Sami Jauhojärvi warns of a deceptive sense of well-being on a kingship trip

– The Russians ripped in the morning no matter how many raw eggs. They put salt in it, beat it – and drank it.

Juha Mieto hovers in his memories of the 70s. Ahead was another fifties, kingship, which meant two and a half hours of torment and pain.

– It probably wasn’t a bad mix after that, he laughs.

– They went hard.

Mieto relied on oatmeal on race mornings.

– When I was at the Olympics, the Games started at nine in the morning. The revival was at five o’clock, and it went to breakfast, he told me.

– Energy, the so-called fuel, was purchased the day before: bread products, oatmeal and pastries.

Mieto was a handyman who beat a tough result even in his fifties. In the Holmenkollen classic, he was once in the bow in 1973-77 and in the top three in the Fourth.

– I was 23 years old (1973) and went like a bull. I drove at ten for two minutes and lasted, lasted, lasted until the end – even though I had to stop when a damn Norwegian spectator threw a sausage paper duty on my ski.

In February 1980, Lake Placid broke the only 50-kilometer medal of his career, Olympic silver. Nikolai Zimyatov pushed his very own pace to the Olympic victory, but Mieto, who had set off a minute and a half earlier, grabbed the suction and took the maximum benefit.

– I braked a bit, put on the towbar and washed for 27 kilometers, Mieto describes.

– So we went – and silver came.

“It can be doubled”

Nutrition has leapfrogged Miedo’s big days, but with natural products and energy gels alone, he wasn’t ready for his fifties either. Sami Jauhojärvi. He says he used Coca-Cola, nuts, potato chips, candy and chocolate in his refueling operations the previous day.

– At the end of my career, I ate mainly real food and maybe a Pringles tube on top, Jauhojärvi says.

– Such refueling-refueling also decreased from the early days of my career. Today, during the competition, energy supply is actually much more efficient than before.

The consumption of a royal traveler in kilocalories falls in the range of 3,500–5,000. Co-start races are always different in nature, as are the athletes, conditions and tracks.

– Basic training consumes about a thousand kilocalories per hour, Jauhojärvi says.

– It can be doubled when forged hard and heart rates rise.

Mieto spent his silver journey two and a half hours. In this millennium, Olympic victory times have sunk somewhat over two hours with the exception of Sochi’s free, which Alex Legkov swept the time at 1.46.55.

“Type of instrument”

The day before the race, the skis will be tested.

– Skiing is a sport, emphasizes Simo-Viljami Ojanenex-racer and Electrofit coaching entrepreneur.

– In the fifties, finding the right pairs plays a very important role.

The runs of the previous days not only act as a ski test, but also as a preparation, ie in practice, as a wake-up call.

– Depending on the alertness, someone is skiing at speeds or making a small effective streak closer to the race pace. Usually, a small arousing weight training is also part of the program, Ojanen says.

– In the evening, the program often has a small jog so that the muscles get a little different movement. Above all, the final trainings seek the readiness of the mental side to achieve their own best performance on race day.

“I survived with honor”

Lake Jauhojärvi skied 50 kilometers for the first time at the 2005 World Championships in Oberstdorf.

– I did not know what to expect, but I survived with honor (14th), he remembers.

– Since then, the main part has had a quiet respect for the trip, maybe even excitement but not fear.

The morning of the race day requires two tweaks compared to other trips.

– Breakfast is eaten a little fairer, and you have to stop drinking just over an hour before the start, because during that time the bladder has time to empty, Jauhojärvi mentions.

– Otherwise, the rituals are not much different from other trips.

The head of the line is flooded with questions: What tactics does everyone leave with? What is your own starting condition for the day? If someone goes to pull, will they go or even be able to leave? Is the liquid absorbed? Does the muscle work?

– Creating tactics for the joint start race is much more challenging than for the interim race, Jauhojärvi sees.

– If you make a (tactical) mistake, you may come across a total wall.

Cola and caffeine

There is no time to eat and you can’t eat right. Energy is taken in liquid form.

