Finally it was time to pack for Lidingöloppet. I was hoping for 20oC (68F), sun and some breeze but it coulld also be colder so I needed to pack for both. Since the weather has been unsteadily this week I also brought rainwear. Black garbage bag is good to bring just in case it might be colder and have it over my running clothes when I am waiting in my starting group.

The last two years I have been taking the ”Löpartåget” (= Running train) to Lidingöloppet, it leaves early Saturday morning and then outside of Stockholm central station busses have been waiting and brought us out to Lidingövallen. On the train I have been getting my bib. But too few people have been interested to go with this train and this year they decided not to have any more Löpartåget going from the south. So I looked at different alternatives and this year I took the night train from Lund 22.49 Friday night up to Stockholm. Chose the middle alternative where I slept in a compartment with 2 other girls. Tomas and Åke from Coach K Runners also went with this train. I woke up with cramp in my right calf. So Saturday did not have a good start.

Tomas and I had breakfast at Scandic Grand Central not far from the train station. I have heard that pan cakes are good to eat before a race so for the first time I had that for breakfast.

At 8.45 Tomas and I met Åke at the train station and we went to the ”tunnelbanan” (=shuttle) and also met Marina and took the train to Ropsten where they have free buses that take us to Lidingövallen. First time this year that I have taken a free bus from Ropsten but it was not too crowded. Got to Lidingövallen and first we got our bibs and cover bags.

Then we put our number stickers on our cover bags, our other bags and I decided to put on a long sleeve shirt under my t-shirt because it was going to be windy. Temperature around 15oC (59F). I took this picture and published it on FB and Peter also showed up. He had seen the picture on FB and could see where we were 🙂

Then it was time for the mandatory group Picture.

The Coach K Runners who were starting in group 1-4 left and Marina and I who started in group 6 and 8 could get ready a bit later. I put liniment on my left M. gluteus maximus and right knee. We went to the hockey rink and left our bags there so they would be transported to the finish line. It is worth paying 40 SEK for that service.

Finally Marina and I walked to the start which is a couple of k’s from Lidingövallen. When we got there it was 12.58 and I realized that I wouldn’t have time to warm up with some jogging and I have totally forgotten to stretch too. Time to get in to my starting group. Get rid of my cover bag, did some fast streching and got ready for ”Friskis och Svettis” warm up. I was a bit worried that my right calf might get me into trouble during the race. My goal was to get a new PB, was aiming at 3.18 h.

So then my starting group started the race at 13.20.

The first k was very slow as expected. But then I started to get a good pace.

At 6K I was 1 minute behind schedule which was just fine.

At 9K I was 2 minutes behind schedule and I was not worried.

My time at 10K was 1.04 h and I felt hopeful but it still were some tough hills to conquer.

During this race you have to run smart, it is a lot of people running and narrow paths. Johan, from Coach K Runners, had taught us how to run downhill this summer which I have exercised since then and when I could I was running with small steps downhill.

At the fuel stations I was in the beginning drinking every other water, every other sports drink and when they served bananas I grabbed a half.

At 12K I was 3 minutes behind schedule.

At 15K I was 4 minutes behind schedule. The countdown started. Had been running half the race now.

At 18K I was 5 minutes behind Schedule.

At the fuel station around 20K they serve lukewarm blueberry soup which is so good to drink.

At 21K I was 7 minutes behind schedule

at 24K was 8 minutes behind schedule but I felt hopeful that it could be a new PB.

At 25K the famous Abborebacken (Abborre hill) is coming, I always walk up this hill fast and then you have Karins backe (Karin’s hill). My time here was 2.42.20 h

I was getting tired in my calves.

I had told Marina that she would pass me at some point and she didn’t believe me, she started 20 minutes after me. And then I heard her say hi when she passed me. It was after Aborrebacken somewhere.

When I had been running 27K my time was 2.52h and no cramp and then I just contined running and was hoping that I wouldn’t get into any issues. I was still having energy and had a pace under 6 min/k. The 28K sign came and then the 29K sign came and then I saw the finish line and my pulse watch showed 3.13.

Once in a while I am stunned by myself. I never thought that I would run under 3.15 h during this cross country race. I am very proud of myself and have now set the bar high.

Total time: 3.13.48 h, average speed: 6.22 min/k using Garmin Forerunner 310XT

When I was standing in the bus line I felt very tired in my calves.

When I woke up Sunday morning I was sore in my right calf, very little muscle soreness in my front thighs.

Today it was time to run my last run before Lidingöloppet and the final test with the Garmin GPS watch that I have borrowed to use at Lidingöloppet.

Nice temperature today, 18oC (64F), a bit windy but I could be without any hat and gloves. Was having a nice speed too.

What I have learned about the Garmin GPS is to put the power on when I get outside so it can find the satellite signals.

Now I also could see the real distance, have always suspected that this run is a bit longer than 5K and that was true.

Total time: 31.52.40 min, average speed: 6.15 min/k, distance: 5.09K using Garmin Forerunner 310XT

Lidingöloppet, be ready, I am coming tomorrow and am aiming at breaking my PB 🙂

Tonite it was time to run a ”Glädjepass” (= Fun run) with Coach K Runners.

