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.
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| Views along the route |
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| Start and finish by the Maritime Museum |
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| 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!
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| 18k of Lida wasn't as painful as it sounds like (lida=suffer) |
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| Floating sauna and first dip of the year |
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| Thrilled about the swim |
