A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 20; 11th Edition
144.3 miles run in 2026 races
Race: Stockholm Half-Marathon
Place: Stockholm, Sweden
Miles from home: 4250 miles
Weather: 64 degrees; 90% humidity
There were three difference between these half-marathons I ran in Helsinki and Stockholm a week apart:
1. While the temp and humidity were nearly identical, the humidity in Stockholm came in the form of constant rain.
2. Stockholm, while hardly climbing Kebnekaise (the tallest mountain in Sweden; you're welcome for learning something today), has much more hills than Helsinki.
3. The starting time for Stockholm was at 3:30 p.m.
I was glad that I would not be nearly as warm as I was in Helsinki but I really wasn't looking forward to the hills in Stockholm. However, I very much enjoyed the later day start, even if it was a tad difficult to figure out how to fuel for the day and the race.
Similar to last week, I was fortunate enough to book my lodging about half of a mile away from the start/finish of the race. This meant that I could saunter down at my earliest convenience, which I did even though the race website extolled runners to be in their corral no less than 30 minutes before the start of the race.
Yeah, no. The fact I showed up even 15 minutes before the race was only because I felt they might be a stickler and I would not be able to get into the first corral for which I was seeded. But once there, I wished I had waited even longer.
They fired the color bomb cannons on the Strömbron (Steam Bridge) and we were off.
First Three Miles:
I was almost certain I would be slower that the surprisingly fast half-marathon new knee PR I set a week ago but I was holding out hope for a surprise. I knew I would have legions of runners around me as this was one of the largest half-marathons I had ever run. Considering I would be 20 minutes slower than half-marathon PR, I knew many of those runners would be around me, something I am not used to and do not like one bit.
I carefully picked my way along the streets of Stockholm, dodging puddles, other runners and a plethora of fans. Unlike Helsinki last week there were thousands of fans out. I wouldn't say cheering as they were quite quiet but they were at least there.
My first mile, which already contained my first uphill, went by in 7:25. It felt solid. I didn't feel like I was overreaching but I really wished it had been a 7:15. I decided I would slow it down a touch more for the next mile. There were a few undulations before we went up an on-ramp to cross over a bridge that we had just run under. I was a bit taken aback at the 7:51 mile it produced but I hate and do poorly on uphills even on my best day.
With the nice little downhill we had right as we crossed the three mile mark, I saw I had once again achieved a 7:25 minute mile. That put me just 10 seconds off my overall time goal for the race which was to JUST beat my new PR. I felt that maybe I had a chance.
To the 10k:
From studying the map I thought I had a flat mile and a half before a small rise leading into a downhill. So when a larger rise than the one I knew about appeared before we even hit the fourth mile I was a bit disappointed. I ran a 8:08 mile which definitely took a little wind out of my sails.
The next mile, however, which did have the hill I knew about allowed me to run a somehow faster 7:59. Maybe I was back in the game. I was close to the halfway point and while I had let hundreds of people pass me, I was staying with a core group of people whose singlets and ponytails and shorts I was getting to know quite well.
Along the flattest, straightest part of the course I ran. I was feeling good and began to pick off a few runners myself here and there. In most races of any distance I have run I have often said I don't judge how I feel until the 6th mile. I was fully expecting a 7:30 here. Instead it was 8:01.
Well, crap.
Onto Ten Miles:
I knew at the 8th mile, after a brief time on Gamla Stan, the Old City island on which I was staying and where the race began and end, we began a killer hill. Fortunately, there was a smaller downhill in the 7th mile that mostly gave me false hope of running a fast time in the last 5k. Running a 7:42 here helped my mindset a bit but I was beginning to get tired.
We finished climbing the big hill and I was greeted with a nice fat 8:32. There was no way I had it in me to push for a fast final few miles. I just would have to take what there was in front of me and finish healthfully. A long down hill after the big hill was nice but I was beginning to feel my legs feel like they might cramp. As such I held back a touch on the downhill.
One thing that made me happy during the small hills in Helsinki and the ones here was that I felt like I was regaining my downhill running skills. If I was ever good at anything, running downhill was it. In all my race since my knee replacement, I have not had the strength or courage to really try to run hard on a downhill. But here I felt I could really cut loose and even a restrained effort netting me a 7:43 for my 9th mile.
But as we ran along, I could feel the energy waning. I grabbed a drink, ate part of a banana and hoped for a surge that would get me up the monster hill aftr mile ten. Unfortunately, even the smaller ones before that slowed me down. I wanted to walk but I could feel my calf tightening. I thought if I stopped it would only get worse. So instead I powered through. I still could only muster a 8:20.
To The Finish:
With the bulk of the big hill left, I knew it would not be pretty but I could get it done. But then the hill kept going and going. my 11th and 12th miles were 8:44 and 8:38. I was just bleeding time now. I thought my race would be better than at least my third and fourth fastest new knee halfs but that was not looking likely.
The crowds were lively and think on these last few miles which was indeed helpful. It would have been more helpful if, at least a handful of times, I had not had to come to a near stop because someone decided they needed to cross the street and right then with hundreds of people streaming by, this would be the moment to do so.
Once I did a pirouette, another time I had to come to a dead stop, and the others had me bellowing loudly to avoid collisions. These seem so small to many non-runners, but each one of these steals part of your soul when you are already waffling in the energy department.
Even the downhill, which didn't feel half as long as the uphill we ran just four miles earlier helped me
very much. I saw my business partner for Sherpa and friend Heather and flashed some gun show time for her in an attempt t make her smile and for me to get some energy. It lasted about 100 yards and until I saw that not even the downhill could give me a 7:XX mile as all I had in me was a 8:10.
I could also see that after an entire race of expertly running the tangents I was going to end up nearly a tenth of a mile long on the course. I definitely did not need another 45 seconds added to my time.
After we finished the final last cruel hill I gave it all I had in an attempt to stay in the 1:45 range but to no avail. I ran 1:46:00. I ended up in 3217th place which might be the furthest I have ever finished in a race.
(I had to check as I knew when I bonked in the heat in Boston in 2005 I was pretty far back but that was only 3068th place. So yes, this might be my worst showing place-wise in a race ever!)
No races planned for the moment, however. Completely empty docket. I am now going to use this time to lose weight, gain strength back, and get back into racing form!
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