I posted about my first mountain trail, which I ran in July. I don't often reflect on my running here, but I think this trail taught me some things, especially because it was all new to me. With new, I mean the mountain and elevation part, not (trail) running itself. However, it was enough of a challenge, so I didn't know for sure beforehand if I could do it. On the other hand it was within my possibilities (not if I had chosen to run the 101 kilometer), so when signing up I knew it wasn't impossible.
This is one of the learnings: having the ability to estimate what is possible, based on the level of fitness I had and what I did in the past, and the confidence that I could do it. This was a great drive for the training that lay ahead. Although my fitness level wasn't great when we signed up, I knew I had enough time to prepare.
I then started to collect information, learn from others how to train for this race. In particular how to train for the elevation in our rather flat country. The (trail) running community is so willing to share information and to answer questions, it's such a useful source. Not only live advice, but on YouTube as well, there are many "how to.." videos. Learning from others helped me in my preparations.
Of course, it's hard to say beforehand if I had done enough. I wanted to do more, but there are always injuries, social events, work trips that are unforeseen, which made I had to change plans. Most important in this phase was to stay positive and keep the confidence that the race is doable.
The days before I wasn't nervous, like some other runners. I didn't sleep well because of the high room temperature in the hostel. My worry was that I would have difficulty focusing when I would get tired in the end of the race, and trip. The fear of tripping was the only concern that I wasn't able to shake off, and it blocked me in the race. The trails in the mountains are very rocky and technical and I was very careful in running them. Too careful, as I was passed by many runners, which annoyed me a lot. I was able to stay focused and I didn't trip, but if there is one learning here, it would be that I apparently avoid taking risks. Trail running has more risks than normal road races but the good runners don't think (too much) about them. It did block me from running down and I felt frustrated. It's also a matter of practice, or non-practice in my case. I'm sure that it would be better had we more opportunities to train this type of surface. On the other hand, almost none of the other Dutch runners had the opportunity to train this and they did much better than I. For me, this trail was way out of my comfort zone. Yes, I finished it, but did it give me the good feeling (of finishing, the medal)? No, not yet. I still have the struggle in mind (the journey). I finished, but not the way I liked. What is more important? Apparently for me the journey called for improvements. Of practice, confidence, awareness of where I block (thinking & doing).
This trail was all about knowing myself, my capabilities, learning from others, practicing, getting out of my comfort zone and finding room for improving. Who says that running (and other sports or hobbies) is not related to work?
For a while I had enough of trails and took it easy on running. Yesterday I signed up for a new trail run. This time I choose a short distance. I want to enjoy this one especially, to give me back my good feeling for trails and running.