2010 has been probably my least successful year in running that I can remember, plagued with illness and injury I have only won one race, Maraton del Norte (a 60km trail race) in June. At times during this year my motivation has dropped and I have gone long periods with very little structured training. However in September I decided to do something about how bad 2010 has been and I left my job to concentrate on my running. For the past 10 weeks I have trained more (and better) than I have ever trained, with my main goal this autumn being Gran Canaria Challenger, an 85km Trail race. The week before the race I felt like I was in the shape of my life, however this would be first experience of Ultra distance running so there were lots of unknowns! during the first quarter if the race I felt brilliant, I had built up a significant lead and was running a pace which I felt I could keep going all day. This feeling didn't last long after about 20km the plastic tapes which were marking the course suddenly stopped! I didn't have a clue where to go, and I was all by myself! I decided the logical way was up and over the hill in front of me..so I started climb the rocky hill, on the other side I found a small path which seemed to go in the correct direction! after about 5minutes of running a long this path it stopped and I was lost again, with another 10minutes of running around like a headless chicken I suddenly saw the red and white tapes of the route ahead! this sight filled my with anger more than joy as I knew I had lost a large proportion of my lead and the more experienced runners behind will have made significant gains. To cut a long story short, this anger and frustration with the race organisers lasted the race of the race. I was caught by the chasing group soon after 35km and they did not have much difficulty going straight past me! It is impossible to guess how I would have done in this race if the organisers had managed to tape the route fully, I may have still finished in the position I did! however at least I would have enjoy the race instead of been infuriated the whole time.
Challenger was supposed to be my last race of the season! I had billed it in my head as "the last race of my 20s" (as I turn 30 at the end of November). Following the disappointment of the race I immediately started to look for another race to run before I turned 30, with only 5 weeks I was unsure if my body would have recovered from the experience of Challenger in time to full fill this goal!
I decided upon Ruta Doramas, a 27km trail race around the mountains of northern part of Gran Canaria. Last year I was a spectator at this year and was impressed with the level of organisation. So I filled out my entry form and sent it away and started to pray my legs would feel better soon.
The 3 weeks between the 2 races was very busy, with my parents coming to visit and various other commitments. I managed to do about 10 days decent training, including only one long run (Tamadaba Trail Tour). The Tuesday before the race I decided to run a reduced interval session at the athletics track to see how much speed I had in my legs, during my 3 interval my right leg seemed to disappear from under me, it had no power what so ever! I could see all the disappointments of 2010 flash in front of me! Should I write-off this year completely and focus on 2011?? I hobbled home after been forced to cut short this training session and started to re-evaluate my plans to run Ruta Doramas. I gave myself until Thursday night to decide what to do. On Thursday night my hamstring was still extremely tight I spent most of that day stretching, icing and heating the affected area. Going to bed that night I was still unsure whether I would be at the start line. On Friday morning I got up and felt like a new man, the pain and tightness and lessened significantly, and I decided that I would run!
There was a very strong field expected in the race, ironically my main rival would be one of my oldest friends, Ewan McCarthy who is in Gran Canaria for a training camp. The race started with the usual fast pace with everyone fighting to be first to the start of the first decent along a very narrow trail that is nearly impossible to pass people on. I was 3rd starting down the valley's very steep side and put my knowledge of this path to good use. I have trained many times in Firgas and knew every twist and turn of the path ahead. I reached the bottom in 3rd position and quickly took over the 2 runners in front as I didn't want to be behind any one when we reached the technical rocky sections. It wasn't long before I realised that my friend Ewan was with me closely followed by last year's winner Matías Ojeda Montesdeoca. Together the 3 of us pulled away from the rest of the field easily. Going into the first big climb Ewan took on the lead and I was able to draft of him and recover from my early pace. At the top of the climb we had started to pull away from Matias, however of the flatter section at the top he quickly reeled us back in and all three of us went through the first drinks station together.
I build up a small lead on the steep downhill section, quickly to loss it again on the steep up-hill section! Ewan and I kept together the whole way to about 20km constantly changing the lead and working together to try to distance ourselves from Mattias. When we hit the road section of the race I put my road running experience into action and stepped it up a gear trying to get away from Ewan as I knew he would be very strong on the final ascent into Firgas. Going into the last big climb (750m in about 2km) there was a small crowd at the bottom cheering me on, after about 15seconds I heard another cheer telling me that Ewan was close behind. Usual on this type of ascent I climb with my hands on my knees crunched over, however I knew I would need as much oxygen in my lungs as possible if I was going to beat Ewan, who is known to be a very stronger climb. So up-right I made my way out off the valley floor, with my legs burning and my lungs crying out for air. I hit the top with nothing left, knowing that I had about 200m along a flat road to go. I was hoping Ewan was in a similar state to me when he hit the top! with the finish line in sight I realised I had won! normally I am quite 'cool and collected' when I win a race, however this feeling of victory felt a lot sweeter as I have had such a bad year! I crossed the finish line with my arms raised in delight! I am won my last race in my 20s!
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Ewan finished 1min 30 after and it was great to share the feeling with my great friend! who's 2nd place was even more impressive considering that he has spent much of the last year living on an oil rig in the middle of the north sea. Matias, who has not ran very much in the mountains this year arrived home 7 minutes after me.
I would like to thank Club de Montaña de Firgas for a fabulous race and a great party afterwards! I definately plan to return to Firgas next year.
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