Semimaraton Brasov – Half Marathon Brasov

This week-end was very special for me. On Saturday morning I’ve participated at the first edition of Half Marathon Brasov. It was one Saturday that I will definitely remember.

Some details about this competition:

Pretty much the whole week I had the event fever :). I was very anxious and my morning ritual was typically involving checking the  event site, checking the competitors, the latest news… It was the second major event after MPC and basically I was a bit eager to compete but, in the same time I was worried that my knees will kill me again. Anyway that was pretty much what happened until Friday. On Friday afternoon I’ve begun experiencing some discomfort in the back of my right knee. It was not the joint itself, but the muscle in that area. It was a bit painful when walking especially when the leg was fully extended. I said that is something unimportant that will be gone by itself in a couple of hours … but as usual I was wrong. I’ve woke up in the morning before the competition and my leg was still hurting. I’ve tried to see how it feels when running and it was reeeealy bad. My morale dropped big time … I went in P-ta Unirii at 9 AM to pick up my shirt and number. I was very disappointed. I had high hopes with this event since lately I was feeling quite good and now just out of the blue my leg was hurting again. Why this shit has to happen to me all the time? why? I was really low with my morale and I’ve planned to run the first 2 km till Solomon Rocks and if the pain will not go away I will abandon there since it will be easier to come back home.

That was pretty much the plan at 12.00 AM when the event started. I’ve started to run … but out of the blue (just like the pain appeared) my right leg was just as new. I didn’t feel anything hurting anymore so I’ve started to run. I was ecstatic … I could enjoy this event finally. My rhythm was not too fast when starting the climb from Solomon Rocks to Poiana Brasov. I’ve tried to keep it steady and constant. My initial plan, when I was healthy :), was to be at the first checkpoint in 1 hour and after that to run as fast as I can to the finish line since it was mostly going down. However I was feeling really good and I was at the first checkpoint in ~ 50 minutes and because I had my camel back reservoir with me I didn’t stop to get refreshments there. I was feeling reeealy good, so good that I was almost flying on the technical portions of the descent. I’ve passed a lot of competitors till I’ve reached the second important point at km 15 (Racadau barrier). Again because I had my water with me and I didn’t stop, while approaching Gabony Stairs a friend of mine (which I’ve passed at the Racadau barrier – he was having some water 🙂 ) caught me. I was very pleased. I was beginning to feel tired and I really enjoyed his company. We’ve exchanged some words and it helped me to not think about the exhausting state that was slowly installing into my body. He moved in front of me and I was concentrating only on his steps… he was literally dragging me with some invisible wire. After passing the cable car station by some miracle I was feeling again better. I don’t know from where my body found another drop of energy. The route however kept the last surprise just before the finish line :)… a hard short climb just before the final descent to the finish line. I’ve slowly passed my friend (who was probably exhausted after dragging me for the last few km 🙂  – Thank You Paul) and I was hoping that I will drag him with the same magical and invisible wire and finish together. I was so tired that I couldn’t look behind. I was just looking in front of me and after some painful minutes I’ve manage to finish the last climbing meters and started the descent to the finish line.Again, by changing the type of effort and the muscles that were engaged in the downhill running my body magically found another drop of energy and I’ve accelerated again. I’ve passed 2 more competitors and I’ve finished the race in 1h:52 minutes.

In Action 🙂

The after-competition photo 🙂

Now, I really don’t care about the timing. It’s anyway far better than what I was expecting. What really makes me not forget this Saturday is the fact that I didn’t experience any pain on my legs. I had one crazy descent from the check point in Poiana Brasovului and I really enjoyed the trail running. I was feeling like in my childhood when me and my friends were wondering through the woods. We were that just enjoying  the nature and the pure joy of running through the woods. That’s the exact feeling that I had this Saturday … the pure joy of running, the freedom sensation that you experience when jumping over some rock or tree, the cushioning effect of the forest carpet.

The competition was very well organized by Cetatea Brasovului Association … thank you guys and all the volunteers that made this event possible.

The movie of the competition:

The photos with the best of us 🙂

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