To air on the side of caution, I slowed down and chose an easier pace to ensure to finish the race intact. In my case, my legs started feeling stiffer and heavier and fatigued and felt I could not keep up with the current pace. However it was a reality for some athletes who started slowing down, some others stopped and others sadly collapsed too. I knew that if my body loses its ability to regulate temperature when exposed to such hot conditions, I had to watch out for any warning signs such as dizziness and disorientation but at this stage this was not my case. By this time, my heart rate rose up to a worrying 10-15 beats per minute which made me think about the risks of a heat stroke. By this time, I was ranking between 6th to 9th place in the Deaf category.īy the 22nd and the 23rd kilometers, I experienced a strange feeling of extreme tiredness in my legs requiring me to increase my efforts. I followed the heart beat and remained with a constant race pace up to the 22nd kilometer, pacing and drafting other similar and hearing runners who applied for 10km, half marathon and marathon. Given these harsh conditions, I knew I had to give up my usual race pace but had to take no risk and follow my pace as according to the heart rate monitor. In view of the strenuous conditions I had to run in, including the extreme hot weather and an unfamiliar tarmac surface, I started off with a cautious, comfortable pace as strongly recommended by my coach. At this stage I did not expect to run at the predicted race time but I had to re-adjust my race strategy for different conditions.
Due to unforeseen circumstances the race started at 9am instead of 8am as it was planned earlier, hindering our plans and making us run in hotter conditions. The terrain was rather a flat one with 16 uphills over flyovers. The route consisted of 4 loops, of 10.5km each. An eventful marathon, definitely one I shall never forget! We were eighteen deaf athletes in all together with several others non-deaf athletes. Not so usual, were definitely the conditions in which we participated in.
GARMIN MOBILE XT SIS FULL
I represented Malta in the full marathon consisting of the usual 42.2km distance. Held in beautiful Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, this was the 3rd World Deaf Athletics Championships a memorable event which has now established itself in the calendar of Deaf athletes. George Vella competes in the 3rd World Deaf Athletics Championships in Bulgaria