It's 22:05.....
"Push it!!!" "Push it.... com'on....." "Com'on.... I am soooo late!!!"..... "Again!"
"Branislav is waiting for me.... I have to push it harder!!!"
Finally...... "plupppppp"...... and the last went out! I pressed that button and washed my hands, took my bag, on with my shoes.... oh, the jacket...... ckeck! A super fast look if I forgot something and I was outside my hotel room.....
"Oh no"..... "I forgot something!"...... "Wait.... let me check: the bag with all the things is on me, my clothes are ok, the poles..... oh, i have them both in my left hand. Water.... OK, gels.... OK.... ...."
Still I had that nasty feeling that I forgot something in my room! Whatever, the clock was showing 22:25 and I was soooo damn late to meet Branislav at the start line. Lucky me that the hotel was just 250mt from the staaaaart......
"Whaaaaat!????!!"
There was a sea of runners! I mean literally!!!
"How I'll be able to find Branis...... !?" But there he was, waiting for me just before the crowd! What a great man! Thanx m8! That felt really good! :)
We entered the crowd. I knew he wanted a better starting position just in order to avoid the "runners queue" those first kilometers after the start, We tried to find a better position, but after approx 50mt. we realized that my bloody shitting will cost us time! :(
"Well, no point in arguing now I guess!"
We waited..... and waited.... the speaker was talking and talking..... blablabla......
I was relaxed..... I just wanted to go back to the room and sleep! Branislav was pretty nervous, all the runners ....even more! Me.... I was calm.... This time my "I don't give a crap- face" was just not only my face.... it was the whole me..... and I guess it would be the whole course the same if some "events" made a few changes in my attitude that evening!
The first event: "The f:cking pushing while waiting for the start!" - I really have difficoulties understanding that nonsense pushing and squeezing. Is that some sort of a "gear check" before the race!? The race organizers should write that befire: "Be prepared to be squeezed, pushed, touched all over your bloody body, kicked with poles and blinded with lamps..... and you have to listen to the dude speaking in 25 languages while nobody understands what is he saying!".... we just wanted to RUN!
Finally..... 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1.......
Branislav and I started toghether and the idea was to try to stick together. But we knew that we have different goals. I had just one.... to enjoy. He wanted more! We kept passing many..... too many runners. Brane was a little bit afraid of the pace, but I was OK..... we continued..... The first uphill: STOP!
This is something I hate! Sorry Branislav.... I hate that too! Bloody shitting before the race!..... :/
Well..... we tried to pass as many as we could those first 15km. We were patient on the uphills passing maybe 10 runners, but on the downhills we tried to fly... well, Branislav did, I was a little bit cautious..... and I got back to Brane on those short flats. The first point Ospitale after 15km. I felt really strong, I didn't need anything so I decided to jogg a little and wait for Branislav . He was not coming so I continued the race in a slow pace waiting for him. This is the part of the race where I relaxed maybe too much.... it felt really great. Sometimes I adore the night running scenarios, I use to call that "Mantra Running".....
The first serious climb came.... "in our face"! It was steep.... really tough but still OK. Branislav was behind me again so we could chat a little while climbing. This was the first climb over 2000m! And the body felt that allright! Still, we kept fighting, the pace was strong and we kept passing runners in those tiny downhill/flat sections before the real climb.
The downhill...... I don't remember much what happened before the 25th km - but I remember almost everything that happened after the 25th km! Why??
That's why:
"OK. Nothing is broken!"... "It feels OK!"..... Just scratches... nothing more..... The guy behind me had a funny face... more or less like "The Scream" painting made by the Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch! I assured him that I was just fine....
I started running again..... a little bit sore on my kneed and elbows". "Elbows?!"..... I felt a strange "wet" feeling around my elbows. I checked under the jacket and..... well.... there was a bloody swimming pool! I noticed a "lovely" cut. Approx 3-4cm long but it seemed not too deep or scary. I took some water in my mouth and washed it violently. The water mixed with the enzymes from my mouth did the trick. I washed the sores from my elbows and knees with water and the rest .... well.... like an animal! Of course... I was far away from civilization! You have to do what you have to do when you decide to do crazy tricks like sleeping during a downhill! :)
After 5-10 minutes the bleeding stopped. I was just fine. I could relax now and start to enjoy this race. The adrenaline was on a higher level now and that was a good thing! I needed to focus again and this time properly in order to survive the night! Starting such a race tired was nothing I may recommend. You have to be relaxed and loaded with good vibes and energy! You learn all the time.... Well, I knew this, still it seems that you have to do all the mistakes in the world by yourself in order to understand properly even the basic components of a simple statement! Crazy but true..... we are humans! :)
Branislav was gone..... Well, My race:
