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24 February 2008 Post #30: BMW Malta Half-Marathon Today, DeDe and Dave ran the Malta Half-Marathon. We had arranged for Tara to come by and sit with Rachel, Nathan, and Bobby. We asked Joanna and Mauro if they could take the three big boys for the morning. Mauro went beyond that and picked us up, drove us to the start in Mdina, before taking the boys to his house. We had about 25 minutes before the race began to snap some digitals of the Silent City as Mdina is called, because of the narrow streets (too narrow for traffic). This was the most unusual scene of a marathon/half-marathon start. The start line was directly outside the entrance to the old bastions, which now hold the Museum of National History. Note to self: Go back and explore Mdina further! Mdina is the former capitol city of Malta, and one can see why, as it sits atop a highpoint and overlooks the entire island! See web album for photos. To read more, go to: http://www.paradisemalta.com/mdina.htm The day was perfect
for a long-distance jog. Temperature was about 57 at the start, with
only a light breeze. Sunny, we ended up with tan lines after the
race...and the temp got up to 63 degrees. There was a moment of silence,
just before the start, in remembrance of a Maltese runner who was hit by
a car and killed while training for the half-marathon recently. Then,
with the music from about an 8-piece brass band blaring from a corner
just in front of the starting line, the gun fired, and the runners took
off through the narrow streets of Mdina. There were pulizija (police) on motorcycles, keeping traffic clear, and monitoring the runners in case someone would keel over. As we swept in a circle off the citadel of Mdina, and looked back uphill, we caught a nice shot of the city. It is quite an impressive place. DeDe and Dave stuck together the first half of the race, but Dave started to cramp up, while DeDe felt well enough to make the most of the downhill course, so she kept going while Dave stopped to walk out the cramp. DeDe was amazed at how well she felt, regardless of the fact that her training was nearly nil! Her first irritation came around mile 6, when she felt blisters forming where her running calluses once were. The course provided adequate distractions, to help the runners keep their minds off the pain, with things like sulky racing going on right alongside the road! There was an occasional view to the sea, and then your wonderful bystanders cheering along the route. The toughest part of the race was around mile 10, near Marsa. There's a bit of a steep incline, and it was enough to make DeDe want to walk. She used to be a “run at all costs” type, but she's learned that there's great benefit to walking through water stops, and up steep hills. Usually, you find more energy if you take those little breaks instead of pushing your way through them. Dave spurred another runner on and ended up running the rest of the race with him. John Lucca, from Rome, was struggling around mile 10 when Dave came up on him. They pulled each other through the last, grueling 3.1 miles. The end of the race
course runs along the seafront, which was quite deceiving. Since we knew
the finish was at the Sliema seafront, once you saw those boats and
marinas, you just felt like the end was very near. Unfortunately, there
was a lot of seafront on the route! This was the most difficult part for
DeDe, as her thighs and calves were starting to stiffen up. Somewhere
along the way, she'd convinced herself that she could do 2 hours, but
that she didn't want to be out there any longer than that! She hit the 9
mile marker at 1:19, so she told herself she just had to keep the pace,
and she could finish under two hours. But man, was that seafront long!
(Note: after the mile 10 marker, DeDe missed the mile 11 one, so she had
little concept of the distance for a bit there. She was so relieved to
see the mile 12 marker, and regain her concept of what was left!) The finish was also placed around a bend, so that you couldn't see it until you were maybe 15 yards from it! This, too, was a bit daunting. DeDe decided to just walk a bit, knowing she was close, but not seeing the finish line, she didn't know how close anymore and her dogs were spent! Just as she stopped her jog, a large German gent came up alongside her and said, “No! No! NO! You must keep going! You've been my angel all along; can't quit now!” So she picked her jog back up, and chatted with this guy for a bit, and then let him get ahead. Finally, seconds later, the finish in sight, she kicked with all she had left, coming to the finish on his heels, and she saw on the clock: 1:55. (Her watch said 1:56 because we crossed the start a little after the gun...but with chip-timing, we'll get an official time soon enough.) Dave came in shortly after DeDe, at around 2:02. He and Mr. Lucca exchanged phone numbers. Now we have a contact person in Rome, for our little Italian excursion we're trying to plan for end of March. At the finish, we
were greeted by Joe Desira (the soccer-dad friend who jogs with Dave).
Joe finished his marathon today in 3:11! (That's quite impressive, for
those who don't know what a reasonable time might be.) He and his wife,
Donna, and their son, Mark, visited with us a bit, and we met daughter,
Kelly, and her boyfriend. Then we walked down the seafront to find
Rachel, Tara, and the little boys. Joe had called Tara's cell, and
learned they didn't make it in time for the finish, but were on their
way. Can't believe we finished this race! Throughout the race, DeDe kept thinking, a person really ought to train for these things! Sigh...maybe...someday...
Send us an email about this post! dgibbs at uwsp dot edu or dedegibbs at gmail dot com |
