Transalpine 2012. Stages 5-8

Stage 5 Prettau to Sand in Taufers. 0km (0m asc. 0m desc.)  0hrs00– out of Ranking

It wasn’t until I was cleaning my teeth the next morning, looking at my race kit all laid out ready to go that I made the final decision.  I was out.  I was torn between relief at not having to go out and run, and disappointment that I wasn’t going to complete the race.  Saw our last 2 remaining men off, Chris and Sergio, before getting a lift to the next town.  Jaime went hiking up the mountain in search of the last aid station whilst Andy Christophe and I drank coffee and ate pizza (we were in Italy, afterall).  We whiled away the morning and watched the leaders come in, followed slowly by the rest of the field.  I didn’t want to go to the briefing and photos of the day that night so after dinner we went back to our apartment and watched How I met your Mother in Italian.  Andy and I reflected on our day and agreed we both felt down and disappointed but also agreed that it was the best thing to have done.  Our main goals were to enjoy ourselves and to come out of it uninjured.  Both were in danger of not being reached had we continued.  My running form was so bad it was unrecognisable as running and I spent at least half of the last two days moaning.  When the bad started to outweigh the good, it was time to address it.  We did that and now had to live with our decision.   

Stage 6 Sand in Taufers to St Vigil. 0km (0m asc. 0m desc.)  0hrs00– out of Ranking

After watching our 2 head off for what Andy described as the worst day of both races combined, as well as our lift from the day before, we hung around in the hope of an alternative lift to the next town.  There were so many who had pulled out that it was clear this wouldn’t happen.  Jaime, who had been off since day 3 had made firm friends with the guy on the High5 stand and happily jumped into his van with a “see you later guys!” as we stood in the drizzle and wondered what to do.  Luckily a quick check with the tourist office told us that there was a bus that left in 5 minutes.  On we got.  And 3 buses later we arrived in the next town, St Vigil.  It was a beautiful morning and a good nights sleep with none of the do-I-don’t-I dilemma from the night before had us both in a better mood.  After coffee and tiramisu cake (rude not to) we headed up the mountain for their final 1.5km.  Boy it was steep.  And on road.  It took us almost an hour to get up there with a couple of stops on the way.  Almost on cue the lead men came through making it look easy.  Shortly after, our friend Ceri from stage 4, in 2^nd place.  Turned out he’d had enough of running at his partners slower pace and asked if he could head off alone.  He was told no, but I think he must have resented that so did it anyway!  I don’t think they talked much after that!  

Andy and I agreed to run stages 7 & 8 as these were meant to be the most scenic.  So after dinner I headed back to sort my kit out, feeling like a kid on Christmas eve.  If that wasn’t proof that those 2 days off were the best thing to do, I don’t know what was.  2 days ago I’d been hating the sight of my running shoes and the smell of the gel bottle but now I couldn’t wait to get back out there. 

Stage 7 St Vigil to Niederdorf. 41.8km (1950m asc. 2000m desc.)  6hrs30– 3^rd out of 18 in the out of Ranking category

I felt a bit like an intruder at the start line, there were people who looked pretty beaten up still going and there we were, fresh as daisies ready to roll.  People we’d befriended along the way were pleased to see us in race kit again and not clapping at the side of the road but I still felt a tinge of disappointment that I couldn’t say I’d done the whole lot.  And as I’m sure we’ve all experienced, its easy to forget how bad you felt once you feel good again.  And we were relegated to the C pen, of all places!!  Still, as Sergio and Chris were individual runners, they had to start there too.  Danced a little to excitedly to Highway to Hell to disguise that fact I’d had 2 days off and then we’re running, and it feels amazing!  We are ploughing through the broken, battered field and find ourselves on beautiful trail in the sunshine ahead of the lead mixed and lead womens team.  Its odd running with new people as you get used to seeing the same teams around you.  But we were having a great time so goal number one was back on.  Hardly stopped at the first aid station at 12.5km and had covered the distance in about 1hr 10.  First climb of the day was a long one but just got stuck in, telling the surprised mixed teams that we were out of ranking and watching them visibly relax.  It sure is competitive at the top! Chris passed us at the top of this fist climb, saying he felt light headed and weak.  The he fell over.  He was ok, but sporting a rather large bruise.  The first descent is where any lead we may have had went, and even though I was doing better, it was still nowhere near the calibre of those that were in the lead for a reason.  The nice thing about this descent though is that you can see the lake Wildsee at the bottom.  It’s the most stunning aquamarine colour.  After causing a few traffic jams I made it down there and into the second aid station on its shore, which had a tannoy announcing you and hundreds of people out for their mid day walk wondering what was going on! 

