Malta: Living on the Edge of Europe » race

Week 9 of 34 – Christmas day run

Sandro — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:05:40 +0000

Due to work commitments, and because it was time I did so, I reduced the training volume for week nine. This meant Monday was dedicated to sloth while I did only one session-per-day on the remaining days, while still doing the key workouts. These were a 3×20′ @ 150-153bpm on Tuesday, a short hills fartlek on Friday and the long run (the longest so far) on Christmas day. Again I included some longish hills: Manikata, 1.4k with an elevation change of +94m; Ghajn Zejtuna, 1.8k with an elevation change of +109m. Despite these hills, and having run for 2:15, I only climbed 420m. This serves as another reminder of how massive a 3000m climb is and how much respect the Etna marathon deserves.

Training hours: 7 / Weight: 71kgs / Body fat: 12.3% / Muscle mass: 69.4% / Water: 57.6% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 48

Week 1 of 34 – Just about jogging

Sandro — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:05:48 +0000

Last week I announced to the world (meaning those of you who visit this site) my intention to race the Super Maratona dell’Etna in June next year. What I didn’t mention then was that I am still recovering from a partial tear of the left calf tendon, an injury suffered a month back. This means that my preparation has not started with a bang but with a whimper, not with impressive hill sessions but with a gentle jog every other day. The situation takes me back to March 2008 when I attended the launch of Lifecycle on crutches because I was suffering from a slightly more serious version of my present injury. I remember exchanging a few words with Alan Curry about whether I could recover in time and well enough to undergo the intense preparation that the event entailed (cycling 2000km from Lourdes, France to Casablanca, Morocco in 10 days). Five months later I had the quiet satisfaction of stepping off the bike in the shadow of the tallest minaret in the world at Hassan II Mosque. I hope I can experience the same sensations once again but this time in the shadow of Mount Etna’s summit, Europe’s highest active volcano.

Kettler Coach rowing machine

This first week has been a mix of sports at mild intensities: jogs of no more than 30 minutes on alternate days, indoor rowing, indoor cycling, elliptical trainer, swimming, push-ups, sit-ups and stretching. In spite of all these activities, fitness is at a very low level and the heavy breathing when I walk up the hill to my home proves it. This is not the best way to begin preparing for the challenge but I’m in it for the long haul – 33 weeks to go.

Here are some relevant statistics relating to the past 7 days. I’ll be including the updated stats in weekly write-up:

Training hours: 5 / Weight: 70.2kgs / Body fat: 11.8% / Muscle mass: 69.8% / Water: 58.1% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 49

0 – 3000 on 16 June 2012

Sandro — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:36:52 +0000

Sometimes I train for the simple pleasures it brings – sweat stinging the eyes on a summer afternoon, lungs labouring as the legs run me out of the comfort zone, the sheer satisfaction of a shower washing away the exertion. Some other times I need a target to pull me through the routine that regular training becomes, such as Lifecycle in 2008 or the Madonie trail mountain marathon in 2011.

I’ve now set my sights on next year’s challenge. Put in figures it reads: 0 – 3000 / 42.195. In words, that’s running a full marathon which starts at sea level and finishes at an altitude of 3000 metres. Reading between the lines (and if my math is correct), there’s an average gradient of 7% for each and every one of those 42 kilometres.

The location is Mount Etna. The date is 16 June 2012. The time is 08oohrs. The aim is to keep going up unless the volcano brings me down … to my knees in submission. In answer to the question, ‘why this event?’, it’s because living on an island of mere hills, I cannot even begin to imagine a non-stop climb of that magnitude.

The purpose of adding a new page (click tab at top right) to my website is two-fold. Making my commitment public should help me through (inevitable) phases when enthusiasm begins to flag – the ‘I don’t want to lose face’ motivating principle. Also, I wish to share my preparation for the event should anyone else think of doing it, be it in 2012 or future years. To this end I’ll be logging weekly updates, with Monday being the target publication day.

