Lofoten Insomnia 2012

lofoten insomnia race report
The race runs from Å at the tip of the lofoten massiv all the way to Lødingen at the northern side. All
together it’s 235km of Lofoten. The race is fairly flat, although there are a couple of hills sto note. The
last one is by far the tougher and comes at 225km so you’ll know to appreciate it  To get to the start
you have the option of using a buss that is set up for the race. bikes are also brought for you if you
travel by bus. The buss ride is 4 hours long, but the scenery is so spectacular that you hardly notice. At
Å there is a restaurant/bar that give shelter to riders while waiting for the race to start. The race
starts at 2:00AM with the touring class starting some hours before at 0:00AM.

My journey:
Entering the buss I found a vacant seat beside a guy from Kvaløya who had done the race 4 times, and even
the 600k variant that was part of the race the first years. His cmments about the places and histories
provided ample entertaining for the buss ride. Thanks!
Since I was traveling in my Trondheim triathlon club clothes I got a lot of comments about triathlon at the
bus stops. I met a couple who was also triathletes. Turns out that Magne and Ingvild had participated
together with me in Trollveggen Triathlon last year. Turns out they are signed on for this years
Trollveggen Triathlon as well. When I asked what else they were planning this year they informed me that
they’d be running Ultra birken with me as well. Ingvild is signed on for Norseman (her 3.rd or 4.th) as
well. Ingvild has been running in vivos and 5-fingers, so we had a lot to talk about. When we were dressing
up I saw her roll her jacket into a bundle and tuck it in her back pocket. I briefly concidered doing the
same rather than have the rainjacket in the small bag that came with it. I also considered offering tape to
secure it, but did not. unfortunately.

At the start we were told to take it easy, as there had been a couple of acidents in the touring group
close to the start. A car drove in front of us to make sure we took it easy the first 10k or so. There were
a lot of road work with potholes and gravel for that section.
shortly after the car drove of the tempo picked up. I decided to try to stick with Magne and Ingvild,
although they were probably way to fit for me to stick to. I was positioned a few meteres behind them when
the acident struck. Ingvilds rain jacket came loose and went into her rear wheel. we shouted to her, but
too late. I stoped to take stock since I had decided to stick wit them. The field moved rapidly past. A lot
happenes these first kilometeres where groups form. I was about to loose a valuable position. If there was
one thing I did not want for this trip it was to not be left behind as the last guy, to have to make it on
my own. If I was in front and had to drop a group I could take another train so to speak. If I was in the
last group… It quickly became apparent that Ingvilds rear deraliur had been torn of. Incertain about what
Magne would choose to do; stay or go. I decided to move on. I justified this decision with the knowledge
that Magne was probably fit enough to catch up with us if he chose to try. I got into a group of riders
from Lødingen and a couple of others. After waiting for some team mates to catch up we got on our way. The weather was not bad. Cloudy and windy but not cold (approx 12 degrees celcius). I had a bike bib, long
sleeves for the legs, A technical longsleeved upper + bike shirt, loose sleeves and wind west. Also I had a
buff,racing ski gloves and shoe covers. Perfect really. The tempo was decent, but a bit high for me in up
hills. The field moved in one line, no chain. after a couple of puctures and bike problems we broke apart
a bit, but got together again. Suddenly Ingvild pulled up on the side and passed me, shouting encouragement
as she went. Magne had made a big screfice and swaped his bike with her broken! Ingvild was last years
winner out of all the women. This made the swap make perfect sence. Suddenly I got hit by a feeling of
guilt for not having waited for her, and an urge to help her out. Shortly after the group was assembled
again, and we went on. We picked up Ingvild and went with her and another woman we picked up on the way for the remainder of the ride. Ingvild bullied the men in my group into doing double row chain, exchanging the two front riders in one go, and doing front service for about two minutes. Around 100k I got cramps. I
managed to push trough by taking salt capsules and doubling my fluid intake. The cramps got back later and
I had to take it easy or the cramps would bite hard. The ride was against headwind for more than half the
ride. Also there was some light rain towards the end. There are two hills worth mentioning, and two under
sea tunnels that are very worth noting. Particularly the last of the tunnels under sløverfjorden is fairly
is steep (8%) and long (3.2k). Excepting the tunnels and the two hills, the route is practically flat. All
the time the view is world class. The group I was in went to hard in the hills for my taste, but I had to
stick with them to not be left behind to fend for my self. This was probably not optimal for my Insomnia
experience, but very valuable biking experence. At the last aid station I needed water and salt. In
addition to filling up the bottles with sportsdrink. As I went out from the aid station I heard a sound
behind me. The box of salt capsules was on the ground, but the group was going. I had to choose. This was
actually quite hard. I had been having a down period and had been at the tail of the chain for a long time.
staying at the tail is stressfull and does not save much energy really. It’s just that the cramps would hit
me as soon as I was at the front.
I risked not being able to hang on to the group for very long anyway. Also I needed to take a leak, but did
not see any way I could catch up with the other guys if I did. I ended up sitting with the group and
actually doing service at the front too until the last 30k. Remaining about 30k there’s a long tunnel
slanting upwards where the tempo was very high. After that I thought I was done, but knew I could manage to get to the finish alone. I tried to hang on to the tail, and managed! I found a techniqe using my heels to
push down and hip extenders to pull up that alowed me to hang in there. At the last hill the group went
much faster than me. I was totally cooked. sweat was running off me in rivers, and I urgently needed to
take a leak. Magne had been driving in a car along side us all the way. As he passed me he drove very close
in front of me and helped me push some air out of the way. At 15km/h it doesn’t really matter, but still
the gesture was noted, and apprecieated. Thanks Magne! I made it up the hill by promising myself to take a
leak at the top. As I went past the top I did! I strugled to stay on my feet as I did, and it took for
ever. This probably resulted in two things: The group that had actually stoped at the top to wait for me
left, and I managed to stay focused at the last downhill, which ends in a 90 degree turn at the bottom. The
last 10k is perfectly flat and by now some people are out cheering in Lødingen. I passed Sissel and the
kids cheering me along. The finish is slight uphill at the local sporting arena. I duly thanked all the
riders in my group that waited at the finnish. Thanks guys. Could not have made it withouth you.
In the sporting arena they server free fish soup (delishious!) and you get your certificated and finnisher
shirt. You can also buy coffe, soda or waffles. I can vouch for all of them  .
I must say that the Lofoten Insomnia was a hugely enjoyable experinece, and the arranging comitee get 5 out of 6 from me. the only thing I missed in the aid stations was salt capsules, but I brought those myself , So I managed. The number of aid stations could also have been higher. particularly the last stretch is a bit too long to go without drink. Still the cramps was my own doing. Too hard in the hills and not enough salt and fluid intake + too little bike training this year

Stats:
Length: 225km (GPS, no tunnels)
Elevation Gain: 1600m (GPS, no tunnels!)
Highest point: 170m
Deepest point: -130m
Place: Last of the male finishers in the racing class (42 started, 11 DNF’ed).
Total time: 8h20m
here is the Endomondo log