The first swim competition: Bergen Open Water 2015

Sometimes things go better than expected...

Os Triathlon is just a week away! As part of my training towards it, I participated in the Bergen Open Water swimming competition yesterday. The suggestion about this came from Fredrik, one of my closest colleagues and oldest friends, as a comment to my blog post about open water swimming during the summer holidays. At that time I did not really consider it that seriously, but as the time for Os started to approach, I figured I needed the experience. The options at yesterday's race were 50, 400, 1500, or 5000 meters. Since the swim distance at Os is 750 meters, I signed up for 1500 m.

I came home late Friday night after a week abroad with long hours of work, late nights and little sleep, and I was still feeling pretty exhausted yesterday morning, even after 11 hours of sleep. It was hard to imagine how I would manage to race just in a few hours, but as I was considering Bergen Open Water only as a practice for Os Triathlon, my shoulders were down and my expectations super low. I was sure that I would be slower than everybody else and come in last in my heat. I had even thought of a funny title for today's blog post: Making a fool of yourself.

Frank, my biggest supporter and fan, volunteered to come along to cheer, take pictures and assist, although it coincided with the weekly Melkesyre uphill interval session. It was great comfort to have him with me. To have some warm up, we parked at Spelhaugen, which is 1.5 km away from the start of the race at Tennebekktjørna. Although the weather report was looking good, we quickly got caught up in a heavy rain shower. Oh well, I thought, I am going to get wet anyway. But poor Frank, who would just stand there and watch, would have a harder time in wet clothes.

It took us 15 minutes to walk the path through the forest, and I could feel my heart rate increase as we got closer to the lake. At the first sight of the lake, I felt a sudden rush of nerves, and I said to Frank "I hope at least that I will be able to finish". I participated in a trial run of Os Triathlon a couple of weeks ago, and there I had a hard time at the start of the swimming session. I ran fast into the water together with the others, and tried to get ahead of the breast swimmers, and in the struggle I lost my breathing rhythm. In fact I had to completely stop and regain breath, and reset my brain before continuing, which cost me several minutes. I wanted the experience at Bergen Open Water exactly to be able to cope with such situations, but I was a bit anxious that the same thing would happen again.

Very happy to find Fredrik among the starters, and a bit intimidated to learn that he would also swim 1500 m, and not 5000 as first planned, I registered, got my swim cap, used the bathroom, and finally put on my wet suit. I had decided beforehand that I would go out into the water before the competition started to get a small warm up, to adjust the goggles and to defog them. I did this, and I think it was very useful. When I afterwards stood at the start line, I felt much calmer and ready. Fredrik and I discussed finish times, and I really had no idea what to expect. In the summer, I could swim about 2000 meters in a little more than one hour. Now, with the fast effect of the wet suit, and since there are no waves in a lake, I was hoping that I could perhaps manage 1500 meters in 40 minutes in the best case. Fredrik assured me that 40 minutes would be a piece of cake for me, but I had hard time believing him.

Then the start shot went, and instead of rushing into the water like I did at the trial of Os Triathlon, I took it easy, to make sure that I would not lose breath. I calmly went into the water and started swimming pretty slowly, to make sure that I would not miss any of the markers and gates I had to swim through. After a while I felt that I found a good rhythm and I could start going a bit faster. I had the impression that I was behind everybody else, but I started to catch up and I passed several people. My goggles were fog-free and completely tight, and everything felt good. I had no idea of time and distance while swimming. I had configured my watch to give me a buzz every 500 meters, but either it did not do it or I did not feel it. It is very difficult to see the display during swimming and I did not even bother. I was all the time preparing myself that there was probably a loooooooong way to finish yet. It is pretty funny to race in a lake you have never swum in before, especially since you cannot see things clearly. "Oh my goodness, what is that big black wall out there? Oh, it's a dam", "Oops, I was a bit too close to land here and touched a big rock", "Eeeeww, grass and seeweed"...

Suddenly, I could see the beach where we had started from and I could not believe it. Finish so soon already? I increased my speed, reached land, and got up and ran to finish, as I had read that one should do. Then I looked at my watch... 33 minutes!!! My first thought was that I must have missed one of the markers and swum too short. When I looked up the first thing I saw was Frank's face with a big smile. I pointed to my watch and looked at him with the big question in my eyes - is the time correct? He was laughing and giving me a thumb up, at the same time as nodding. I was so surprised and happy at that moment that I could not do anything but laugh.

