Review of Om die Dam - 21 March 2015

Sport Race
Event Om die Dam
Date 21 March 2015
Where Hartbeespoort, South Africa
Distance 50 Km
Finishing Time 05:04:54
Race Number 4928
Result 1165/3283
Top % 35%
Pace 6:06 m/km
Speed 9.84 km/h
Click here for details about Om die Dam
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My experience at the event:

My Comrades training required, after a terrible attempt in the Ottosdaal night marathon, a decent result to make me feel better. The Om Die Dam, a 50km around the Haartbeespoort lake, was a good occasion to check my progress in the long distance running. Unlike my previous 50km (twice at the city to city), my goal was to finish the race with enough energy to continue running for few more hours (Comrades is almost 90km!).
To achieve it, I had to slow down my average and just keep a decent pace, trying to avoid cramps or annoying pains. ANd the strategy worked well. After a start 20 minutes later (or more) thanks to a terrible parking system (we queued for 1hr for do 3km...) Andy and I started (and sprinted) among the 10km walkers. Luckily the course was splitting quite soon, and from there we reached our cruising speed (5.30 mins/km for me , 6.30 for Andy) and managed our 50km.

No, it wasn't easy. 50kms are still 50kms.  But even under an annoying sun (it was supposed to be overcast), I managed to conclude the race in just above 5 hours, with frequent stops at the station and a reduced speed at the end. I managed to keep around 5.40 mins/km until the 30/35km, then the last hills took their toll on my heavy body.

But the experience was positive. Andy finished 1 hour behind me, but the next day we were both quite fine, compared to what happened after the night race when we couldn't walk for few days...

Details of the race on the usual garmin account

Some pictures from the event:

The delayed start
The start of the race

Strong on the dam
On the bridge

Running by the water
By the dam

Done!
At the end

The nice medal

My medal!

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