Sore Legs and Weak Knees

Sore legs and weak knees, that must mean that I just did the Midnattsloppet again this year. My goal for running it was under one hour (last years time was 59 minutes and 57 seconds), though I have done almost no training for it. So it was not for sure if I actually would reach/beat my goal. It was also a first for a couple of things- the first time running with music and the first time running with a knee brace. Last year when I got to km 8, ny knee popped and it hurt for days after. So I wanted to protect it as much as possible.

Timing of the event was horrible. A couple friend that we have called on Thursday to say that they were in town from Australia and wanted to meet up, so I had to miss the first night with them. The race was colder this year. As I was standing there waiting for our time to go, I was freezing. The positive side was that this year I did not have to go pee before the race started (learned that lesson last year). Eventually our number got to start.

For some reason, the first 3km is the hardest for me. Part of me wanted to stop there and just call it a day. The nice part about running in a large group like that is that I control my speed. Normally I would try to run faster then I should, but in a group, I keep it under control. By the forth km, I was feeling good. Around 7km is the big hill. I do well running up it. I don’t know why I can run up a hill. The sick part is that I enjoy running up the hills, it feels good. By the 8th km, I was feeling great and it only got better. I actually finished strong and could have “easily” gone on. I guess in reality I did go on further, since I had to get to the train station. In the end, I managed to complete the 10km loop in 55min 20sec, over 4 minutes faster then last year.

I am using the Midnattsloppet as a training for the Lidingöloppet. The first of the Classic for me (I had to start over, typical). A 30km race that is off road the entire way. Sounds like a pain, so I am not sure why I am doing it. They say it is harder then a marathon. It is only 29 days until the race and I have not really trained that much. My goal, right now anyway, is less then 4 hours. Maybe, with some additional training, I will be able to do it.