Fun run is a run that focus on the pleasurable to run and less on the watch

Yes I had both hat and gloves on even if the temperature was around 15oC (59F) but I do not want to get sick now when Lidingöloppet is on Saturday.

Since I have had problems with my pulse watch I will borrow Roger’s Garmin pulse watch with GPS.

So it was good to test this watch on this run. This is my first time I use a pulse watch with GPS.

The run went round the fields out in the country. I and Roger told the other Coach K Runners about our experience with The Color Run.

The hat stayed on the whole run but I took off the gloves a few times during the run  🙂

I realized that now it is time to start wearing my reflective vest, we started the run at 19.00 (7 pm) and it was dark when we got back.

Karin asked me questions about Lidingöloppet since it is her first time this weekend.

Even if it was windy it felt much milder tonite.

I was a bit too fast out the door so the pulse Watch haden’t aquired the sateliite signals fully but I have a couple of Days to learn this watch before the race. I have found a manual on the internet.

This watch seems to be more simpler than my Polar with foot sensor. My next pulse watch will definately be a GPS pulse Watch.

Total time: 54.03 min and distance: 8.5K using Garmin Forerunner 310XT

Early this evening it was time to get out and run 5K

It seems to me that Fall has arrived. A bit chillier today. I had cold hands in the beginning but like always they got warm.

There were not a lot of runners out in this chilly Monday. The cold bit into my cheeks.

This week it will be 5K runs, Saturday I will run the 30K cross country race Lidingöloppet så I have to rest my legs this week, so no hilly running like last week

When I was almost home I felt the upwind, why did you have to show up 🙂
I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this run a alot, well it did not rain but it was chilly.

Total time today: 31.41.7 min. Temperature: 12oC (54F). This is not the temperature I want on Saturday. It has been 11oC (52F) the last couple of years, I want 20oC (68F) and it looks like it will be 16oC (61F) which I will be satisfied with. I just have to decide if I am going to wear t-shirt or long sleeve shirt

This afternoon I had the pleasure to run with Eva. We met outside the tunnel between Annehem and Nöbbelöv and Eva took me around Ladugårdsmarken. It is also out in the country.

The weather had been very strange today. It was around 17oC (63F) and a bit chilly so I decided to wear longer pants, long sleeve shirt but then the sun began to shine so, temperature went up to 20oC (68F), changed to shorts and t-shirt and also filled water in my water bottles and brought my water belt with me. When I finally ran to meet Eva the sun was gone 🙂

Here we coming out in the country, these runs are the ones I like the most, out in the country on those country roads.

A long time ago I went for a walk in this area. Interesting how memories come back

We passed someone who was out riding a horse. We also ran out in the bushes where it was a bit overgrown.

On this run we discussed The Color Run, Kulturnatten, me getting ready for Lidingöloppet, how impressed we are with some of the Coach K Runners who have had an amazing race season, Österlen half Marathon, my pulse watch which does not show the correct speed anymore. What Eva has been doing lately. Very nice with company today

Totalt time: 1.07.39 h, distance: 12.28K

The Color Run, also known as the Happiest 5k on the Planet, is a unique paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness and individuality.

Today I participated in the craziest race I have ever run. The difference between this race and other races is that there is no timing, where thousands of runners are covered from head to toe with colors at each passed kilometer.

I met Roger, a friend of mine who recently has joined Coach K Runnners, on the bike path behind my house and we ran 4K as warmup to Stadsparken in Lund. It was a bit chilly and I do not want to get sick since Lidingöloppet is next week so I had a long sleeve shirt over my The Color run t-shirt. I also inaugurated my race dots instead of safety pins. Plan to use them on Lidingöloppet.

We locked in some of our stuff at Högavallsbadet and went down to the fountain to meet the rest of the Coach K Runnners that would participate to take some before pictures.

Then it was time to walk to the stage and get ready for the start. Some participants had already thrown colors on each other and some was rollling themselves in the colors that had fallen on the ground. Most participants were college students. We did some dancing in front of the stage. Since there was color throwing going on we got some colors on ourselves 🙂 We also did the wave a couple of times.

Then it was time to get to the start line. Groups were starting every 5 minutes and while waiting we were doing the wave many times, some dancing and colors were thrown.

Then it was time for our group to get to the start line. Water was thrown over us to get the color to stick better during the race and just before it was time to start to run it was a color showering party. I was glad I brought with me my sun glasses. Prior to the start the sun came out 🙂

There is a rule that they have on all regular races and that is that if you are walking or is slower you are keeping yourself on the right side and if you are running or running faster you are keeping yourself on the left side. That does not always work on regular races but here was more chaos so it was a lot of zigzag in the beginning to be able to move forward.

I and Roger were able to run for a while til it was time to run down a bike path down to Stattena road when it got crowded again and then on Stattena road there was a narrow part where it got packed.

