Post by adrian on Sept 17, 2011 7:34:16 GMT -6
Well, I guess I should put up a race report. Does anyone read this board anymore?
So, results for the Canadian team: www.mountainrunning.ca/news.php?id=48
Going into race day, I was not nervous at all about the race. Maybe apathetic is the word. I'd already won the most important 'race' of the year (Skyline) so running Worlds was just the icing on the cake. This attitude, it turns out, was the best thing that could have happened to me.
We were at the course for about 2 hours before the race, and it was very hot (~35C), so we did our best to stay cool. I poured water-bottle after water-bottle on myself, but even that hardly did the trick. Some of the Americans had a huge tub of ice that they were using to stay warm, which turned out to be a very smart move. More on that later.
The race started and I tried to get out hard, but there was a lot of single track trails and I was soon stuck behind a large group of people. I decided not to panic and try to catch up on the second and third laps. I was walking, sometimes slowly, up the hills and many people were pushing and shoving trying to get by. I stayed calm and let the race unfold. Here, apathy was my friend.
As I came down after the first loop, I felt great. It was hot, but I had been pouring water on myself at every aid station, and I was still in control. I was running with Vollms at the bottom of the hill. Going up the hill for the second time, I started pushing the pace. The last 1k uphill was the perfect grade for me - averaging close to 20% (Ha Ling steep), which is my strength. I moved up into somewhere between 50-60th position. On the downhill, I caught up to Paul and I was still feeling good. Too good, in fact. I almost felt like I was being lazy with how good I felt.
Up the final hill, I was in around 50th position and moving up quickly. Kris Swanson appeared ahead of me. He was struggling. Very soon, and much faster than I expected, I had passed him. I kept passing people. I was passed by a Russian, but quickly passed him back. At the top of the hill I was finally feeling the way I had expected to the entire race - terribly exhausted, but now only the downhill was left and I was in the clear.
On the downhill I tried to keep the pace up and I felt good going down. I was passed by a Portuguese runner, and I tried to stick with him, but he just got me at the line (although the results don't show it - I was only about 1 second behind him).
Anyway, in the end I finished in 37th, which was my best finish since 2007 (21st). I felt pretty good for most of the race (similar to 2007), which must have been a combination of the grade (my strength) and my body's ability to endure the heat (plus starting very slowly). In fact, I had probably paced the race almost perfectly. It all fell together very nicely.
Afterwards, there was a place where the athletes could have cold water poured on them, and I went back again and again and again, because I was having trouble cooling down. In the end though, I was no worse for wear.
Kris Swanson had heat stroke during the race, and ended up going to the hospital hours later, because he couldn't hold down any water. After having an IV to introduce fluids, he started recovering.
Many people were unable to finish. A Ugandan who was winning after two laps had to be taken away in an ambulance and ended up in the hospital. The Japanese runner probably ran 40 minutes on the last lap. Others also didn't fare very well. It was basically carnage out there. One of the Americans who finished in the top 20 last year ended up more than 8 minutes behind me.
The winner, Max King, was next to me at the start line. I was very impressed with his preparation. He had arm warmers with ice in them, he had ice packs under each armpit. He ate a number of ice cubes before the race started. He even poured an entire bag of ice water over his head at the start. Next time I run a race like that, I'm going to be prepared for the heat.
Anyway, overall, I was very pleased with my performance, but given the heat and the smaller field than usual, I can only wonder how this result compares to other years...
On the other hand, given a Skyline win and now one of my best performances at Worlds, I am pleased with the season. I guess a couple months of training in mountains is essential for me to get fit. I'm already looking forward to next year!
So, results for the Canadian team: www.mountainrunning.ca/news.php?id=48
Going into race day, I was not nervous at all about the race. Maybe apathetic is the word. I'd already won the most important 'race' of the year (Skyline) so running Worlds was just the icing on the cake. This attitude, it turns out, was the best thing that could have happened to me.
We were at the course for about 2 hours before the race, and it was very hot (~35C), so we did our best to stay cool. I poured water-bottle after water-bottle on myself, but even that hardly did the trick. Some of the Americans had a huge tub of ice that they were using to stay warm, which turned out to be a very smart move. More on that later.
The race started and I tried to get out hard, but there was a lot of single track trails and I was soon stuck behind a large group of people. I decided not to panic and try to catch up on the second and third laps. I was walking, sometimes slowly, up the hills and many people were pushing and shoving trying to get by. I stayed calm and let the race unfold. Here, apathy was my friend.
As I came down after the first loop, I felt great. It was hot, but I had been pouring water on myself at every aid station, and I was still in control. I was running with Vollms at the bottom of the hill. Going up the hill for the second time, I started pushing the pace. The last 1k uphill was the perfect grade for me - averaging close to 20% (Ha Ling steep), which is my strength. I moved up into somewhere between 50-60th position. On the downhill, I caught up to Paul and I was still feeling good. Too good, in fact. I almost felt like I was being lazy with how good I felt.
Up the final hill, I was in around 50th position and moving up quickly. Kris Swanson appeared ahead of me. He was struggling. Very soon, and much faster than I expected, I had passed him. I kept passing people. I was passed by a Russian, but quickly passed him back. At the top of the hill I was finally feeling the way I had expected to the entire race - terribly exhausted, but now only the downhill was left and I was in the clear.
On the downhill I tried to keep the pace up and I felt good going down. I was passed by a Portuguese runner, and I tried to stick with him, but he just got me at the line (although the results don't show it - I was only about 1 second behind him).
Anyway, in the end I finished in 37th, which was my best finish since 2007 (21st). I felt pretty good for most of the race (similar to 2007), which must have been a combination of the grade (my strength) and my body's ability to endure the heat (plus starting very slowly). In fact, I had probably paced the race almost perfectly. It all fell together very nicely.
Afterwards, there was a place where the athletes could have cold water poured on them, and I went back again and again and again, because I was having trouble cooling down. In the end though, I was no worse for wear.
Kris Swanson had heat stroke during the race, and ended up going to the hospital hours later, because he couldn't hold down any water. After having an IV to introduce fluids, he started recovering.
Many people were unable to finish. A Ugandan who was winning after two laps had to be taken away in an ambulance and ended up in the hospital. The Japanese runner probably ran 40 minutes on the last lap. Others also didn't fare very well. It was basically carnage out there. One of the Americans who finished in the top 20 last year ended up more than 8 minutes behind me.
The winner, Max King, was next to me at the start line. I was very impressed with his preparation. He had arm warmers with ice in them, he had ice packs under each armpit. He ate a number of ice cubes before the race started. He even poured an entire bag of ice water over his head at the start. Next time I run a race like that, I'm going to be prepared for the heat.
Anyway, overall, I was very pleased with my performance, but given the heat and the smaller field than usual, I can only wonder how this result compares to other years...
On the other hand, given a Skyline win and now one of my best performances at Worlds, I am pleased with the season. I guess a couple months of training in mountains is essential for me to get fit. I'm already looking forward to next year!
