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<\/p>\nThe Abbots Way: 125 km and 5,500 m of elevation gain from Bobbio to Pontremoli along the Abbots’ Trail<\/p>\n
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by Marta Poretti<\/em><\/p>\n I realized right before I left that I wasn\u2019t quite myself; on my way out, I noticed that I\u2019d lost my water \u201cpouch\u201d for the umpteenth time. My attempt to go back and hope to find it was in vain\u2026 so I opted for the small water bottle instead.<\/p>\n I’M LOSING MY WAY – Still, I’m determined to do well, and physically I’m in pretty good shape.<\/p>\n Then came the stroke of genius\u2014I don\u2019t know where on earth my head was, because I\u2019m usually very careful to follow the trail markers and get back on the path as soon as I lose sight of them. This time, though, I was fooled by some wooden arrows and trees painted red: I followed them undeterred even though I noticed the open space ahead and behind me. Darn it! <\/p>\n Inside, I was thinking, \u201cI\u2019ve left everyone behind\u2014I\u2019m so good! I was even looking at the ground to see if I could spot any trail shoe prints, and sure enough, there were very few\u2014I was really among the first!\u201d Yeah, right\u2026 so few that they left hardly any tracks, so I kept going. I reached a paved road and looked into the distance\u2026 Too far away! And no one on the horizon. \u201cMan, these guys up front are really moving,\u201d I started thinking. <\/p>\n I keep walking down the street, look back, and finally a doubt crosses my mind\u2026 \u201cCould it be that I took the wrong turn?\u201d<\/p>\n It didn’t even seem like I was going in the right direction\u2026 and I see a hill, but on the opposite side! I can’t believe it\u2026 but I know exactly where I went wrong. <\/p>\n RECOVERY – I retraced my steps, and by the time I got back on the race course, I\u2019d run about 5 km in the wrong direction\u2014with a bit of elevation gain\u2014and lost about an hour. I ran into some competitors. \u201cIt\u2019s so nice to see you,\u201d I told them, only to realize then that I was practically last!<\/p>\n I don’t think twice about it and take off\u2014which is exactly what you shouldn’t do in such a long race\u2026 I try to push as hard as I can; my nerves spur me on, and one after another I pass a bunch of competitors, some of whom look at me a little bewildered. I also run into lots of friends who all ask the same question: \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n I’m glad to see them. They cheer me up a bit\u2014”Come on, you can turn this around,” they tell me! <\/p>\n I want to believe in it, even though it\u2019s not easy at all, but I don\u2019t want to drop out because that\u2019s not my style, so I\u2019m running\u2014the course is very runnable, but\u2026 I\u2019ve got to keep a close eye on the markers now!<\/p>\n Managing to make up ground lifts my spirits a bit, even though I get a little nervous because I feel like I\u2019m in good shape\u2014I\u2019m able to run well even during those last few blessed kilometers leading to the finish line, where I realize I\u2019ve caught up to and passed hundreds of athletes!<\/p>\n ANGRY OR HAPPY? I\u2019m angry at myself for that stupid mistake, but at the same time I\u2019m happy because, once again, I didn\u2019t give up and I believed in it until the very end. Unexpected things happen; maybe things don\u2019t always go the way we\u2019d like them to. We all make mistakes, but I think that if you really want something, it\u2019s worth giving it a shot. The result might not be what you expected, but since you worked so hard for it, it might even be worth more. And next time, you\u2019ll definitely be more careful! <\/p>\n USED OXYBURN CLOTHING<\/p>\n “FortyTwo” Blue Jersey!<\/p>\n The legendary \u201cOxybuff\u201d<\/p>\n The awesome \u201cShout\u201d compression shorts worn under the skirt\u2014just the right touch of femininity that never hurts! Those shorts were amazing because, in the end, my quads were safe and sound! <\/p>\n MY \u201c1480 Running Track\u201d knee-high socks\u2014they never let me down!! Great compression without getting too hot. <\/p>\n \u2026And now, see you on May 16 for the 100km della Porte di Pietra\u2014time for a rematch!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Abbots Way: 125 km and 5,500 m of elevation gain from Bobbio to Pontremoli along the Abbots’ Trail<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senza-categoria"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAND ANYWAY, IN THE END, SHE FINISHED NINTH OVERALL AND THIRD AMONG WOMEN IN 17 HOURS, 48 MINUTES.<\/h3>\n