I would say that not all participants were runners on this race because it did not take long before some participants had stopped running and then walked. Some were waiting for their friends. During this type of race you cannot be too many to run in a group. It got interesting when we were going to run over a round about. Lucky us there were cops who kept track of the cars and runners. We got to Idrottsplatsen and then the first k came and yellow colors were thrown at us.

This day it is also Kulturnatten in Lund so I guess at the Tech park there were a crowd and some performance, they might have wondered what crazy colored people are passing us. TIme for the next k where pink colors were thrown at us. We skipped the water station. It was perfect temperature, not too warm, not too cold.

We took an alternative way at the water station and I realized at this race you cannot get disqualified or no ropes will be drawn so you cannot continue 🙂

Roger and I kept a comfortable pace and continued running on the other side of the Tech park and at the train station it was time for the next k where green colors were thrown at us.

We had some audience who was curious about this race and stood and watched on the side of the roads.

Some bikers dared biking in the opposite direction where we were running and could have been in trouble.

Then it was time for the last k were blue colors were thrown at us.

Then it was not long til we saw the finish line.

After the finish line it was time to head to the stage again and participate in a mass psychosis. Every 15 minutes color bags were thrown to us and then a rain of colors fell over the sky down on us. In between we were dancing and jumping.

I have to say that this is definately the craziest race I have participated in so far. Very different than the other races I run during the year. It is a bit insane but I am glad I could experience this spectacle.

Then Roger and I felt we were ready to run back home. We went to the fountain to see if there were some other Coach K Runners there or not but not.

We went back to Högavallsbadet and got our stuff and then back to my neighbor hood. Some people that we passed looked at us funny, I wonder why 🙂

So warmup 4K, The Color Run 5K, some gympa (=aerobics) and cool down 4K.

Tonite it was running as warmup, unknown distance.

And Robin was our guest instructor, we started with soft Newaza (part of the warmup) and after that regular Newaza. I still am out of shape since I did not exercise judo the whole summer.

Then Robin showed us some techniques that I was struggling with in the beginning but at the end I could do it correctly.

Then we did Koka, three people went out on the mat and then three other people was wrestling with them. The person who won stayed on the mat and then another person wrestled with the winner. I had to attach the big boys and got some tips what to do when I am much lighter than them.

Tonite I ran 2K on the treadmill at the gym as warmup, speed: 6 min/k and total time: 12.10 min. Was a bit tired in my front thighs and calves after yesterday’s hilly exercises with walking poles.

After running it was time to row for approximately 5 minutes, 1K. It was a gluey rowing 🙂

At the gym tonite I exercised the back, shoulders and legs.

The last thing I did was core: circle, oblique crunches, ”slowly down boat”, ”the world plank” and regular plank, in between I did the boat.

This week suppose to be a resting week (before Lidingöloppet) but tonite I did an exception.

About two years ago I bought walking poles but I have never used them. On the hilly intervals last week we discussed walking poles and Björntorps IF has walking poles training on St Hans hills on Wednesdays.

So Coach K Runners was invited to ski walking / running with walking poles and now I had a chance to use my walking poles for the first time.

I ran with my walking poles and a jacket to St Hans hills and got up to the top hill. More and more people showed up. Some of us were there for the first time.

We started with warm up doing Indian jumps, ”kicking butt”.

After that we did ”both feet jump” 10 times multiple times and after that jumping on one foot 5 times and then changing to the other foot and jumped 5 times multiple times.

Then it was time to do exercises with the walking poles.

Tomas was the instructor and showed us how we would using the walking poles walking, you should think skiing and did that exercise up to the top hill from the middle hill. After that he showed us how we would use the walking poles running up the hill but not running really, you should jump more and using your arms. We did this also from the middle hill to the top hill. The arms were doing the hard work. 🙂

Then we went down to the longest hill and walked up with the walking poles to the middle hill and then ran with the walking poles up to the top hill. This was done 3 times.  I was really breathless when I got up to the top hill.

After that we ran down with the walking poles to the grove and did planking for 10s (which of course was not a problem, later tonite I will continue with my plank challenge and do planking for 75s) and then we ran up on the steepest side of the top hill with our walking poles. OH MY GOSH! We did this 3 laps.

Then it was time to put the walking poles away and get down to the grove again and first do low lunges 5 times and then 5 pushups til you got up to the top hill. If you were fast you were waiting for the rest doing ”Jägarvvila” which of course is one of my favorites 🙂 This felt familiar (Physical training with CKR)

The last exercise was 5 squats on one foot, 5 squats on the other foot and do this 5 times.

This was definately worse than hilly intervals and my arms started to ache during the exercise tonite plus front thighs. Now my calves have started to ache too. Looking forward to tomorrow 🙂

This morning it was time to run a 5K Fall run.

For a weak moment I was thinking about running before breakfast but felt that I needed breakfast first 🙂

When it was time the sun was out and the temperature was 16oC (61F), not too warm not too cold.

This was also a run when I was preparing the last things before the job interview this afternoon, a very interesting role.

It was a bit windy but not too bad. Total time: 31.21.0 min but the average speed, max speed and distance is not correct on my pulse watch. This happened after I had my foot sensor in for repair.

This was also #2 in Suz’s challenge this week.