My little training camp in Austria is almost over. One more day of running here, that’s it. Up next; Nature marathon Tessenderlo.
It’s going to be weird to run a normal marathon again. Almost normal, because it’s still going to be a trail marathon. I don’t do normal. But we will have 400 meters of altitude. That’s a quarter of most runs I’ve been doing here, so it does feel like a normal marathon.
Non-stop running
I’m mostly curious how I will cope with non-stop running. I mean, I have been out for hours and hours here in Oetz, but most of those hours I’m hiking. At least the early hours of every trail run I’ve done here. Most trails I’m going up the mountains first and I’m coming down later in the day. The Nature marathon Tessenderlo, in Belgium, will be running from start to finish, with maybe a steep hill here and there as an excuse to walk.
I’m looking forward to it. It’s been great being out here in the mountains. I worked a lot on my uphill strength. It’s just a number, but before we came here, my Garmin Enduro told me my hill score was 39, now it’s 86. My hill endurance especially improved. My hill strength not so. I have to run uphill faster for that. But that’s a problem for later.
My overall endurance went up as well. Again, it’s just a number, but it was somewhere around 6.372 according to Garmin, now it’s 7.064. Training Peaks says I went up from 62 to 85. More important than this, I feel good. I feel strong. My thighs look stronger.
Hiking and running
What that is worth, is the big question. I’ve noticed before the big difference between running out here in the mountains and running in the Netherlands and in Flanders. Here trail running is a combination of hiking and running. Back home it’s 99 percent running. But that’s okay as well. I have to get good at both, if I want to succeed in my mission. Which one? I will tell you more soon. Cliffhanger!
For now, I’m happy the Nature marathon Tessenderlo is up next. I see it as training for Kullamannen, the race I’m running at the beginning of November. Yet, it’s always fun to run somewhere different. I mean, I do miss the trails around our house, but I also like to explore new places. Tessenderlo is only an hour away, so this race is a good option to go and explore.
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Resting my legs
I will give my legs a little bit of rest before the marathon. Not because I want to, but because I have no choice. Thursday Sara and I are heading towards Piemonte to teach our last yoga retreat of this season. That means travelling and teaching, so no running. Or at least not running long distances.
Next week we’re travelling home. Again, not much running. Although, we have something special in mind. For Monday. So stay tuned.
