tunnelløpet: the tunnel run

This was a new one. A 10 km run that went through a tunnel. It´s the new tunnel in Oslo that has not been opened to the cars yet. So this is another one of those "one time only" runs.
My running has been pathetic this year, so I had no goal other than to have a good time and to maybe meet a few friends. And I did both. I met Joachim at the starting line. And then during the run, actually right at the 5 km mark, I met Trond as he camly and steadily passed me after exchanging a few words. I tried to keep up with him, but there was nothing more for me to give.
I was doing pretty good for the first half, and I thought I could finish in 42 minutes... but my time would be 45:20. Oh well.
It was still a pretty cool run, and I even brought my camera with me so I could get some shots during the run.

Running inside the tunnel was pretty strange. I was expecting it to be cold, which is why I wore the long sleeved thermal. It was actually pretty warm in there, and strangely quiet except for the fans in the ceiling. At the 5 km mark, inside the tunnel, there was a drinking station.

race report: Sentrumsløpet - 10 km run

This was my 6th time running in the 10 km classic run in downtown Oslo.
Luckily the sun was out, so even though it was a little bit cold, it was perfect weather for shorts.
I had my doubts on whether I would be able to match my time from last year. I`ve been training pretty good this winter, but I have not really been keeping up with my running.
I ended up next to Trine in the starting area. We were both discussing our expectations and we both were hoping for around 41-42 minutes. The gun went off and a sea of runners flowed through Karl Johans street, towards the castle. Its a pretty cool sight. There were 5000 runners this year!

Already at the 1 km mark I could tell that Trine had a much better run than me. She was slowly pulling away, and I could not keep up. But I found my pace and had to keep that.
I love the path that Sentrumsløpet goes. We run up to the castle and pass it on the right. Continue further up towards Frognerparken and run straight across that. There are always a lot of spectators in the park. We then curve back down and eventually end up at Aker Brygge. Lots of spectators here too. Then the final curve around downtown and then the final sprint back down Karl Johan, where we started.
My pace was pretty steady throughout the whole race, but since my average was around 4:20 per km I knew it would not be a new PB for me.
I ended up with 43:33.
I placed 117th in my 40-44 age group (out of 443).
I`m still pleased with my results. Now I just need to keep up with my running ;-)
Oh, and Trine got 41:27. Very nice!
For all results go to www.sentrumslopet.no

race report: Bø Sprinten triathlon

The triathlon season has started! Finally!

And for the 3rd time for me it was Bø Sprinten.
750 meters swim (indoors pool), 20 km cycling, 5 km run.

After a hectic Saturday morning I finally managed to leave my house, a little late, and drove down to Bø, Telemark. About a 1,5 hour drive from Oslo (I may have broken a few speed limits). Signed in at 9:30 and was able to warm up in the pool for about 20 minutes before the heats started at 10.

I was curious about my swim time, since I have not swam a lot this year. I managed to swim in 12:56 though and came in 8th place total :-)
(my swim time last year was 12:09)
Several heats followed me so we had to wait quite a while until the cycling started. In fact we would not start until 1 pm.

I did not mind too much though because I wanted to make sure my bike was properly set up. My bike has been inside my living room for about 6 months, so I was glad I could take a little test ride while I waited. Another last minute thing was switching out the shoe laces with the stretch laces on my jogging shoes. (nothing like waiting until the last minute). Obviously it´s been a while since my last triathlon.

Finally the cycling leg started, and since I had the 8th best swim time I was 8th out of the gate (3 minutes 39 seconds after the first guy).
The weather was sunny and the temperature was nice (well, a little cold), but the winds were insane!! And as soon as I got out on the roads I realized that it was mostly side winds. I tried to use the tri-bars, but it was all I could do to not lose control, so I had to use the regular handle bars most of the time. After only a few minutes I was passed by a couple of guys. And more would pass me before I reached the half way point. No worries though. I just concentrated on keeping a nice cadence and not waste energy on the winds.
At the half way point, 10 km, I clocked in at 19 minutes. Not bad. I was hoping for a tail wind on the way back, but no such luck. The wind was coming from everywhere it seemed, and in gusts, so I just held on tight and tried to just keep a good cadence. I managed to use only 18 minutes on the way back so I was pleased. 37 minutes total on the bike, giving me a 32 km/h pace, which surprised me in those winds.

