Cyclists with a "Running" Problem

[Hacc]

Congratulations to all my hubber friends for completing a very hot and tough Comrades up run. Kudos to all of you for achieving your goals!!

 

My race started okish. I realised that the G group runners are quite different to the D group. (my previous up run group) I struggled to get momentum as people are walking 4 kms into the race. The first 27 km are pure torture. So glad running into Andrew Steer!! Nice to finally meeting a fellow Hubber.

 

Well it is hell up to half way. At half way I ate a sandwich and drank my Super M. I felt a bit nauseous, but nothing serious. I then felt a sharp pain under my little toe. I took off my shoe and it was just blood... First time ever I had blisters, very painful. This is where the fun started.... My running mate started throwing up... We walked quite a bit and he got sick every time he drank something. From halfway to 60 km took forever, stopping often.

 

At 24km to go he chased me away and I told him I will go if he gets into the bus. He was very pale and I realised we are not going to make it continuing like this. The 12 hour busses passed us and I started freaking out. He said he will stop, I felt sad as we have training together for 3 years.

 

My challenge was 24 km in 3 hours (which included Pollys) . Which seems doable if you are not completely buggered. And then my watch died... I ran the last 17 km with little walking, except for Pollys. I am sure I ran negative splits. I had to dig deep, like never before. This was serious. I ran past a lot of my club mates, just waving... I didn't want to lose too much time.

 

I have never been so happy to see the finish line. I was very emotional. I am sure it will be terrible photos ????

 

My running mate didn't stop and finished with 3 minutes to spare... Crying my eyes out. Two of my friends didn't make the Pollys cut off. I was very sad. It was an emotional day yesterday.

 

So lessons learned :

You are capable of so much when the going gets tough.

If you are not 100% then you should really not be running Comrades.

 

I am happy with my time, even if it is my worst time at Comrades. I received a medal and that is all that counted. I had a terrible training year, and now I can just get stronger.

 

See you all at the Comrades 2018 down Run!!

 

 

PS. Venue was crap, took me 20 minutes after finishing to find our club tent. Not enough water at water points are completely unacceptable.

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Orbit]

That was HARD. My first comrades so didn't know what to expect. I started well and everything was on track until that pull up to the bottom of Inchanga. I ran-walked inchanga (as the 9 hour bus cruised past) and went through halfway in about 4:40.

 

Harrison flats sucked and just drained me mentally so I was gatfol when I reached Cato Ridge. From there it was run-walk as much as I could.

 

Was poked at the end and just missed sub10 with a 10:00:45 despite sprinting the last 2km.

Definitely won't be there next year. The couch sounds like a better option.

[Messier87]

Well done all! Some inspiring/emotional reads above.

 

I managed to finish more or less in my realistic time goal. Aimed for a little better as a blue sky time, but that derailed at the end due to me pushing a little too hard in the first half. Still happy as can be. First comrades and came in for a very good bronze. I'll take that.

 

A sign I saw yesterday which got me through the dark patches - Chuck Norris has never run the Comrades!

[ScottCM]

Definitely won't be there next year. The couch sounds like a better option.

 

 

I've hear those words before from many a comrade whom lined up the following year. Rest well bud, you deserved it. 

 

PS Soweto Marathon entries close end of the month so you better book your qualifier early     

[ErenR]

Hahahaha! Welcome Eren!!!!

 

Stoked you had both the courage to tackle the Comrades and gutspah to post up about it here after! Hopefully you'll share more race reports as you progress! CONGRATS on your finish! WELL DONE!

 

Welcome Eren, and congrats on your brilliant achievement. Now dont be a stranger and go join the Bikehub group on strava

 

https://www.strava.com/clubs/bikehubsa

Thanks

[ErenR]

Thanks

Getting the hang of posting....thanks guys

 

I started in H batch and intentionally cruised up to toll gate. So much so, that I saw the last 50 runners just behind me in the last 12 hour bus.

