You might not have guessed it, but in the beginning I HATED trail running. Huh? Jep, HATED it.
MY FIRST TRAIL COMPETITION
Took place in 2017 on a Sunday after I had worked a long shift in a restaurant on Saturday evening. So I already started the race with super tired legs. Since I had never trained for any altitude differences, I quickly noticed that this wasn’t just gonna be a walk in the park (more like a run in the forest). Long story short: I reached the finish with a promise to myself I would NEVER do it again.
CHILE
However, that all changed when I started my internship in Chile. My internship mentor was a very passionate trail runner and also in Santiago there simply weren’t that many options to run (safely) on the streets. So I decided to set my prejudgements that I had gathered over the past years aside and just go with the flow.
After the first training I could barely feel my legs, but I got an intense feeling of happiness. The second time that I went with my internship mentor (whom quickly became my coach), I could already start noticing improvements and once you notice progress it becomes addictive 😅
But as with many events in 2020, my first trail competition got canceled and I had to return to Belgium…
Pandemic Salvation
I am not gonna lie about it: I had a hard time during the pandemic. Luckily I had discovered trail running and this literally became my salvation. I am not gonna say that trail running in Belgium is the same as trail running in for example the Andes mountains in Chile or even the Alpes in France, but running in nature and not having to think about heart rate/ paces gave me an intense feeling of peace in my head.
When traveling was permitted again, one of the first trips I planned was to Chamonix with a group of other trail running friends and this holiday became an amazing unforgettable experience and also where it became very clear that my newest, biggest passion was born: trail running.
And you? Do you like trail running or do you identify yourself more with my first version?
Xo
Lisa