I will run the 170k long RED course!
Just two weeks left!
My training went not as planned due to that foot injury from July 2017. Still, I could train and race with small adjustments, modifications and learn to embrace the pain to another level!
How am I going to approach to the race this year depends on many factors. The most important ones are to preserve the good form, avoid injuries and feel good! 😁
From the last "100 Miles of Istria" (2017) I raced the following races:
- Soteleden Terräng Marathon - 44km (06 May | 44 km ) - 5:47:37 ✔
- GöteborgsVarvet (20 May | 21 km ) - 01:39:08 ✔
- The North Face® Lavaredo Ultra Trail (23 June | 120 km) - 23:39:01 ✔
- UTMB (28 august-03 September | 170 km) - 43:18:29 ✔
- Sandsjöbacka Trail Marathon Vinter (14 January | 82 km) - 10:31:36 ✔
I think that I will try to match the same approach that I had the last year and if I have the necessary energy push it where and when I feel so.....
I am "at home" during this race. This is the land where I'm born and where I feel good! Here is the official link to the GPX map and course view.
http://www.istria100.com/index.php/100-miles-gpx-map
There are some modifications from the last year. I guess that it's going to be tough this year! I have a nasty feeling that the whole course was changed a little bit in order to make it tougher and maintain those "lovely" points that "100 Miles of Istria" deserves! We'll see. I love challenges!
I run/hiked a few years ago a few sections where we are going to run this year. Here are my videos on Youtube on that run. You may see the trail structure, the surface and the difficulty of the trails in some sections near the Sisol mountain.
» My YouTube Channel
I usually feel good and I love those up and downs during the race! You have to be prepared to every situation and embrace the challenge! It's gonna be fun! 😁😉 The next 2 weeks are going to be challenging, the training sometimes strange and/or tough, but I know my weaknesses and I know now what I have to do to perform better - even with an injury! I hope that I done well my homework.
I trained more and somehow better than the last year so I really hope that the body will assist me during this adventure.
How am I going to race this race?
I will start this race with my good friend Mikael Lyckeklint. Why am I saying "start" and not "race"!?
Well, I have to be objective. A 170k race is a long race, a lot can and will happen long the course and it's not possible to synchronize two runners that well in order to run well the race without compromising something or offering something else just to race together. The course is tough and those first 45km will define my race. I have to run with patience and really smart! If somebody should not understand that just check the first half of the race - it's quite brutal indeed. I will take it easy listening to just one thing - my breathing. Nothing else matters....
Yes, it would be great to have Mikael near me during the night because the night is long and being alone out there in the high woods in the dark is not pretty..... but I'm realistic and we all have to race our races the best way we can.
Before Buzet there is one brutal downhill and before that one I really have to be in good shape! I was a little bit tired there last year and quite stressed. I was not running well! So this year I will try to better that and run relaxed all the way to Buzet!
The race gets easy after Buzet!
NO! Not at all.... it gets "dirty"!!
You get out from that warm aid station, that huge sport center and the air is cold..... it's easy to freeze! Don't! Not far from Buzet you start crossing the Mirna river.... not once, not twice..... you just stop counting! Some of the runners choose not to wet their shoes, I went right through the water. I think that you have to rely on your gear. You have to train for that! The chilly water is not an issue if you are ready for that. The wet shoes will dry eventually..... or maybe not! Who cares! Nobody died after a blister or two! But if it comes to a blister situation - take care of it in the next aid station! Do not wait!
HUM - The smallest Town In The World
My race will start here! If I feel good my race will mentally start right there and not a meter before! I will fight all the way to Oprtalj, and if I feel good there at that point of the course, I will start pushing from there all the way to the end!.....
Yes! This is something that lives in my mind.... just one of the possible 100 scenarios during such a race! I know that very well. The only thing that I'm sure of is that nothing or very little can surprise me! I AM ready! I am ready for this race!
See you in Labin and have fun! :)
Feel free to follow my journey to this race or join me during my training sessions! 😁😉👍
https://www.facebook.com/sasinka.aramis
Run with a smile! 😉