The next climb was a killer and dangerous in parts too.  it was hot now when you weren’t in the shade of the big hill and our over exuberance at the start of the day was beginning to show.  It took an hour to climb and the reward was a rocky descent that moved with each foot step.  The sound of people skidding all over the place was ringing in my ears as they slalomed by me.  one guy offered me his poles, I must have looked really desperate.  I assured him I didn’t need them then instantly regretted it.  It takes me almost as long to go down that it does to go up but with a lot more moaning.  My legs weren’t as bad as they had been but I was still painfully slow.  I’m assured it’s a confidence thing but I’m not sure.  I think it’s a not being able to practice thing, the biggest hill I’ve run on is flat, grassy and over in about 15 seconds. 



This hell went on for about 40 minutes



The last 7km were flattish/downhill but took their toll.  Clearly though the aches and pains had gone during our two days rest, the deep fatigue was still there.  Andy started tightening up in the last 5km and took longer than it should have with us struggling to maintain 6m/km.  This marathon took us 6hrs 30mins and got our bottoms handed to us by teams that had done every single day.  Still, it was a beautiful day and I’m glad I got to see the lake that Andy has had as his screen saver since 2010. 

Stage 8 Niederdorf to Sexten. 33.4km. (1269m asc. 1104m desc.)  4hrs36 – 5th out of 18 in the out of Ranking category

So the last day finally rolled around and there was such a feeling of relief and pride in the start pen that once again, I felt slightly sorry to be missing out on that.  The fatigue from the first 4 days and the faster pace of yesterday's run had left me more tired than I thought so any feelings of regret I might have had were soon replaced with a renewed feeling of having done the right thing for me.  I felt a bit emotional in the start pen as so many people were so close to achieving their goal and I was incredibly pleased for them.  Our two, Sergio and Chris, although looking like the walking wounded were in great spirits as they waited for Highway to Hell for the last time.  I was the most happy for Chris as he had missed out last year having to pull out halfway through the penultimate day due to injury, so this was a long time coming for him.  We wished them well and set off for the last 33km.

Todays stage was another longish run out for 15km or so before a climb to the Drei Zinnen and the final descent to the finish line.  The run out was taking its toll on a lot of people, myself included.  After about 3km I felt an odd pain on my knee-cap.  I mentioned it to Andy who asked if I wanted to pull out.  We'd already done it once so it made no sense to be running on what could be a potential injury for the sake of it.  I said I'd see how I went to the first check point then decide.  We came to it at about 6km and the pain was coming and going but not too much to worry about so I decided to carry on.  It was a beautiful day and I wanted to be out there.   The second CP was 15km in, just before the climb.  It was 10k to the next one and we had a big climb and descent between the two so we stocked up and started the ascent. 

The views were really magnificent and I was very glad that I carried on.  I was feeling no pain now and was making the most of the last day, knowing my next running experience would be nothing like this.  We finally reached the top and were rewarded with amazing scenery and a close up of the Drei Zinnen. 

The descent was up us all too soon and so it began again, the hobbling down as best I could.  The two descents the day before were making themselves known in my legs and I adopted my pre-break hobble-a-bit-rest-a-bit strategy to get down.  It was late morning and the path was full of hikers out making their way up and down and we gots lots of lovely encouragement from people we encountered.  Our british friends came by us and Kelly said her foot was in agony now the pain killers had worn off (turns out it was a fracture so I'm not surprised!) but even then I couldnt stay with them.  I did however pass 2 lots of people which was a noveltly for me, and the fact they were limping badly will not detract from my achievement ;-p
A man on his way up told us that the sign for the aid station was wrong and that it was only 800m from here.  Brilliant I thought, I have less to do than I expected, and from the aid station it was only 5.9km to the end.  But 1km later and we still hadnt seen the sing for the aid station, which they put out 1km and 500m out, so I thought they must be REALLY out.  But then we saw the 1km to aid station sign and cursed the man for his mis-information!  We finally came to it and only stopped briefly for some coke and a chunk of banana because I didnt think 6km down a gentle hill would require that much energy.  Not for the first time did I make the mistake of assuming normal rules apply out here.  I was getting more and more cooked, literally, as it was now midday and the heat of the sun now we were off the mountain was pretty warm. 

