New year resolutions

I am not gonna miss 2017, however, i have learnt so much throughout this year and struggled so hard that it feels as if it was the highest ‘mountain’ i have ever needed to conquer.

After the TDS in September i could feel nothing but pride and relief that my feet were able to take me throughout the 120 km journey. Therefore, i made a decision not to race until the end of 2017 and focus on recovering . Instead, i registered to Transgrancanaria in Fabruary which would allow me to focus on a certain goal in the future but at the same time to take it easy with training.

At first, it seemed i was recovering nicely , so during September -October i ran several local short races (20-30km). The aim was not to push hard but rather just enjoy it and trying to give my best. I really enjoyed all those races, however, it seemed that i could not get rid of several niggling injuries, especially in my left foot (i probably sustained this injury during TDS) . In addition, i started to have pain in my right knee and my right foot was constantly giving me warning signs every time i tried to run more than once a week. I had no choice but to limit my running to once a week for most of the time during the past 3 months. It was extremely frustrating at times and occasionally i started to accept the fact i might never return to run regularly, or at least more than twice a week. Yet, i did not let it get me down. Not after all i’ve been though during the first half of 2017. I knew i had a lot to be grateful about: i could walk almost pain free, i could enjoy the most amazing autumn colours during the fall and i could train hard in the gym. This was enough to keep me happy! I embraced a routine of baking during weekends to keep me busy when i could not run and i tried as hard as i could to keep up with indoor training. Even though i still have pain sometimes while jumping i feel so lucky to be able to maintain a good level of fitness despite the lack of running! It’s so important especially during the darkest months in Finland.

I ended the year with two weeks back at home in Israel. When i arrived i was so worried that i would not be able to explore and run new trails and just enjoy my time there. Surprisingly, i found the opposite was true. I did not only manage to explore new places ( the dead sea and the Judean desert )

but with every day my pain got better and until i managed to log nearly 100km during my last week there! That was the best gift i could receive for the end of the year, especially considering my situation at the same time last year when i was is such intense pain.

I’m wondering how come i managed to run so much and i don’t know if it’s just psychological effect, the warmth, my partner in crime (Mika), the lack of the impact from indoor training or maybe it’s just a miracle. I’m simply grateful and now that i’m back in Finland i really hope i can run a bit more than before.

And now what? There are a lot of changes i’m going though in the personal level as i am about to complete my doctoral degree but when it comes to running, i do not wish to have any PRs or CRs this year. I just want to be healthy and keep exploring new places with my feet. I want to come home and run whenever i want and need it. I hope to get into UTMB this year, but even if i don’t it doesn’t really matter as there are plenty of amazing places to explore.

so 2018, please be kind and good to me, or at least better than 2016-7 :=)