Just a few days ago I've finally come home after a month abroad. It was our traditional family trip to Czech Republic and Austria. You know, after a year of camps alone and studying hard at home, you're so looking forward to spend time with your family, to rest from all nervous competitions (JWOC), from exams and from admission to university. But the best relax is just a change of activity, so we were training harder than ever, but in Another Way ;)
To start with, we went to north Czech, where took place 5-days international competitions Bohemia orienteering 2017. It was my 4th Bohemia, and you know, I'm growing there. My first time there I was 11 years old and was running in 14th class. At 13 - in 16th class. At 15 - in 18th class. And now at 17 - in elite class. And I can't count how many times I will be running in elite class further. Terrain there is just perfect for difficult orienteering: we were running in Luzatian mountains, sometimes reaching 700-hundred-meters-tops, running in labyrinths made of sheer cliffs and just purifying ourselves on each stage. 5 days in a row, especially when these days are 3 long distances and 2 middle distance - turned out a tough challenge. On both middles I was disappointed with my orienteering and just so angry on myself, that I was analyzing them about 30 times to avoid such mistakes on the next days. Longs were hard physically and had long route choices, so just what I like. But I managed to run without mistakes only on the final day, and that's why ended third, which was a very pleasant moment by the way. Every day I was becoming some experience, about which I remembered the next day. That's how we're learning on our mistakes!
Then we travelled a bit more to the South and arrived to our most favourite place on Earth (seriously) - a small town in Alpine mountains, 1500 meters above sea level - Obertilliach, Tirol, Austria. It was our third time there (first on EYSOC 2016, second in august the same year and now the third). If I will start explaining, why I'm the most happy there, no one will stop me. So in a few words: chocolate cows, amazing views, mountain lakes, the tastiest air, which has a smell of milk, grass and flowers from each house balconies, and just this atmosphere of absolute freedom and greatness of nature. Those views and mountains made me cry from overflowing of emotions. The more you train there - the more you want to proceed, because every training, every hiking to some ~2500m top is just a big pleasure and lots of emotions.
But back to sport! There are many opportunities how to train there: you can go hiking to Italy, for example, you can run through the valley to another village, you can go roller skiing or you can go fast by some serpentine with ski poles. We were doing all of this, but what I enjoyed the most - long trainings with elevation about 1500m to the top of some mountain and back. Even if you only walk up the slope, you get so tired! We've visited 4 mountains in such way, and this feeling, when you stay on the top after two hours of nonstop running, when there is no one around, but only you and infinite Alps, can't be compared with something else.
That's for what we were training twice a day, being actually on a holiday. And departing from there we noticed lots of things which we haven't done, so I hope the next year we will also come for more adventures!