Close by, because I fumbled a bit with Strava every now and then and missed a barometer on my Suunto. We walked at least 1 trail on Friday after every day and actually we liked that very much. Only after the rest day I got a little bit of stiff legs. And I was just through it in terms of energy.
But I still think it's super cool that I managed to do it after being out for months due to pneumonia. In december I was afraid I didn't have the energy for these tours. During the cross-country and heavy training, my right lung even hurt. But the warm sun and the relatively slow pace were forgiving. At the end of the holiday, I did have the idea that if I did 20 km every day for a month - without rest😉 - at this pace, the body would be able to handle it.
The blood sugars were hit and miss here and there. I have to say that the Freestyle Libre is really an invention when the effort is so irregular. It fits easily in the front of the racing vest and you take it out during running to know within a few seconds which way your blood sugars are going. A risk of dependency but it gives a lot more confidence during the run.
The complete set of photos’s can be seen at Flickr.
DAY 1: Explorer Trail (21,3 km and 704 hm according to Strava)
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Those who flew in from Amsterdam already had a short run along the boulevard, but for those who, like me, flew in from Eindhoven, this was the very first run of the holiday. We left at 9 o'clock from the sports hotel Sands Beach and ran along the coast at Costa Teguise. The pace was good on the first day, but I was able to keep up with the middle of the pack on the first flat section. Although I think we exhausted each other a bit too much by leaving like young dogs who didn't take into account that there would be quite a few runs to come.
After a long flat stretch came the first mountain. Pooh, that was actually quite steep. We plodded to the top together and I soon fell behind; the disadvantage of the slow runner who makes few altitude metres. It was a beautiful sight though, all those bodies almost glued to the mountain. And a little bit of vertigo... especially when we reached the narrow top where we all posed at a cross.
Going downhill was also slow but not bad. In that respect it was a safe descent. What followed was another flat coastal section, which would lead to two mountain slopes. Strange that it is so flat in between.
I was running with a small group that was going a little slower than the lead group and would only cross one of the two summits. We had to walk on a path littered with large, and especially sharp, lava rocks, which made it more like walking than running. A moment to catch our breath after all the climbing and descending. Mark Groeneweg was in the lead. And I was chatting away, unthinkingly took a turn and went flat ... blood spurted a meter across the path. I immediately closed the wound; it was my shin and there was already a lump the size of a mango on it. What goes through your head then? Well first of all, 'hopefully it is not an artery', then 'nooooo soon I can forget the rest of the running week' and finally, 'where is Mark with the bandages'...
We had wiped the wound and other abrasions with alcohol wipes as well as we could. The damage seemed to be limited, there was still some blood flowing out, but it did not spurt out when I took my hand away from the shin. Carefully we taped this part with sports tape and a piece of gauze. On to the next summit. Walking went well. Dribbling went well, although I still felt the ground contact a bit at first. But the event exhausted me, so that summit became a tough climb for me. I really had to push myself up.
Just before the hotel there was another sprint in it by the way. And upon entering the hotel we immediately bought ice cream (still in the freezer, I realize now) to tame the hump. Then it was the normal athlete life: run, sleep, eat, repeat.
In terms of blood sugar, this day was not really fantastic either. I ate too much at breakfast, so I didn't have to eat for the first two hours and the first hour and a half the blood sugar didn't want to drop below 26 mmol/l. This is also exhausting and it made me very thirsty. That is also tiring and it made me very thirsty.
DAY 2: Harbour Trail (19.9 km, 1,025 hm according to Strava)
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This was something I was quite looking forward to. The bump had shrunk well overnight and the run would be in the area of the Transajaches I ran summer 2017. Familiar territory, in other words. Where, by the way, I got pretty lost... ( https://www.facebook.com/media/set/... ) At breakfast, I did it a lot more carefully too: plain cornflakes and nothing else. I need to learn from this sometime😉
Unfortunately, the reality was different than the hope suggested. Where in 2017 I stomped down, especially the first few kilometers following the locals (my Spanish is too bad to figure out what is happening myself), Monday's fall had me in its grip now. Even on the zigzag trails down I was getting scared. I was lagging behind the group by descending slowly. And started to doubt, got stuck, stood still. Thanks to an intervention of Charissa I finally made it down. To then doubt whether I could not better return to the start spot, the beach, the restaurant. They still offered the option to practice in the relatively easy bowl. Or to walk with them and see how far I would come. Fortunately I chose the latter, otherwise my fear would have increased.
