#3 – 50 runs in 100 days – Hardcore edition
#110 – 100 Days Of Miles Challenge
Today it was time for the last tough trail run before the race ”Dödens Zon” (= The Death Zone) and also time for resting weeks.
So up 5 am this morning and then take the train to Tjörnarps train station.
I was a bit worried, the temperature has dropped and it said 7oC (45F) and a bit windy, some rain around 8-9 so I put on the winter gear. Turned out that the temperature was perfect, gloves and hat got off early and got back on at the end when it got a bit chillier, no rain in the morning but some rain at the end but it did not bother me.
It was also mostly dry, some gooey parts.
This time I for a short moment got unfocused on the White marking and just ran on automatic but something told me I had run too far, did not very far though til I noticed it 🙂 and turned back.
I usually do take a resting week after Lidingöloppet but wanted to pass the challenge 50 runs in 100 Days and then a really tough trail run last weekend, physical training this Wednesday. So if I got tired legs when it was 20K left I was not surprised. Continued to run, when it was 15K left my legs felt like lead and then when it was 12K left they gave up 🙂 So I just had to acdept the fact that it probably was very likely that there would be some more walking before I was done.
It is hunting season so in front of me I saw a group of hunters and asked nicely to be able to pass them and they moved to the side, they might have been the friendly hunters 🙂
When I get tired I do not lift my feet and bounced into stones so my toes got hit and started to hurt which makes me grumpy 🙂
At the end not even Red Bull helped much
Today I saw a squirrel and I think it was a venison in the wood at the loop.
When I got back to Tjörnarp and it was almost 3K left I told my feet to get moving because I didn’t want to miss the train and wait another hour til the next one. Two ladies were out in the forest and picked mushrooms and their dog ran with me for a short moment 🙂 and then I saw a couple walking their kitten 🙂
So when I was on the last straight trail part I told myself to lift my feet so I didn’t fall flat on my face and what happened of course I fell flat on my face and got leaves and dirt in my face 🙂
And finally I was done.
Resting is very good. So now it is finally resting weeks which I really need, will probably not run til the end of the week and I will also book calves massage and maybe do yoga instead of lifting weights this following week.
I am satisfied with the run even if it was some walking,
Distance: 29.07 miles (46.8K), time: 6.11.19 h, average pace: 7.56 min/k, max pace: 5.45 min/k, cadence: 168, VO2 Max: 27 ml/kg/min
#38 – 50 runs in 100 days summer edition
#95 – 100 Days Of Miles Challenge
Today it was time again to get up 5 am this morning to get to Tjörnarp and run a trail run.
The day did not go as planned and now I can laugh about it. I was looking forward to a nice not to warm trail run and originally distance was 45K. During the train ride it started to rain heavily and I do not like to run in the rain except if I have been out on a really warm day and the sky opened up. I was wondering how this day would be. A big question mark. I was hoping it would be fine by the time I got to Tjörnarp and it seemed to be fine when I got out from the train.
Knew that it would be wet and gooey.
I decided I would run and not just turn back 🙂
It started just fine but then the sky opened up and I got soaked, my hair got wet, my long sleeve shirt got wet, my tights got wet and my shoes got wet 🙂 Wonderful.
No way that I was going to run 6 h soaked so if it didn’t get better I decided I would run at least 20K.
It was very green in the forest and more rain came so I decided I would run to the first fuel station and then run back.
Rain can be good because I felt that I had a good pace even if it was very wet on the paths.
I was on my way to sprain both my feet, and had some ache in my right knee but I didn’t run into any issues 🙂 and I also fell flat into the ground.
Glad I had my Altra Lone Peak running shoes, they handle wet stones very well but not wet branches so on the loop I had to take it easy.
One positive thing that has happened lately is that the pace has increased at the end. I am a so much different trail person today than last year when I did my first ultra, so much positive things have happened over the summer and it is such a joy
There was no wandering around, handled the faster pace great.
Of course when I returned back to Tjörnarp the sun came out.
Lucky me I had my dry bag with me with a dry long sleeve shirt and dry socks and I also have newsprint with me. Why? because my trail shoes are very likely wet when I get back and there is no point to put my feet with dry socks into those wet running shoes.
Today on the train I got myself a laugh because the newsprint was not dry 🙂
I decided to walk home and bought a cup of coffee to get warm during my walk and what happened. It started to rain again, then I didn’t laugh.
It turned out to be a good trail run even if it got shortened. Even faster today, it is definately going in the right direction just like I have planned.
