What this past month has taught me
If you ever need an escape into nature with beautiful landscapes, friendly people and amazing food: Madeira is the place to be.
But that’s not entirely the reason I stayed there a month: I wanted to look (and find) my limits as trail runner.
And if there’s one thing I can be certain of: Madeira has given me a lot of things to think about…
Nature
I don’t know about you, but when I feel stress or lost, I turn to nature to find answers.
The last weeks of September, when I was still living in Barcelona, were kind of stressful for me: just started a new job, some troubles with my apartment, preparing trail running camps for Lis(t)a Coaching and I just didn’t really have a sense of direction in my life.
I am not gonna get all spiritual about that, but if you would have asked me about my goals I would have given you a smile and told you that I did not have the slightest idea about that.
So my month at Madeira came at the right time. Because there is no place like this that I have been before.
Everywhere you go is just mesmerizing. From the mountains to the cliffs to the black sand beaches to the high grasslands. If you are a nature lover, I highly recommend paying this island a visit.
Trail running
But to get back to the reason why you are probably reading this blog: trail running.
My first week was awful, my second week amazing, my third week crossed the finish line as second woman during my ultra trail and my last week was all about recovery.
That’s a brief summary about it haha.
But on a more serious tone: Madeira taught me of how much I am capable as a trail runner. The progress that I booked over the last couple of weeks is amazing. And has given me a brief glimpse of a whole new amazing world to discover.
Future goals
Since my recovery is going marvelously well, I have sort of spontaneously put one more trail race into this season.
This one will take place on the 13th of November in Barcelona and I don’t know yet what my focus will be: racing or focusing on getting my nutrition 100% right.
What I do know is that I will enjoy every minute of it, even the struggles because those make me stronger, and that afterwards I am gonna take a big decision that might change my life for the better.
Sounds dramatic right? Well it also kind of is.
I hate to say this but: stay tuned until after my second, and last, trail marathon of this season.