The content of travel drinks varies depending on the competitor and the race situation.

– According to the sensations, the guardians are shouted whether there will be just a sports drink or if (energy) gel or salt will be added to the group, Jauhojärvi says.

– The message goes by radio to the next soldering station.

Jauhojärvi remembers a special experimental mix from the beginning of the millennium: the contents of a liquefaction bag among sports drinks.

– It was shocking shit – but it was well absorbed.

The Norwegian classic is a mixture of cola and brine. Lake Jauhojärvi also relied on cola, but only towards the end of the kingship.

– Kola has fast-absorbing sugar, and the good taste becomes a good feeling.

Caffeine can try to give a little boost to the rest of the journey.

– Caffeine intensifies the burning of coal and brightens up the time, Jauhojärvi assures.

– I had to take caffeine between 42 and 44 miles. If taken earlier, the coals will burn out too quickly, with the risk that the night will come before the finish line.

Interval type

The fifties are not just about endurance. Coach Ojanen talks about the interval sport and makes a clear difference to marathon running.

– The species requirement has changed, he emphasizes.

– Fast technologies such as wassberg are now increasingly being used uphill as well. In no other endurance sport has the pace risen as much as in cross-country skiing.

The hills are banging really hard.

– Endurance-type athletes put others on the slopes. When the skier is okay, the descent will be able to recover well – and again we are ready for the next work session.

Beijing is free-style skiing. The slow Chinese snow offers its very own spice for the royal journey.

– Despite the slow conditions and high atmosphere, it is definitely going to be hard.

In 2017 and 2019, the World Cup fifties were skied on free. Alex Harveyn the winning time in Lahti was 1.46.28, Hans Holundin In Seefeld 1.49.59.

Harvey took an average of two minutes and eight seconds, and a ten-kilometer a little over 21 minutes.

In addition to endurance, speed and skill characteristics, the 50-kilometer ski run as a combined start measures mental hardness and tactical sharpness.

– The best get their best, Ojanen concludes.

– Winners and medalists are tough, confident competitors.

Familiar and functional medicine

Tire strikes even when the condition is steel and refueling is complete. The last 15 kilometers were usually a mild bad run, and the last ten kilometers in Lake Jauhojärvi.

– When blood sugar drops, decision-making slows down and you have to focus on every kick and push, Jauhojärvi describes.

– When the support muscles start to fail, the skiing position does not remain optimal. When the nervous system gets tired, the pushes and fires are like cow breaths.

Disorders of the cooperation between the nervous system and the muscles, or convulsions in the vernacular, are often vicious companions to the kingship.

– Even if you have a good feeling, even a small slip can cause cramps.

Salt is a familiar and functional medicine, but there are no watering points every kilometer.

– When the calf, thigh or back cramps, skiing is quite an art, Jauhojärvi laughs.

– Forcibly slow down and try to stretch or rub the muscle a little. In addition, the best is still to be hoped for.

An outage strikes if a skier rides too hard for his resources and, in addition, runs out of energy.

– Often the break is preceded by a feeling of well-being, at which point the idea comes to me that I am now putting on gas. Then you go a mile and hit a total tilt when your body hits the last high-octane flame and uses up what’s left.

“From the bottom of the lairs”

Lake Jauhojärvi was not a success machine for the royal journey, but at the mc race in Trondheim in March 2009 he crossed the finish line first. The style was traditional, the competition was a joint start.

– Normally, the first twenties are pretty gentle, skiing below the normal race pace. The next twenties are starting to have mental wrestling with themselves and against others.

In the last ten, I have time to have several conversations inside my head. At the same time, you can try to blink at your competitors and strive for a confident look.

– Towards the end of the battle, spiritual strength must be dug from the bottom of the lairs. Then you have to remind yourself where you have succeeded and where you are good, Jauhojärvi says.

– The biggest fear is sniffing. You shouldn’t think too much about that either, because then you will definitely start to dim and make sure you get to the finish line.