I had been waiting for about two years to participate in this race. The road from Lini to Pogradec is one of the most beautiful roads in Albania according to me, especially in the evening when the lights are on along the road. This race was exactly stretched during this segment for about 20 km and the end was inside the city. The interesting part is that it was a night race starting at 19:00.
The last two editions I was not able to go and therefore, you can imagine how much I was looking forward to this year’s edition. Mentally, I expected to set a new personal best, from 2:10 (with a 6:12 average pace) to 2:05. However, not only did I fail to break this limit, I ended up running the slowest half marathon of my life. It was the first time I had done some segments walking in a half marathon. The final result was 2:33 with an average pace of 7:16.
But what happened to me? I think there are a number of factors that may have influenced more or less my performance and preparation.
1. Summer training: The race took place on July 27, so the training was spread over the summer months and during heatwaves, when temperatures reached 28 degrees Celsius at 8am. For this reason, it was not a real rigorous preparation. In general, I focused more on the effort I was putting in and the distance to some extent rather than the speed.
2. Summer in Corfu: During the second week before the race, I didn’t go running for a single day. This was because of the holidays in Corfu. Even though I had taken my trainers with me, I couldn’t find an opportunity. There was a heat wave during those days. The activities during the day were exhausting and there was no chance I would wake up early in the morning on vacation.
3. There’s a vice: Maybe I haven’t shared it before, but I’ve been trying to overcome my nicotine addiction for a few months now. Although I run, this is a vice I have. And yes I know it’s stupid! After my last trip to the USA, I have tried in various ways to stop, but nothing I went from using electronic cigarettes, vape, to traditional cigarettes, a very big defeat. I think this was one of the main factors that contributed to this huge step back.
4. Diet: During the week of the race, I didn’t take care of my diet, I ate normal food. This was my first race during the evening, so I wasn’t sure how to handle race day nutrition. I ate lunch about 4 hours before the start, a soup and pasta. I don’t know if I made a mistake with the choice of the schedule or the food, but that may have had an effect as well.
5. Long run: Two weeks before the race, before I left for vacation, I ran 18 km. The logic behind this was that knowing that I would not be able to do long runs for a week, I thought that 18 km would give my muscles the right signal for a higher resistance and I would have enough time to rest. Maybe that wasn’t the right training logic, I’m definitely no expert in this.
6. Uphills: I’m not sure if it was a factor or not, but I’m considering it. The half marathon, where I did my best time, was in Tirana, with an elevation gain of 110 m, while this race was only 89 m. The race in Tirana does not have strong uphills, they are spread throughout the segment and are smooth. The road from Lini to Pogradec had some steep parts that made me slow down so much that I ended up walking, the first time for me in a half marathon.
7. Body weight: Although I feel in fit enough, I should be 3-4 kg more than during the 2022 half marathon. This is a factor that affects a runner’s performance.
8. Catching Cold: Dealing with extreme temperatures in Greece, left me with a stuffy nose and a terrible cough. Although I read that it is ok to run if you are only sick from the neck and up, during this 21 km run was difficult to breathe while coughing from time to time. During the second half of the race, when it got dark, the temperatures dropped and I felt a chilly in my stomach.
9. Muscle tension: Since October 2023, when I did my first marathon, 42 km, I have only done one physiotherapy session to loosen the muscles of my right leg. After the marathon, in addition to my weekly run, I did another half-marathon in April and climbed the peak of Korab for 1800m. During the race in Pogradec, my right leg, which for me has the biggest load, was in slight pain constantly.
These are the factors that may have affected my performance during the Enkelana Half Marathon.
However, I tried to turn this experience, apart from the race, into a nice trip to enjoy also the city of Pogradec. On Saturday, I took the 10:30 bus from Tirana and arrived in time for a lunch at Rosa e Tymosur. I then took a walk by the lake until it was time for the bus to pick us up and take us to Lin. The next day morning, I got a crepe at Square Crepes. I took it to go and headed to the beach area of the lake. I found a shady spot where I left my things, and took a swim in the cool water of Lake Ohrid. After that I ate the crepe and read a book. I really enjoyed the atmosphere around, where the greenery dominated. And just like that it was time to take the bus back to Tirana.