Distance: 13.6 miles (21.9K), time: 2.46.10 h, average pace: 7.35 min/k, max pace: 5.24 min/k, cadence: 170, VO2 Max: 26 ml/kg/min
#28 – 50 runs in 100 days summer edition
#86 – 100 Days Of Miles Challenge
This afternoon it was time to run 4 laps on St Hans hills. My next race is Lidingöloppet end of September and need to focus more on hilly runs since it has not been too many of those this year. I have the distance, 30K but need more hilly training til beginning of September when it is time for resting weeks.
It was a great day for running, the sun was out, the sky was blue, temperature was 30oC (86F) but it looked like it would be a breeze but of course I do not run without my water belt with 3 bottles of water and 2 bottles of Resorb. Running shoes for this run was Altra Lone Peak.
This time I started the hilly run on the half moon at the bottom and then ran up the ”mördarvariant”
Most people who were at St Hans hills were getting a tan, not so many other runners but there were some.
I am so grateful today that I am back after all my issues this spring. I decided I would rehabilitate myself so I could continue my goal to become a bit faster this year and I am so glad I made that decision.
Now I can run faster down and up hills and I feel so much stronger and that makes me very happy. I have promised myself that I won’t get overtrained so I hope that this positive continues through the whole year. It also looks like I can fulfill my goal at the Ultra race in December.
From time to time I had to wet my hair.
It was fun to hear a girl scream at me when I was on my way up ”Slalombacken”, turned out it was Marina, a running buddy of mine from Coach K Runners, who did some pepping.
While I was running I changed my mind about my 30K hilly run this weekend. It looks like I am ready for that. You will find out later what I will do.
Two times I was on my way to fall flat on my face but managed to stay up on my feet 🙂
Distance: 8.3 miles (13.37K), time: 1.35.38 h, average pace: 7.09 min/k, max pace: 3.28 min/k
#23 – 50 runs in 100 days summer edition
#82 – 100 Days Of Miles Challenge
This morning it was time again for another trail raun.
It is definately worth getting up at 5 am to start a trail run at 8.17. Of course I have the attitude that I am going to have a good day but I am also realistic and prepared for anything. That’s why it is good to start early.
I had the pressure to not walk at all 🙂 but it is also something I am aiming at this year.
I am such a different person now. This spring I started with a glutues issue that forced to run much slower and not longer than 20K up till end of March. And after my first ultra race it was time to get ready for the rest of the year.
This spring I did not have any enjoyable runs because I was forced to walk part of the runs and now I am just running. It is so much fun to be out running now on those trails and see results.
The weather report did not look good. It was suppose to rain between 10 am and 4 pm but I was optimistic it would be better than that. When I walked out of the train and started running the sun was out
I wore t-shirt, semi compression tights, regular low socks, my altra lone peak 1.5. Earlier this week I had problems with my pulse belt and this morning it refused to be found but lucky me it was working with me when I was started running which meant that I would get the VO2 Max registrered.
When I had ran around 5K it started raining but it did not bother me, it was actually OK. I do not like to run in the rain but it was just drizzling.
The rain did not get me very wet, my shoes got soaked early due to wet grass and my t-shirt due to wet bush leaves 🙂
When I got to Frostavallen I realized it was a dog competition there and got a bit confused and forgot to turn up to the left but did not get very far til I realized I was at the wrong place.
Today I would run where there would not be any markers or streamers. I have helped removing some of the streamers and also got a bit far when I was going to run up a hill near the quarry but also did not get very far before I realized that as well.
Near Frostavallen there is a local cheese factory and you can have a coffee break there and taste their cheese. I said hi to the owner or this cheese factory plus she also has a really cool hotel called Nyrups naturhotell. I had to turn around and tell her that I am still interested to come and have a coffee and taste their cheese but another. I have to work on this 🙂
So after this cheese factory you are running on a dirt road and turn to the right and get on a dirt track and then after a while you are turning to the left and cross a stone wall and in December you see a path very clearly. The problem with this season is that it is very overgrown. Even if I had the route on my GPS pulse watch I gott off track and here is a stream and cavities but at least I fell soft 🙂 I had to take a time out and get back on track and finally I found this path in the jungle.
I could see on my pulse watch that I had part of the run a pace under 6 min/k and around 7 min/k which made me very happy.
When I got back to Frostavallen I ran to the left of a lake and also got a bit too far to the right and had to run back and get back on track 🙂
I then realized that the run would be longer than 45K.
When I had finally got my tights dry and t-shirt it was time to run through the bushes and grass and get wet all over again. I couldn’t help myself then just laugh.
Since I had the pressure to not walk I just had to run through the loop even if it is a tricky part and managed. It is a lot of dry branches and cavities.
