistering start.

Niguel, I mislead you (not for the first time I suspect). Not all the way to the Tryp as A said, but to the entrance of the bridge leading to the Tryp.

Sub 100 is certainly a target, though not for Connemara where the hills will no doubt straighten me out. As for pacing myself ... well, I did, or rather LR did it for me. If I'd toughed it out with her rather than slacking off in the second half I'd've come in around 97 minutes.

There's more. The Recovery Run in Cabo de Gata was memorable, as was my hangover that day. It's the closest I've come to throwing up before running a step. First, more unbearable transcontinental travel in the hands of the maniacal Portuguesers from TAP. I suspect there won't be room to get my elbows thrashing out a report. And then there's this morning's red-hot beach run in Salvador to tell you about and two weeks' worth of Le Jog to catch up on: phew!

Food for thought: Satan gets his jollies by slipping on an airline uniform and tormenting passengers in the hopes of conjuring a homicide or two.
You're right; I didn't get the upgrade ...

[glaconman]

Really enjoyed the report Sweder. Sounds like you forced yourself into a corner and did yourself proud. And you have one tough pace-maker.

[Sweder]

Picture time. With apologies to the race photographer from whom I have liberated the following snaps. I shall be placing an online order in due course.



The eagle-eyed amongst you will note ten seconds or so 'went missing' from the time I approached the line to when I finally sucked in a lungfull of air.
No, I've no idea either.

[El Gordo]

Picture time. With apologies to the race photographer from whom I have liberated the following snaps. I shall be placing an online order in due course.



The eagle-eyed amongst you will note ten seconds or so 'went missing' from the time I approached the line to when I finally sucked in a lungfull of air.
No, I've no idea either.

Am I going mad? You're approaching the line at 1:41:47, but by the time you cross it, your time is 1:41:40....7 seconds earlier

I guess the middle pic clock should say 1:41:50, then it would all make more sense.

[marathondan]

Sounds like that PB was a fix! Clock-tampering! Good pics though.

[stillwaddler]

Don't stress about it Sweder - even the best olympic runners have pacers and frankly, all of us have at some time in a race latched on to someone's coat tails to pull us along a bit, it's just that the coat tails are usually anonymous but this time you had chosen them in advance :-) I bet Julie was more than happy to pace you for a bit. Enjoy your PB, you deserve it.

[El Gordo]

Don't stress about it Sweder - even the best olympic runners have pacers and frankly, all of us have at some time in a race latched on to someone's coat tails to pull us along a bit, it's just that the coat tails are usually anonymous but this time you had chosen them in advance :-) I bet Julie was more than happy to pace you for a bit. Enjoy your PB, you deserve it.

Agreed. Just because you had some encouragement, doesn't reduce the scale of the achievement. I've seen Paula Radcliffe run marathons with a pace runner. Completely legitimate. And many people use a GPS watch to do exactly the same thing (without the grouchy verbals, admittedly).

[ladyrunner]

Thank you Sweder for the brilliant write up on the race. I'm sure that I will be reading this through regularly in the future to remind me of our brilliant adverture to Almeria .

I noted the clock thing in your photos but after looking at them again realised that the second photo should have been a 50 instead of 40 - blame it on the camera and the shutter catching the clock at the time of the digits changing.

Julie

[Sweder]

I noted the clock thing in your photos but after looking at them again realised that the second photo should have been a 50 instead of 40 - blame it on the camera and the shutter catching the clock at the time of the digits changing.
Julie

Spot on Jools; I sussed it myself this morning. The 9 had flipped to zero but the four has yet to fall.

OK, enough already. It's time I got my flabby glutes & wobbly core over to February. I've got three runs to write up and it'll be four by tomorrow lunchtime