Several minutes later,  while I was changing, people (even men) were still finishing 1500 meters, so I was definitely not the last one in my heat! And I did get a medal, so I had not missed any markers, and was clearly not disqualified. I had so low expectations for this race, both when it comes to how I would perform and also when it comes to how much I would enjoy it. It exceeded my expectations in both terms; it was in fact a lot more fun that I had thought beforehand, and I am still astonished about the finish time, especially with so little swim practice after the summer holidays.

Although it was simply half an hour's effort, and it did not feel like hard work while it was going on, I felt really tired the rest of the afternoon and evening yesterday. Today I can feel that my shoulders, chest, upper back, and arms have been through tough work; even legs are telling me that they were working hard. And I, who was planning beforehand to do a Stoltzenkleiven session right after the swim competition... well, today is a new day with new opportunities. Stoltzekleiven Opp is still my number one race this year, the only one left on my A list, and I am not sure whether training for Os Triathlon is a good priority in the period where I should rather be training for Stoltzekleiven. But in the end the whole purpose of our training is to have fun, and in a period of injury and rehab where I could not run, it has been very motivating and energizing for me to try out and accomplish new things.

Wish me luck next Sunday at Os Triathlon!

Riding the big horse: Storehesten Opp 2015

The only way is up!

Exactly a week after the Skåla Opp 2015 race, yesterday there was the Storehesten Opp 2015 race. Mount Storehesten (The big horse) is in Bygstad, where my parents-in-law come from, and it is very close to where they live now and where Frank grew up; Sande. After Frank got the taste of racing in the beginning of this year, we decided to participate in this race, especially due to the close family connections. The race was initially schedule to go in June, and we even planned our summer holidays according to it, but due to exceptional amounts of snow this year, it was postponed to August.

Storehesten Opp has a very nice concept that allows racing in two different distances. The longest distance is 11 km and has has 1200 meters elevation gain. The first 5 km of this course has 400 meters elevation gain and it is on asphalt and gravel roads. The last 6 km has 800 meters elevation gain and this part is entirely on terrain. This last part makes the second distance of the race. Starters in the racing class in both distances start at exactly the same time, which is pretty cool, because then the shorter distance runners have a chance to get to the top before the longer distance runners and cheer them to finish. Then there is the class of participants whose times are not registered, they also do the short course, and they are the vast majority of participants. I was actually surprised to see how few people participated in the racing classes. In the short distance, where I participated, there were only 16 runners, 11 men and 5 women.

Before the race I was again calculating and trying to estimate my finish time. The long distance running time is comparable to that at Skåla. The winners in both races have more or less the same times, the best time at Storehesten being 4 minutes better than that at Skåla. For the short distance, I again did not know what to expect. Skåla is 8 km long and 1800 meters high, which took me 2h15m. The short course of  Storehesten is 6 km long and only 800 meters high; what to expect? I decided that I would try to go for 1:15. My father-in-law, who likes to tease us, challenged me that I could not do it in less than 1:30, which both worried me and gave me more motivation. Frank, who did 1:55 at Skåla, went for the long course, with the hope to achieve 1:45 this time.

At the start area of the long course, we found several of our Melkesyre and Varegg friends, and after wishing each other good luck, we separated, three of us leaving with the bus to the start area of the short course. I was really surprised that there were so few runners in the short course. After the start, we very quickly became two groups: the men (and one woman whom I did not see at the start) in the front, and four women at the back. As always, I just did my own thing and took it as easy as I thought I could afford from the start. Two girls, in their 20s, were at my back all the time. I was thinking that they had a plan; that they would stay behind my back until some point and then make an attack and leave me behind. I was surprised that they never passed me, and at some points I was quite a bit ahead of them.

