Traveling
My Norseman adventure got off to a great start. I got upgraded by Icelandair and could enjoy good legroom and nice service from Seattle to Reykjavik. I took this as a good sign for what should come.
Before the race
I landed in Oslo Wednesday and was met by my brother. We drove over to his house only 25 minutes away and I could start putting my bike together and get some food in me. My bike had survived the flight and everything worked, but to be on the safe side we went for a short ride to tightening the bolts with a torqued wrench at a local ski and cycling store. On the way my front wheel got a flat. No panic, the tube got changed and all the bolts torqued. I used the rest of the day to catch up with my brother, his family and to eat, eat and eat.
On Thursday we packed the car and drove to the beautiful town Drammen to pick up my father. I am not sure if I was more happy to race or to be with family, but this is the essence of Norseman, you can do both. We drove up beautiful Uvedal so I could take a peak of the last climb up to Imingfjell. That climb looked long and steep. Then we drove the rest of the bike course in reverse. The three climbs after Geilo (91k) were all long and hard, but I did not feel that they were intimidating. We had a stop a Dyranut, the highest point of the bike course, it is after 40k. This was the first time I could see that Norseman was happening, cars with bikes and skinny people in lycra with logos on it. The drive down to Eidfjord is beautiful but also scary. The first hill of Norseman is LONG, STEEP and HARD.
Since I got my spot late, the only rooms I could managed to find was not what I would call hotel standard.
The rest of the day was used to walk around and to just enjoy being in Eidfjord. I was getting ready.
Friday before the race
The morning started with the classic Norseman swim a 9 in the morning. The water was beautiful, flat and not too cold. As always I think everybody is swimming so fast, so everything was normal.
It was fun meeting all the Americans. I tried to give them some advice about the course since I knew it a little bit better. I also had people coming and talk to me based on my posting about Norseman at Slowtwich, I guess I sparked some interests for the race :-) Of course I spent money on Norseman gear. I need to look good for my next sprint triathlon.
At three o'clock the race meeting started, now it got real. The race meeting mostly went through safety and looking back on race day I understand why. Norseman is extreme, but it is extreme with focus on safety, kudos to the organizers. I used the rest of the afternoon to organize the equipment, food, eat dinner and went to bed early for a bad nigh of sleep. And yes, during the night it started to be rainy and windy.
Race day
I woke up 1.45, this was it. I could feel it, the day I had for so long prepared for was finally here. It was scary but also a happy feeling. Now it was time to get to T1.
At the dock the Norseman ferry was saying good morning to me. The place was full of nervous athletes and really tired support crew. My bike got checked, you need working lights and a reflective west at Norseman due to riding in tunnels. It was time to get the last good lucks and enter the ferry.
The mood on the ferry is special and just like what you see in the Norseman videos. When the ferry has found its right position and stops we all waked towards the opening gate. The jump was ahead. This was it, this was NORSEMAN.
Norseman 2013
The swim
The jump was easy, the water was not too bad. I was swimming with a neoprene hood, ear plugs and neoprene socks. After the jump I swan to the kayaks and find a position close to shore. After 10 minutes the ferry blow its horn and off we went. The first thing that hit me was a wave followed another on and another one. The swim was not too choppy but breathing could be challenging. I focused on staying calm and was trying not to swallow saltwater. Personally I felt the swim went slow. My goal time was 1.10 with ideal conditions so I was surprised when I exit the water in 1.15. Of course I had a big fall when I was trying to get out of the water, at least it was entertaining for the crowed.
T1
Wetsuit off, wool socks and arm warmers on. Not a speedy transition but ok.
The bike leg
Luckily you have some kilometers to get warm before the first climb starts. Norseman uses the old road when possible, it is narrow but the scenery is stunning. Then the climbing started and it was steep, steep and steep. I was using 36 - 28 and just focused on spin my legs. The minutes started to tick along faster than the kilometers. After a while I got to Voringsfossen and my first meeting with my support, my brother was shouting EAT, something he shouted a lot that day. The rest of the climb up to Dyranut was not pleasant. The combination of steep hills and hard and cold headwind made the first 1/4 of the bike ride something to remember, and it was just an introduction to the rest of the leg.
At Dyranut I needed to put on a jacket, it was cold. My brother was prepared and we had a fast pit stop. Finally I could enjoy the flats and downhills towards Geilo. But what met me, more cold headwind. The few times I got sidewind it felt so easy. But it was nice to get some speed on the bike and the downhills gave me a chance to fuel and relax a little. I understood that managing the legs was the key for getting the black t-shirt.
