Uphill interval training with Melkesyre Saturday December 13: Our weekly uphill training with Melkesyre takes place at Fløysvingene. That Saturday, the start of the course was on bare asphalt. The shoes worked very well even this surface. Upwards from Fjellveien to Fløysletten, the ground was mixture of ice and bare gravel, and the shoes worked perfectly on this surface. In fact, I think these shoes can be quite perfect for trail running even when there is no ice and snow! As we arrived at Fløysletten the ground became covered with soft snow, and the spikes became quite useless. On the other hand, no other shoe was good on this surface either; nobody had a good grip.
Ulriken hike with Melkesyre Sunday December 14: The weekly Sunday hike with Melkesyre usually goes to Brushytten but that Sunday, due to bad weather, they had electricity problems and had to keep closed. That's why the plans of Melkesyre changed to a hike up to Mount Ulriken with the hope of a cup of coffee at the cafeteria at the top. However, just before the start of the hike, we discovered that the cafeteria (as well as the the cable car) was closed to to heavy wind. The hike was performed nevertheless, but with no stop at the top due to really heavy wind. Instead, we had a cosy gathering in one of my Melkesyre friends Øystein's car, where everybody drank their coffee from thermos and we ate cookies and rolls that Øystein and Janne had baked. OK, back to track: how did the shoes and the socks work? The start of the course was a combination of ice and gravel, it continued with bare stones and lots of water, and then it turned into a thick layer of snow, with lots and lots of water underneath and all over. The shoes were perfect. I had very good grip all the way, and felt that I could really trust the shoes to hang on the icy parts. The socks were incredible. We were so wet, and my shoes were soaked in water most of the time, but still my feet felt warm all the way. When I took of the shoes, my feet were humid but not really wet. After a few minutes they were completely dry.
Vinterkarusellen 5 km race Monday December 15: BFG sports club organizes a collection of eight races this winter. At each race the participants have the choice between a 5 km and a 10 km course, and those that participate in five of the races receive a medal at the end. I have so far participated in all three of the races that have taken place. The course starts with a round at Fana Stadium and continues on the road to the airport and then turns back after half the distance. For the third race this Monday, Fana Stadium was completely covered with slippery ice, almost like a skating arena. The rest of the course was a mixture of bare asphalt, ice, and slushy snow. On all these surfaces, the shoes worked perfectly. In fact, without the spikes I think this race would be very difficult to complete. On the slight uphill parts with soft snow, the grip was not perfect, and I felt like I lost a few centimeters for each step I took. My finishing time was not as good as I was hoping for, but in the end it turned out to be quite good under the circumstances: I came in third in my class!
The little Christmas whiskey run Wednesday December 17: Fjellgjeitene - the sister running group of Melkesyre - organized an incredibly fun race starting from the bottom of Munkebotn and ending on top of Stoltzekleiven, where we were served whiskey at the finish! The event was followed by a party afterwards, and although it was pretty windy and rainy during the race, we all had a wonderful experience. The start of the course is normally asphalt until the Munkebotn lake, but this part was mainly covered with wet and slippery ice. I was not sure how well I could trust the spikes on this kind of ice, but they performed surprisingly well and I had very good grip. As we got higher up, the ground was covered more and more with snow, which became deeper and deeper as we ascended. The shoes worked fine, but on this part probably normal trail shoes would also work equally good. All in all I was very happy with the shoes and the socks, as well as my performance at the race. The shoes were also perfect for the descent. However, I was helped all the way down by two of my most gentlemanly Melkesyre friends, one on each arm, so my safe and fast descent is mainly thanks to them and not the shoes :-)
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