Though the weather was warm, it was quite windy, and we had the wind on our backs for a while which was really pleasant. The course is very varied with steep uphill parts consisting of high steps and big rocks, and more level parts, which require running if you want to keep your time down. An amazingly wonderful surprise was all the people who shouted my name and called "Heia Pinar" throughout the entire course. That is the advantage of racing in the home town of your family. Frank's sister, her husband, their children, several childhood friends of Frank and many neighbors, had all started in the no-time class much earlier than us. They had already been to the top and had descended and spread throughout the course to cheer people up. It was simply unbelievable. I could not always look up to see who they were, I just kept waving and waving the best I could. Thank you all so much everybody! It gave such energy and made the whole thing so much fun. Towards the end, though, everything became a lot tougher. The wind, which by then was stronger, hit us in the front and made it really difficult to go on at some points. When there was 1 km left, I had already spent 1 hour, and I was thinking to myself that my father-in-law was perhaps right. There was still 200 meters of elevation gain left, and I knew that the last part is on big rocks which makes it difficult to get a good pace. At that point, I did not care about the time anymore, I just wanted to keep the two girls behind me.

I finished in 1:18, with the girls right behind me, and I became number 2 out of all the ladies that started at the short course. Very happy with that! The course this year was slightly longer, because they changed it to avoid as much snow as possible, and everybody had higher times than normal. So perhaps 1:15 was not a bad estimate after all. The most impressive part, though, was Frank's achievement. He finished in 1:40, 15 minutes faster than at Skåla last week! Very impressed also by our friends' achievements; Hanne and Bjørn Harald winning their classes in the long course, and Frode making a big improvement from Skåla and passing Frank at the very end.

The two girls were so sweet; we gave each other high fives at the finish and we chatted on the way down. It turned out that one of them is a fitness instructor, which made me even more satisfied. When I told them that I was afraid they had a plan staying behind me, they both exclaimed "We did! But it did not work!"

What can I say? De gamle er eldst! :-)

Back on track: Skåla Opp 2015

Finally racing again!

Exactly one year ago, a long time dream came true when I got to experience the famous Skåla mountain in Loen by participating in the Skåla Opp 2014 race. It was a great experience in many different ways, and most importantly, it was at the top of Skåla I met some of my Melkesyre friends for the first time ever. Little did I know at that point how big a part of my life they would become and how much they would come to mean to me during the year that has passed since.

This year's Skåla Opp race, which took place on Saturday, was if possible even a greater experience. Not having raced since March this year, and not having had any endurance training since January, I was completely uncertain about what to aim for or what to expect during this year's race. My Stoltzekleiven form is better, but my endurance is much worse, on the other hand my legs are considerably stronger, however my resting heart rate is higher.... Some pros, some cons. What to expect???  I decided that anything better than 2:30 would make me very happy.

I started out with a good pace from the start but I made sure to keep my heart rate well below my lactate threshold, not touching 160, for the first 4-5 km. By then the first 1000 meters of the total 1800 meters elevation gain is done. After that my plan was to allow my heart rate to get close to 170, however this turned out to be pretty impossible. Although the climb gets tougher around the sixth kilometer, and I went as fast as I could, my heart rate went actually down. The advice from my physiotherapist Ane was "push it real hard, but don't race". I interpreted this as "race, but not at the expense of worsening your injury, so slow down if something becomes painful". Fortunately my hamstrings tendon behaved better than in a long time. It actually gave much less discomfort than during the slower and easier hikes in Jotunheimen just a couple of weeks ago.

I finished the race in 2:15, just two minutes worse than last year, which is a wonderfully encouraging surprise. Skåla seems to be telling me that everything will be OK. I even had a better feeling throughout and after the race this year compared to last year. I was less exhausted during and after, and my legs recovered much more quickly. Mentally it helped a lot that I had company, as I walked with my friends Hans Erik and Solveig from the start.  It gives energy and strength to have the comforting presence of friends close by. In fact Solveig and I kept together almost all the way to the finish, upon which we were interviewed by the national broadcast channel. The best news for me, though, is that my injury has behaved incredibly well also after the race. Normally, after a tough training I would feel some ache in the injured area, but this time I felt nothing at all!

