Xterra Trail Run 21km at Møns Klint

-

Xterra Trail Run 21k was a race I have been looking forward to since April when I signed up. This was going to be the most awesome running experience I have ever had, and I was SO excited. Unfortunately, I started having major issues with my hip flexor at my last trail race in early August, which stopped me from running trail and intervals for more than a month now. Had it been any other race, I wouldn't have been on the startline, but I really wanted to run this this one. I decided to do the race, but started thinking of it as a slow trail run and not race, though that was a lot easier before the race than during the race 😁

As for any other OCR or trail race this year, I wrote down my goals pre-race:

Admiring the amazing view
  • Run slow
  • Enjoy the race
  • Listen to your body
  • If the pain is too much, stop after one round
The race
My plan was not to stand up front when we were starting, but in the race briefing before the start they told us that if you wanted to run for the podium you would have to be in the first start group (we were sent off in waves); I figured it wouldn't hurt being in that start group, as long as I remembered to keep my own pace and not let me get carried away by a crazy start. I kept my pace and a lot of runners passed me on the first kilometre. We weren't many female runners in the first group, but I knew one was in front of me and the one in third was right behind me (see picture above).

The race consisted of two 5km loops we had to do each loop twice plus an extra little 1km loop to get us to 21km 😊 After about 6km I am right on the heels of the woman in front, but there was no room to pass her as we were running up stairs (she walked I was running). When we got to the top she started running downhill, I had to remind myself not to run after her, but to keep my slow pace as that would limit the pressure on my hip flexor, and give me better odds at completing the race. I was there to enjoy the surroundings and the experience, and not to race.

Rocky beach
I got back to enjoying the race; the trails were amazing and the view was breathtaking (or perhabs that was the elevation, 711m in total 😅) We got down to the beach, and I think my eyes lit up like a kid who have seen the presents on Christmas Eve 😍 In front of me I had about 2km of rolling rocks on the beach, and I love running on that; it's so much fun. I just kept running, passed the woman in first place along with lots of male runners, I really didn't care who I passed, I just had so much fun running 😊

Dacing my way down the beach
At this point I knew that if my hip flexor didn't cause me any trouble I could win this race, because no matter what happened on the last 10k, we had 2km left on that beach, where I would be able to pass whoever was in front of me. But I had to focus on the steps ahead, or rather the 497 steps right in front of me, as I was about to climb the stairscase leading back up to the event area.

I decided to walk up the stairs, I tried running a few steps but it was not good for my hip flexor, and I wanted to finish the run if it was possible. When I came up from the stairs, I headed to the 1km lap before going back out on the last two 5km laps.
My hip flexor and abs started feeling tight, I slowed down my pace and started focusing on my breathing, it helped and my hip flexor started loosening up again.
The 1km loop went back into the event area, going up the hill towards my second 10km lap an offical on a mountainbike came towards me. I could hear he said on the walkie that; the first woman on the 21km is headed out towards the second round! - "Yay that's me" 😊 It was so cool running through the event area where people were cheering for me.

Out on the first 5km loop I met my mom;

Me "Mom, I'm in first place"
My mom "Yes, you're doing so well"
Me "I'm not supposed to be in first place" 😁

Enjoying every step of the race

I kept my pace, at about 12km my hip flexor got a little tight again; I slowed down and took some deep breaths, it loosened up and I contunied on the beautiful trails, with a BIG smile on my face. I knew I wanted to do anything I could to finish the run, because I was really looking forward to getting back down on that beach😁

The Doubts
Going into the last 4km I was still feeling strong, besides the stairs leading up from the beach I had managed to run the entire route without any issues, many people were walking up some of the steeper inclines or stairs in the forrest (even on the first lap), but I felt good on every trail. Then suddenly I started doubting myself "am I winning this because I am a good runner or because the compettitors aren't better?"
The answer came about 1km later, when I passed 3-4 male runners who were struggling, that's when I knew I was winning this because I didn't burn of all my powers on the first part of the race and I followed my race plan to perfection!😉 A little downhill run and suddenly I found myself back on the beach and it was just as much fun the second time 😛

I passed a few more male runners down on the beach, I was one big smile, as I had been throughout the run; I truly enjoyed every kilometre out on that course😍
The last few steps before the finishline


It was time to run back up the 497 steps to the finishline. This time I dared pushing my running on the stairs a little more as I knew I was done soon. I ran up some steps, walked a few, ran some more; made it to the top and crossed the finishline as the first female and 10th overall.

This race is definitely the best race I have ever done. The race was so professional, Xterra, really know what they are doing. The surroundings were amazing, the trails were fanastic, and I had the best time out there. The fact that I won of course made it better, but I could have finished last and it would still have been an amazing experience 😍 These types of race experiences are what I am focuing on going forward.

A little run on the beack

The view 

The podium

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to burn fat most efficiently?

-
Image
When you workout, you most likely want to be as efficient as possible, but how do you achieve that? Research (Madsen et al, 2015) has shown that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is highly efficient when it comes to burning fat. According to Gillen and Gibala (2014, p. 409) "HIIT is characterized by brief, repeated bursts of relatively intense exercise separated by periods of rest or low-intensity exercise. “Low-volume” HIIT refers to exercise training sessions that are relatively brief - consisting of ≤10 min of intense exercise within a training session lasting ≤30 min including warm-up, recovery periods between intervals and cool down ." Zhang et al (2015) found in their study that HIIT was effective when it comes to burning subcutaneous fat, but also controlling abdominal visceral fat. Likewise, Madsen et al (2015) found that there are many advantages with HIIT, besides abdominal fat loss they found many health benefits for patients with Type 2 diabetes. As m...
Read more

South Coast Ultra

-
Image
From when I heard South Coast Ultra was happening this year at Møns Klint, I was determined to do the 30km race, and I was so looking forward to it😁 I loved racing there last year, so had no doubt in my mind I wanted to do it again. The race The last two weeks leading up to the race, my body has just felt off, and during this race both body and mind was off. I'm in the front for the first 2km when a girl catches up to me, we run side by side for about 1km and then she slowly pulls off, and I never see her again until I crossed the finishline. I wanted to chase her, but I had no power in my steps and I didn't feel like I could increase my pace, there just wasn't a different gear I could change to. After 10km I was really struggling and didn't feel well, I started debating if I should just stop, a million thoughts went through my head "how would I get back to the start area?", "how would I tell my parents I stopped? I don't have a phone...
Read more

Julsø Ultra 60km

-
Image
Himmelbjerget at about 17km Julsø Ultra was my second ultra-race, my first race was Rosenhøj Trail 53km in September 2020. That race was 5 laps of +10k, so very different than Julsø, which was one long route of almost 60km. My training up to the race had be great, however, race day May 1 st was also going to be my first day of unemployment. My stress level was sky high, and my self-esteem from countless of job rejections was extremely low. Bottomline, I could not handle another failure and not living up to my own (or others’) expectations. I was very clear leading up to the race, that this race was not for the podium or placement, this was for ME and ME only. I did not need anyone else’s expectations, I had enough pressure from myself.     Game plan Thursday and Friday before the race, my back started giving me trouble. I’ve had it before, and knew that if I push my heart rate, then my ribcage would start hurting as my lungs cannot expand enough, and I won’t be able t...
Read more