Ecomaratona delle Madonie 2011 – technical information (5)

Sandro — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 10:37:55 +0000

Route

Elevation - Grade - Distance

Click here for: Official results

Click here for: GPX file

Ecomaratona delle Madonie 2011 – Done! (1)

Sandro — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 08:38:42 +0000

A taster from last year’s edition:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw0OFwQzZ5o

Click here for part 2: Perched at 1000 metres

Click here for part 3: Lessons learned and lessons confirmed

Click here for part 4: Marco Olmo, ultramarathoner, is the guest runner

Click here for part 5: Technical information

Ecotrail della Luna – the results

Sandro — Thu, 12 May 2011 17:06:14 +0000

To conclude this series of posts about the 2-day Ecotrail della Luna event held in Caltavuturo, Sicily, on the 30th April and 1st May, here are the results.

Results for: the Saturday night race

Results for: the Sunday morning race

These are the related posts:

Ecotrail della Luna – Caltavuturo: the adventure starts tonight!

Starting from the end

Did I say adventure?

Day 1 – the night race

Ecotrail della Luna – video

Day 2 – when even experienced trail runners walk

Overreaching…..on a Piaggio Fly 125

Ecotrail della Luna – podium photo

Day 1 – the night race

Sandro — Sun, 01 May 2011 19:15:05 +0000

At 2030hrs we’re supposed to run up a mountain and down again, for a total distance of 12 kilometres. At 2000hrs, I’m not only yawning but my eyelids are closing, weighed down by the early morning rise (0200hrs), the physically draining 220km drive in rain, wind and road-level clouds, and the mental knockout of finding that my reserved accommodation had no place for me and the few other hotels in the small town of Caltravuturo were likewise fully booked. My food has so far has consisted of 6 fig rolls (they worked well enough during Lifecycle) and a small portion of spaghetti. Do a little warm-up jog, I tell myself, to keep this creeping sleep at bay.

2015hrs is briefing time. Before setting off, we must confirm that we have a torch, spare batteries and a whistle. If you think this is being overcautious, wait for the next bit. The race has been shortened by about 2k, eliminating the mountain top proper. Apparently the wind is so strong that there is the risk of an athlete being blown off the narrow paths. My skewed day seems to be working its voodoo on the race too.

Obligatory equipment

This is a trail race but the focus is on hills, so I’ll let the elevation and grade chart do the talking about the toughness of the climbs. With grades of 20 – 25%, running is not an option. The trick is to fast walk these massacring inclines. In any case, the heart is deceived into thinking that it pumping away for an all out sprint, as my heart rate recordings prove.

The route was fantastically marked by red reflective squares and triangles every few metres, ideal to get picked out by torchlight and making it virtually impossible to take a wrong path. Even if one did, these were also marked but with white reflectors; a pretty nifty idea, isn’t it? Despite all good intentions, within the first kilometre (on cobbles and tarmac) leading to the mountain trail, the police car heading the runners took a wrong turn, taking the leading and secondary group way off course. The former ended up doing some 4k extra, thus falsifying the first day’s result. To their credit, apart from a few disappointed faces, the “cheated” runners laughed it away. Really, no swearing, no threats, no prima donna theatrics – just good natured banter.

Elevation - Grade - Distance

The surface we ran on consisted of tarmac, steps, cobbles, mud and gravel. Most of it was in pitch black surroundings so imagine my surprise when I started hearing band music in the distance, even though no town lights could be seen for miles around. As I sloshed my way through the damp vegetation, I came upon a dilapidated farmhouse. Going in through the remains of a gate leading to the yard, there was a brass band on some steps, playing away in torch & candle light while helpers dished out fruit segments and water. Magical, even if I could only enjoy it for as long as it took to grab a banana piece, peel it and dispose of the skin in a container (not doing so carries the risk of disqualification).

Briefing

By the time the informal prize-giving for that day’s winners (not everyone had signed on for both races) was done with, the pasta party in the Alter Ego Club (seemingly unprepared for the large attendance) was over, and I had hitched a lift back to the hotel, showered and slid under the quilt, it was half-past midnight. That’s almost 23 hours since having woken up back in Malta; that’s only 6 hours before having to wake up for a breakfast to fortify me for Sunday’s 22k. Ominously, those who had run it before claimed that it was both tougher and more technically-difficult. I was on a high now so all I could think was – bring it on!

Finish

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