An even more motivating achievement was that of my friend Jeanette at this year's race. You might remember that she won her class at last year's race, whereas this year it wasn't certain at all whether she would be able to participate. She injured her knee in April and had a surgery in May, and consequently has not been running for the past four months. But she did participate, and she was only a few minutes behind her personal best from last year, becoming number three in her class this year! What about that??! I think it is such an incredible performance, in fact a hundred times more impressive than if she had improved her PB with a few minutes without an injury. I was even happier about her result than mine; it gives such an amazing boost of energy, hope, inspiration and motivation, and it proves once and for all: nothing is impossible! We celebrated our victories in the Skåla lake...

It is such an indescribably nice feeling to be racing again. The mental and the physical push, the calculations in the head all the time, the pain, the incredible rush of adrenaline before the start, and the flush of endorphins and the intense feeling of happiness at the finish. Oh how I had missed that, and how I got reminded why I love racing. Of course the best part this year was the endless celebrations with my Melkesyre, Varegg and Fjellgeitene friends at the top and later in the evening. It is simply wonderful to be a part of such a group of positive, inspiring, kind and fun people. I cannot believe my luck...

Just to make the whole experience complete, an added bonus this year was Frank's participation in the race for the first time. He finished in 1:55. As soon as the registration opens for next year's race we will both sign up!

Coming up this weekend is Storehesten Opp 2015...

Out of the comfort zone again: training for triathlon

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone...

Yes it is happening again. Trying out new things and stepping outside of my comfort zone... This time the seeds were planted already more than a year ago. After the summer holidays of 2014, I wanted to try a triathlon. I had been both running and swimming the whole summer, and all that remained was just a little practice of biking. Os sprint triathlon in September 2014 seemed to be the perfect choice for a first triathlon. However, as it was very close to Oslo half marathon which I was training hard for, Ketil and I decided that I postpone it. This year, already in March, before my rehabilitation therapy started and running stopped completely, my colleague and good friend Ingunn and I signed up for it. However, as it started to get closer, participation became unclear. After all, I had registered for many races this spring and summer, and in the end I had to cancel them all.

During the summer holidays, when I was swimming almost everyday, and at the same time reading about my friends Janne, Michal, Freddy and Caroline completing Ironman races or other demanding triathlons, I got inspired again for trying a triathlon. Swimming and biking would be fine for my injury, but running was still a big issue. Would Ane let me do it?

When I came back from the holidays I concentrated mainly on uphill training, keeping in mind the coming competitions Skåla Opp, Storehesten Opp, and not the least Stoltzekleiven Opp. My motivation for triathlon started decreasing, especially since all the preparations like buying a wet suit, getting hold of an appropriate bike, and finding time to train for all this, seemed to be impassable obstacles. But I had signed up and I did not want to be a quitter for no reason. If Ane did not allow it, it would be a perfect excuse for letting the whole thing wait until 2016. However, on our first session after the holidays, Ane declared that Os triathlon would simply be the perfect thing for me to try at this point. Well, so there is no escape now, is there?

The first task was to get a wet suit. My friend Janne, who is an experienced triathlete and impressed me immensely by completing an Ironman this summer, had lots of good advice. I read over and over her blog post about open water swimming, and she gave me a lot of private advice in addition. I ended up with a Blueseventy Fusion wet suit in women's size medium. Wet suits for swimming are pretty expensive, but an Internet shop based in Oslo had the 2014 version of this model much cheaper than the normal price. So I ordered online and started waiting, really anxious to see whether it would fit. It arrived on Thursday and I tried it on, and you can see the result on the picture above. A wet suit has to fit very firmly so that the water is locked between the suit and the skin to give warmth, and there should not be any new water flowing through the suit while you are swimming. Janne had told me that it should be very difficult to put on. I found my suit difficult, but not very difficult to put on. Was it too big? On the other hand, it was extremely difficult to take off! So perhaps it was after all the correct size? It felt uncomfortable, but not so uncomfortable that you cannot stand to have it on another minute. This was the description of correct size that I had read on another web page, so I decided that it was most probably the correct size.

By coincidence Ingunn also bought her first wet suit the same day as I received mine, on August 6, exactly one month before Os triathlon on September 6, which we thought was a good sign. And then of course we wanted to test out our suits as soon as possible, and we agreed for a combined biking and swimming practice Friday evening. I was pretty nervous about swimming in a cold lake. Until now I have only swum in pools or in warm seas with white sand bottoms and crystal clear waters where you can see everything. I was afraid that I would panic when I saw all the plants and the rocks at the bottom of a lake. In fact I was so nervous about the whole thing that I did not at all sleep the night between Thursday and Friday... Friday evening, Ingunn and I met in Paradis, close to where we both live, and we biked to the Munkebotn lake.

