Fraser Darcy

Easy day today, well, that was the intention at least. Not easy resting sometimes though. Getting out of bed, easy, breakfast, easy, read the paper, easy, run 10km along the course, easy (and felt great knowing where I was going),holding myself back, not easy, strides, fast and easy, immersing myself in Innsbruck via bus’s and trams, cool but not ‘easy’.

For the run I simply went back towards Innsbruck on the course to the top of a small steep hill and then turned around and came back. Felt good, had my fastest times on two little segments on the way which was good but more importantly the DOMS from day one’s adventure were almost not there. Looking forward to running downhill properly on some of those big dog Austrian alps trails in the next few days. I finished off the run with some strides to ensure my body knows that running 4:00/km is easy and 2:30-2:50/km is the hard stuff (the stride pace I usually roll at). And then into my apartment for some second breakfast and prep for a morning in the city!

Buying the 24-hr ticket for the local public transport I had essentially the keys to the city. Any bus or tram I wanted I could (and still can) hop on without having to buy an extra ticket. My first destination was the Black Diamond store. Not bad, lots of cool ice climbing gear you don’t normally see in Oz. Next shop was Patagonia and a lady speaking English on the phone doing some customer service threw me a bit (is someone from overseas calling her or is that a mutual preferred language?). Again, store was cool but also very similar to what I’ve seen in Oz. Next stop on the line was Intersport, the little-little brother of Rebel Sport in Oz is actually a big brother in Europe. Three levels in it’s Innsbruck store stocking major brands to add to the department style store I ran past yesterday gives possible meaning to the name after all (Inter(national) sport perhaps?). I bought some more gels from here just in case I need them for the race but these are purely emergency only.

Some more wandering after Intersport took me to a nice little landmark, the Liberation monument. The third historical landmark I’d checked out for the morning (after a big arch commemorating someone’s marriage and a big fountain) was the best, but I never intended to visit it nor was I interested in the actual monument. It was cool and big but I don’t walk around North Terrace in Adelaide mesmerised by monuments there. What I do get mesmerised by are skateboarders having a Saturday sesh like it’s the 1990’s. Tops off, video cameras out and big tricks everywhere. The area itself at first seems to be large and open just for the premise of the monument but in actual fact all the trees and little ramps have been designed as a low-key-it’s-there-but-you-don’t-really-know-it skate park. It was a great little twenty minutes I spent there watching I’m guessing Innsbruck’s finest skateboarders. Funny to think that with skateboarding now an Olympic sport and trail running not, they could potentially claim to be more of a high-profile athletic sport than trail running. And I’m getting a free livestream right in front of my eyes.

It was time to move on after a bit though and I utilised my public transport power to speed up my travel towards the Kletterzentrum (the climbing gym). World famous and the host of international climbing competitions (the week after I leave) this place is massive. I didn’t venture inside because I was too stingy but I did scope out the competition venue and the outdoor climbing options. Perhaps I’ll go there again after my race. The lists of places I was keen to check out had now run out and it was time for me to journey back home.

On the tram and then bus home I was tired of all the walking and the noise of the city/vehicles etc. but here’s a list of observations or non-observations (things you don’t see) so far from my cumulative time in Innsbruck:

• Lots of bikes and bike riders
• Lots of people wearing running and walking shoes (especially the Swiss brand On that is very new to Oz).
• No caravans on the roads
• Lots of buildings all built the same height (surely there was a planning rule in place limiting height) and style. Did they all get built the same time or was no-one game enough to do something different when they fit their little building in between.
• The style of buidling in Innsbruck is very straight and square and built out of stone. In Gotzens and the nearby suburbs is more your traditional picture of an Austrian village house. Still built of stone but lots of wood on the roof and balcony.
• Everyone loves little flowerboxes with reds, yellows and purple. Very cool.
• The weather has been the same every day, warm in the sun, cool in the shade, no wind in the morning and always thunderstorms forecast in the arvo that never appear (but clouds that sit above the mountains) except for today though actually.
• Not understanding what everyone is saying around me is a great ‘ignorance is bliss state’ to live in. I can imagine they’re all taking about nice pleasantries which most people’s body language demonstrates anyway.
• Anyone who is wearing trail running gear (which is alot of people) and looks like an athlete immediately catches my eye to see whether they’re an international competitor like me.

Back at the apartment after a quick visit to the shops I was relieved to finally put my legs up for a bit. It’s good to check out a new city, build my familiarity there etc. you’re only going to be here a limited time etc. but really, I don’t spend time in the city in Adelaide so spending time in Innsbruck is a bit odd. I think I got the timing just right today with my couple of hours visit (about as long as I spend in Adelaide when I visit). The time in the city and at home though is also time out of the mountains and as we all know time away from something is when you realise you’re missing it. Pretty keen to get back up there the next two days to scope it again and see if any snow has melted. My intention is to ensure I can navigate the course without taking any wrong turns on race day.

If I do that, I will be closer to the vision I have of mastering the art of trail running. Which is one of the main goals, not only of this trip, but also in life at the moment. I have been thinking about approaching the race as an exercise in trail running mastery and doing my best. To me, that is a more tangible and relatable experience than talking about a race or World Championships. If I finish a race absolutely wrecked but confident I gave it my best that will clearly be evident in a photo. The fact it might be a world championships or another race or even just a training run is something that needs to be explained whether in words or maybe just by the name on the singlet. Hence, the primary focus I think for the race is on doing my best.

Using the stampede dynamics of being in a large race atmosphere will help achieve this but comparing myself to other runners, whom I don’t know and have never met, is not entirely helpful and can instead by a distracting process for my mind. I can look onto them for advice and tips afterwards to improve my craft but they are on a separate timeline to where I am at. The fact I am running for Australia is great but it itself is almost an arbitrary concept too. Thirty years ago trail running world championships didn’t exist and two hundred and fifty years ago the country Australia (the landmass existed I know that) as we know it didn’t exist. What has existed for longer is the principle of doing your best and representing your community and/or family in a competition against others. Those are the elements that I will be focusing on in my preparation and on race day. To finish today and to ram home this point here is a great little quote from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius which I picked up from the airport in Adelaide at the obligatory wander through the book store. A stoic if there ever was one this is a pure gem from Marcus (see paragraph 12)