January 1st

6:45am... the alarm clock goes. I doubt. Should I go or should I stay in bed. The doubt comes from having done 2 races the day before, 1 in the am, a very hilly 10k and one in the evening, a 5K, achieving a PB on both and feeling quite tired. I decide to get up and go. I get to the place, park the car and take the bus to the start (it's an it starts at one end and finishes at another one, kind of event). It's an 18km trail run. I start and feel bad from the very first meter. I am tired. But I keep going. The hills appear... OMG... soooooooooooooo long and soooooooooooo steep. I feel bad, pressure on my chest, dizziness... I decide to walk up the hill very very very very slow. I'm in the middle of the woods/trai on my own. By km 5.5 the first runner reaches me and then a few more. But that's all... there are NO MORE runners... Once I reach the "summit" I feel a bit better and decide I'll run downhill if I can manage. I combine running and walking. It is downhill now and it is really steep, I have to hold myself back. The terrain is uneven. I finally reach the town... not long to go. The last runner catches up with me at km 15... how upsetting... he set out 20 minutes after me and he's caught me... He says not much longer to go. I finally enter the bay and it's all downhill to the beach, where it all finishes... everyone's finished their swim in the sea, everyone's leavin already. I'm exhausted. Feet packed with blisters. But I've done it. I've made it. 18km300m after, I reach my destination. It's taken me longer than running a half marathon... it's taken me 2 hours and 36 minutes of extreme effort, but those kms are under my belt. It is a New Year. It is 2013 and I've started it exercising... can't think of a better way to start a year. I shouldn't have gone, my body was tired and so was I. I am training to run the Barcelona Marathon and by doing that trail run I've injured my left quad. Still thinking I'll do it again next year, but not the same way! Here's to lots of kms in 2013!