 

At half way, my wife called me saying that it was time to shake a leg or I would come in 3 mins too late for a finish. Was feeling good still with no cramps or major pain....little did I know I had blisters festering that I would only see when I took my shoes off. It's huge and I limped to the airport at 7am this morn.

 

Amazing race and cAnt wait for my back to back run.

 

Was so grounding seeing people sporadically puke, collapse and having monologues with themselves trying to dig deep.

 

Inspiring to see the people coming in just before 12 hours dig so deep.

 

I now understand Lindsey Parry's one podcast when he says the person that starts the comrades race and the same person that finishes are two different people.

 

Amazing vibe....

 

In the last 20 when I did my fastest split up Polly's that somehow keep thinking that somehow if Comrades runners start a political party, our country would be better for it

[Barry Stuart]

Congratulations to all my hubber friends for completing a very hot and tough Comrades up run. Kudos to all of you for achieving your goals!!

 

My race started okish. I realised that the G group runners are quite different to the D group. (my previous up run group) I struggled to get momentum as people are walking 4 kms into the race. The first 27 km are pure torture. So glad running into Andrew Steer!! Nice to finally meeting a fellow Hubber.

 

Well it is hell up to half way. At half way I ate a sandwich and drank my Super M. I felt a bit nauseous, but nothing serious. I then felt a sharp pain under my little toe. I took off my shoe and it was just blood... First time ever I had blisters, very painful. This is where the fun started.... My running mate started throwing up... We walked quite a bit and he got sick every time he drank something. From halfway to 60 km took forever, stopping often.

 

At 24km to go he chased me away and I told him I will go if he gets into the bus. He was very pale and I realised we are not going to make it continuing like this. The 12 hour busses passed us and I started freaking out. He said he will stop, I felt sad as we have training together for 3 years.

 

My challenge was 24 km in 3 hours (which included Pollys) . Which seems doable if you are not completely buggered. And then my watch died... I ran the last 17 km with little walking, except for Pollys. I am sure I ran negative splits. I had to dig deep, like never before. This was serious. I ran past a lot of my club mates, just waving... I didn't want to lose too much time.

 

I have never been so happy to see the finish line. I was very emotional. I am sure it will be terrible photos ????

 

My running mate didn't stop and finished with 3 minutes to spare... Crying my eyes out. Two of my friends didn't make the Pollys cut off. I was very sad. It was an emotional day yesterday.

 

So lessons learned :

You are capable of so much when the going gets tough.

If you are not 100% then you should really not be running Comrades.

 

I am happy with my time, even if it is my worst time at Comrades. I received a medal and that is all that counted. I had a terrible training year, and now I can just get stronger.

 

See you all at the Comrades 2018 down Run!!

 

 

PS. Venue was crap, took me 20 minutes after finishing to find our club tent. Not enough water at water points are completely unacceptable.

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

I love this story. True grit from both of you.

[Barry Stuart]

I've hear those words before from many a comrade whom lined up the following year. Rest well bud, you deserved it.

 

PS Soweto Marathon entries close end of the month so you better book your qualifier early

I enjoyed the words from the commentator at the beginning: "You'll never want to do this race again. But you will."

 

I swore yesterday that I was done with this. Once is plenty. Today I found myself wondering how I could get a better time for the down run.

[Hacc]

I love this story. True grit from both of you.

Thank you Barry, this will definitely be one of my most memorable Comrades marathons

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[ScottCM]

We must sound like a klomp moangatte, but the shirt desings is also not my cup of tea. Same goes for the oceans shirts. Last years was way nicer than this years comrades and oceans shirts. Still nice to get free running shirts though, but they should fire the designers

 

So Jackes how did you and the Mrs do in your first Comrades?

[Mudsimus]

So Jackes how did you and the Mrs do in your first Comrades?

Im sure I saw them just before the finish, think they finished comfortably.

[Jackes]

So Jackes how did you and the Mrs do in your first Comrades?

 

Yoh... what a damm race.

 

Considering this was our first and training was completely derailed with my itb (which was a resting blessing in disguise), we were always just targeting finishing.  We used a 11:30 with 5% fade pacing as strategy and doing 11:30 would always have been absolutely 1st price.

