Training Log Archive: Trav

The final stage, full snot edition. Sneezing and wheezing and blowing goo everywhere as I followed Balogna along the Way of the Gods from the shore of Positano back up to Agerola. Wouldn't have missed it, but there are easier things to mid-ManCold than bust your way up 1000 meters of stairs in 4 km and then run another 10k along a sheer cliff. Thank the laird sweet Jayzuz for Balogna who steadily kept a survivable pace. True love, that.

But, it is done. 85 km of mountain running in 6 days with 7500 meters of altitude gain. An unbelievable place with villages clinging improbably to the steepest mountain sides, wonderful gnarly, tough, weather beaten people, outstanding food (and coffee!).

C • Sounds Fantastic! 2

Stage 5 of the Amalfi Coast trail, total collapse edition. This is the long stage with 1500 meters of highly technical climbing and descending, starting from our little square in front of the hotel in Agerola and then heading straight the hell up for friggin' ever.

No matter how much effort I put in, I couldn't get my heart rat past 130. This was gonna be slog. And so it was. As I said to Balogna before the start: this is something that I want have done as opposed to actually doing it. But the views were insane from the top. All the way to Vesuvius and Naples on one side and straight down the Amalfi coast on the other.

Just as tough as the ascending was, going down was worse. 4foot drops onto loose rock, way, way too close to the edge of oblivion for me. I made it through, but just barely.

Finished pretty near the back of the pack as I realized that I had come down with a raging cold. That, and I just had no gas in the tank today. Which is just fine because I got to look around.

C • 4 foot drops 2

C • 4 foot drops 1

From Agerola, down 600 meters to the shore, then up 600 meters plus 400 more just for kicks, then some technical descent shenanigans for a total of 15 km and a full kilometer up and down.

I got passed easily by the euro-descenders on the initial descent, but managed to fight my way back on the climbs. The last 3 km were outstanding as we made our way through a canyon, across vineyards, through and ancient castle's tunnel access and then, boom, hey, the finish! I was pretty sure I'd taken out my chief rival for first geezer, but, noooo. Out of nowhere, he's at my shoulder 10 meters from the finish. Dammit. I kick it up a notch to take the full second's worth of time that that got. Huzzah. Man, these people are gnarly.

Tough, tough day, but outstanding terrain. Ancient Italy is just so intricately beautiful. Arches and bonkers stonework everywhere.

C • Wow 2

Another wonderfully restorative yoga session.

From Amalfi to Pergola, a little town away for the coast and up in the mountains. Way up in the mountains. We started with a kilometer of vertical in 5 km. Stairs and and more stairs, until we got to steep single track. Took about an hour and a quarter and I got passed by the usual passers. Sigh.

Once on top, we had 5 kilometers of dreamy flat forest running and then a crazed descent into our destination. 500 meters from the finish I got beat on the steep asphalt by my fellow geezer. Double sigh. I'm slowly learning to let go.

Ridiculously beautiful running!

Terrific post run yoga class. Went from being super stiff to just really stiff.

Official stage one of the race. After a night of ferocious rain and thunderstorms, the organizers decided to shorten the course a smidge. Instead of 12.5 k and 800 meters of climbing and descending, it was now going to be 10k and 700 meters. We also started an hour or so later than planned.

So we took the bus down and spent some quality time in the centre city. Superb. Every nook and cranny has been worked somehow. Just lovely.

Start was in the centre of the small crowded square. We had a police escort, but it ended up with us more or less pushing through a bunch of surprised tourists until we got to the right turn uphill.

And so we climbed. Most of it runnable is a plodding kind of way. I stayed with the front runners for the fist kilometer and then began the long drawn out process of being reeled in by one strong runner after another. By the time I was 9th, near the top, I had found my place in the race. Stairs had given way to steep single track, but the footing was always straightforward.

From the top we went back down to Amalfi and then began climbing stairs again. 780 of them. I know because someone had spray painted the count on the riser every 50 steps. Including a helpful via midi scrawl, which I took to mean half way. Bummer that.

Especially because I was chased the whole way up by a guy clattering poles on each step. I had earned my spot, and was in no mood to give it up. And so each time he surged, and I felt the clattering get louder, I'd give 'real a little and fend him off. This went on all the way to the finish, which ended up being an unseemly sprint that I. Didn't. Want. To. Lose. And that's how it worked out. Small, maybe; but, hey, it's a race.

Warmup and miscellaneous stair climbing and descending as we made our way from one side of the island of Capri, a 70 minute high speed boat ride from the Amalfi harbor, to the other. Capri is a peanut shaped island, not that big, but loaded with a steep 650 meter high mountain on the left. That's the target of the day. A time trial straight up. In 3 km.

The start was at 11:01. Runners went off each minute in bib number order. I was 19 and so started at 11:19. Kiss from Joany and then bam. Immediately straight up the stairs. Which went for 1.5 kilometers before turning to steep, steep single track. Heart rate shot to 165 in under a minute and stayed there. I didn't pass anyone, but at least didn't get passed.

And, well, this is a fast group. I finished 9th amongst the 24 men; likely chicked a few times too. The winner finished more than 10 minutes faster than I did. And these guys can descend like stink too. So I'm settling into my middle of the pack status.