Finding humility

My run at the 84 km Carrera de Resistencia en las Montañas didn't went very well today. Even though I've had good training runs in the previous days/weeks, my body simply didn't felt very up to the task, and from the very beginning of the race...

The race started at 6:15 a.m. from Monumento al Caminero and its first kilometers passed through very steep streets till reaching the first dirt road that goes to a small valley before Arco Natural. I ran/power-walked most of that first section, more or less comfortably. The Sun came out and I was able to run all the way through the following valleys, then reached the base of Cerro Pelado. The climb up its hills was strenuous but I managed to pass a bunch of runners thanks to my hiking experience. I was very careful of drinking my Gatorade/water mix constantly and eating an energy gel every 10 km. Everything seemed to be fine.

Then the descent to Cuernavaca began, as well as the troubles... Everything I drank during the uphill run started to bounce all over my stomach. It seemed like the 1.5 liters of liquids weren't absorbed yet, so I started to feel a very uncomfortable pain all around the belly and below the chest. Running fast during the downhill just made the pain a lot worse, so I had to slow down my pace (till almost walking). I thought it might last for a few more kilometers so when I got to Fierro del Toro it would have been gone. It didn't happened that way...

Once I got there I made a short stop to recover my breath and to think about a plan. I just had run the last 8 km with a pain that didn't go away, that wasn't very "normal" for an ultra. I noticed that despite I had been drinking enough water and electrolytes, I started to show some signs of dehydration due to the bad liquid absorption (no more sweating and a salty crust all over my face). I decided that if I reached Tres Marías and I continued in the same state, I would drop out from the race.

I arrived to Tres Marías after struggling for a few more kilometers. The pain ceased for a little bit, but then I was very thirsty, so I drank more liquids at the aid station. After some words of encouragement from the people there I opted to run the last 10 km to Cuernavaca. There I would decide what to do with the rest of the race, which consisted of running the same course all the way back to Mexico City...

A very dusty and sometimes steep trail followed on our way to Cuernavaca. I managed to trot at a pace that allowed me to resist the stomach pain. I slowly made my way through every kilometer and without glory I arrived to the race's halfway point in Cuernavaca. It was noon and very hot (30-35°C). It took me 6 hours 10 minutes to cover those 42 km and I wasn't feeling any better yet, nor happy... I drank more liquids, ate some energy bars, some fruit and rested for a couple of minutes.

It didn't took me long to decide to drop out from the race at that point. I was feeling like sh*t and wasn't in the best mood to continue suffering, not today. I told the aid station crew that I was leaving, then walked my way to a bus stop and rode a bus back to Mexico City.

While coming back I thought that it was the right decision for me. Today I learned to stop when things were not going well and before they could potentially go worse. I dug deep for some hours during the run but I came out with a lesson learned, that was my victory for today... :)

Pictures of the race can be seen here.