I'm back! - Stoltzekleiven Opp 2015

At last! Stoltzekleiven Opp 2015 came and went. I tried a new strategy this year: a lot of rest the week before the race. And it seems to have worked!

My training towards this year's Stoltzekleiven race was not giving the results I could hope for. But I had a slight consolation: since I have been doing many different things after the summer holidays, every time I practiced at Stoltzekleiven I had the stiffness of another training session in my legs. So I thought: if I will have any chance at the race, I need to rest my legs well.

My last practice at Stoltzekleiven was on Monday, five days before the race. During this past week I canceled all my HSR exercises and most of my strength training. On Tuesday I had my regular PT session, with some leg exercises, mainly back of legs and hamstrings, but we kept the weights and the number of repetitions low. On Wednesday and on Thursday I did nothing; complete rest for the legs and for rest of the body! Friday afternoon, I had a light walk/run just to get my legs going again. Zone 1 running for about 25 minutes, with a couple of 2 minute fast runs, and then about 15 minutes walking; in total 5 km. On Saturday, the race day, my starting time was late in the afternoon, so I took a walk in the morning, and then did some stretching exercises.

While I was waiting for my starting time,  I was lying on the couch and watching the broadcast from the race, and getting more and more nervous about it. I did a lot of mental training during this time. I kept telling myself that it is all in my head. I had trained well, and now I had well-rested legs, so there should be no reason for not achieving a good time, if only I was able to push myself hard enough. I studied various race statistics that corresponded to a finishing time that I wanted: below 15 minutes, and I tried to envision myself throughout the whole course doing exactly the right things.

One and a half hours before the race, I could not stand being at home anymore, so I went down to the racing area. I was lucky to meet several good friends as soon as I arrived at there, and that calmed me a lot. I started warming up, and my legs felt better than in a long long while. I kept in mind the warm up advice from dear friends, and did both slow jogs and short fast uphills to get the heart rate going without wearing out the legs. Just before the start, I took a few sips of sports gel, to trick my brain to jump with an energy boost.

I had planned to start slow, but my legs and breath felt light, so I jogged all the way until the stairs started. I had a good feeling, and started believing that this could work out, if I remained focused. A good colleague had given the advice to think "forward" rather than "upward", so I kept saying "forward" in my head all the time. It all went pretty easy and well until half way, and my time there was a lot better than I was planning for. I felt happy but also a little worried that I perhaps started a bit too hard. I kept talking to myself "Don't mess this up now; if you just keep going steady, it will work out". I imagined the voices of all my friends who helped me up during practices, and told myself to keep pushing, resisting the tiny opportunities of a little rest here and there.

My heart rate was 172 throughout the second half, so I knew that I was working at maximum level. At the wooden stairs towards the end, I did several different things, and this was actually well planned ahead. To be able to push hard until the stairs, I promised myself the reward of putting my hands on the stairs as soon as I reached them. So I crawled on both hands and feet on the first staircase, then I got up and pulled myself up using the side bars on the second staircase, and then at the last staircase I did something I never tried before; I ran! All of this was based on advice from and discussions with training buddies, and I think it worked pretty well for me, although it was a risk to do it at the race before trying it out first.

For the last few meters after the wooden stairs I had to mobilize all willpower I had to keep running; my whole body was aching, and when I threw myself on the ground after passing finish, I knew that I had given it all, and I was very happy. When I heard my time being announced on the loudspeakers, 14:39, I could have started crying if I had the energy.

14:39 is my second best time ever, and my best official time, and after months of injury and limited opportunities of training, I am so happy and relieved to have achieved it. There are so many people I want to thank, so many friends in Fjellgeitene, Melkesyre and Varegg who gave good advice and shared their experiences with me. I am so grateful to all of you, and I feel so lucky and blessed to be a part of such a group of wonderful people.

And yes, Frank had an official personal best at the race, too: 12:17! And his sister Gro (12:50), and our brother in-law Børre (11:49), and so many of our friends. It simply shows that we get better as we get older!

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. (Mark Twain)