Day 241 – EU – Croatia [Virovitica to Garesnica]

20/10/20

50km

  From Virovitica (Croatia) to Garesnica (Croatia)

Europe

Crossing the Papuk National Park on a long sunny run into Central Croatia

The change of season is having effects on my running. In the hot summer I used to leave as early as I could, before sunrise, trying to get as much done before the sun would be high up in the sky and really beat down on me in the second half. Now that the temperatures are much cooler, I leave with or after sunrise. And the run only gets better and better throughout the morning as the air warms up. Direct opposite to the summer runs!

I also notice I have resumed the habit of having a snack in the second half of the run. A habit that I had dropped in the summer, as the focus was simply to drink as much water as I could (between 4 and 6 litres throughout the run – now down to 1 to 1.5 litres). I enjoy taking my time, not trying to hide from the sun. My newfound habit of socialising with cats and dogs along the way is also making me connect with more people. Pets owners almost always engage in conversation when you make friends with their animals.

The change of season dictates a change of pace and that one is very welcome! Today’s long run was beautiful. I got to cross the dense forest of the Papuk National Park in the first part of the run, unpopulated and wild. Then I ran through more and more villages all the way to Garesnica, a pretty little village in central Croatia – now getting closer to the capital, Zagreb.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: