Tour of Sweden – day 9
It is rest day for the Tour of Sweden. Last night as I left the dinner table, too tired for even 1 beer even though the others were having some, I was told we’d be running at 7:30 am and swimming at noon.
I’m down in the lobby at 7:30 am and find only Clas, Nikolas and Conny. We split into 2 groups and Clas and I head over a bridge into the center of Umae and out to a Nordic ski park arranged around a tall hill. The trail rings around the hill, climbing and descending and is quite a challenge. 20:00 into the run I feel like I’m bonking, but after 30:00 by body starts burning fat for fuel and keeps humming along for the entire 92:00 run. Midway through the run we approach the top of the hill which has a downhill ski run perched at its peak. Clas thinks it would be fun to run up it so we do.
Back at the hotel and we’ve got 15:00 before breakfast service closes. We both have a quick shower and join the tour team down at the buffet. We’re told that the swim has been moved up to 10:30 am, so it’s a quick refueling and back into the bus for the ride to the pool.
We’ve reserved 3 lanes and the group breaks into those doing Jonas’ interval workout and the rest of us who just want to swim easy. I get in 1650 meters and wait for the others sipping on a strawberry recovery shake they have for sale in the lobby of the gym. We take the bus back to the hotel and are told we’ve got 30:00 to be back on it if we want to go into town for lunch. I decide to go, and have a pizza and a half liter of Hobgoblin ale with Pasi and Conny, then have to walk 30:00 back to the hotel to be on time for my massage. Walking felt worse that running given my current condition.
For dinner we piled back into the van and drove to a Mongolian barbeque restaurant. The food was delicious and abundant but that didn’t stop the doodes from making an ice cream run on the way back to the hotel. They eat ice cream every night.
I’ve received some comments from readers about the lack of attractive women featuring in my reports. I’ve discussed this with the others and despite their best efforts I’ve got no tales to tell. The outlook for this situation improving is grim, as I’m informed that the farther north you go in Sweden, the scarcer potential bikini team members become. The pretty ones move to Stockholm and those who remain behind fight, chew tobacco and hunt reindeer.