 

So we started off as cautiously as we knew we had to on the up run.  At 15kms we already felt a bad patch, I guess due to the continuously up and up.  I felt my ITB at 7 already and by 20kms it was so so buggered....  

 

We managed our run walk strategy with using the walks on the most steep parts.  The guy that got us into this Comrades into the first place (he got his green number last year) had stomach troubles the whole way and dropped back twice having to visit the bushes and he pulled out at Drummond.    The 4th member of our group also had a terrible day and suffered the whole time as well, he dropped back on Fields.  So there went all our support and expertise and me and the Mrs carried on.

 

The 4th guy managed it and caught us at Drummond whilst we quickly had something to eat from our support, so from there the 3 of us went again, but he was struggling.  We waited for him and I made some calculations, showing him that we will make the 12 hours even with a lot of walks, because we walked extremely fast.  On all the hills where the 11:30 bus, that we caught just after halfway, still ran, we speed walked behind and stayed with them.   Something we implement rather than run when the effort of running outweighs the speed that you actually do on hills.  He said that made him realize that he will make it, but he saw that we were stronger at that stage and on purpose hide from us at a water stop so that we would carry on without him.

 

Our target was 5:40 for Drummond and we rolled in there on 5:39:45. 

 

We just simply continued with running as much as we can at a good pace and managing the hills with walks.

 

It was hot, especially with us training in the mornings in the dark, but we just kept on keeping us wet, hydrated and eating the whole times.   The bad patches came and went, but we just ignored it.  I was so close to cramping all over as well a lot of times.  Omtom was a very good learning school on how to handle patches where you want to die.

 

My wife normally gets patches where she just cannot do anything, including walk, and I was waiting for when and how many of them would come, but they just never came.  She was absolutely amazing.   Untill we reached Pmb that is....      4Kms to go, people cheering, I starting to move like a train seeing that we are going to actually do a 11:30, she eventually hit that patch.  She could'nt run, I could'nt walk with my ITB so painful was it.   Everytime I had to walk and start up again it was so terribly painful, but after going for a while it actually became less painful.     So I got her packet of chips from supporters (salt chips sorts her out).  And there we were walking kms 4 to go until less than 1 to go, with a large packet of Simba mexican chilli chips in her hands and her mouth on fire.   

 

Got going again and came in, with our family in the corner of the homestretch cheering us on, 11:39.  

 

The other guy just kept going and got legs again, coming in in 11:42, just shows....

 

All in all we could not have asked for a better race, really chuffed....  The supporter in this race is out of this world.   There was a few water stations where they were out of water, which is bad.  And then there was obviously a lot of stations that was just energade, where we just wanted water.    Then there was those long stretches where the water stations was far from each other, or perhaps it just feld like that.  That hill under the bridge in the stadium was going to be a serious obstacle for guys close to the cut off time.

 

After yesterdays drive home we were sooooooo sore last night, I could barely move and then I woke up this morning feeling like someone swopped out my legs during the night.  I can't believe how good I feel, walking normally again.  Obviously still sore and bending down is terrible, but atleast I can walk.  My knee is still sore, so I don't know what I'm going to do with this damm ITB, especially since we got two wild card entries to the Rhodes Trail run in a months' time   Two toes buggered and the Mrs can almost not put weight on her one foot since yesterday.   She remember twisting it somewhere in the race as well.

 

Will we be doing it again?  Well, definitely the back to back yes.  The problem then is the Centenary one and the 100th one and then you might as well continue for your green number....   But it takes serious commitment (3AM alarms in our case) and time and with our kids going to grade 3 and 1 next year, their school commitments that we need to be a part of will be becoming more and more.   So I'm not sure if we will continue after next years', or perhaps just stick to Omtom being the big one and more and other races inbetween.   Time will tell.

 

Serious congrats for every one that made it, no matter what the time.  And congrats for everyone that just started this race, it's a huge achievement.     Even more congrats for you guys with the ridiculous times, I don't know how you do that!!!

