Race Report: Sierre-Zinal
“So in true me style I turned it into a mental game. I imagined myself as a water droplet flowing down the trail, while keeping my breathing at a 4 steps in/4 steps out rhythm. I kept this mindful breathing going for the next 13km, happy to find myself still passing people on the downhill as I ‘flowed’ along. It seemed to be working, although my breathing sounded ragged I could control it and as long as I could control it I felt safe to continue. I told myself I would just continue this until the finish line to be safe…. Then, I saw the 3km to go marker.”
Zinal: Mission Accomplished
The view that I woke up to each morning out of my massive bedroom window was breath taking, and spending most mornings eating breakfast on the balcony of my little apartment became my time to just sit and reflect on anything and everything. Different thoughts always run through my head when enjoying mountain air, as the peace that comes from the view and the slow pace of true mountain life seeps in. The only downside of mountain life, especially in Switzerland, is the crazy price of everything. Good luck buying a simple meal out for less that $50 AUD, and $9 AUD for 500g of carrots anyone? Still, the price was worth it for the location and one of the races of my dreams.
Annecy: The Interlude
There wasn’t much else to my time in Annecy besides sleep, enjoying the sunshine and heat, and trying to keep myself busy enough to not feel too lonely. It felt a bit like I was in limbo, the athlete in me not wanting to exhaust myself but the adventurer in me really wanting to explore the surroundings.
Race Report: Dolomyths Skyrace
For me, Dolomyths Run was all about pushing my limits and running a race I was proud of. After the race I had for Marathon Du Mont Blanc, I had my mind set on forgetting all kinds of race plan, going hard from the start, and just seeing where that got me. The blessing of the struggles I had experienced so far on the trip was that this time around, I really was able to forget about everyone around me and what anyone else would think. I was there to give my best, no matter what that looked like, and if I crossed the line knowing I had done that then I really didn’t care about anything else.