Olomouc Half Marathon 2015

There has been some time since I raced longer distance after the unsuccessful Prague Marathon on May 3... I hoped for another marathon attempt towards end of June / in July, but this is what happens when you get too distracted and life and work get in the way of your training :( As I really like the Olomouc Half Marathon, I decided I will go for this race experience. The race has been long sold out, but I managed to snap one of the charity spots last minute. Fortunately in the Czech Republc the charity spots are not as expensive as abroad, which is little sad I think with the popularity of running nowadays. I was wery happy to be running for "Středisko rané péče Olomouc" (Newborn Care Facility) - www.ranapece.cz

Since the Prague marathon I got my legs smashed at the Vltava Run relay race and at two track meets from our 2nd league division :D Racing 5 000 m & 1 500 m last Saturday in Jihlava (June 13) and 3 000 m steeplechase (!!!) and 1 500 m two weeks before that in Prague. Let me say, the steeplechase experience was epic :D :D :D Man those things are huge and the water is deep! I will try to find some photos ... There was also lot of work in the mean time helping Czech Olympic Committee with the communication of the T-Mobile Olympic Day Run! I love this opportunity and experience - come and run with us on Wednesday June 24! (www.olympijskybeh.cz - you can choose one of the 20 cities in Czech Republic or run anywhere through the Endomondo challenge - everything is available on the website :) ).

Since it is held in the summer, Olomouc half is traditionally ran in the evening, starting at 7 pm this year. I had the pleasure of being driven on Saturday morning by Katka from Royal Bay compression gear and I had my compression knee socks and thight compression sleeves on to keep my legs fresh for the 2,5 hrs drive :D

According to the weather forecast there were some possibilities of rain, but we got really lucky and it rained in the afternoon and then the sky cleared up but the teperature stayed perfect for running, Yay!

Two best Czech competitors - Jan Kreisinger and Jiří Homoláč pre-race sporting their Olympic Run t-shirts - do you want one? Sign in before Tuesday at www.olympijskybeh.cz :)

So about the race? I finished at 1:34:41 as 23rd woman overall, pretty decent even though I was hoping for better time, but I guess you cannot expect miracles when your training and you regime get disrupted :( Going back on track right this second! I had some performance tests done and we see huge spots of possible improvement, so I know what to work on, that is always good thing! I was little upset when I realized that personal best wasn't gonna happen, but I am glad I managed to continue and not slow down and get at least sub 1:35 time, even though that is not good time for me. As I said, time to work hard!

I took quick shower at the race facilities - I never used the option of the Hans Grohe shower trucks and I have to say it was pretty comfortable! Especially as I was among the first women and the elites had obviously their own facilities, it wasn't crowded at all, but I guess it got really crowded afterwards. After the quick shower I was searching for somewhere to eat and Katka who drove me to Olomouc went for burgers for lunch and I love me some burger and fries as post race treat! Yes, I DO eat burgers and fries, not very often, but every now and then :D And when I do, I get home made mayonnaise for my french fries :D

For the dinner I had the pleasure to be joined by the very sweet and beautiful Alžběta from Utíkej mami utíkej (Run mommy run) blog. We obviously got in touch online, but since she is from Ostrava (another city not that far from Olomouc, but very far from Prague), this was the first time we saw each other in person! She is super sweet!!! And rocked the race in 1:42:17, what a great performance for 2nd half marathon of her life. She managed this great time even after getting some stomach issues after taking a gel at km 14. So I immediately provided my last package of Generation UCAN for her to try, because seriously this is the best fuel, especially for half marathons where I only take it before the race and then only get water on the course - no stomach issues, no wall :)

Happy me, all in pink, with burger, fries, mayo and glass of wine :)

The place called "Denisova šest" (meaning address Denisova 6) was delicious even though we waited a bit for our orders, it was totally worth the wait! Can only recommend it!

Good food after race = happy runner :)

And the obligatory selfie ... little tired at 11:30 PM, but all pinky :D

What were your races this weekend?

What are your training / racing plans for this summer?