The last 5km or so is on road so for the final time we counted down the km markers, passing a few people, being passed by a few as we neared the town of Sexten where there were already a lot of very happy people.  These last few km were gruelling, so goodness knows how they must have felt for those that had done all 8 days.  Though they probably didnt feel any pain, just relief!  Finally, the last km marker of the race came into view and I must admit to a rather large feeling of relief myself.



A sign we were probably all glad to see

I tried to enjoy the last few hundred meters of this incredible race as were neared the town.  We could hear the finish and see finishers limping around with a medal round their neck and a beer in their hand and knew that in a matter of minutes, that would be us.  The finish chute is a 3 sided square, maybe so you get longer to enjoy it, I dont know but Andy and I ran down there hand in had genuinely enjoying and feeling we deserved the applause and high fives.  After an underarm turn Craig Revel Horwood would have been proud of we were over the line, having completed 154 miles over 8 days.  I have to say, that even though we hadn't run all 8 stages, I was still proud of this achievment. 

The evening was spent relaxing in the sun before the awards party where we got to see Chris finally collect his finishers t-shirt after 2 years of trying, and Sergio proudly getting his.  More beers than was probably good for us and a live perfomance from Marty, composer and performer of the Transalpine theme tunes "Keep on Running" and "Believe in your Fire" rounded the week off nicely.

Team POWERbreahteUK!

I have such fond memories of these 10 days.  I was lucky to be with 5 great people, Sergio, Jaime, Chris, Christophe and of course Andy.  It really was a rollercoaster of a week and I felt I learned a lot, about running but mostly about myself.   I always thought that I was a competitive person and that I cared about where I came in a race, or what people thought of me and my performance.  But in an event like this there is no room or place for ego.  It humbles you and strips you down to your raw self, where only the things that really matter to you remain, and are brought clearly into focus.  This is where I discovered that I didn’t in fact care about the finishers t-shirt, or our position or what people thought…. I only cared about enjoying myself.  As discussed on the mountain side on day 4, we came out for a holiday, to do something we enjoyed and once that stopped happening, it was time to end it.   Yes, I could have carried on, and I would have finished and probably been injured, and ill, and hated running, but that would have been ok because I wouldn’t have been able to run anyway due to the injuries….and that’s not the experience I wanted.  Those 2 days off halfway through meant I enjoyed 90% of the event, as opposed to 50%.  And that’s what I call value for money!!

Would I do the event again?  Yes, definitely.  Not because I feel I have unfinished business or something to prove, but because the good bits of the race were REALLY good.  The best running experience I’ve ever had.  Fact.  I would probably train for more than 3 weeks before however, and probably not do an Ironman triathlon 7 weeks out, but these are just more of the things I’ve learned from doing Transalpine.   

I had one of the most incredible experiences out in the mountains and I’m glad I got to share it with Andy.  Or rather, I’m glad he agreed to run with me.  Having done both this and the Western route before, and knowing how much I can moan I’m surprised he asked me to run with him! He has said on our return however, that if he did ever do it again, he probably wouldn’t do it with me.  “No offence” he says.  Pffff……

He was a great running partner, patient, encouraging, helpful, reminding me to eat and helping with recovery at the end of each day.  He didn’t even mind when I shouted at him in some of my darker moments.  Of which there were a few ;-p 

So thank you Andy, for not only encouraging me to enter this fantastic race but for putting up with me whilst I attempted it. 

 

And thank you to the rest of the group, Team Muppets and Team Naïve Enthusiasm for a week full of laughs and banter.  It wont be forgotten in a hurry :-)