I was quite shocked when I got the message that I was number 80 at Geilo, had I open too hard, it did not feel that way. But I decided to take it easy the next four hills. I did not want to blow my legs apart by racing like an idiot. After Geilo Norseman has four long climbs followed by some challenging descents. And on raceday it was windy. I keep my heart rate down on the climb up to Kikut, looked at all the nice cabins and rode into some freezing rain. Yepp, now I did not have just headwind, I had frozen rain also. The descent was cold and tricky. The road condition was not good so I could not cost down. I had to stay on top of my game.
At the beginning on the next climb I was met by my brother. I told him that I needed my neoprene gloves. As always he said take it easy in the hills and EAT, EAT and EAT. I let my legs spin up the hill. For some reason the hills at Norseman are harder to ride than they look on the race profile. At the top I got new gloves and it felt good. Two climbs done, just two to go.
Next climb I followed the same recipe, I kept an eye on my heart rate and kept it as close to zone 1 as possible. Due to the weather and the fact that I had been out for many hours I could feel that my body have had to work. But I was within myself and had control. After the third climb it was a long descent. The road conditions were not good so I could not relax at all. But I had been riding 125k and just had the last climb left, and it was a monster.
The climb up to Imingfjell is 10k long. It is not too steep, just grinding. I was following my plan and let some other athletes pass me. The top of the climb was not getting closer fast enough, but suddenly I was in the last turns. At the top my plan was to smile and enjoy the 10k false flat. But now the weather was really bad, strong headwind, fog with 20 feet visibility and heavy rain. I had to ride 36 - 28 on the flat to keep going. My brother tried to yell something to me from the side of the road but I could hardly see him, and I did not hear him at all. I will remember those 10k at Imingfjell for the rest of my life. A little side note, I was biking in a trishorts the whole way so it got sometimes chilly on my leg.
After Imingfjell I managed to get down the switchback without any big problems. Those were tricky and I talked to one athlete who did not see one of the turns due to fog and went off the road. The last 20k is following the river down the valley. The road here is so bad the resurfacing was planed for 2013, sadly for me it will happen is September. I am not sure how my wheels survived some of the potholes. But it was bumpy. Close to T2 I passed the church where my mom us buried. It was special and I choked up, but it was a nice experience. Bike split 7.50
T2
Getting off the bike was nice. Getting new and dry socks even better. My brother was there as always and gave me one last advice before the running, EAT.
The run
When I ran out of T2 I got the message that I was number 80. This was crazy. I knew then that if I did not do anything stupid I would mange to get the black t-shirt. That was a nice feeling. I rand out with a box of Coke, it was helpful to keep the speed down and it was nice to get some calories. I was jogging along and the kilometers ticked off. I actually did not feel too bad. I was of course starting to feel tired, but I also had a feeling of control. The run course is 20k flat, 5k false flat and steep climbing the rest. I took some strategic short walks between 20 and 25k, my brother had to fix his car and of course that is when I needed more fuel. But this is Norseman and some of other athletes support teams gave me some thing to drink. During the race my brother had done this to other athletes.
One of the things you remember from competing in Norseman is the first time you see mount Gaustatoppen on the run. It is unreal. The mountain is so high and so intimidating, but you also know that the only thing you want is to get to the top. I made it to the bottom of the hill in ok shape. I now knew I would get the black t-shirt and could stop racing and start enjoying. The last hill is 16k/10m and has the name zombie hill, it turns fit athletes into zombies.
The hill starts at the bottom of the valley by the power lines and finish at the peak, it is hard.
The walk
For the rest of the run leg my plan was to walk. Zombie hill is 10% so you climb a lot. My brother walked with me and we talked and talked. He was carrying all I needed and some more. I switched my tritop to a wool sweater, that was nice. How steep was it? My kilometer/mile time was 12.30/19 minutes. The first goal was to get to 32.5k, this is where you get the message if you can finish at the top. When I got there the race director told me;"good news, you can finish at the top, bad news, the elevator is broken so you have to walk down". This was Norseman.
From 32k and to 37k when the trail begin I was walking quite slowly. I was tired and just wanted to keep going. Then I saw the gate and the flags. This is where you are leaving the road and walk the last 4.7k on rock. It is not a trail, more a bad path on rocky rocks. Before I entered the trail one of the race organizers check my backpack. Due to safety you need to carry warm cloths and a flashlight. I got a burst of energy and even though I now walked with really tired legs the last kilometers did not feel too bad at all. I guess I was on a Norseman high.
And finally I crossed the finish line with my brother and my dad. I had done it. Right there it all made sense, all the pain was worth it. I had been focused the whole day and now I could relax and yes I cried. What a race, what a journey, what a support team.
At the top you get tomato soup and a blanket. Right there those were gifts from God. I looked at my watch. I had used 6.30 on the run and remember that I rand the first 21k in 2.02. The last hill is hard.
But this is Norseman and now me and my support crew had to walk down again. Yes my tired legs had to get off the mountain and yes it started to get dark. But everything was perfect after a perfect day. And now I am wearing black
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