My first week of vacation started with the "Styrkeprøve" for Husband: a bike race from Lillehammer to Oslo: 190 km. Husband cycled with the Ottestad Second Bike team with the goal of finishing in under 6 hrs without leaving any members behind. They made it in 5 hrs and 40 minutes. The weather was mixed. Mostly sunny with some wind, and occasional rain showers, even a hail shower. I waited at the roadside in Ottestad (about 1/3) of the way with bottles of juice and water and food to fill his pockets: raisin buns, figs and bananas. Teamwork is the main goal for the Ottestad cycle club. They cykle using a chain technique where they constantly rotate who is at the front. Those who need to rest hang at the back of the chain. The captain organises the chain. When one of the cyclists slid on the rain-slick asphalt and flew off his bike, hitting the divider and breaking his collar bone, the team stopped to make sure he was okay and was picked up by a support car before continuing. When one of the members was almost too tired to keep up in the last long hill before entering Oslo, 3 or 4 teammembers took turns pushing her up the hill so that she would be able to finish with the team.
This weekend Husband and I packed the dogs into the car and went to the Orienteering Festival on the west edge of Oslo (Bærumsmarka). We had rented a cabin at a nearby camp ground. We had great weather: 80's - an unusual treat for Norway. Found some nice walks for the dogs near the camp ground. The races were fun. The world cup was going on simultaneously, and we could follow the commentary and watch the progress on a big screen in the Arena while waiting for our start times. On friday afternoon I ran an A-level course in the womens 50 class: 2,7km. It was a very difficult course. I spent as much time on just one controll as Husband (mens 40 A) had spent on his whole race. In the end though, I found all the controls, finishing in one and a half hours, 17 minutes behind the next to last contestant. However there were 3 that were either disqualified or had given up, and though I considered giving up, I'm glad I finished. Saturday I ran a C-level race, though this was 3,6 km. Though I finished in 50 minutes (nr 38 of 63) I felt I had run a bad race. It seems I should have been able to run faster. Most of the controls were along paths, and easy to find. Don't know why I was so slow. The heat maybe... It sure was great to put my head under the sprinkler at the finish.
The dogs were very good, lying in a shady place and waiting for us while we were out running.
Husband had his debut with A-level courses. In his age group they are much longer and though his placement was about 2/3 down the list still I feel he ran a good race. Friday he ran a 3,6 km course in 38 minutes, finishing nr 50 of 75, 13 minutes behind the winner. Saturday he ran the 4,8 km course in 1hr and 2 minutes, finishing nr 21 of 34, 21 minutes behind the winner.
No comments:
Post a Comment