Into the changing zone, on with the jogging shoes, and I ran out. The winds were increasing, and it seemed like I was running at a 45 degree angle heading into the winds. This was a loop taken 3 times. It was supposed to be 5 km long, but my GPS measured 4,3 km. I managed to keep a very nice pace, and no one else was able to pass me on the run. It was a fairly flat course, and the dreaded hill from last year was now gone. I crossed the finish line after a 20 minute run.

I ended up in 18th place, out of 42. My total time, including the swim, was 1:10:41, about 14 minutes behind the winner. It´s impossible to compare my times from last year since they changed from mountain bike to road bikes (thank God), and the run track was changed as well.
It felt great to be out again, cycling and running, meeting up with the other triathletes, and just having a good time. I think my skiing this winter has paid off.

My photo album:
http://www.hustephoto.com/ph_BoSprinten_2010/

Bø Sprinten´s photo album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/106115835099005412782/BSprinten#

Final results:
http://www.hustephoto.com/ph_BoSprinten_2010/BoSprint_halvolympisk_170410.html

race report: Grenaderen 90 km - cross country

This was to be a very long and very cold day!
04:30 - pack up the car and drive downtown to the bus-transport
05:15 - the bus drove us up to Hakadal
06:00 - at Hakadal, where there is an abandoned train station which is our only chance of being indoors. The actual starting point is a 10 minute hike uphill where we pick up our time-chip and get ready for start. There is a tent where there are port-a-potties, which is quite a chilling experience.
The temperature is -12 C and snowing. It is just barely getting lighter outside. "Sunrise" is at 07:35 now, but we will never see it today anyway.
07:30 - Start of race! There are about 600 competitors and there´s 7-8 lanes wide in the starting lineup. There is a mad start to get first up to the "bottleneck" where we go over a small bridge which only has 2 lanes. I manage to keep a good pace and I am feeling good.
As always in these races, it´s quite packed with skiers for the first 10-20 km. Already we get quite a few climbs, which spread out the people a little. Then as soon as we get to the first downhill I notice that I have no glide whatsoever! People are passing me pretty easily and I´m quite frustrated. I had prepped my skis the night before, but had a bad feeling that I had done this wrong.

The 1st food station is at Kikut, after 17 km. It took me 1:30 to get here, which is a good pace for me. I get some sandwiches with salami plus something warm to drink.
Plenty of climbs coming up. But then finally we get a flat section. It would not last long. More uphills before we get to the 2nd pitstop, Storflåtan. It took me 1:36 to cover the 15 km, so I am still on schedule.
After each stop though my hands start to freeze up. It would take about 30 minutes after each stop to get my fingers warm again. Luckily my feet would never be cold. It is also about here that my GPS battery died. After only 3 hours? It was a brand new battery, but I guess in -12 weather the battery won´t last long.
The 3rd stop is at the top (technically), at Løvlia. It took me 1 hour to cover the 11 km here, so I am quite pleased considering all the climbs. But it is also here where I am getting tired and having problems keeping my hands warm. Luckily they have warm drinks for us, but I wish I could put my hands inside an oven. It is still snowing and the wind is merciless... even though we have a tailwind for the most part.

More downhills! Really steep! I think this is where I had my first fall. I would end up with 3 total falls today, each one just me planting my ass on the ground, not wanting to careen into a tree or something.
It is 13 km to the next pitstop, at Kleivstua, and it took me 1:28 here. My pace is slower now.
It is here that I decide to have my skis checked out while I am enjoying some hot coffee. This nice Swedish guy manages to fix my skis (why did I not do this earlier??).
As I leave the pitstop, I notice an immediate improvement with my glide, and I hate myself for not checking them earlier.
I think the best last minute decision I made that morning was to add on a wind-proof vest under my jacket. The wind is still pretty strong, and the tracks are disappearing, making the visibility very poor.

I also notice that my water bottle is completely frozen! And this is one of those bottles with the big opening that I bragged about to Ellen just last week... because the opening never freezes. I even tried to hack away an opening with my ski pole, but it was rock solid. So... no more sport drink for me except at the pitstops. Bummer.

