Run, Koper, run

(Show distances in kilometers / miles ) Ok, time to sum it up. This was a week completely dominated by my trip to Yosemite, where I did just over 100 miles of running over the park in four days. You can read about it in the posts about Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 and Day 4 As you may recall from my fist post this whole thing, apart from being a lot of fun, was kind of a test before my 100-mile ultra next year. And by the way, I'm becoming more and more convinced that I'll go for Rio Del Lago in the end. Anyhow. It's a bit early to think about goals but a rather obvious one would be to break the 24h mark. I read somewhere recently that setting goals based on "round numbers" is silly and is asking for trouble and instead one should base them on one's abilities, previous races etc. I agree with that wholeheartedly. However, how can one resist the 24h goal? Not only is it a super cool goal in itself, allowing one to boast having ran 100 miles in one day ;), but o...

(Show distances in kilometers / miles ) I forgot to mention in the last post that I started developing some cold. I have a sore throat and I'm coughing. I guess all the running in the not-too-warm weather is finally getting to me. In any case, I sleep pretty badly this night. And I have to get up early because it's the last day and having done both the north and south parts of the Yosemite valley I decide I'm done with it. I mean, sure, there are plenty more trails, but I think I saw most of what I wanted. Well, maybe except for Sentinel and El Capitan , but I was close to both and doing the same trails again just to reach them doesn't seem like a great idea. Instead I decide to head to the Head Hetchy Reservoir , which is supposedly fairly different than the Yosemite Valley. It's a 1.5h drive so I need to get moving in the morning. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir ( Workout details ) The drive turns out to be interesting with plenty of twists and turns but eventually ...

(Show distances in kilometers / miles ) Yosemite Valley, north ( Workout details ) Another day, another 40km 25 miles to run... I get up earlier than the day before but this time getting out of bed is bloody difficult. It's cold outside and it feels warm and cozy in bed. It takes all my strong will to drag my ass out of it. But then I go for breakfast, have double hot chocolate and things start looking slightly better. My car is covered in frost and it's pretty cold. With my teeth shattering I go to the park. I prepare for the hike and set off in the direction of the Mirror Lake . The trail is easy and after a while I warm up enough and set into a steady rhythm. After a break at the lake I continue and soon meet a deer family and then I continue towards the Lower Yosemite Fall , which is full of tourists as it's just next to the road. I take a break there. Until now it was mostly flat and I feel great. In fact I feel as if it was too easy! One thing is certain; I g...

(Show distances in kilometers / miles ) I wake up at 7:45, which is quite a bit later than I'd like to, but having to run 40K and being sleepy would be just too much for me ;). I eat breakfast at the Lodge's restaurant, where they have a fairly tasty buffet. Then I hop in the car and drive to Yosemite; it's a 30 minute drive. When I get there I realize that it's fairly cold. I have some relatively warm clothes, plus I'm gonna be running, but I'm missing a hat and gloves and it's mountains, so I don't want to risk it. Fortunately, there is a fairly well equipped mountaineering shop so I quickly fix that. But then I realize I have a more serious problem: by that time it is already half past 10; doing 20K 12 miles , my target distance, in the mountain is going to take at least 3 hours and it's getting dark around 5pm, so I need to be finished by that time. Doesn't take much to figure out that I won't be able to fit in 2 such runs with a l...

(Show distances in kilometers / miles ) «You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone» — Percy Cerutty As I wrote before I had a very bold plan for the long Thanksgiving weekend: Yosemite, 4 days, 8 runs and 100 miles. 100 miles, (i.e. 160 kilometers). At least that was the plan. Whether I'd be able to make it; I really didn't know. The most I ever run in a week was 113km 70 miles and now all of a sudden I wanted to do over 40% more in just 4 days... Some of you may wonder why would I want to do such a thing, in the first place. Well, firstly I can hardly come up with a better way of spending those few days than running around in the beautiful nature of the Yosemite Park. Secondly, it was supposed to be a test of sorts. I want to do a 100 mile race next year and if I am ever to do it in just one day then I guess I should be able to do it over four, right? So this is how the idea of the Turkey Adventure, with its reference to the Turkey-po...