Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Comrades (South Africa) 56 miles
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
Just made it back yesterday and have done first days work since - boo hoo!! Read through all the posts i have missed so have to extend my congrats to everyone. It sounds like we all got what we wanted and have come back with medals in our mits.
But sympathies to you Warren. It must be really tough bailing from that race. The support and atmosphere was incredible all the way round so you must have been really hurting. And having done all that training as well.But no dount you come back stronger for it next year and get your silver then. You certainly deserve it.
And i didn't realise you get an extra medal for doing a back to back. Thats just cruel and almost forces you to go back and get it.
When do the entries open again
I'm still suffering my post-Comrades man-flu...
Hi All. Only got back yesterday as well, and also got the dreaded man-flu!!
.
Well done everybody, sounds like we all had good runs, although I was disappointed with my run, I am still pleased with a Bronze.
Warren, so sorry to hear about your run, and that I missed you at the Hilton - we must catch up when you are back here.
Off to the 2012 thread now
Douglas I cant help but feel soooo guilty about not being able to talk properly to you on the run. I was having a bit of a bum crisis and was trying to concentrate very hard on each step to try and get a rythm going , to still move forward. I know I hardly gave you the time of day , and I still feel guilty for it .
So once again. SORRY . I hope you ended up having a run that you have gained from in experience and perhaps you will come back to lay it to rest next year.
Bruce told him that he was pretty much out of it with a few miles to go and had lost the ability to calculate how close he actually was to the silver that he missed by 33 seconds.
Anyway, he pretty much collapsed at the end and went in to the medical tent after his finish to get a boost on his recovery by going on a drip. Sitting in the medical tent was Alan Robb his great running rival and good buddy now. They constantly swap a lot of friendly banter these days...
Anyway, Robb was about an hour slower but secured a Bill Rowan. On hearing Fordyce’s time, Robb chirps out loudly to Fordyce in the medical tent…….
“Hi there Brucie, look here, same medal, half the effort!"
Good evening!
Yep man flu here too - kicked in just in time for the flight home.....nice.
Well it was good wasn't it. Will I be back next year? No. I'd love to but I'd like to go back and race it after I've improved my marathon etc., dragging my sorry arse in over the last 12k wasn't what I had in mind, lol. You need to do the race to get an idea of what's required I suppose, which as it turned out was quite a lot.
It was so good to meet everyone after months of being on here - and no one was how I imagined them! Thanks to everyone for making the whole Comrades experience such a good one.
Jelly Bean
Hey folks.
Got back last night and just caught up. Some great runs- Stevie fantastic effort mate. Realy well deserved and solidly paced. Nice to meet Carmen and hope you too had a great time.
Warren- Sorry to hear that. To say I know how you feel is weird as the Friday evening I had seafood or caught the stomach virus you had. Toilet/both ends all night and if the race was Saturday, I couldn't have started. Tried to re-hydrateon Saturday and started ok. At 40k I was going ot drop out as my kidneys were hurting and I was in pain from the small toilet stop I had made. Dropped the rose off at Arthur's seatand just asked him to get me home- this was after a few tears. HW in 3.44 and managed to hang on for an 8.06after deciding to walk any incline in order to re-hydrate.
I was really chuffed with time, and honestly don't think silver was there as I struggled from 30k.
Had an awesome time on Safari, and did a killer walk in the Drakensberg which left me more sore than COmrades!
I'll be back next year on my own for the down so hope to meet more of you than this year.
Over to the New thread!
I will definately be back next year, for number 9!!
Hi Guys, back from Ruskiland and still got a cold/throat infection (your man flu). I sound like a 40-a-day smoker when I cough, lovely!
Not tried any running as I think shin splints take AGES to mend plus heard horror story of someone who ignored them and now can't run at all. Anyone got any advice on splints - please lob it this way. Blisters have burst, so can at least walk rather than limp.
No doubt see you all on the 2012 thread, whether or not I do it!! Still showing my medal to anyone who asks with a ridiculous sick 'look at what I got' look on my face. Of course they are all aghast at its size.....and on that dodgy entendre I depart..................
How frustrating about the shin splints...Clive said lots of rest and compression...he's had them. Think I've got something going on with my left ankle (at the front), it's still slightly swollen, can't bend/flex it properly most of the time and hurts to touch it, although not much when I walk - my brother (physio) suggested that if it's still bothering me next week to see dr and get an x-ray. Really hoping it's nothing. Not really ever been injured before...it's a pain.
Think I must have the hardest feet though as I only got one tiny blister where one toe rubbed another rather than shoes or socks rubbing...I love my trainers. Anyway, see you on the 2012 thread.