When we arrived at the lake, I was sweaty due to the uphills at the end, and the suit was even harder to put on then than on a dry body. Laughing a lot at ourselves and our lacking routine, after some stumbling we were ready to hit the water.... My goodness! I had been afraid that I would be panicking about the vegetation??? There was nothing to see! It was completely black. It was like swimming in coffee, or rather Coke (due the bubbles my arms were making), I could see nothing; just absolute, thick, immense black void. Wow, I panicked in a completely different way than I had imagined. The darkness was so massive; I started choking and coughing, and the neck of my suit started feeling very tight. For a moment I was sure I was drowning. It took me a while to regain control, and I had to keep my head above the water all the way to the other side. Fortunately, after a short break on the other side, I quickly got used to the blackness and started enjoying the swim. To my pleasant surprise the suit felt comfortable and warm, very flexible, and even more convenient to swim than without a suit. Eventually I got into good rhythm, and started swimming swiftly, and clearly faster than without a suit! A very unexpected experience.

Both Ingunn and I are extremely relieved to have survived the first swim with our wet suits. It went better and faster then we had expected, and at least we now know how to do this. We do need to practice a few more times, though, in particular putting on and off our suits!

So how will the other disciplines of triathlon go for me? I have not at all been running for the past months, and I have to run 5 km at the end of this race. Will I at all manage? The good thing is that being injured enables me let my shoulders down and have low expectations. In the worst case I can just do a slow jog...  In fact the most challenging part for me is perhaps the biking. Not because I am not in shape for it, but I am a sissy when it comes to speed. In this sense biking is very different from running and swimming. In the latter two, my form and strength limit my speed. But in biking I cannot go as fast as my form and strength would allow; I hit the breaks all the time! This is also why I don't think I can ever become a competitive biker or triathlete, but I can complete a race. In the future, I might have the goal of completing much tougher races, not focusing too much on the biking time. Still I want to do things properly, and as my triathlete friends have kept telling me, my beautiful hybrid bike is not good enough for racing. My good friend Irene, the strongest and fastest pregnant woman ever, is for obvious reasons not going to bike for a while, and she generously lent me her faster bike. It has click-on pedals which I am really afraid to try, and for Friday's practice I used my own bike to be on the safe side.

My homework for today is to do a 3 km run and to test Irene's bike without falling, both by Svartediket.  I might also do an evening go at Stoltzekleiven, since yesterday was a day of complete rest. The first homework is in fact given by Ane! Roles have changed; she is encouraging me to start running while I am reluctant. I am concentrating on my uphill fast walks that are going really well, and running is not yet tempting... On the other hand:

A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.

Life is a hike over Besseggen

Livet er som å gå Besseggen:
Syner som blankaste barndomsdagar
og kveldsfreden god etter fullførd vandring  
eller avgrunns djup
ventar deg etter som alt er laga...

Livet er som å gå mange Bessegger.
For livet er ein draum,
livet er ei rekkje draumar:
Du kan ferdast i lavande paradislundar
og vakne i gru på det ytste skjer;
du kan segle i svartnande vitlausfart
mot kimande, krasande undergangen
og vakne i skogsus på Fredens øy -
gong på gong...

Livet er blodig og sælt.
Sigrar og tap og nye planar -
nye Bessegger,
nye Bessegger.
Alle dine voner
kneggjar som hestar mot Jorsalferd
kvar gong, kvar gong...

Det er livet å gå Besseggen.

I don't think I should even attempt to translate the above poem by Ragnvald Skrede, which I have known and liked for years, and finally I understand why. As a short summary, it says that life is like a hike over Besseggen, which is a ridge in the mountainous Jotunheimen National Park area in Norway. The poem speaks about ups and downs, pleasant surprises and less pleasant ones; dreams, hopes - both those that come true and those that don't; all these ingredients of life, and supposedly elements of a hike over Besseggen...