When I get tired during a trail run I get grumpy but it seems to happen only when I run solo 🙂 I have a tendency to not lift my feet so I bounce into stones and since my trail shoes are a size to small my big toes get extra beating so I have to pep myself to lift my feet and get less grumpy.
This trail run was a good run to evalute my altra trail shoes. Salomon Fellraiser handles gooey better but Altra is OK, both Salomon Fellraiser and Altra Lone Peak 1.5 is not good on wet branches and footbridges. Altra is good on the other hand on wet stones. There is another thing that is negative about altra is the shoe laces. I had to stop 3 times to tie them again. Does not help with double knots or triple knots. Altra has improved the lacing system though 🙂
At the end I had very tired legs but I could still run and I had a natural Fartlek at the end when it was about 1K left Since I was going to run 45K in 6 hours I realized it would take longer than that, also because the distance was going to be longer. Since I was more focused on the speed I got too far to the right at one marker and I got far before I realized that. Had happened one time this spring one time when I was really tired at the end but did not get very far til I arealized that.
So now I had to run faster to not miss the train, missed it by 4 min last time, they go every hour.
When I bought the ticket the train came so I was very sweaty on the train 🙂 I did not have time to buy a coke but when I got back to town I Went and bought a dr pepper instead of a coke. Drank this in the 80’s and forgot the taste. I cannot believe I liked the flavor then 🙂
Distance: 29.7 miles (47.81K). time: 6.19.39 h, average pace: 7.56 min/k, max pace: 5.03 min/k,
VO2 Max: 40 ml/kg/min, cadence: 170
So proud of myself. Really good time for me who finished with 8h on this ultra race in Dec.
#19 – 50 runs in 100 days summer edition
#80 – 100 Days Of Miles Challenge
This morning it was time to join Happy Trail – experience running. And they would take us 1 lap on Kullamannen (Sky Ocean Hell), a ultra race end of October. Since I have signed up I thought it would be a good idea to see what I up against.
It really has been an running like no other.
We were around 25 people where most of us are going to run this ultra.
Turned out that the weather was going to be perfect
We all met up in Mölle harbour and then started the trail run
In the beginning it was regular trail run. All of us ran together. Unfortunately one person sprained his foot, they put an elastic bandage on his foot and we found out he was going to run an alpine Marathon next week some of us told him to walk back to the harbour.
Then the first challenge started when we ran down a very technical hill. Very likely that I won’t run down this hill at all.
We would continue near the water and it was big stones, also not very likely I will run there in October, they might be slippery and also in the dark would be dangerous
When we got to the top we were divided in two groups, one faster group that I wouldn’t join and one a bit slower group which I would join.
So the fast group left and the rest of us continued on our journey
At one place we were going to get down to the coast again. When I saw this very steep part, you could not run down this part, one girl was afraid of heights and we told her to take her time. We were gliding, I can just imagine how it would be in the dark. I need to get a new head light for this adventure
It was also tricky getting up
Then we were suppose to find a path that we had a tough time to find, it ended that we just got through the bushes, and finally found the path
At this point we had run 10K and found out that this was the toughest part. We had around 5K to the light house.
When we got to the light house we found out that this steep hill that we had glided down was not the correct path down. We came too far to the right, it is going to be a path you can run down 🙂
I was adding new fresh water to my water bladder and ran into this issue that I have run into earlier, no water was coming out. Got help and thought that everything was just fine but we had to stop again to solve this. Learned something new today how to set this water bladder correct. Thanks Fredrik.
We also saw some nice flowers and wild animals
Finally we saw Mölle when we were standing on a top and had around 4K left
After this picture was taken I was doing a dive to the ground 🙂
This is going to be a completely different ultra then the two that I have run so far.
So nice to take a dip in the water after this warm trail run and then have some ”fika”
Distance: 13.47 miles (21.68K), time: 5.22 h,
VO2 Max: 27 ml/kg/min, 864 meters of altitude
#17 – 50 runs in 100 days summer edition
#78 – 100 Days Of Miles Challenge
End of October I am going to participate in my toughest ultra race and needed to have a hilly running with higher meters of altitude.
I went to Vallåsen with my running buddy Lars and we ran on a hill Halmstad which is 1260 m long. The plan was to run 30K but was not sure if I would do it, was also sure that it would be some walking. From the beginning I was not sure I would run on this hill but decided to join Lars.
Lars is preparing for another ultra race and I managed to keep up with him and not the other way around 🙂 This is big for me. This was a nasty hill.
The weather report did show rain but it turned out that it was not so bad. There were some rain and some upwind.
I forgot to choose the hilly mode from the beginning to be able to see the heart rate, it was important to not have a too high heart rate. It was a bit high in the beginning. So on the top I changed to the hilly mode.
