Felix' world: Juni 2009

Sonntag, 28. Juni 2009

World Cup in Oslo

After 2 weeks without any running I started with 20' on monday earlier this week. No pain - which was nice. So I continued to increase the work load every day a little bit. On wednesday I ran the model event and managed already 1h orienteering without problems. Let's say - the leg was ok but the orienteering was far from that ;) My feeling for distance and direction were gone and I struggled with several controls.. nice training!

Thursday the Model Event got already better - still no problems with the leg. I tried to run some controls fast which worked out quite well, but I never felt fast, rather tough in both my legs and brain.

Friday: Middle Distance. It was my first orienteering race in weeks. The timing wasn't perfect neither was the selfconfidence. I stopped several times short before the control finding out that I actually was right, nevertheless the time losses were huge even without big mistakes. I ended up on 60th place (of 94) 9:50 down on Carl - who made an amazing race! Respect.

Saturday: Long Distance. I had mixed feelings before the race. What should I do? Run? If yes - the whole course? Full? Take it easy? Next friday I'll start the next Adventure Race (Explore Sweden Monster - ESM) what if my leg starts hurting again? Will I recover from a hard race within 6 days and does it actually make sens to run when the shape is bad and WC points seem out of sight?

I ran all. I got eager during the day and thought if the leg starts to hurt than it's nice to get to know now because the chance that i comes back during ESM would than be very high (I can't rule that out anyway). The race was nice - I enjoyed it. 29 degrees, 14.5k. Several times the group I ran with made small mistakes in into the controls - I didn't join their extra loops and thereby I gained some places which was nice. One control (to 13th) I again had the feeling that they were wrong and followed my own plans - and missed the control. I got tricked by an "open" white nose - so 3min were gone... the remaining 7k I ran mostly alone. Physically I felt good ( in respect that it wasn't so fast ;) until the end. I just got several blisters on my feet - but nothing serious. Finally i ended on the 64th place. Whatever.

Now it's time to reload and prepare the final things before ESM. There we'll race over 1069k - expected time for the winners is estimated with 4d 5h... let's see

Samstag, 13. Juni 2009

Unwanted break...

Instead of getting nervous before Jukola's first leg I'm sitting at home. The reason lies in a tendinitis down in my shank which I carried away from the first Adventure Race in Sweden. My body actually felt really well after the 52hours race, but that wasn't the whole truth. Carbohydrates and proteins can be refilled quite fast whereas tendons need some more time to recover after such great efforts. I started to train too early so the tendinitis got worse and stayed even longer.

After several days without running I headed already off to the airport but just minutes before I got on the train to the airport I cancelled my starts at the NOC and Jukola. Ellen Moen (medical doctor) and Siri Hagman (physiotherapist) confirmed my presumption and advised me to

rather take a break straight away instead of extending and enhance the risk for a long lasting tendinitis.

mmmh.

BUT - there are lots of positive sides as well! I get healthy, can do other stuff, relax mentally and physically, get organized before we move, etc. A couple of days ago I used the time and went white water kayaking for the first time. It was fun! White water kayaking is part of Explore Sweden's adventure race, so I'd have to practize it anyway.

By the way, I survived without further injuries ;-)

Definition of Fun: Merrell Challenge

Our Adventure Racing Team organized Scandinavias probably

funniest adventure race last weekend:the Merrell Challenge in Oslo. Vigleik did an amazing job organizing everything during the previous weeks

(action plan, mystery events, great prizes, promotion stuff, etc.) so that the more than 50 teams

could really enjoy the event!

Shortly summed up what the race was about:

The race took the teams through an 3-4 hour adventurous course with many challenges. The course was kept a secret until one hour before start. A total of 5 laps and 10 mystery events challenged both the physics, the team work and the mind. Several of the mystery events were impossible to pass unless the three team members worked together.

The 5 laps were: 1. Mountainbiking, 2. Navigation, 3. Paddling, 4. Mountainbiking and finally 5. Adventure Run. All laps started and finished at the “Merrell stadium”. Between and during the laps the teams had to solve the mystery events. These consisted of:

Carrying one team member who got the feet strapped together
Passing/climbing a log obstacle
Passing a soapy/slippery wall/floor
Pass a river using a cargo net which was stretched by use of a wire
Transport a log over an obstacle
Roll a tractor wheel around a short and hilly course
Svimming
Wading
Crawling through watery pipes
Mud crawling

It was great fun to watch the teams! Enjoy the pictures!

Date for 2010 event is set to June 12^th. The goal is to double the number of teams to 80-100 teams.

www.merrellchallenge.com - with all the details, results and pics.

Media echo after Tieto Enator Adventure Race

>Per Christian, me, Vigleik and Lina<

My first adventure race together with Team Merrell Haglöfs Multimania at the Tieto Enator, also called Open Nordic Adventure Racing Champs turned out to be a really nice success. Both for me personally and our team.

>perfectly organized just an hour before the start <

My personal goals were to survive the race. I was very curious about who my body would handle this challenge. I was in charge to navigate all the way which was a nice duty with much responsibility. During the first kayak stage I had to select the route choice over up to 15k of open water which I've never down before.

> never padled that long or far before in my life<

Considering wind and waves has never happened in the forest so far :-) it worked out well. I struggled more with the partly poor map quality due to missing essential information which resulted in two mistakes up to 15min time loss (not that much compared to 52h competition time though).

>Our TA - Transition Area - really cool!! - me last, as usual ;)

The race itself was really cool, we faced lots of different challenges starting actually already the days before the race coz of missing or late arriving equipment and has still not ended - like the tendinitis in my shank. Down under u'll find a selection of some pictures - there are more to see on my web album.