Photo by Niclas Gällentoft
This old dude is looking quite good right?! 😁
Another year is about to start and this year is my fourth year as a runner and.... I love it!
I made interesting progress this year, maybe not in figures but in pure running experience! I know better now and I know what I should do better the next year! Mistakes will come, wrong decisions too! I'm ready to embrace everything.... the whole thing! ;)
I know that it's not easy to combine Ultra-running and family life with a full time job, but I love it, it made me stronger, better and healthier!
This is a summary of the 2017 in figures compared with 2016:
2016:
Distance: 3,344.4 km
Time: 353h 46m
Elev Gain: 62,998 m
Runs: 262
2017:
Distance: 3,112.7 km
Time: 356h 38m
Elev Gain: 91,979 m
Runs: 227
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This is how the 2017 was. A year with a lot of pain, tough decisions, emotional crisis, crazy choices, life and death...
This was a tough year. Much tougher that I could ever predict or "plan". It started with a virus just at the very beginning of the year and before the Sandsjöbacka Trail race! I had to DNS that one! :( After that "problem" I managed to train well in order to run as I wanted to the "100 Miles of Istria" race. And despite all the predictions and what everybody told me I managed to reach my goal there and run well.... I was and still am pleased with that race!
And that was pretty much the one and only race that went well during the whole 2017!
The next race - The Göteborgsvarvet I ran almost with no appropriate training due to a mistake I made after the 100-mile race. And it went ok. I managed to match the same result as the year before without no training for a fast fare! Crazy but true. Still, I was disappointed!
The next race, the Lavaredo race was scheduled the last days in June and despite a cold a few weeks before I was ready to race well. But.... just 25km after the start i managed to fall nasty and was forced to take a tough decision: race and see the course really easily or DNF the race after 25k! I tried the first one and it went OK-ish but that experience was really painful! But I enjoyed the course! A beauty! I'll be back in the 2018! :)
I had to rest for two weeks after Lavaredo in order to give my sore muscles and the injured spot the time to recover well. And the next day running here in Gothenburg I was flying... running fast and easily..... I was soooo happy that I felt really great! And, there... just 350mt from the parking I landed on a sharp rock and injured my heel! I was mad... mad ... crazy mad! But I thought that that was just pain and I went for a run the day after.... the pain was just too much.....
But I had to train hard in order to have a chance to complete the UTMB! I wanted to see that course so badly that I continued training choosing the terrain that could be ran using the forefoot! This was a painful training! Miles and miles of "alternative" training that made a good change in my running. Well, my legs, my quads and mu calves got really strong and I was confident that I could complete the UTMB.
Well, it went as planned..... well, until the 100-ish km when I noticed that you cannot joke with the gear choices you make in high altitude! I suffered a lot, I was never so close to DNF a race. Still, I pulled out a decent race and enjoyed those last 25k (I'm not joking!)....
I decided not to race the Orust Tvärs. A short and fast race. My foot needed more rest. And I'm happy about that decision. I'll be back! That race is a nice one... not to be missed if you're here around Gothenburg!
The last race of the season was the Sätila Trail 121km. I started the race quite fast. I wanted to test my legs. It went well until a few wrong turns. It was entirely my fault. I did not took care of the course. My attention was entirely consumed by the pain in the foot. Yes, that injury from July was still there! I ran 43k in that race and after a slight ankle sprain I decided to DNF! I could not run and prform well with a painful left foot and the left foot that had a "lovely" ankle sprain! No way!
That was my 2017! Still, the numbers are much better and stronger if compared to the 2016. I hope that the 2018 will reserve good things for me, my family and my running! :)
I wish you a Happy New Year! :)
Have an awesome 2018! 😁🎉🍾👍