Hello
I got home on Monday after an unforgettable safari experience... it was awesome!!
Warren... So sorry to hear about what happened to you
Next year....
Speaking of next year, I'm afraid I won't be going back... too many other races that I want to do, and age is not on my side. But have fun those of you who are going back... good luck with the training!
JB... what, not even me??
Sorry to read about all the virusy colds and snuffles... so far *touch wood* I have been reasonably healthy, the lovely food served at the safari lodge probably helped. I went out for my first run since Comrades yesterday, a nice steady 7 miles. I visited my pain master and had a sports massage today, he made me yelp quite a lot as usual but said my legs felt in pretty good shape considering. So it's all go for the 100 miler 2 weeks on Friday
In other news.... life has just kicked me in the teeth once again, which seems to be the theme of this year, and I'm pretty tired of it now...
Thanks everyone for being part of this journey with me x x x
Over and out
Hello,
Can any one suggest any good books on the Comrades, something that gives some details about the course and the race history etc ?
Cheers
Mark
If you can get it, Comrades Marathon - The Ultimate Human Race, by John Cameron-Dow is supposed to be a good read. He was selling them at the expo and the book is avail on SA book sites. I want to get it but don't want to pay the postage to USA. Will wait to see if it comes out on Amazon locally.
The website has all the info you need at this stage... http://www.comrades.com/
I'd link it but my task bar on this comment box doesn't work for some reason
hey Trin, welcome back to Blighty. Sorry to hear you have had another kick in the teeth, but you are tough girlie, I back you to survive and be stronger.
Great to hear you had a fab safari, I am sure you and Carmen will be swapping stories soon!
Sad to hear you won't be returning for lucky 3, we'll miss your class amongst us alsorans. Come and join the 2012 groupies, if only to share your experience with ut. We value you!
Good luck in your other endeavours, - the 100miler first - and age is but a number til it bites you in the bum. xxx
Slotwin must be right about you being tough....100 miler in two weeks time...hardcore. Good luck. And as far as age goes...pah, you're only as old as you feel. See ya.
Longest race report in History...longer than theh Comrades I fear.
Bit too much information I know but i havent had time to cut it down.
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=14E2nZfnExbSt5_UdxBvkpZ3ajnTCtp0l_kCiV6cQHsI
Wow!! Great report Fizz!!
I guess I should submit mine too... it's also a bit long so it's in parts.
I learnt a lot about running Comrades last year, but I learnt a lot about how not to run Comrades too... and I left South Africa with unfinished business.
Bill Rowen was the name of the guy who won the very first Comrades race. He won it in 8.59. So to qualify for the Bill Rowen medal you have to run the race in under 9 hours. That was my goal last year, and I missed it by a measly 14 minutes. It was all my own fault though, I lost my head... plain and simple as that.
For this years Comrades I trained harder and longer. I wanted to be able to stand on the start line with the confidence that I'd prepared as well as I possibly could and the rest was up to the race day itself.
I arrived in SA on the Thursday before the race, spent the day at the expo on the Friday meeting up with other Internationals and buying stuff and then mostly chilled out on the Saturday. In my infinite wisdom (here we go!) I decided to top my Garmin up on the night before the race. I don't know why... I'd only run about 3 miles with it since I last charged it. That was the one, and thankfully only, mistake I was to make that weekend.
As expected, I prepared everything on Saturday night so all I had to do on Sunday morning was get up, eat, shower, kit on, pick up bag and go. As I was getting ready I thought I'd switch my garmin on so it could locate the satellites ready. But when I switched it on it immediately bleeped at me and said 'Low Battery' and the battery bar was empty! Sh!t!! Panic!! I couldn't pace the race without it!
So I plugged it in while I finished getting ready willing it to suck up as much as possible. All I could think of was that it must have came on when I unplugged it in the night and then stayed on until the battery ran out.
I could see the start from my bedroom window so rather than go down there with plenty of time to mill about I decided to leave it as late as I dare to give garmin time. I still had to deposit my bag and the pens close at 5.15. I left my hotel at 5 (garmin had had 45 minutes tops), and then I saw the huge queue to deposit bags!! It seemed to take ages... everything was going in slow motion except to clock which was going too fast. I made it to the pen with 5 minutes to spare.
I looked up at the Comrades Start banner and did feel that confidence deep down that I'd prepared well, I was ready.
The plan was to run comfortably and take as little out of the tank as possible until half way. My comfortable pace is faster than it was last year so it seemed like a good plan.
The first of the Big Five is Cowies and I power walked/ran up it. Checking my time I'd already amassed an 18 minute cushion and was only 15k in to the race. I figured that I didn't want to extend it too much more or I would be wasting energy that I would need later. I think I kept the cushion at between 18 and 20 minutes for at least the first half, and I got to half way feeling strong and happy. I had made none of last years mistakes... I hadn't fallen over, I hadn't misjudged the pace, and I had remembered to take on gels at the correct intervals... all was going well. I was taking each hill as it came, focused and pushing myself on.
The k's were ticking over nicely and I was surprised that I still had life in my garmin, although I knew it wouldn't last... I was right. At 34k to go I looked at garmin and it was blank... dead. It had given me 5 hours and 15 minutes from the 45 minutes that I had charged it for that morning! So I couldn't really complain, and by that time I'd gotten used to the pace quite well so I figured that I'd just have to ask other runners for the time every now and then just to make sure I stayed on track as I got more tired.
The hills were relentless and the day had heated up nicely. I'd had enough of the gels, I needed food but I didn't want it. I forced myself to eat and tried to wash away the slight nausea with water... it worked. I kept thinking of you guys and other people who would be watching my progress... every time I crossed a mat I thought of them back home. I'd also promised Slow Duck that I'd bring home the Bill Rowen for him, and I couldn't let him down. There were moments when my body hurt so much that my mind tried to let me off the hook of getting that sub 9 but somewhere in the core of me I wanted it too much to give in.
There's something about the Comrades that reaches every feeling, every emotion, every part of your heart and soul. You go through everything out there... physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually... one minute you can be laughing and the next crying. I cried, and I almost let the reasons behind those tears take over but I pulled it back to save for another day.
As the distance to go got shorter and the hills felt steeper and longer I felt like I was running backwards and I had to ask other runners more and more about the time. A few said "don't worry, we're gonna make the sub 9", but I couldn't be sure. Then I told myself that so long as the sub 9 bus (pace group) doesn't overtake me I should be fine. I kept telling myself that because it calmed me.
With 20k to go I had 2 hours left... 10k an hour... easy... kind of
It was getting almost impossible to run the uphills and even harder to start running again after walking. I walked the last of the Big Five... 'Polly Shorts' and when I got to the top I had to literally shout at myself to start running. I couldn't afford to walk any further that I absolutely had to. Then I saw another little hill ahead! From the top of that it was mostly down and flat. The lead into the finish seemed to go on forever, I felt the last of my energy dripping away so I just kept reminding myself that the BR medal doesn't come easy and it's worth every ounce of pain.
Finally I could hear the roar from the stadium. It was close, I knew I'd done it, I could just relish the last little run to the finish, enjoy the moment that I'd worked and trained so hard for. I was smiling the whole way.
I turned the bend... I could see the clock... the time started with an 8... as I got closer I saw 8.50 tick over.
I crossed the line, was given my Bill Rowen medal and I just sobbed. I was then taken to another tent to receive my Back to Back medal which is given to those who have run their first two consecutive Comrades.
As for the stats...
Official time 8:50:18
Position overall: 1827
Female: 113th
LV45: 37th
And apparently I overtook 127 runners in the last 8k although it certainly didn't feel like it at the time!
So it's with satisfaction, but also some sadness that I can say I'm done with Comrades now. I achieved what I wanted and it's time I moved on to the next target. So I doubt that I'll be back but hey, never say never
Just to add to the set heres my report from realbuzz.....
http://www.realbuzz.com/blogs/u/Keith_L/beyond-infinity/posts/comrades-or-hills-hills-and-more-hills/
Well done Trin was so plaesed when you went past me with about 3 miles to go.
Cant imagine doing a 100 miler - awesome stuff
Great report Keith!
It's been a blast... see you at another race somewhere
You had my sympathy reading that, I have had similar issues many times but never I think *quite* that painful.
It seems for a number of us the guts have been the limiting factor!
Just back from SA and so haven't had time to read everything and catch up. Commiserations to Warren. very bad luck. Thank you so much for sharing all your info pre race though. I for one very much appreciated it. Nice to meet many of you both on the tour and round and about on the course. (I was right behind Carmen in the toilet queue! I was chuffed to bits to get a bronze medal, finishing in 10:54. That was 5 minutes faster than the very flat , 55 mile race between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Biggest difference was that for all the running temperatures were remarkably similar, at Comrades, there was enough water to allow you to drink and to spray and to keep cool. (On the GEDM, there were only 5 aid stations and only enough water to drink, not to use as a coolant.)