Radków 2017 Day 4

Last day on our way back to Szczecin we stopped in Nazi German complex Riese. The biggest underground building project in III Reich. The purpose of the project remains uncertain because of the lack of documentation. Some sources suggest that all the structures were part of the Führer Headquarters,  according to others, it was a combination of headquarters and arms industry. Complex was never finished and for many years after war was abandoned until a few years ago was changed into tourist attraction.

Radków 2017 Day 3

Third day was the day of the run. So after cheering me on start, Bartek and Wojtek went to Czech to see another rock labirynth often compared to some Lord Of The Rings locations. 

Meanwhile I was running through mountains. 24km with 750m vertical change. I must said that it was much more fun than running on flat. Beautiful views, changes in tempo and style, constant focus on difficult track and less pression for time. I really enjoyed it. Final time 2:49

Radków 2017 Day 2

During our second day in Góry Stołowe we went to Wałbrzych and visited first Książ castle. This third biggest castle in Poland is famous because of mysterious tunnels built under it by Germans during WWII.

Next we moved to see Wałbrzych Old Mine, art and science center located in renovated buildings of mine closed in mid nineties. I must say that this was a treat for me as heavy machines lover. Also we were able to participate in guided tour what was nice.

Radków 2017 Day 1

During our first season of running we decided to try lots of different kinds of running. We signed for marathon in Poznań, I tried triathlon. Ania also insisted on trying mountain trail running. So we signed up for 24 km of Garmin Ultra Race Radków in September. We planned to have a few days trip to Góry Stołowe, hike a bit and run. But a few weeks before the event Ania decided that Kamila is still too small and taking her there and back just for a few days is not worth it, so I took my brother and Wojtek and we made some men road trip.

First day after arriving we went to see Błedne Skały, a labyrinth of old rock formation with narrow passages and hidden routes. Later that day we also visited Szczeliniec Wielki, the highest peak in this mountain range and Kudowa Zdrój one of local health resort.

In Kudowa Zdrój we found Old Toys Museum that was very interesting for as adults and educational for Wojtek.

Baja Poland 2017

Baja Poland is one of biggest off-road rally and part of FIA cross country rally world cup. It is hosted every year on terrains around our city and on military poligon in Drawska Pomorski. This year I decide to see it for first time and also show it to Wojtek. So we took some ear protections (this machines are quite loud) and went to one of rally stage.

38. Halfmarathon Szczecin

I will have a lot to write about this race, so ready for a story?
Although we are preparing for our fist marathon, I have to admit, I was a bit neglectful of my training. I haven’t been feeling well lately and I sometimes skip my trainings. I had even considered dropping out of marathon at some point. Anyway… Since my running performance is rather bad, I decided I would take this halfmarathon calmly. I was aiming for 2h 15 min, so more like a long run training instead of a tempo training. But I changed my mind one week before the start. I’ll keep this to myself where I found motivation – or ask me some day face to face 🙂 But the motivation was big enough for me to try to go under 2h in this marathon – this was the goal I set for myself.

What adds flavour to this story is a fact that a day earlier Radek had ordered a pizza and I was unable to refrain myself (who wouldn’t?) 🙂 It ended badly for me, I got stomach upset and it began even before the starting line. Another setback… Like 20m after the start my headphones died and I was left without any music. I’m the kind of a runner who can’t imagine running without music but I had no choice. So… weak from food poisoning, with no beat in my head that would speed up my pace, I endevoured to beat my life record in half marathon. Radek had not believed I would make it and to be honest, neither had I. But I tried anyway.

The two photos above are from the finish line. Radek made it in 1:48:08 and I… wait for it… 1:58:17. I honestly don’t know how it is possible. The very race was not an ordeal for me surprisingly. Problems began after the finish line but that’s another story. We were both super proud from these results (although it’s not Radek’s personal best). And I guess, running is 50% muscles and 50% head.

Running: 3 Dzikobieg

What was I thinking when registering us for Dzikobieg? Easy answer: I thought it could be fun. And it was 🙂 What is Dzikobieg? Well, the name is not that easily translatable as it’s kind of a word play. Dzik is a 'wild boar’ and dziki is 'wild’. So I’d say the name is sometging like „The wild run of a wild boar” 🙂 I guess everyone knows Runmaggeddons. It’s something like that but better because many of the obstacles are natural (like in the photo above) and there’s a very nice atmosphere. You can push forward, race and do every obstacle as it should be done but you can also cheat and help each other etc. It’s up to you 🙂

In the above photos you can see only a couple of obstacles but there were plenty… Mud, river stream, trees – these were the natural ones. But there was a variety of artificial obstacles that I even don’t know names of. For example crawling under a tank, diving in a freezing water, wading in foam, lots of pulling up etc. It was great fun. Of course, it’s a dangerous race but we were careful and didn’t take it too seriously and we made it in one piece with smiles on our faces. See you next year!

Photo credit: Dulny Photo and Foto Art.

Hiking: Chojnik Castle (627 m)

Having four kids around is challenging in mountains but we don’t give in 🙂 Another destination: Chojnik Castle. Not that much of a hike because only ~330m of elevation and 6km in all but hey – some of them kids don’t even walk yet so be understanding 🙂
It was a very nice hike, totally suitable for children. The views were great at the top although the hill is not particularly high. I think we will repeat this trip one day.