Trail racing

Last week I ran my first trail races of the year. First Milspåret 10K race around Djurgårdsbrunnsviken on Thursday evening, and then Lida Löparfestival 18K trail race in Lida Naturreservat on Saturday morning. They both were wonderful events in beautiful settings. Milspåret wasn’t really categorised as trail race but it went mostly on undulating gravel road in beautiful milieu so it certainly felt like one. And all of this in the hearth of Stockholm, just a few kilometres from the main railway station. Pretty amazing.

I had just run Kungsholmen Runt a few days earlier and didn’t know what to expect from Milspåret. Usually you get very focused on your time in 10K races but it was obvious that it wasn’t going to go faster than in Kungsholmen, rather the opposite. So I couldn’t expect a better time. But it was indeed a beautiful course and a gorgeous summer night, so I just thought to have fun and enjoy it.

I started off at my normal 10K pace but noticed quickly that the sand under the feet was quite soft and loose and it was difficult to push hard without a good grip. The undulating course profile didn’t help much either. I saw early on that I was among the top three women but after a few kilometres I had to let those two girls in front of me go if I wanted to survive the second lap. We did two laps around Djurgårdsbrunnsviken and I wanted to do a faster second lap. At least that was the plan. But it seldom goes as you plan.

First lap went fairly easily but already in the first hills of the second lap I could literally feel Tuesday’s hill reps in my quads and had to slow down a bit and let a lady who had been on my heels for a while to pass me. She was pushing really hard and suddenly I was far behind her. I just wanted to spare my legs to the end. After passing the hills on the second round I gradually picked up the pace again and started to close the gap between us. I had just reached her at 9K when she glanced over her shoulder and accelerated. I was really struggling to keep up with her at the end and it wasn’t before the final hundred meters before I knew I could pass her. I crossed the finish line just a few inches ahead but got the third place. I don’t know how I did it. It’s amazing how you can find some extra power in your legs at the end of a race that you didn’t know existed. I’m just grateful to see that I’ve found back something that I thought I had lost for good.

Views along the route

Start and finish by the Maritime Museum 

One lap to go (Spårvägens FK)

A few days later it was time for Lida Löparfestival, a longer trail race in Lida Naturreservat in Tullinge. You could choose distances from 8K to 89K. I chose 18K, which was one long loop in the forest. It was very runnable and incredibly beautiful course on heavily undulating trails. Steep hills made it tough and I could feel it early on in my quads but somehow I managed to ignore the pain and ran a decent race very close to the men's winner. I started offensively and ran the first two kilometres behind the two top men. But they pushed hard in the hills and after a while I couldn't keep up with them anymore. Then I was on my own for some kilometres until a third guy came and passed me just before the half way mark. After the drink stop at 9K I perked up a bit and decided to push harder in order to keep the third guy in sight. After a while there was an easier stretch where I managed to close the gap between us inch by inch. At 13K I caught up with him but he left me again in the next hills. I was able to close the gap one more time but then he pushed hard the last 5K and I wasn’t able to follow. I kept seeing him until the end but had no chance catching him in the hills. Anyway I was happy to finish as first lady not too far behind the fastest guys. 

These trail races were not only great confidence boost but also perfect steps in my transition from roads to mountains. Especially Lida with its brutally steep ascents. None of the hills were very long but they were definitively steep enough to induce the burning sensation in my legs that I must be prepared to endure for a long time in the Alps. It’s clear I need a few more rounds of Väsjöbacken. Back to hill work then!

18k of Lida wasn't as painful as it sounds like (lida=suffer)

Floating sauna and first dip of the year 

Thrilled about the swim

From road to mountains

After Paris marathon I just put my road shoes aside for a while and tried to find my inner orienteer again. First I gave myself two weeks rest and recovery but did a few jogs in the woods just for my soul. I really love walking and running around in the woods and I missed that a lot during my marathon training.

Three weeks after Paris was Tiomila, the highlight of the spring for orienteers. I was probably more nervous than ever before since I hadn’t practiced orienteering during the winter and only had time for a few rounds in the woods with a map before the race. I had hoped to get a technically “easier” leg to be able to maximize my running capacity and to get some help with orienteering. However, I wasn’t convincing enough, and got a second leg. I did a controlled run technically, with only a few small mistakes, but I was far too defensive to match the best ones on my leg. I really enjoyed the run and the beautiful terrain of Partille but felt like I did too little. I just lacked the confidence to push hard and I was barely exhausted after the run. My teammates Rebecka, Johanna, Julia, and Hilda were terrific and our newly formed team had good chances to a top20 position but unfortunately we had some bad luck on the last leg and had to retire. We’ll be back in Venla!

After Tiomila I started my training towards Mont Blanc marathon. The closer it comes, the more horrified I become. It will be like a jump towards unknown. I have absolutely no idea how (or if) I’m going to survive there and how to approach the race. It will be very different from everything I’ve done before and I’ve never done a race that long and challenging. I did Jungfrau marathon in 2012, which is probably the most challenging race I’ve done and the closest thing to Mont Blanc, but the first half of Jungfrau was on road, which made it significantly faster. Jungfrau was a bit over 4h race for me, whereas Mont Blanc will probably take around 6h or more. I really don’t know. But I do know that it will be more or less like an ultra race for me, almost like a double marathon. It really makes me humble.

The crucial elements in my preparation will be hills and overlong long runs. The more hours I spend on hills and in rough terrain, the better. So now I’m back in my element again, running on trails and in terrain. I just love it and it suits me better than the roads. However, in order to retain some speed in my legs I decided to run a few shorter road races just for fun. Last weekend I took part to Kungsholmen Runt 10k run, which was absolutely brilliant. It was beautiful weather, great atmosphere, and a nice course around Kungsholmen. First half was almost flat and I clocked it fairly easily in just under 20min. The second half was tougher with several climbs, sharp turns, and gravel, which made it impossible to keep a steady pace. I lost a bit but managed to run the whole thing in 40:50, which is one of my fastest 10k runs in Stockholm. I was probably in better shape just before Paris but after all problems with the pollen allergy during the past weeks I was very happy to do a sub 41min 10k. Now time for some hill reps!

Excitement of getting back to green pastures (Photo: Sami Takaluoma)