The bellows are drying on the terrace, my right arm still hurts, but it's time to write down my feelings and memories while I still have them in my head. I successfully completed 64 kilometers of running over grass and stubble. How was it? Let's sing in a row, like the houses in Trieste.
In January, I put a small picture with the GO4trail ULTRA logo on my vision board - 64 km. Then I just trained according to my abilities. In June, I ran fifty kilometers in Tolmin (Soča Outdoor - record here ). I mostly slacked off in the summer. At least in terms of running. It was just hot. Then I started September again with a little more motivation. I accumulated kilometers and elevations on my home hills: Stari Tabor, Kokoška, Vremščica... I usually do longer runs on the weekend. I consider anything over twenty kilometers as longer. At the end of September, I treated myself to a solo weekend and walked a lot in the mountains. I trained the most two weeks before the trail itself, during the autumn holidays in Bovec. In terms of distance, not so long runs, but a lot of elevations and slopes (both up and down). I gained some running confidence and the awareness that I might actually manage to run 64 km during that week in Bovec.
The week before the trail, I only did (officially) two hours of group training, but otherwise I rested. I didn't plan very well and had an appointment with the orthodontist the week before the trail; each visit there means about two days of liquid food. It was the same this time too. Carb loading didn't go according to plan. But on Friday, I ate pasta with goulash. I could already nibble on a little more cooked pasta . On Friday, I checked the route map, counted the refreshment stations, adjusted my backpack, drinks, food, mandatory equipment and all that stuff... My sleep was rather poor, as it always is before such events. Just turning from left to right and looking at the clock so that I wouldn't accidentally miss the alarm. In the meantime, my daughter called me because she had a bad dream , so I couldn't wait for the alarm clock at five.
I got up, went to the toilet, ate two pieces of bread with jam, had a drink, put on my clothes (checked and adjusted the day before), got in the car and drove from Divača towards Solkan. With a lump in my stomach. Two months of preparation. I wasn't exactly diligent, but there were still quite a few Sundays behind me when, instead of cleaning the house, cooking lunch or mopping the floors, I spent four hours running (that's the whole morning). In the end, it takes a lot of sacrifice and adaptation to carry out a project like "running 64 km". I think that's where this nervousness and fear came from, if I'm capable of something like that. The nervousness ended right at the starting whistle.
I arrived in Solkan around 6:30, went to pick up my starting number and starting package. It was very rich this year too. We got a nice blue-green T-shirt, and in the bag there was coffee, beer, water, polenta, nuts, canned sardines, gel, a few flyers with discounts, and something else I probably forgot to list. It was a cold morning. I went to pee twice, but mostly just sat in the warm car. I only took a few minutes to warm up, just enough to move my hips, knees, ankles and warm up a bit. I put on a thicker windbreaker, a long and short T-shirt underneath, and long leggings. We started at 7:30. There were about 50 of us running. I knew the first part of the route from last year, because I had completed the medium version of the go4trail (28 km long three-peak run) a year ago. First through Solkan, past the coffee workers who looked at us like a calf in a new door and probably thought we were missing a few wheels in our heads . From here, the climb towards and to Škabrijel. A bit on the asphalt that I hate, a bit between the trenches from the First World War. After just two kilometers, I felt so warm that I took off my windbreaker. And even those three pieces of bread and jam in the morning weren't enough and I was soon feeling hungry. After I dozed off at the top of Škabrijel, there was a quick descent down to the crossroads for Sveta Gora, and my stomach was telling me it was hungry. There was an interesting part: passing through a long and low tunnel, we had to turn on the light, and then we were already panting up all the way to the facilities on Sveta Gora. Then there was a descent down to the refreshment stand. In between, there was another refreshment stand, where I realized that I had forgotten to take a cup with me (you have to have your own, which seems only right to me). They gave me a bottle of water and I carried the bottle with me. I had a bladder in my backpack, so it wasn't anything like that, but drinking at the station is more pleasant from a glass, because with a bladder you just breathe and I never quench my thirst like I do when I drink from a glass. I waited for food at the station, but they didn't have any bread. I grabbed a few pieces of banana and kept going. At the second station below Sveta Gora, I was already dreaming of bread and Nutella , but disappointment followed. There was no bread. I grabbed a banana again and kept going. At this refreshment station, the 28 km and 64 km routes separate, so the route from here on was unknown to me. We climbed to Vodice, then slowly descended to Grgarske raven. I had a good part of the descent, it was a nice and slow descent, in between I found bread, which I packed with me, ate it and gained some strength. I had no problems until the twentieth kilometer. At the start, my watch didn't catch the GPS, so I was busy calculating the kilometers during the course, which really distracted me. From Grgarske raven, we climbed to Gomila, as well as Veliki Kobilnik. It was my first time in these places. It was around the middle of the day. I put on short sleeves here. There were only a few of us on the course, but I already found my pace, which was the same or similar to the pace of the two Italians. We then overtook each other all the way to the finish line (at one time they were in front, at another time I was) and met at the refreshment stations. While I was barely catching my breath on the climbs, the two of them were chatting the whole time (but really all the time). At first, it got on my nerves, because I really expected to be alone on the course. But then this chasing and catching up really motivated me. Still, I had enough solitude in between. But then I told my husband at home that he probably wouldn't say as many words in a year as they did in those ten hours on the trail. :)