The first part went pretty well. I was relieved. But this trail was the most technical in the base, because there were parts where you really had to climb with your hands and feet. I didn't like that at all. As well as the descents. Kind of weird actually, because I just fell on a flat part. That's just how our brains work...
When I had to climb on all fours, but there was an easier detour, I opted for it. It is also not necessary to go further than necessary. Then I waited for fifteen minutes at the goat farm.
The bit towards Femes from the goat farm was again very similar to the Transajaches and also ended at the same place in the little town where we went to a café. Unfortunately not the cafe of last time, with a nice view and lots of Diet Coke (my blood sugar was way too high then), but it reassured me to see the village again. And Linda and Jeroen made a starting bow with their hands to cheer me up☺.
The last part of the trail was a lot easier. After a small summit there was a nasty descent with lots of loose rocks and gravel. Fortunately, Charissa was patient enough to guide me down in her footsteps.
After the long and steep descent, we came to a kind of riverbed. Very lugubrious were the bones of goats that had died in the gorge. But despite the jaws and horns that were lying around, I was glad that we could speed up towards the coast, where our van was waiting again.
Blood sugars were very nice during the trail.
DAY 3: Coastal Trail (17,0 km; 582 hm)
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The eating regime was a lot better this day and the route itself was also very doable. It didn't seem so at first, because we also had to pass a part of the Haria Extreme, where you have to climb up to a bell to signal your arrival. Not a piece for the faint-hearted, so the fact that only about six people were allowed to go on that trip was not something I could really grieve about.
After the group had split into three groups, one with an extra climb, one with an extra descent and one for those who wanted to take it easy (guess which group I was in), we saw a dot in the distance flying fast over the mountain trails. That was Ragna Debats, the world champion skyrunning and ultratrail. She had started on her own time and caught up with us. Mark ran up to her to steer her towards the group of climbers. A flash and Ragna was gone. She really goes up the mountains effortlessly.
This was also the only day we visited something touristy. Halfway through the route we found the beautiful viewpoint Mirador del Rio, designed by Cesar Manrique. It looks a bit like a cottage, built into a mountain, with a beautiful view in all directions. However, being in a more touristy part also meant that we had to walk bits on the road or on tourist paths and stairs. That made the route a little easier compared to the one we had done the previous two days.
Beyond the Mirador we entered a special kind of moon landscape. Red earth, in which you could sink a bit at times and in which there were gullies you could jump over. Although it looked extraterrestrial, it was quite doable for walking.
DAY 4: Los Helechos (14,5 km; 668 hm)
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I found this the most beautiful route of all. Straight through the wine area of Lanzarote, where the grapevines grow in the characteristic bowls in the lava rock. The porous lava rocks hold dew and spray water well, so grapes can grow well here despite the dry air and accelerated dehydration caused by the wind.
As far as that moisture is concerned, this day didn't seem to be a very dry one for us either. On the way we had rain all the time and once we got out of the car, the wind and rain jackets were put on immediately. Fortunately, we soon found out we could take them off; after we started walking, the sky cleared almost immediately.
The first part of the trip had a very steep slope. Already zigzagging, we made almost all altimeters in the first half hour. To the amazement of Marc Weening, I started early on the first gel of the day (that 3.5 kg sports food had to go:p) because the blood sugar halfway the hill already showed a fast falling arrow. Believe me, halfway up a hill you don't want to run out of fluid. Something Ragna also pointed out: you eat before you climb. That made sure I could continue reasonably fast once I reached the top.
The best part was actually running through black gravel. Just like running on a Dutch beach. That in combination with a downhill, gives you a safe way to step on the gas.
A low hill of the same material was also not a problem. Until we came to a high hill where whole pieces could easily slide away. And we had to walk on a ledge of about 30 cm. That's when the fear of heights kicked in again... Thanks Marjon for literally dragging us along by the hand (and Bart for letting me borrow her for a while).
At the bottom of the grit mountain, we had a short break to empty our shoes. In my case, almost nothing had gotten into the shoe itself: the Lone Peak seals very well. But the upper rim of my socks, that was a whole different story😉 .
The final descent was also very friendly here. Last bit on the road was a sprint again. That tastes like more.
