Running on spring hills and chilly weather is one of the biggest pleasures I get from trail running.
This spring, on May 18th, I’m going back to one of my favourite races, in one of my favourite places – Transylvania 100k. It’s a competition in Bucegi mountains, that blends the beautiful scenery of the wild mountain valleys and peaks with the legend of Dracula and overall a great vacation-like atmosphere.
The kind of vacation in which you run ultras and sweat a lot.
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I’ve learned a lot since I started running. How to train for a marathon, how be faster on uphills, how to survive when you’re injured and can’t run, what to eat before a race, or during a race, how to convince my mom that it’s safe to run in the mountains, what’s the best recovery, and how to shop for fluorescent shoes are just some examples. But these are the big lessons, the foundations.
Isn’t it funny how life gives you an answer right when you need it the most? This year’s Hercules Marathon race in the rusty autumnal hills of Valea Cernei, Romania, was exactly the feeling I had been missing and was looking for.
I’d been feeling tired and not so motivated after my previous race, Maraton Pirineu, in Spain. Actually, this sensation that I don’t really want to train and compete had been going on since after Marathon 3200, in July. I felt like turning the engines a bit off after that one and took a few weeks off from training.
I’m so happy and excited to let you guys know that I’m *finally* starting my Fit Tales newsletter.
Why?
There’s too much noise about nutrition. Lots of it is accurate information, and lots of it is crap. I’ll be here to help you figure out what’s what and take better decisions for your health.
I get to read, try, study, analyze, experiment so many things related to nutrition and sports and I can’t possibly share all of them. Through the Fit Tales newsletter it will be easier for me to do a selection of information that is valuable, relevant, and bullshit free.
Make no mistake, this isn’t a one way deal. I’ll count on you to give me feedback, ideas, and tell me what you’re experimenting and learning.
I’m just following the footsteps of several content creators that I admire, especially my friends Cristina Chipurici and Andra Zaharia, who are doing an amazing job with their newsletters – Cristina’s Friday Read and How Do You Know.
What we’ll do here is to work together towards becoming a tribe of like-minded people, willing to learn more about nutrition and exercise.
In every email you’ll get interesting articles, research, personal views on nutrition and sports, things I’ve come across in my experience as a food coach and I think you might find useful, ideas and recipes to try, as well as coaching techniques that we can practice together. Plus, some personal stories of the more vulnerable kind.
Is this for you?
It’s for you if you’re willing to dig deeper and not take all the noise on these topics as being the one and only truth.
It’s for you if you’re willing to be flexible and try different hypotheses without being radical in your beliefs.
It’s for you if you’re not looking for an easy way out. Because, surprise, there isn’t one.
I’m tempted to say that if you’re a radicalist, an 800-calories/day-starve-yourself-to-death type or a know it all, we don’t want you here. But the truth is, we do. I’ll get ready for this challenge so that we can all learn from one another.
What is it that makes your heart beat fast, your mind wander and your feet dance nervously?
What is it that brings hundreds of runners each year at the start of Marathon 7500, for the last 10 years?
It’s probably a mix between the beauty of Bucegi mountains, the difficulty of the team races, and the people that write the story. And especially about that one person that you team up with.
I feel like throwing up and fainting.
That’s what I told Mihaela when she caught up with me on the final descent in Lavaredo Cortina Trail, asking me how I was feeling.
And I was way down in the less glamorous part of running.
Pe 11 august, în zona masivelor Piatra Iorgovanului, din Retezatul Mic și muntele Oslea, are loc a treia ediție a Oslea Night Ridge, un concurs cu o probă de vertical run și una de alergare nocturnă. Citește mai mult
You know those moments when you have it well but you still find a reason to complain? Well, that’s me living in a beautiful city like Barcelona, surrounded by mountains with some of the best trails in Catalunya, with the beach 5 minutes away from home, and still bitching about how technical the trails are.
Oh, the mountains. The place to connect with nature, relax, and breathe in the fresh air.
Unless you’re in the middle of a trail running race, of course, and the air smells like sweat and you feel like crying. Citește mai mult
For a normal human being, there are very few things that are worth waking up at 3am on a Saturday morning. An 85km run in the mountains is usually not one of them. But the runners around me are anything but normal human beings.
The cut off times of the World Trail Championships in Penyagolosa, Castellon, are probably the hottest topic right now among the runners and their official teams, after the technical meeting in which the organizers announced they will not be increased. Citește mai mult
For the first time in history, Romania has a team of trail runners competing in the Trail World Championships (TWC). Citește mai mult
Dean Karnazes, american de origine greacă, este unul dintre cei mai populari ultramaratoniști din lume. După succesul primei sale cărți, Ultramarathon Man, a publicat un volum nou, Drumul către Sparta, care face parte din colecția IRun de la Preda Publishing.
Drumul către Sparta nu e una dintre cărțile clasice despre alergare, cu o latură motivațională, cât e un elogiu adus Greciei, locul unde a început povestea maratonului. Citește mai mult
Every race is a learning experience and an exam at the same time. You get to see how your mind and body react to the distance, speed, and elevation. You get to see how your quads feel in the first 30km and how they feel after km 40.
You learn how your stomach handles food and how it handles gels. You get to hear your mind speaking, your body feeling alive. And you learn how a different pace, different weather, or an unexpected detail in the competition can turn things around completely.
Plus, you get to live a totally different experience as you adjust all these variables.
– Can I run this distance and elevation so early in the season, after my 5 month break last year?
– Can I handle it well if it’s been almost a year since I’ve run this distance (EcoMarathon 2017, and that was actually shorter and less elevation)
– A big plus point, compared to most races I’ve been to, is that they don’t require a compulsory list of equipment. You decide for yourself what you’re going to take with you during the race, at your own risk.
