Running Adventures Ep 20 - Official Training Run - DAY 20 ( 30 days writing challenge)

This is my 20th post in the 30 days writing challenge - If you want to know more about this challenge you can read about it here.

Like I said in the previous post, today I went to join about 40 other runners in the last official training run before the 15 km race scheduled for the 27th of January, which of course I'll be attending.

I'm gonna spoil the ending a bit and say that it was awesome even though the race course is anything but easy. But before I get too ahead of myself, I'm going to start from the beginning.

I woke up around 7 a.m and prepared my rucksack with spare clothes, food and tea. I took my bike and set out for the meeting point which was at an adventure park in the woods.

It was mostly uphill and I resorted to pushing my bike a lot so I wouldn't get tired before the actual run, and also because the road was covered in slippery ice and it felt more safe that way.

While biking through the forest I realised that I don't remember riding my bike in the snow before, so that was first I guess and kind of cool :)

The weather was meh at first, and I remember thinking that it would be nice if the sun came out ( I ended up regretting that wish :P )

I arrived half an hour early hoping that I would find the place open so that I could tie my bike, change into my running gear and drink some warm tea.

Of course the people running the place opened their doors just 10 minutes before the run started, which meant I had to wait half an hour in the cold ( I was sweaty after all that uphill biking) and then rush to do all the things I needed to do in just a couple of minutes, not ideal but I managed anyway.

Before I get to talk more about the run itself, I just want to briefly go over the stats:

I'd say I'm happy with the average pace considering the distance and the 465 m elevation gain.

Especially considering the fact that I manage to wander off course for a minimum of 5 minutes and ran around like a headless chicken :D

The course itself was pretty demanding, with few flat portions and a lot of uphill and downhill sections, as you can see in the race's profile:

The last uphill was especially brutal because by that point you feel kind of spent.

Now, let's get to the fun part: how the run actually went.

My objectives was to stay with the lead pack of runners for as much as possible and just enjoy the wonderful feeling of running in the snow surrounded by beautiful woodland.

As we left the forest, the sun came out and I was happy at first, but that was while we were running in the valley. The big uphill section came soon afterwards, and boy did I regret wishing for the sun to come out. I sweated like a pig because of the heat.

But soon enough that section was over and as the sun went back into the clouds and the wind started to blow I was happy I decide to have thicker clothes on.

The view was definitely worth all the hard slog uphill.

We then took a short break, which was perfect because I realised that I haven't eaten anything up to that point, being used to not eating until after noon. But I was starting to feel sluggish and didn't want to lose the leading pack, so I took an energy gel and felt better almost instantly. I thought for a second to push through and finish the run fasted just to prove a point to the people that say they don't have energy without eating a big breakfast, but felt that enjoyment was more important than ego.

The last portion through the woods kicked my butt, and I resorted to mostly walking uphill until the road flatten out just before the finish.

And with that, ended one of the most fun and challenging runs I ever had in the winter.

I went inside to change my clothes and enjoy some well deserved hot tea. I was the last one to leave for home. Because I was the first one to arrive, I said to myself that I "thoroughly enjoyed the party" :)

The sun came out to say hello as I was riding my bike back home.

The way the light was falling through the trees and the peacefulness of the forest made it hard to leave nature behind and return to the concrete jungle.

But at least I rode through snow all day and my bike was perfectly clean which made me happy. Until I went down about 200 meters in altitude and everything was just mud, melting snow and ice.

When I arrived home my bike look like this:

So much for a clean bike, hey? And I looked even worse :)

I hope you liked my little adventure. Stay tuned for the race report next Saturday.

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Man I know minimalism is the new thing, but you should cover that up. It gets chilly around here.

My name is Adrian a.k.a "The nearsighted traveler". I'm a running enthusiast who loves to spend time enjoying nature. I write mostly about running, the places I explore and the interesting stuff I learn here on steemit.
If you are new to this platform you might want to check out these posts:

5 Easy Rules for Navigating The Steem Ecosystem
The 6th Easy Rule for Navigating the Steem Ecosystem

And if you want a good laugh you can visit my other account @cmmemes where I fail at being funny but persevere anyway :)