Not exactly what I had planned for stage 1, but unfortunately, the 28C blazing sun did a bit of damage to my legs, and with so little time in the heat this summer, I simply didn't take enough electrolytes (yes, I took quite a few, but obviously not enough!) - The result were calf cramps that forced me to run/walk the last 10km of the race...
That said, it's probably not the only thing that contributed to my result - A zippy start out of the gate put me up in the Top 3 Run-3 competitions...idling just back of the main pack. But the quick start didn't help things...By the time I reached to top of the course at 13-15km's, I could already feel my energy slipping away. The next bit were long rolling downhills interspersed with short steep hills, the kind that sap the snap in your legs...They slowly took their toll, and by the time I got to checkpoint 2 (10km to go) I was already having to adjust my stride to avoid calf cramps...
After spending over 2hrs on some fantastic desert-like terrain, the trail popped out on the final stretch, a painful 5km of flat gravel road to the finish. By this point, I periodically stopped to stretch out my calves, allowing me to run another few hundred metres, and repeating the process again...
Anyways...I won't linger too long on that - The damage is done! Although I'm a bit stiff from today's effort, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's stage 2, which goes up, up and up to 3,600m, and then all the way back down on the flip side of the pass. The course crew has added an additional 5km to last year's course, which will make things interesting...So I'll see how the body feels in the morning, and adjust accordingly - And in case you're wondering, yes, I'm definitely bringing my poles!
On another note, I've been having lots of fun with the Salomon Flight Crew team down here in Colorado - Our women's team (Les filles Salomon - Le Coureur), Danielle and Amelie took the stage win in the Women's Open category - an awesome performance for a nervous duo!
I'll be posting regular daily updates (as technology permits) on: www.salomonrunning.com in the 'Insiders' section...
Here are a few shots of the day...It's been a long hot one, I'm off to bed!
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| The QC Flight Crew - representing Le Coureur running store: Danielle, Luc, Amelie, Junior |
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| Dinner Time! |
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| A few of TransRockies Expo: Gore-Tex and Salomon Relax Station - The clouds are coming...Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow's stage 2! |
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| Open Women: Amelie and Danielle happy to be wearing the leaders jersey tomorrow! |
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| Open Men's Podium - See full results at www.transrockies.com |
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