I am at the next to the last pit stop, at Sollihøgda. It took me 1:22 to travel 10 km, so my pace is slower than I wanted to be. I meet one of the guys that I had talked to on the bus this morning, and we were both looking forward to this thing to be over. We were at the 66 km mark, so we still had 24 km to go.
More uphills and more downhills. Seems like there were never any flat areas where I could just "walk".
At the last pitstop! Finally! At Sandungen. 15 km in 1:47. But here they are out of hot water! I am offered a cold drink, and I have no choice but to take it, especially since my water bottle is now just a block of ice. So I have some cold salami sandwiches and a cold drink.... mmmmmmmmm.

The last 9 km still remain! My hands are freezing! And we are still not getting any mercy from the tracks... or the weather. Lots of small uphills and downhills (although it seemed there were more uphills... if that´s possible). The tracks were now almost gone, from the side winds having blown fresh snow over them, plus no sunlight passing through the clouds creating a very flat light.
2 other guys have joined me, and we keep switching places, kinda like drafting... but I think it was coincidence. I would fall in the very last steep downhill, and the other 2 guys passed me. But as I see the 1 km mark, and the terrain finally flattens out (just a bit), I manage to pull away from them and cross the finish line about 30 seconds before them. Today´s little victory I guess ;)

There´s really no fanfare or noise after finishing this feat. There are 2 guys and a speaker, announcing my name as I cross the finish line, consisting of 2 poles and a flag. A drink station follows, with luke-warm energy drink.
My final time would be 9:44:01.
About 45 minutes slower than expected... but I am quite pleased considering all the elements that were against me.
Before I forget, I really need to send out a big thank you to all the people who donated their time at the food stations! It must have been insanely cold for them to stand there all day, out in the elements, handing us food and drinks. They were all so nice and gave us a smile and encouraging words. Thank you!!

After the race:
I shuffle inside the school, get my bag with a change of clothing (which has been outside in the snow all day, so the clothes are fairly cold). We have access to the school locker rooms, where we can take a hot shower... although, to me it just felt luke-warm.
I finally get to put on some dry clothes. Wool!
I wolf down a couple of hot dogs and a hot coffee... and go back to get a third hot dog, and a chocolate bar.
Plus I get a diploma! And a nice pin! Plus a little glass with the Grenader logo burned in. Makes it all worthwhile ;-)
I had to wait for the bus to take me back home. When I finally got to my car I had to almost dig it out from all of the snow before I could drive home. My coffee mug that was in the car, half full, was now frozen solid.
When I finally got home I had to dig out my parking spot before I could park my car. I REALLY just wanted to get inside and wrap up in a blanket.
It was now 8 pm.
Finally indoors, on my couch, under a blanket, sipping HOT cocoa... I could look back at what is, to date, my longest and coldest day (the only exception might be back in March 1993 when I spent the night in a small monastery in Suzdal, Russia).

On Sunday morning... the sun came out.

a short race report from the Grenaderen ski race

It was to be an extremely long and cold day during the Grenaderen cross country ski race Saturday! In fact, I cannot remember ever being SO cold for so long.
The 90 km (55 mile) long trail has several extreme climbs, and some even worse downhills. In addition to the tough terrain was the extreme weather conditions. With -12 Celsius and snowing all day long, there was no mercy from mother nature. Our only slight advantage was that the cold wind was mostly with us.
The gun went off at 7:30 am, and there were about 600 competitors. I had some problems with my skis from the start, as I quickly found out that I had no glide whatsoever. This was my own fault for having prepped my skis wrong the night before. There were several food stations, and I stopped at each one to fuel up (thanks for the tip Tim). But after standing still for a few minutes, my hands would freeze up and it took about 30 minutes to warm them back up each time. Towards the end, my hands were so cold they hurt.
But I refused to give up, and even though I saw my time getting worse and worse, I just wanted to get to the finish line.
My final time would be 9:44:01.
I was hoping for 9 hours, but with these conditions, I was happy just to get to the end. Plus I have a shiny new medal and a diploma I can hang on my wall ;-)
Here is a profile from the race just to give you an idea.