Winter is not the best time of the year to run. Usually in this period of time parks and streets are
overtaken by the racetracks in the gym. I wanted to close the running season to switch to winter sports, the racetrack was definitely not good for that. In Ukraine, for people like me, there are several races for a distance close to the half marathon distance: they are held in Kyiv (“Yol”), Poltava (“Poltava Winter”), Kharkiv (Run "Meet the winter") and, starting from this year in Ternopil ("Win Trail Ternopil") and Zhytomyr ("Zhytomyr Vertical"). Kiev (“Yule”) and Poltava ("Poltava Winter") are held in late December, and Kharkiv, Zhytomyr and Ternopil - in the beginning. I did not consider the "Poltava winter" at all because in was in the series of races from the "Nova Poshta", since I did not run in any of them, then I probably would not have run it, it would not be interesting at all. At first I was thinking about the "Yule". But at the end of November it became clear that winter this year would be snowy, but I did not know about winter races, moreover, I did not even imagine what was waiting for me. So I decided to choose from Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Ternopil. I stopped my choice on "Win Trail Ternopil" as I visited the "Ternopil Half Marathon" in the summer and I liked their organization.
# Registration
I immediately registered at runstyle.net, because there was a limit of 80 people for a distance of 21 km. It costs only 100 UAH, in addition, I paid 110 UAH for a medal. The next step is the road. It was necessary to decide how to get to Ternopil. There were no alternatives to the train, so on Saturday train №327 took me to Ternopil. I did not go home because I was unlikely to fall asleep - this was supposed to be my first winter run, so I was a little worried. I went by the way I checked in the summer and waited for a run at the train station. In order to spend 12 hours of free time more interesting, I took with me a book by Murakami "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running". Since this was supposed to be my first winter run, I did not want to invent something new, so I decided to choose my usual jogging kit (pants, T-shirt, mittens, jacket and hat). I should also take a buff, but unfortunately, I remembered too late.
# Road
The road from Kiev to Ternopil I draftied a calendar of races for 2019 and went to sleep, because in 30 coming hours I would not have such opportunity. Arriving in Ternopil, I went to look for a warm place at the station, where I could get bed and read a book.
Before leaving the station to the starting town, I decided to walk the train station and look for runners - the company would be more interesting to start in the frosty morning. It did not take a lot of time for me: I met Artem from Kiev. He participated in the "Zhytomyr Vertical" a day before the run, and that day he came to run the half marathon of Ternopil. We talked, so the way ended much faster than I expected. We came one of the first. While waiting for the start numbers, a friend of Artem Igor arrived from Lviv, so I met with him.
# Start town
The start town was on a hill near the local location of the "Long Beach", consisting of tents with numbers and luggage rooms. On the side, there was a cuisine, where tasty borscht and mulled wine were cooked. On another - place for heating. A little higher could be found tent of hydration. The place for dressing was located a little in the side. The start was at the bottom, and the finish was on the hill. The start package consisted of a package of pasta, my number and advertising. We got the numbers and had an hour and a half before the start, so we decided to walk along the road and see what was waiting for us. And that was a very interesting route to us in a snow-covered forest with a lot of descents and climbs. Immediately it was noticeable that everything was well marked, it was impossible to get lost: there were signal strips, signs and labels with paint, where to run. It reminded me of something like "Didorivka XC Duathlon, MTB Race & Trail Run", but on a larger distance, and this time the forest was covered with snow. Then we went to change clothes and prepare for the start.
# Race
After the start race, I, like 150 other participants, had to run three laps of 7 km. I was running at the beginning near Igor and together we ran about two a kilometers. After my Runkeeper said that I ran one mile in 9:48 minutes, I decided to accelerate a bit to the pace and get to my usual pace for 7 minutes per mile. Among my other mistakes, there were two most serious ones, as I believe. Approach to the run, as to the ordinary highway: yes, there were the hills, and the distance, and snow, but the run had to be good, like all the previous ones. Я had run “Didorivka XC Duathlon, MTB Race & Trail Run” and I easily did it, so I decided that there should not be any difficulty here. Here was all the same, although that was a bigger distance. The second mistake - I did not fully understood the severity and the training, needed for this distance. For the first 6 miles, I ran very well, overcoming them in 1:02 hours, which is not bad enough. At 8 miles, a wonderful run was over: 9 th mile in 15 minutes, and that continued until the end of the race. At the very end of the first circle I drank a glass of tea, at the end of the second I a took a cup
of tea, banana and lemon. As in my first half marathon, I could not do without problems with my legs, so this time it all went through the prepared scenario.The problems started to appear at 9 miles, and on the point of 10 miles muscles above the knee seemed to say that they did not want to run more. After some time it became better, but since this race went as my first half marathon, I decided that now the goal is just to run, not to improve the result. In the third circle, volunteers helped me with tea, when all the forces were exhausted. The route had two small asphalted parts, which were appropriate on the first and on the second circle. The remaining part of the route traveled through the paths of the forest on the ascents and descents. At the end of the circle runners met a surprise, rather, another descent. In the first two circles, it was quite easy, but on the third I managed it only because on him, and only because he soon finished.the finish was soon.
# Borscht-party
Many races have a so-called pasta-party, held before the run. There was a peculiar analogue of it - borsch-party after the finish. At that moment it seemed that it was the most delicious borsch and sandwiches that I had ever eaten. Very tasty. And also we had a delicious mulled wine with delicious cookies.
# Impression
Ternopil is a city that can surprise. Just like during the Ternopil Half Marathon summer race, the Win Ternopil Trail winter race was organized at a high level. It gave many unforgettable impressions. Immediately it became clear that the organizers were not only fans of the run, but also professionals of the business that they are doing.
Source: androshchuk.com/win-trail-ternopil
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