Gran Canaria Maspalomas Marathon – Race Report
Date: 19th November 2023
Location: Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Spain
Race Distance: 42.195Km
Dear Reader,
… First days of April 2023 …
One year ago, I was just starting walking again without crutches, my knee was finally healed from the fracture, and I was responding well to the physiotherapy sessions. Today, I am about to start the half-marathon peak training week in preparation for Vienna HM on the 23rd of April. Thinking back to what I have done in one year, it seems incredible. Since my injury in Jan ‘22, I have run the StraMilano 10km in May ’22, my first HM in Málaga in December ’22, and I am now getting very close to my third race.
It’s June and I am sticking to my plan. I target to keep weekly mileage >50km with mostly easy runs and one speed workout. The main goal is to run comfortably ~20km on a long run with low impact on my body and recovery. Everything is going well until I met Yunus that made me discover the world of Ultrarunning and trail running that I start exploring with heart eyes. I won’t tell you in this chapter the details of what happened between August and October, but if you are curious about that, you should read my past race reports and training diary. In a nutshell, I ended up not following any plan, finishing 2 ultras, going on the podium, and to end the story well, I got injured.
Right after crossing the finish line, I was truly happy I made it. During the race, I thought too much of DNF that then I was proud of myself, for not giving up, and for not walking on the course. I proved to myself that I am quite good at pushing beyond what my mind says and going one step further. The pain in my quads has been sharp for the following couple days. I couldn’t sleep well at night, and the most basic daily activities were hard to do. On day 3 I started feeling much better, I did a nice swim before flying back to London and I am now slowly going back to easy runs.
Compared to my first HM training plan, this time I feel stronger, my body is adapting quickly to higher training volumes, and recovery has never been an issue (I rarely felt very sore or with very low energy levels). I am about to enter the training peak and I can’t wait to smash these last few workouts before the race. Looking at my current weekly mileage, I start thinking that as next race, a full marathon could be a challenging yet feasible goal. Hence, I start reading race calendars looking for something interesting towards the end of the year.
… Italy, 19th April 2023 …
After a few days of research, I finally sign up for the Maspalomas Marathon. Honestly, I am attracted more by the location than the racecourse. This race is reasonably priced, not in a cold location, and my mom convinced me that a “tropical escape” was a good idea before the winter season (how could I say no?!). I am officially in!
Obviously, I already have a plan in mind. This is to complete the Vienna HM, take a week or two to recover, and then try to maintain good mileage and fitness levels stable before starting the Marathon training program that I found on Strava, in late July.
… Summer 2023 …
… Early November 2023 …
My body is still recovering from my last ultra, I am trying to keep running volume medium/low avoiding hard workouts and very long runs. My goal is to not get injured, recover as much as possible, and arrive to race day without heavy legs. I start going back to the pool 1/week and I keep my strength/pilates training routine at least 3/week. Running-wise, I am running ~55km/week with 90% easy runs and 1/2 short speed sessions/week (I know they are useless at this stage, but I have to convince myself that I am capable of running faster than my easy pace).
… Race weekend …
On Thursday 16th November, I flew to LPA where my parents were already waiting for me. I was super excited to spend a few days with them, and a bit nervous that my first marathon was finally approaching. On Friday I went for an “easy” 5k shakeout run in the sand dunes and Saturday I only did a relaxing swim before race day.
The marathon was a 2 loops course around Maspalomas with both the start and finish line by the sea. The start time is 8am and there were 3 different race types: 10Km, Marathon Relay, and Full Marathon. Temperatures were expected to be above average with min 23 and max 30 degrees. Thankfully, the organization planned refreshment points every 2.5km which were crucial with that heat.
Sunday 19th November is racing day! I woke up at 5:30am and I started the day with some breakfast. I had 500ml water with electrolytes, a cup of coffee, a sandwich with ham and cheese, and tomatoes with cucumbers. Thinking in retrospective, that was an excellent combination and good timing. For the race I wore a top, shorts, road shoes, hat & sunglasses, and the running belt with 4 gels and 1 pack of Cliff chews.
At 8am sharp the race started. I have to say, I was in a weird mental space. I felt unprepared and clueless of how fast I should be running. From one side I knew I was capable of covering the distance, but from the other side, I was scared of getting tired too quickly and not be able to finish. My brain started making up useless excuses to convince me to DNF like “the course is boring”, “it is too hot”, “two loops is too much” and many more. However, my legs were running well, so the wise side of my mind did not listen. To avoid overthinking about pace, I decided to never look at my watch for the entire race and just run how I feel, and so I did for 42.195km.
The first 20km I was (too) fast. I was running right behind the 3h45’ pacer and towards the end of the first loop my quads were DONE. I had 2 gels that helped me a lot and I drank at all the water stations. However, I couldn’t keep the same pace for another loop, so I decided to slow down a bit and take my 3rd gel. My stomach had started rejecting any type of food and I knew this was not a good sign. My (short) experience in Ultra taught me how important is nutrition and hydration in endurance, and I had just removed the first half of the equation. I started the second loop in a very bad mental space, the kms 20 to 30 were the worst and many times I thought of DNF and go chill on the beach. The course around the golf park was boring, my quads were in huge pain, the temperature was getting very hot, my stomach was feeling bad, and Marathon Relays partners were running freshly next to me. That all together was hard. My only focus thorough those 10km was to reach the next water point to refresh my head, arms, and legs, drink water and a cup of Aquarius to cope up with the food miss. Around the 30thKm some weird power kicked in and I felt in pain, but strong. My mind was back to high, and I started to truly enjoy the race. Honestly, this was weird to experience, especially at the time in the race when everyone else’s around me started giving up and being physically proven. From that moment until the finish line, I was in autopilot mode ad I felt like I could go forever even on hills (I believe this was the effect of doing ultras before your first marathon lol). The last km was the most beautiful, running next to the sea with the crowd cheering at all the runners. After 42.195km, I officially became a marathon finisher!
… After the race …
With this race report I am closing the 2023 race chapter. Looking back, I am still surprised of what my body could do, what my mind could bear, and how much this sport brought to my life; from the amazing people I met, to the unique emotions I experienced, and the wonderful places I travelled to. I expect 2024 to be even richer and full of surprises, especially now that I discovered the best partner in crime, Yunus, who will join my next year’s calendar!
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