For me the hike over Bessegen has been a long time dream, and as it was the case with the Trolltunga hike, it exceeded all my expectations. It is a truly breathtaking hike, and if you wish you can easily run it, as the course is very pleasant except for a short but very steep and narrow part (which is the actual Besseggen itself). For those who live in Bergen, the course can be compared to climbing Fløyen, hiking to Ulriken and decending. In fact, it is shorter and less demanding than that. But a million times more spectacular, and some parts that are infinitely more exciting and challenging - not your physical form but rather any potential anxiety of heights you might have.

The Besseggen ridge goes along the Gjende lake, which is at about 1000 meters above sea level. The highest point of the ridge is about 1750 meters, and just before the steepest climb to the top, there is the Bessvatn lake, which is separated from the Gjende lake about 400 meters below by a thin wall of rock. It is perhaps the most spectacular and the most well known scenery of the hike.

From there to the top is the narrowest and steepest part of the ridge which is slightly challenging for those with an anxiety for heights, but the ascent is very quick over big steps of rocks, and before you know it you are at the top. For me it was merely a flash of panic; I stayed very close to the steps of my friend Laila who was in front of me, and I asked Frank who was behind me to stay very close to me, and I kept my eyes on Laila's feet until the worst part was over, which lasted only a few minutes. The fact that you are climbing and need to concentrate on where to place your hands and feet makes it easier to ignore the steep cliffs on both sides of your feet.

The Besseggen hike goes between Gjendesheim and Memurubu, and you can do it in either direction. It is possible to drive all the way to Gjendesheim, and there is also public transport available. Then you can take the boat from Gjendesheim to Memurubu and hike back, or the other way round. We hiked from Memurubu to Gjendesheim, and I am really glad for it, as I think descending the steep and narrow part would be much less pleasant for me compared to climbing it. Since we had heard about the long queues for the boat at this time of the year, and blessed with like-minded friends, we arrived in Gjendesheim already at 7:15 in the morning, 45 minutes before the first scheduled boat. A very good idea indeed! Then we had time to use the bathrooms, visit the store, and still be among the first to board the boat. The boat got very quickly filled up, and departed 15 minutes before schedule, leaving many people behind for the next departure.

The weather was amazing for most part of the hike, and we had our lunch after the steep and narrow climb, and just before the highest point, in a sunny spot with no wind. At this point, I was thinking about the above poem, and thinking that there are really no downs or unpleasant surprises about Besseggen, only the thrill of the steep narrow climb, and otherwise just endless beauty and everything the nature can offer; flowers, glaciers, lakes, incredible views... On the way down, though, I understood a little bit more what Ragnar Skrede might have meant. By chance we looked back, and suddenly on the side there was a group of reindeer on a spot of snow!

We spent some time going close to them and taking pictures, and within 5 minutes the weather changed from sunny to heavy rain which then turned into hail. We descended quickly, and by the time we were down in Gjendesheim it was sunny and hot again, and we could enjoy a rest in the sun getting completely dried up, before getting in the car again. Thinking that Ragnar Skrede is from that area and might have done the hike many many times, I suppose he must have experienced many surprises like this, and perhaps worse ones, too... During and after this hike you cannot but contemplate, and it is in fact very natural to compare your Besseggen experience to your life in general; at least it was for me. I was also wondering why we waited so many years to do this. Of course it helps that our children are old enough to take care of themselves and on their way to leave home. And perhaps life at this point would have been less entertaining if all these wonderful things were already experienced at a younger age.

During the hike I was thinking that the course is perfect for a mountain race, and I was wondering why there is no Bessegen race. After coming home I found out that there is! It is even a very old race, organized in the 1960s, and then after a long break resumed again starting 2011. It is in the end of June every year; I am seriously considering it next year!

For this hike we were so lucky to have been offered accommodation in Breistølen by our friends from Melkesyre. Breistølen turned out to be a perfect base for hiking in Jotunheimen, and during three days there, we did three of the most spectacular hikes in Norway: Besseggen on Thursday, Glittertind on Friday, and Galdhøpiggen on Saturday. The latter two are the two highest mountains in Northern Europe, and they were incredible and breathtaking in each their unique way as well. Besseggen is perhaps my favorite among these three, though, as it offers such a huge variety of nature and views in a nutshell.

Hiking over Bessegen is the life.