Firstly I would like to say Happy New Year 2014! Hope this year is the one!
Secondary
in
this year I will write my blog differently. It will be about things and
races related to my training as well as thoughts for my main challenge
of this year 'Ironman'. It is a long distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run.
25th ‘New Year's Eve Run across Bratislava's Bridges’ 2013
So on the last day of 2013 I attempted a 10 km run across four impressive Danube bridges. It was held in Slovakia's capital city Bratislava.
The
race began at the University of
Economics where registration was open from 8:30 am till 9:30 am. There
was a raffle with all the runner's numbers. As soon as we registered we
put our racing number in the raffle. After the race they picked out 15
numbers who won prizes.
The
event started from the University located in the eastern part of
Bratislava where is near Harbor Bridge, followed by Old Bridge and New
Bridge and ended at the Botanical Garden in the western part of the city
where is the Lafranconi Bridge.
So
we all started at 10 am. This year there were about 873 runners and the
city mayor of Bratislava was there
too. The weather conditions weren't that great - cold and damp. Luckily
no snow and ice. The route was pretty flat, traffic free with visible
signs and of course with volunteers.
My
main motivation was my parents as they always want to support me. My
time was 49min and 16 seconds and I was 14th lady out of 165. At the
finish line were waiting plenty of cups of tea for us which was very
nice and a great warm up.
I would like to do this race again if I'm around. It was good fun and a great atmosphere. :0)
Brooks HellRunner - Hell down South
In
the same week as the 10 km bridge run, I registered with my friend
Brent for this unusual event. Brent had already done this one and he
recommended it to me. My boyfriend Brano came to support us and he was
also taking pictures of us.
Hellrunner offers trail running through a military training camp for tanks. It
is a tough, wet and muddy 16 km long route including Hills of Hell and the Bog of Doom.
We
received our racing number and chip by post. We set off at 10:30 am.
There were 3 waves and we were in the first one. The weather from the
beginning of this year was very bad. Loads of rain, wind and floods.
Luckily it stopped raining when we started.
The
first few miles were flat with a few puddles. I didn't avoid them
because in some places you had to go through. I fell over a couple of
times but got up quickly. Heading into the hills I twisted my left
ankle. I had to leap at some points but the pain was gone in a while. In
some places the hill was so steep that we had to walk or crawl. I saw
some people on the ground too as they were running beside me.
There was one drink station. After a flattish off-road run we got to
the Bog of Doom. I had lost Brent somewhere in the hills before this bog
so we couldn't help each other. The water was so deep that I had to
swim. It was difficult to swim in your clothes and trainers but I did
it. It was my hardest swim ever. As soon as I get out I felt so cold. I
try to run but I was catching my breath. I was wet and dirty all over.
After the shock of the cold water swim which was 15 meters long there
was a never-ending up hill where I spotted Brano. I was so happy to see
him. He told me that there is a surprise waiting for me. Right on the
top we could see a white tent with name 'Heaven'. Majorettes were
cheering us and giving us water, jelly beans and if somebody wanted a
massage that was available too. I picked a few jelly beans and some
water. As soon as we left the tent we could see a lake but we had to get
to the other side. The water wasn't too deep so
I could walk through it easily. We still had a few miles left. The
route was now sand dunes where I twisted my other ankle. It was more
painful then the left one but I really wanted to finish the course. So
one more push and I crossed the finish line. My time was 1:51 and I
ended up 17th lady out of 515. I couldn't believe I had such a great
result. My training is definitely paying off. Brent finished only a few
minutes behind me.
