Start of 30 km XC run
The primary objective for this year was to complete Svensk Klassiker and the last sport event of this tour was 30 km cross country running "Lidingöloppet". I'm extremely happy to successfully finish the run on Saturday despite of all the problems I encountered during the race.
Short shirt + trousers were my choice
The weather was a bit cool, cloudy and minor showers but I decided to start with short shirt and trousers. It was a good choice, I was feeling warm right after the start. Only the fingers and hands were a bit cold, I haven't used to use gloves when running, but on Saturday they would have been great to have.
First 10 km went OK, but then the stomach problems started. I was feeling pain in my stomach, which slowed the pace. I had to wait on toilet queues when my stomach was totally upset. I'm pretty sure that the energy drink provided by the organizers was the root of the problems. I haven't been using Powerade energy drink earlier.
Runners on the way
The immediate consequence of stomach pains and wait on the toilet queues was my pace was dropping 1 min/km. In addition I couldn't drink and get energy enough during the rest of the race and therefore my energy level was pretty low already at 20 km. It was a harrowing last 10 km, which I somehow managed to walk/jog until finish line. I didn't think of quitting the race, cause otherwise I would have been missing my Svensk Klassiker totally.
I have to say that Svensk Klassiker is much harder than Finnish tours like Pirkan kierros and Kalevan kierros.
The ferry from Stockholm arrived to Turku on Sunday morning half an hour late at 8:00. The orienteering competition at Suomusjärvi was about to start at 9:30. It was quite tight schedule to drive there and get ready for 11,2 km orienteering. However there was just enough time to get there and start together with plenty of Kalevan kiertäjät to the wet forest. It has been raining a lot on Southern part of Finland and the terrain was soft and laborious to run. I was feeling the previous day's 30 km run in my legs and body and therefore I just tried to do with my best to complete the course without big mistakes. The pace was not good but orienteering itself went pretty OK, apart from control point 21.
The orienteering route
All in all 45 km running in forest within weekend took all my energy. Now I'm just trying to recover somehow...
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