An Awesome Trip and a Run – The Run Part

We took an anniversary trip to Europe.  My husband found a race for us in Italy.  We landed in Zurich, Switzerland, and drove to Salzburg Austria, touring around in both cities.  After Salzburg, we drove  through the Alps to Hoschpusterstal, Itlay, A village in a valley of the Dolomite Mountains.  This was the site of our race. It was a seven mile race starting in an Italian Alpine village and ending in an Austrian Alpine village.

Good thing we had GPS! We never would have found our way!  This journey was a very pleasant part of our trip.  We stopped for lunch and met a nice Inn proprietor who taught us about Speck – a ham/bacon like meat they use for sandwiches.  I ate it, Mr. Healthy Eater didn’t.

The village of Hoschpusterstal, Italy

Before the race, we scoped out the awards.

Prizes for the age group winners. – VERY large bottles of wine!

I admit to being pretty competitive.  Lots of times I can win an age group prize in a race.  For this race, I stalked researched previous times, and saw that I had no chance.  First of all, the age groups were in 10 years, and I was at the top end of mine. And second these ladies were FAST.

It was an afternoon race, and very hot conditions.  There was a heat wave for that region, and the temps must have been in the high 70s.  Even so, it was an awesome race with beautiful scenery.

My husband looking happy and fit. Pay no attention to the man in the background!

Even though we had been hydrating all day, both of us became dehydrated in the race.  I was seriously wondering if I could take a sip out of the creek that ran along side the race path.

Even though the race was flat, we were still running at altitude. It was SO thirsty!

We finished the race happy.

End of the 7 mile race in Austria

Went back to our hotel, showered, and then returned to the event hall where they were having post race beer and spaghetti.

Look what happened.

The Olympic  AG Winners podium

WOW!!!  That was so awesome!  I got third place in my age group.  I felt like I had won a medal in the Olympics.  Truly one of the highlights of my entire life!!

My only explanation was that the heat must have gotten to the faster European ladies, and they had a hard time… but as someone who lives/runs in Atlanta heat training is a given.