Getting There ~ Largim
The trip over was pretty uneventful. That is until we started to fly over the north of Albania. I didn't realize Albania had such beautiful alps. Once the plane landed I could tell it was warm. All of the service men outside were sweating, which very well could have been due to the fact that they were wearing pants. Made my way through customs and finally I was able to get some Leke (Albanian Currency). Pretty much impossible to get Leke anywhere outside of Albania so its kind of a big deal. We set off through the streets and country side of Albania on the way to the Western coast of known for tourism and beautiful beaches. Destination was Durres just 40 mins East of the capitol Tirana where the race would be held. The USA Team was quite lucky to be offered housing at a 5 star hotel, famous for visits and accommodations of past Presidents, Prime Ministers, basically very important people. So many local Albanians reminded me of the honor it was to stay in "Hotel Adriatik".
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| Brought this back to the USA! |
The Town ~ Qyteti
I set off for the beach as soon as I got in. I was already drenched in sweat from the humid air and 90 degree heat wave. The beaches were filled with people. Every inch of the beach was filled as if it was spring break in Key West. Restaurants or at least places where you could grab some Rocky and local cuisine sprawled along the board walk, which occasionally went through the middle of various local restaurants' dinner patios. I eventually set off for a run as well and came across some of the various lifestyles in Durres. In one area near the train tracks you could see a community of homeless and just minutes later you would come across homes the size of mansions with elaborate staircases and vibrant paint jobs. For some reason the staircases in Albania were eye catching some had very isolated designs and others quite old fashioned flat brick twirled so tight that if you were to run up the staircase you'd get dizzy. All over the streets were people flashing money in attempts to exchance with tourists in need of Leke, Euro, or even USD. At times these black market exchanges give you a better rate than banks will.
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| Inov-8 Athletes gettin in some beach time in Durres |
The Course ~ Gjurmë
After my first run on the course I could see a few problems waiting to be exposed. For one, we found some sharp poles poking straight out from the ground, most likely left from some construction. Keep in mind some of the course was run through construction zones. After seeing the last section of the climb I knew the course would challenging for even a strong climber. Some sections of the climb got up to 30% grades or even greater. What made the course even more unique was that the Albanian Army was working on a section of the Forrest to be used for the descent that would feature highly technical drops and twists through a rooty area that nobody had ever run on because they were uprooting the entire section for the Championships. Being that it was new trail, wildlife had not quite made the adjustment. After running on this trail a few times I had multiple encounters with lizards and turtles. I figured this would be a problem by time the race came if Mr. Turtle didn't move his big shell off the trail. The course was said to have gained and loss 200 meters per lap. Not sure if I agree with that. Some said it was short, however the race itself was long with the Men running nearly 13k. The heat I think made the short climb feel a lot longer. Each lap totalled 4.3k and to add to the difficulty the course had portions where you could have to negotiate over sandy terrain and even dry dusty paths. Already I knew when the race passes these sections there will be a lot of people with dusty faces and dry mouths. In conclusion, the course I feel was a bit weak, not much technical and lots of flat runnable sections. So more of a cross country race than a true mountain race. The heat will somewhat intensify the gradients on the course. For a little video of what the course looked like check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YccGDfzW90
The Race ~ Garë
Race day I woke up, opened the door to see if the expected +94 degree weather would show up for a date. Turns out she never stands you up in Albania. It was microwave city already and I hadn't even finished eating breakfast. Not to mention, the men were the final race scheduled to start at high noon. That means, more dust, more heat, and more humidity. Watching the Women finish I could see the hurt in the finishers' eyes. Nearly everyone had white tongues longing for water. Even athletes who trained near the Adriatic Sea (known for hot regions and humidity) were suffering. I knew in our race being that it would be longer and the heat even a bit higher that conditions would be tough for everyone no matter where you train. As we lined up, somewhat contorted between various other teams, the race was delayed 2 mins, 3 mins. Finally we are off, and the mad dash to the sharp left turn 200 meters in opened the gate to the dust clouds that lie ahead. Already I was struggling so I decided to be smart and not do anything that could hurt my team. Being that I was coming off of an injury I knew my fitness was not good enough to go out with the lead pack so I was in about 20-25 nearing the peak. The dusty trail had done its damage and cotton mouth set in. The first water I tasted almost went unnoticed because my mouth was filled with granules of dirt. All I could taste was a bland earthy blend of liquid.
Team Inov-8 was doing well with Ryan W. close behind with Tommy M. lurking a few seconds back. I was able to pass a few people and move up to the top 15. At this point I shocked myself. I did not expect with my fitness to be able to feel as I did and compete as well as I was. Could be due to the lack of the Eritrean team this year, but oh well. As we approached the peak on the 2nd lap I moved up a bit more and maybe got a little anxious and burned out a bit. By the time it was time to climb for the final lap I fell back to 13th or so. A scary moment sparked and my calve tightened up a bit. This was the longest I had run let alone run hard in over a month so I was in pain. I found a second wind even though the race had run out of water on the last lap for pretty much any athlete not in the top 5. Without water I could really feel the heat radiating on my skin. I managed to pass one more athlete near the peak and move to 11th. It was a battle holding him off as he stayed within striking distance the entire way down. An athlete went down near the last turn and the ambulance blocked my tangent line a bit as I swung wide to make the turn. I looked back and noticed the crowd dispersed as my chaser hit the turn so he made up a big gap and pulled very close to me. I managed to hold him off and place 11th! Symbolic if you think about it. September 11th was the date of the race, which also now serves as a day of remembering the lives lost during a terrorist attack in America back in 2001. Even more impressive, the Men's winner was an American (Max) and so was the Women's (Kasie). The rest of the Team had rough days however, represented well, helping Team USA place 4th! Many athletes ended up dropping out due to lack of water and dehydration and some dropped out due to incidents on the course. From what I heard a few athletes face planted on the descent...ouch.
~ Lamtumirë ~
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