Why am I always signing up for races???

Now it’s winter and the hiking season is definitely over till next year. Well, technically in southern Sweden ‘winter’ doesn’t really mean that hiking is impossible, since there’s hardly ever any snow here. But when it comes to trips to the mountains, be it in Scandinavia or even in the Alps, now is not the time for walking anymore, of course. But it’s also a bit early for backcountry skiing far up north.

Until the so called spring-winter comes, the snow and ice have really settled down and the sun is coming back, even north of the Polar Circle, I have decided to focus on some other activities.

One of my students is a personal trainer and I ended up getting a training plan made especially for me. My main goal is the cross-country skiing competition Tjejvasan, which will take place in Mora, in the end of February.

I already started over the same distance (30 km) last winter and made a time of about 3:30h and, needless to say, I want to improve, a lot!

As my training advanced, I really got into running again, especially running in the hilly forests that the area I live in has to offer. I feel that it’s just another logical step after getting more into lightweight hiking. Going fast, taking only very few breaks, not bringing too much stuff and experiencing nature to the fullest!

Running is one of those sports where progress happens rather slow and not having patience is like the worst mistake one can make. If you know me, you know that patience is not exactly my biggest strength. So I’m trying to not injure myself by training TMTS (too much, too soon) and for the last 10 weeks it has been going great. I already participated in two short trail runs and it went fairly well (I didn’t come last!). I guess competing is simply something I enjoy and without planning to do so, now there is a total of five races on my calendar.

As a little motivation, I’ll put my upcoming races and desired (and probable) finishing time on here. And yes, it’s slow, I’m not a great athlete at all…

Running

• Julruset Trail Run  10k on a quite hilly trail in Sandsjöbacka natural reserve. // 1:20

-> Turned out 1:11h

• Sylvesterloppet 10k, on asphalt in central Gothenburg. // 1:10h

-> I made my fastest 10k yet with 1:03h

• Sandsjöbacka Trail, half marathon on a rather demanding trail. // 3:00h 

-> I didn’t run this one because I felt slightly injured and overall not ready.

X-Country Skiing

• Tjejvasan, 30k classic style cross country skiing // 2:45h
• Halvvasan, 45k classic style, half distance of the famous Vasaloppet. // 4:30h