The middle part of the route was great for me, just the right amount of inclines, nice paths, not too steep. I had a great time. In Bate, I finally got some bread. I grabbed two pieces and ate my fill. I didn't stop at snack bars much and ate while walking. As I wrote above, I'm in the middle of orthodontic treatment, it takes me quite a while to chew the crust of bread and I didn't want to waste it by eating. It would simply take too long. By the halfway point, that is, until kilometer 32, I felt really great. Even until kilometer 40 and a little more. The first, not too severe, drop in motivation was on the descent to Plav. Faking Plav. There wasn't and didn't want to be there. I barely made it. In between, we ran through the forest for a long time, nothing special. Same thing. I was starting to worry a little about the clock or the limit and elimination. I ran to Plav a quarter of an hour to three in the afternoon. I didn't know exactly where they were eliminating, and I started to worry if I would make it on time. In the end, I reached the hut where they were eliminating (otherwise elimination wasn't until 4:30 PM), a few minutes before three. This last refreshment stand was great. Two friendly ladies. I washed my hands because I had smeared Perskindol on my knees during the descent. There was a lot to eat. I was craving chips, but I didn't dare to take any until here (you know, strictly only tested food, don't experiment with food , because it can lead to digestive problems). Here in Plave, I said to myself: "To hell with it all, my body wants chips," but luckily it didn't do me any harm. I also ate a few wafers. I took some bread and continued walking.
First we ran on asphalt, a short stretch on the bike path along the Soča, then we turned right up and started the climb to Sabotin on a wide gravel path. I put on a long T-shirt. This is where everything fell apart . I was a little over 50 kilometers in, the day was coming to an end. The worst part of it all was that the long and distant Sabotin ridge and the Sabotin hut could be seen. It was a long story , how far away that hut was. I walked most of the climb. I followed the Italians the whole time. This is where my right arm started to hurt. So much so that I couldn't use my poles, and then I carried them in my left hand the whole time. When we finally got to the real Sabotin ridge, it was just about sunset time. If I remember correctly, about 12 kilometers to the finish line. Some moments were truly magical – stone underfoot, red-colored slush and illuminated by the red light of the setting sun, the Soča below. It's hard to put into words how beautiful it was. That kept me going so much that I didn't really give up. The hut was slowly, but really slowly approaching. Or rather, I was approaching it. When I reached it, I treated myself to another generous portion of chips. And quickly set off. The darkness was chasing me. I went on for a few more minutes without a flashlight, I turned it on just before the church of St. Valentine. There, one of the Italians caught me and overtook me, it was already completely evening, and when he was sprinting down, I was sprinting after him. It was such a beautiful downhill race. It was going for all the judges . As if we hadn't already had 60 kilometers behind us. We caught another runner who had gotten away from us, and I called out to her: " Hey , come on , join us, chase us," and we sprinted together towards the event venue. We could already hear the music and the announcer. The darkness was really solid and I realized that running in the dark actually suits me really well (I also really like walking in the hills in the dark). We crossed the main road and the border, then raced through the forest again. I ran out of steam here and let the runner go ahead. I couldn't follow her anymore. But I knew that I was close to the finish line anyway . When I got to the bike path and saw the footbridge over the Soča River, I felt a single happiness, I wanted to cry, my whole body screamed with joy: I'll make it ! It carried me to the finish line, my mother shouted at me to stop to take a picture of me, but I couldn't. I rushed past all happy. The finish line, I'm at the finish line . Oh my God , what a crazy feeling. Exhausted, completely broken in the middle, but successful in the end.
I was in motion for ten hours and eleven minutes. Ten hours on a beautiful day, in beautiful nature, in nice weather, in motion. How can a person be unhappy under such conditions! It can't be! :)
My mom then assisted me with a shower (there are changing rooms with showers available at the event), she applied cooling cream to me. Then I dressed warmly and had a jota with sausage. The ceremony followed and I went home. I had endless energy and was pumping out Neda Ukraden and pola puta the whole way home. :)
The GO4trail route was really great. It was run along the lower coastal hills (as I'm used to), without any really steep climbs and descents (except from Sabotin). Technically demanding on the Sabotin ridge and in the descent after dark. On Sabotin, there is really ugly, rocky karst terrain. The route was well marked, I didn't have to look anywhere, there were enough refreshment stations (only bread with Nutella was missing). The atmosphere was a little too little on the ULTRA route (a little more cheering would have been welcome), but overall a great experience. I like that it is a smaller event, the places are beautiful and I will definitely come back.
STATISTICS
64 km, 3000 and a bit of elevation gain, and my time was 10 hours and 11 minutes.
I finished fifth out of twelve women, first in my category (18 to 35 years old).
0 gels. Drank cedevito and water. Ate 3 bananas and at least 6 pieces of bread, some wafers, Kinder Bueno and chips.