It was raining when we started to run up the hill so I put on my rain coat but after some rounds it got too warm wearing it so I let it be at the top.
It was interesting because in the beginning we had pretty much the same heart rate and then when we started to get a bit tired in our legs my heart rate decreased and Lars heart rate was 6 heart beats higher than mine and we also increased the pace at the end.
We decided that we would run at least 20K and then we would see how we felt after each hill and then realized that we were not too far from 30K and would go for it. You can run on tired legs.
I did not walk one meter on this hill. I really surprised myself today.
We had to watch out because it was a mountain bike competition going on and they crossed our route at some places.
This was definately my toughest run I have ever done. We did 1810 m meters of altitude.
I thought that had run 30K when we got back to the car so I saved my training there but it turned out we were not really done so the last k has not been registered.
Liquid: 1 bottle of Tailwind Raspberry and 1 bottle of Redbull. Plus one energy bar.
Shoes: Altra Lone Peak 1.5 and it was a bit gooey and the trail shoes had good grip.
Altitude today:
Results:
Total distance: 30K, time: 4.55 h, 1810 meters of altitude 🙂
#9 – 50 runs in 100 days summer edition
#70- 100 Days Of Miles Challenge
Sometimes I wonder why I get up 5 am on a Saturday to take the train to Tjörnarp and get out on a trail run but on a day like this it is definately worth it.
It was with a little mixed feelings I started running this trail run. The whole spring has been issues issues and I was forced end of February to take time out from longer trail runs to get my gluteus issue under Control, when I did I ran into the next issue, lower leg issue and realized that Salomon Fellraiser needs to be replaced with a new trail shoe and after a discussion with a running buddie of mine I decided I would test Altra Lone Peak 1.5.
I have not been able to run all the way during any of my trail runs during the spring, the longest I got was in April when I ran 32K and then got tired legs.
Also the weather drastically changed after the heat last weekend so it was tough deciding what I would wear but I finally decided to have my CKR t-shirt, semi compression tights, regular socks. My pulse belt was also with me today. It was a bit chilly at the beginning 13oC (55F)
Checked my water bladder several times before I started that I got water, it has happened too many times in the past that after 15 min when I am going to drink water there is no water coming out 🙂 which makes me a bit frustrated.
It was nice hearing the birds singing at the start of my trail run.
At 12K is where my issues have started but I was just fine, in the forest I saw a tent and two girls camping and I said hi and all of a sudden a dog barked at me. Near there is a trail that was not so easy to follow today because of all the growth of bushes and grass and I also experienced getting my Altra wet, I had been told that Altra was staying wet because the fabric is very thick but it actually dried quite well and did not bother me after a while.
At around 17K I started to feel tired in my calves and I was hoping I wouldn’t run into issues later and chose to walk up on the tougher hills at Frostavallen, I also chose to run around the new trail alignment (green/orange), there has been a big puddle at one place and I have chosen to walk on a stone wall that has been a bit unstable, not very good when you have tired legs.
Today I also tested Redbull, some ultra runners drink this during ultra races and when one of my sport drinks bottle was empty I exchanged it with Redbull in the front. I am not a energy drink drinker and when I was shaken out the carbonic yesterday there was some left that I drank and didn’t like it then.
I passed 25K where I in the past had been forced to stop and stretch a longer time, did not happen 🙂
At 30K I didn’t have to start walking and not at 32K either. When I got to the loop I chose to walk because it is a tricky part and with tired legs it is better for me to walk, have done that in the past.
When I get tired in my legs I do not lift my feet and bump into stones with my front part of the shoe so there was some swearing.
As far as the temperature it was perfect, not too warm, not too cold
At the thicket I also chose to walk to rest my tired legs a bit.
Then it was only 6K left and I was using Robert’s tip to get the brain to focus on other things when you start to get really tired legs and drinking either sports drink or redbull helped.
Then it was only 3K and kept going and then I was done 🙂 And under 6h Tjohooooooooo!
First run where I have been running the whole time except at certain chosen places but not because of any issues or tired legs.
The train left 13.38 and I got to the train station at 13.43 so I had to wait til 14.38 for the next train. Unfortunately I did not have any cash with me but the small grocery store let me fill my water bladder.
Spent time stretching, oh boy was I stiff 🙂
Drank my protein drink and put news print in my trail shoes and walked in my socks til I got to the train station where I got off.
Distance: 24.85 miles (40.01K), time: 5.24.08 h,
average pace: 8.06 min/k, max pace: 5.57 min/k,
VO2 Max: 25 ml/kg/min, cadence: 170
When I got home I drank my smoothie and saw the last of Tour de France