 

And now I am almost as exhausted as I was on Sunday eve...

 

 

Im sure I saw them just before the finish, think they finished comfortably.

 

Yeah, very lucky to be some of the few that was shown on tv .   When we crossed the finish line and I stopped the Garmin live tracking to my phone, the Whatsapp messages of the tv screenshots was already on my phone, very cool.

 

SABC is pathetic, why can't they show a split screen the whole time.   In the beginning when the men finish, they can show them on the one and the ladies on the other.   Later they can show the people approaching the stadium and the finish line on the other.   Why de heck do they show interviews with people whilst bunches of people finish and their families would love to see them make it.  They switch over to a 2 min advertisement break, 4 minutes before the cut-off.. 

Edited June 6, 2017 by Jackes

[EmJayZA]

Well done all! Very inspirational stuff. A definite bucket list type event. 

[Andrew Steer]

Well done guys and girls all round... what a day that was, Comrades never fails to deliver!

 

Must admit my memory failed me a little bit too... crikey that was hard, certainly harder than I even remembered, and my memories of my last up in 2013 were pretty brutal to say the least.

 

Well done to everyone - the race snakes, us back markers and even the guys who didn't quite bag it this year - it's something to take pride in, even just getting to that start line. You'll get your medal next time, but I am sure you took a lot away from Sunday that will make you a better person too.

 

I had such an awesome day, started with my wife - what an experience to share that start pen with her, goose-bump stuff every time. Ran the first 4km's with her before pushing on to find my running mates and a more comfortable pace. Took the first half really easy, gave those hills the respect they deserve and some... found some friends and club mates along the route which helped to tick off some easy km's. Nice to meet you out there Hacc

 

That first half is totally brutal, just looking at my Strava there is no doubting it's an up run! Lots of walking throughout for me on the climbs, ran-walked pretty much everything except the two Polly's at the end. The walking definitely saved the legs and allowed me to run all the way til the end without too much discomfort - and today I'm almost walking normally, which would suggest I am slowly but surely adapting to this crazy stuff.

 

The heat was probably my biggest challenge in the middle of the day with my pasty skin - watching my heart rate as my only effort guide, I had to really slow my efforts to keep it under 160 - the heat adds a good 20/25bpm to my heart rate if I look at my chart from the race. It was back down in the 130's for the last 2/3 hours towards the finish at least when it was a little cooler, and that despite going a fair bit faster.

The comradery, the support out there, the amazing waterpoints (for the large part) - it's just a magical day in South Africa... fills up the soul.

 

And best of all, my wife got her medal, she finished nice and strong with a good 10 minutes to spare - so proud of her, and so happy to share such a special bond with her. Made all the sacrifices and the bit of time away from our little girls worth it. These ladies are made of stern stuff

 

Yesterday we had a lekker party with our club-mates at Beach Bums - was great to share all our journeys, some strong runners with plenty experience (one guy going for his triple green) that didn't make it home, so it's a reminder you always need to show this one respect. It seems my 620km's was just enough

Hope to see some more hubbers next year - even though I said this would be my last one   

And thanks guys for all the support, it's most appreciated 

 

[Stretch]

just some motivation for anyone (obviously there are genetics involved..but....) I was told a story about 9th place steven way yesterday, and wikipedia confirmed it:

 

"Way entered his first marathon in 2006 and with only three weeks' training, finished in 3:07:08. He did not run again until 2007, when he started running in order to get fit, having weighed over 100 kg, smoked 20 cigarettes a day and subsisting on a diet of high-fat and high-sugar junk food"

 

On sunday he ran the whole route guided by his HR only. Whenever it went over 142 odd...he slowed down (on a hill he allowed it to go up to 160). From Umlass Road to Polly shorts he overtook 9 runners

[Andrew Steer]

My splits, start slow and get slower...

 

This profile 

 

Did I mention I ran/walked a lot

 

Check my heart rate in the heat

 

Would be keen to see some of your guys stats... especially the race snakes, I'm thinking of setting myself some loftier goals for next year