Back at the hotel I quickly bought a souvenir that I had passed several times. And guess what: it was made of grape wood...
DAY 4: Night Trail Haria (10,2 km; 453 hm)
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The trail earlier in the day went so well, that I started to doubt whether I shouldn't participate in the night trail after all. Normally I like to do that, but this time I didn't have the big chest lamp with me, and my record with staying upright wasn't that great either... In the end I decided to join in, after all it is a good preparation for the Petzl Night Trail.
We started from the village of Haria. The whole group was looking forward to it, and consisted mainly of the faster runners. I didn't feel like it because of the cheddar pancake which didn't go down well, so I had to sweat:p
After the village there was a kind of dry stream, where many large stones lay. Here the work with the headlamp really started. The small Petzl was clearly no match for the more expensive type Anik had behind me (and which turned out to be set to maximum): I couldn't see a thing, but kept on climbing. In the end I let her pass for my own safety. So I mustn't forget the chest light during the night trail in Bergschenhoek.
Although, in practice, that sometimes turns out to be not so bad. On a safe stretch of sandy road we all turned off our lights. And then you notice that after some getting used to it (and a reasonably large moon) you actually see a lot. Running also went effortless, the feet rattled without stepping in big stones, the focus was very good. I would even dare to say that on many stretches it was easier because I had less stimuli. No chance to get distracted.
Until our little pope kissed the ground for the second time. There are plenty of reasons for this. The blood sugar had gone too low, so I really should have waited a while to let the energy rise again. But I didn't and we did fall behind. Serious mistake number 1. Next, I wanted to run faster. Serious mistake number 2. Finally I saw strange walls on almost flat parts that are no higher than a few centimetres, who builds something like that... mistake number 3 and boom, there I went, not over such a wall but over a large stone that lay right behind it. Again the knee open, but fortunately the surface was a lot more forgiving. We walked on within a minute and made it to the van without further delay.
DAY 5: Rest day
That means literally a lot of sleeping. And a short trip with the other sleepwalkers who wanted to explore the boulevard and visit a terrace. I didn't really feel like swimming: it wasn't very warm and the wounds were still open. In the evening we made a trip with a smaller group to a fish restaurant with Bart and Marjon's rental car.
DAY 6: Summit Trail (Strava misses at least 5 km, I estimate a total of 18 km)
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A day off sounds wonderful. Until it's over. Then it turns out that rest really rusts. Ai the legs felt stiff and the fatigue was not removed but increased. Fortunately there was another choice of routes. There would be a more or less walking route for the injured and a more difficult route with the dreaded hand and foot work.
We started at the coast, on a beautiful sandy beach in the surfers' village of Famara (suddenly no fat English tourists, but tiny and tiny surfers and cyclists). Right at the first climb we would split up. One half went almost straight up the mountainside, the other took a meandering path through a beautiful green mountain landscape. I never knew there was still so much growing on 'desert island' Lanzarote, including shrubs that looked like an overgrown dandelion (and maybe they were).
Our ascent was slow, but steady. Not too extreme in terms of surface. But it was foggy and raining a bit, so we were worried about fellow runners who might have to climb slippery walls. At the top of the rock plateau, we had to wait a long time for them. But it was a beautiful sight to see them arrive and run on a nearby summit. Tough going. Fortunately, they hadn't had any rain on their side either; however, they did have a man with a machete who wasn't too happy to see them in his backyard... walking is a dangerous sport😉
Once we got back together, we split up after a few hundred meters. The 'walking group' turned off earlier to Haria to have a cup of coffee and walk around the local market, the normal group went to climb the next mountain. Very cozy. Good chocolate cake and coffee too. But after a lot of blabbing we had to move on... only to discover that we had been sitting there for so long that the rest of the group was already thundering through the village back to the car😮.
That was a tough job chasing the fast runners. In the end, we all wanted to be back together. For us, the descent was the same as the climb. Still, a route like that looks completely new from the other side.
By the end, the stiffness from the beginning had disappeared. I descended carefully. But once I got back to the road, I had to do some free running. Isn't there anything nicer than sprinting to the finish?
Reaching that finish line is beautiful. Despite the falls, physically the body has performed well. Mentally it had some dents and that confidence has to come back a bit. But if I had the choice to add a few more days of walking, including difficult routes like day 2? I would definitely do that. So the recovery will be there, I trust.
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