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Tring2Town
By Andreas | February 3, 2008
It was a cold event, just like the weather forecast had predicted. The ground was frozen solid the first few hours. Luckily, it was mostly sunny and hardly any wind.
As on all ultra races, camaraderie among the runners was superb! Lots of nice people sharing stories and tips for the Marathon des Sables or other great ultra marathons. The organization was good, with water about every 6 to 9 miles and some snacks on the last check points.
I was wearing my extra-large trail shoes that I’ll be running with on the MdS; with two pairs of socks, the running went just perfectly. I’ll do the same on the first few days in Morocco, reducing to a single pair of socks once my feet start to swell.
The temperatures varied a bit, warming up after two or three hours with the sun reaching it’s peak. I took great care to adjust my clothing a few times to make sure not to start sweating.
The first half of the race went very well for me. At around mile 20 I wasn’t paying attention and tripped over something and hurt my left knee. What a bummer! I went on part walking part running the next eight or so miles, trying to get my knee to function again. The last ten miles went OK. I even managed to sprint from the finish to the train station in Tring to catch my train to London Euston. No problems with my legs or knee this morning. In comparison to how I did two years ago on the same race - although it was the opposite direction, downhill, and slightly longer, I ran about 90 minutes faster this time and felt much better after the run.
Lessons learned: My XL running shoes are excellent, my backpack superb. I am in a decent shape, I believe my vegan lifestyle is making a big difference to my running. However, I need to start eating much earlier in the race to avoid preventable mishaps due to lack of concentration.
Thames Meander, I am looking forward to thee!
Topics: Racing Tip |