World Run II / Reports

The map shows the position of which the pictures for the day are taken (if any). The start and finish markers are placed at the first and last valid registered position. This is not nessesary the actual start and finish position, if GSM or GPS signals was not available.

Goto: 2011-11-26 2011-11-28 Colombia

2011-11-27:

33
Distance today: 70.0 km (Accumulated: 30701.0 km)
Elapsed time: 06:31:31
Country: Colombia

Start 07:55am., 18c, overcast & light wind, at km-stone "13/25-06" on hwy. 25 to Manziales. Stop at 13:00pm., 37c, half overcast, very humid & same, at km-stone "55/2506" on hwy. 25 to Manziales. Re-start 13:50pm., 37c & same, at km-stone "55/2506" on hwy. 25 to Manziales. Finish 16:59pm., 35c, overcast & same, at km-stone "83/25-06" on hwy. 25 to Manziales.

[Stopped after 42km due to mechanical problems w. supportcar. Restarted 50min. later and did last 28km. 42km in 3:51:35, 28km in 2:39:56 excl. stops]

A hard days night... ;-)

Yesterday were one of those days you hope not to experiense too many of; the supportcar refused to start in the morning and all day was spend getting it reparied instead of making forward distance. My supportdriver announced at the same time that his driverslicense are about to expire - its a bit of a surprise so we will have to find a replacement for the rest of Colombia, pronto !

Today I was determined to take back the lost progress yesterday, so I had planned to run a 70km stage. All went well at first; I got up at 6am., we drove the 85km out to where I finished two days ago. Then an enjoyable 42km - untill I found out the supportcar was no longer following me. It was stuck a bit back, once again unable to start in similar style as yesterday.

There was nothing we could do to solve the problem at roadside. And in the 35-37c humid heat it was not wise to continue running without water. So we had to get a towing-rope lift' back to the provincial centre, Pereira city, where we have set up base at the moment. Deeply disappointed, I have to say, since it appears the troubles wont stop pouring down during this second world run (it makes me appreciate the more, though, how well the first wr went :-) It looked as if I could forget all about catching the day I lost yesterday afterall !

- Then suddenly the supporcar jumped back to life again while on the tow-rope behind a friendly agricultural lorry on their way back from the sunday market. We quickly untied the rope... And drove the now 30km back to the place I had just finished at.

Regaining the motivation for a long run after you have "finished" is never a very easy task. Its about the same situation as if you are running a marathon, but get told at 30km that the race has been cancelled. Put on your clothes, wash up. And then get told to please get back on the road and finish the last part ;-) A matter of "picking up the pieces" motivationally and getting back the 'forward focus' needed to complete the run.

As it turned out it became a quite enjoyable last part. A bit on the warm/humid side, but at present the legs and motivation are as good as... I dont remember when ! Perhaps it hasnt been this good since world run one :-) The inspiration for the daily stages are strong and the body seems to grow in capacity for each week. But as you can see - its apparently a constant struggle with the 'surprises' which keeps coming at a steady pace. Nothing else than to deal with them one at a time and try to plan ahead and prevent as many of them as possible.

Just now the main agenda besides the daily stages is to apply for a visa-extension tomorrow (I only have 12days left on my standard visa for Colombia; and 30days left to run). And, to frantically try to find a replacement for the supportcar and driver who will have to return to Peru withing maximum a week.

- Yet, without some relax time it wont work. So I treated myself to a "world run dinner" after the 70km run. The double-hotdog & triple-icecream hit the spot perfect. Then I can deal with the logistical horrors' tomorrow :-) You dont need fancy sportsdrinks and expensive diets to do long runs !

The two gps-tracks for today can be found at:

www.endomondo.com/workouts/29872969

&

www.endomondo.com/workouts/29872958

NB: The reports for the last few days will be uploaded shortly. First priority is to prepare for the logistical tasks tomorrow.