*** Hey there Lounge. Wanna see what I did last weekend? *** Dial-up Warning!!!

[SKKY]

Me and 380 of my closest friends ran 50K up a mountain in Granada, Spain! Before you ask me, I have no idea why, or what I was thinking, or why anyone would want to do it. Here's some pics.

Here's a nice graph that shows the elevation of the course.
<img src="" /></a>

A shot taken at 2000M above sea level. I didn't really start feeling the effects of the altitude until about 2500M.
<img src="" /></a>

This is basically what I looked at for more than 6 hours.
<img src="" /></a>

This shows you pretty well just how high up we were. This was taken about 2K from the finish line.
<img src="" /></a>

And here's the trophy I took home for finishing this nonsense!
<img src="" /></a>

[DS1]

1. Someone get this guy a PedEgg, stat!

[SKKY]

2. Yea, and one thing I forgot to add...

...Saucony makes crap running shoes! For distance I usually run in The North Face, but on a whim decided to try Saucony. NEVER, EVER AGAIN!!!!

[DS1]

3. I picked a pair up, they just felt like they were about to fall apart

:shrug:

[SKKY]

6. What sucks is that I started feeling the blister at, like, KM 15...

...Plus, I forgot to charge my shuffle, so it died shortly thereafter. No music, blisters, up hill. Not a good time.

[flvegan]

4. Looks like one helluva driving road.

Note: I said *driving*.

flvegan doesn't run. Congrats to you, though. Sweet accomplishment.

[SKKY]

5. This is a huge cycling road...

Indurain trained there while in his prime. One of the runners collided with a cyclist who was coming back down and lost control. The runner was able to continue. They guy on the bike, not so much.

[Pierre.Suave]

9. No Kidding,

that looks like it would be an AWESOME road to drive on.

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. Sweet! Thanks for sharing the pics, too!

Sounds like you had a blast...

[Midlodemocrat]

8. Very nice. However, if I may.

The pics would be better if they included ALiberalSergio and ALiberalVega.

[puerco-bellies]

10. I would have hurled and passout at the 500 meter mark.

Congratulations on being a complete masochist.
:toast:

[SKKY]

12. Thank you P-Bellies!!!

I did puke, about 4 times. I'm told it was the altitude that does it. I also almost "Turned off" once right around 3K of elevation. Things got very blurry and shaky. It passed after about 5 minutes and we kept going. Good stuff! As they say here in Spain, "Lo que no mata engorda!"

[Raffi Ella]

11. wow...

That's impressive. Even the blister is impressive.



I run but not like that! You must be in amazing shape.

[SKKY]

13. I don't know if amazing is the right word...

...I guess I'm in decent shape. I run a lot, so I guess I'm in good running shape. I couldn't do 10 pull-ups if my life depended on it though.

[SKKY]

14. Kicked for my blister...

...it freakin' hurt!!!!!!

[jeff30997]

34. I got blisters on my fingers!!!!

[Arugula Latte]

15. Yowza! That looks very intense!

I'm kind of a math dumbass. Could you give me an idea of how many feet above sea level 2000 meters is?

[petronius]

17. 2 000 meters = 6 561.67979 feet

Here's a useful trick: you can type unit conversions into google. For example, "2000 m in ft" or "230 light years in parsecs" or whatever you want...

[Arugula Latte]

18. Thanks!

Dang ... That's pretty high up, especially to run a loooooong race.

[petronius]

19. It is pretty high - especially when you consider that the nutjob OP

appears to have gone to 3470 m! (And I mean "nutjob" in the most admiring way possible...)

[SKKY]

23. Yes, only a nutjob would even think of doing such things...

...I completely agree with you! What would be the term for someone who would do it twice because If I'm in country, I'll be doing it again next year!!

[SKKY]

22. The finish line is just under 12,000 feet above sea level...

...up there, doing anything physical becomes like way, way harder.

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. Ouch! and beautiful scenery!

[yvr girl]

20. If you ever come to Vancouver, you need to do this hike.

Grouse Mountain<2> is also the location of a very popular hiking trail known as the Grouse Grind. It is an extremely steep and mountainous trail that climbs 853 meters (2,800 ft) over a distance of 2.9 kilometers (1.8 miles). The trail, nicknamed "Mother Nature's Stairmaster", is known for being notoriously grueling due to its steepness and mountainous terrain. Hikers, who often time themselves on the trail, reach the top in approximately 90 minutes on average, although some who are very fit can finish in 45 minutes. (Wikipedia)


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/218860_grind07.html

[SKKY]

21. I've heard of that actually...

...I used to live in Whidbey Island, Washington which as you know is pretty close to VC.

[DeepBlueC]

24. I recommend moleskin

...next time. It is a lifesaver on hikes. That (former) blister looks brutal.

[SKKY]

28. Actually, that's exactly what I used...

...I should have put it on my heels BEFORE the run. Once the blister was there, I slapped a piece on there, but as you can tell, Moleskin is just no match for the Crappiness of Saucony running shoes.

[DeepBlueC]

32. yeah, I have made the same mistake

but only once.

[SKKY]

33. What's funny is that I've run 3 101K races, and a couple of other 50Ks...

...not once did I get a blister. Not even so much as a lost toe nail. The only difference here is that I ran in Saucony running shoes.

[yellowdogintexas]

25. I could have done without that last one. but you were certainly in a great part of Spain

I take it this was not that big mountain that stares you in the face no matter where you are when you are in the Alahambra Palace and Gardens?

edited to add: or maybe it was, after reading all the posts.

I have seen that mountain, and ridden the train through those mountains.
run them? Never.


:toast: :yourock:

[SKKY]

29. That would be the one!

[applegrove]

26. That is fantastic. To run through pain on your foot like that. I've seen it before.

[SKKY]

27. After a while, you just get used to the pain...

...I don't know how that happens, but it does. When the race was over, it was like it began to hurt all over again. Kinda weird how that works.

[applegrove]

30. My brother-in-law had a heal that looked like that one mile into a 10 mile ski.

he didn't complain. What a hero he was. You too.

[SKKY]

31. Awwww. You...

:blush: