Author: lillahjarnan

Hemmahörande i Uppsala, Sverige men utflyttad till Kirkland, WA sedan januari 2008.

First week of fall

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In EnglishLeave a comment

First week of school, first week of fall and first week of running in pouring rain. September. Cashmere season. Woolen socks. Boots. Down coats. And raincoats. Let the fun begin. We all feel exhausted and I am not the one going to school every day.

Number of nails on feet, approximately 8.

Number of possible broken toes, approximately 1,5. And I am not going to give you the satisfaction of telling you how it happened.

Number of shoulders that needs repair. One. Maintenance is easier than repair for sure.

Car serviced and as good as new.

Bike tuned and worked on. Lots of broken stuff, I blame Alaskan Airlines. It can’t be the way I bike or the way I taped the bike box. I used a lot of tape.

Mentally balanced, who am I kidding. Very unbalanced. Close to unstable. Neeh, just kidding. I am as always very focused and close to boring serious.

I had a MRI for my shoulder/collarbone/shoulder blade that I somewhat tortured during the Alaska race and the first advice I got from my doctor was to find another hobby. I had surgery on that same shoulder 5 years ago and I guess I tore it all again. I don’t understand, I thought tape could fix everything. I guess time will tell. I know I need the rush, and I need the emptiness, the fatigue after a race. He was actually very concerned and told me to really think about what I can do to stay sane and happy. I don’t get that from a golf game or walking a dog. I guess I need to buy a new grand piano or a horse. Or move closer to an amusement park. I read an article about what happens in your body when you ride roller coasters, ride horses or jump cliffs. I get it and now I know why I like rides like that. Adrenaline, endorphins and dopamine free flowing. If you ask my mother she would say that it all started with climbing a tree at the age of 7. I climbed to the top and could see the whole city from there.

I have a birthday coming up in a week and it’s no secret how old or young I turn. It’s kind of a midlife age, still pretty young, but almost falling over the edge. Tipping over to the other side… turkey neck, winkles, flabby arms… If I get carded when buying wine it’s just because the guy behind the counter is trying to be nice, not because I look like I am close to 21. But let me just clear this up a bit and tell you how great it is to get older. I might be a bit wrinkly and have flabby arms but it’s so much better than 28 or 39. I don’t get more grown up than this. And I have been waiting for the maturity to kick in but it doesn’t seem to happen.

This last year has been an interesting one. Lots of highs and lows. We will always remember the day our friend Ross died. It will be one whole year tomorrow. We will climb a mountain and sit at the top, make an espresso, have a snack, and remember the good times.

The most amazing this year was the Alaska Race with lots and lots of highs but also some lows. The raft flip still kind of haunts me a little. It’s definitely the first time in my life I thought it was all over. I swallowed a lot of water and thought of my teammates how it would give them a lot of problems. I should probably do some pack rafting to get over that low point and move on. I was planning on another great race in NZ in April but it looks like my plans will change because of the shoulder injury. No fun.

So, what changed since in a year. Not much. I am just a year older and one whole year wiser. I wear boots when it’s raining, not because it’s cool with Hunters, I just don’t like when my feet get wet. And I do love my old green Barbour that smells like a wet dog even if my kids hate it. I don’t avoid going to the doctor or have my checkups. I keep track of the necessary stuff and things that matters, yearly checkups, blood pressure, mammograms and the opening hours at the gym. I really try to feed my kids well and keep them healthy. I don’t know about the part of raising them… still just winging it.

Have I ever told you how much I hate running

On By lillahjarnanIn In English, Träning/trainingLeave a comment

I know I talk a lot about running and how I much I feel like I really need to run. I really think running is a great way to move and breath, it’s an easy form of exercise and a great way to get some thinking done. And I am lucky to have a body that can take it, no bad knees and a hip that feels like new after some fixing and stitching. Running is great when it feels great. I often hear from other people that it’s my thing and they know I love it. True, some days. Nothing make me feel so good as after a long run, well at least after a long run, a shower, a snack and a nap. Nothing makes me feel so content and calm. I need running for the endurance to keep up with the rest of my life. To fill my brain with oxygen and to feed my muscles.

Nothing makes me feel so awful and low as a bad run. Nothing can make me feel more out of shape as a bad run. Long distance running can be beautiful and strengthening. The only one you really have to beat is yourself and your mind. And nothing can make you feel stronger if you get it done and stumble home after hours of pounding. Sometimes it doesn’t even have to do with a strong will, it’s just a great time with yourself. I think for me running really compensates my other physical shortcomings, I really suck at all kinds of sports that includes balls and gear that you need to coordinate with hands and feet. Pass me a soccer ball and I am pretty sure I would stumble over it.

I hate running. My strong mind leaves me. I feel every step in my right hamstring. In my right big toe. I can’t remember how it’s supposed to feel when you breath. I can’t even remember how to place my feet on the ground, I stumble around. I turn in to the world’s greatest negotiator, I easily talk myself out of 8 miles, it doesn’t take much at all. It takes 20 minutes, 2,5 miles and a few songs and I switch to the true love of my life, the Versa Climber.

Long, black tights

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In EnglishLeave a comment

My body smiled when I woke up this morning. I ate a million pounds of crayfish yesterday, tasty small creatures. I am so grateful for good friends that invite us every year and I am always the last one eating. Absolutely amazing tasty little red things. And the singing was extraordinary yesterday thanks to the gentlemen around me.

I started this morning by baking cinnamon buns, writing a blog post about visiting a gym in Sweden but realized after a full page that I was probably the only one seeing the fun in it since I was the only one there to see the disaster of ink covered arms and mirror selfies. I will include a part of it anyway and probably make a few enemies on the way.

I just finished a book that made me think and rethink my core values and my belief in democracy. As you know I am born and raised Scandinavian. We have a sometimes naïve way of looking at the world, we believe in a world that only exists every now and then. And many of us have an attitude that nothing happens in our safe society and it proves to be wrong over and over again. It took me a few years in a new country to realize that we are unsuspecting. I know I have changed a bit the last few years. I read Åsne Seierstads En av oss/One of Us, a book about the massacre in Norway. I don’t know if I should recommend it or not, it made me feel sick and sad. And of course angry. I am meeting with my book club ladies next week and this is our first book of fall. Heck of a way to start out a new season.

This summer I spent a little more than a month in my hometown and a lot have changed since we moved. There are new houses all around Uppsala and the city really transformed. It is still a beautiful place and will always have a special place in our hearts.

During the summer the only form of proper exercise I usually try to keep up is running and some homemade strength with bands. This year Caroline and I joined a gym with a climbing wall. I needed to workout but had big issues with my body after Alaska but some easy gym time was perfect. Caroline needed to keep climbing over the summer so it worked out really well for both of us. The gym we decided to join is only a few years old, really nice and at a great location. This time of year Uppsala gets completely empty. All 25,000 students leave town and the rest seem to hide in their country houses. But we had the opportunity to meet a lot of people at the gym. This was actually the most interesting part of our trip. I felt like an alien and started to really evaluate my own behavior and “Swedishness”. Is the world changing and me too or did I actually stagnate in my development as human being?

I picked up a few things that I have to change to blend in for next time:

Clothes: Women my age wear long, black tights and a basic tank, always. Well that can’t be too difficult to change, only problem is that it’s summer and too warm to wear long tights. Younger women, transparent tights in a size too small and very tight fitting tops. Pink shoes. Guys, tank tops in thick cotton with big letters and pictures. I am sure I can find some old ones in my parents basement that would fit right in that I wore in 1982. Budweiser or MTV logos, preferably.

Footwear: Nike Air Max or just socks. Geezzz people. It doesn’t matter what you do, if you lift or run. Air Max with huge soles is apparently the way to look cool. Or even worse, socks, just socks. A lot of peeps lifted wearing only socks? 250lbs on your back and it feels so…safe?

Body: Ink, all over. You need a lot of tattoos to blend in. And make sure you flex a lot when you have people around you.

Hair and makeup: Needs to be done and make sure you look really cute. And if you are 30+ some botox around your lips will make you look like you are going to fall forward. If you are a man over 27 you should grow a beard and make sure you scratch it every three minutes.

Mirrors: Make sure you work out facing the mirrors. You really want to check yourself out and by all means, don’t forget to take pictures of yourself at every angle. And lips, pout!

First day at the gym. People notice there is a new person there but doesn’t think much of it. She looks a bit old and she is not wearing long, black tights. I walk around a little, try to find a foam roller, warm up on the treadmill for 15 min, locate the barbells but decide to hang out around the kettlebells and I found a 14 lbs medball. I get a good workout in, staying in my corner. Some serious people watching going on.

Day 2, same people. She is here again? Who the heck is she? I warm up and start talking to people around me. Is she a bit crazy? A couple of guys start to walk over to my corner to chat. I can’t remember the Swedish word for barbell and there are a few other words that my brain can’t remember. I am afraid I sound like Dolph Lundgren. I start to clean up, there are weights and other things all over the place. There’s a group of young men hanging around and they more or less lean on the barbells and talk. I haven’t really seen anyone lift so I ask if I can use the space. No, they are following their program and need the barbells. I can’t help it but it just slips out, “when I have a rest day I usually don’t take up space at the gym”. Let’s just say that I am happy to be home. If I move back I have a lot of work to do, get new clothes, botox and some interesting tattoos.

One more day to go before school starts and the depression fills the house like a bad smell. How will we survive another year of homework, tests and multiple choice questions? Not sure. The Swedish melancholy spreads like poison in your veins and I will try to cure it with a very sad song.

https://open.spotify.com/track/1IO3wBGVUuKwJgvXaRxT5V

Dinner and a movie

On By lillahjarnanIn Barnen/kids, Blandat/mixed, In EnglishLeave a comment

Home with 2 out of 3 kids and I just realized how different my kids are. But also the same. Eating pizza, not the most perfect mom tonight. But to my defense, it doesn’t happen very often. And it’s scary how much alike we all are. It’s a lot of belly laughing and dancing. And I made an awesome dinner yesterday.

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Three girls, almost the same age, but so different. When I am home alone with C, we bake, make homemade bars and drink a lot of tea. We talk about hikes and mountains. And we watch Game of Thrones, Marco Polo and British comedies. We lift weights. We go for a run or a walk. Bring a thermos and a snack. So much like me.

Today I am at home with S and J. They just got back from high school try outs. They have ice wrapped up around their hip areas and a wrist and a thumb is taped. They can’t live without the athletic trainer. They are complaining about hurting body parts and they are trying to give me the short version of practice. We listen to weird music and hang out. We decide to eat and watch a movie. This is a totally different deal. We are talking SNL, The Office and Jimmy Fallon. We are going through all Hugh Grant, Hugh Jackman, Dreamy movies. So much like me.

So different but so much alike. A scary mix of all the things I like, mixed up with some new stuff. The loveliest. And dang they are tall.

We ended up watching The American President. Again. And I am loosing another toenail. Will this race ever stop.

Party hardy

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, OkategoriseradeLeave a comment

This day turned out most excellent. So far. We are all trying to squeeze out the last of our summer vacation. The weather is cooperating. Days are hot and nights are… not. It’s getting dark and cold but nothing some candles and a heater can’t take care of. The barbeque is still working hard. Maybe too hard. Food is good, maybe too good sometimes.

Try outs are rolling on and it seems ok. Hard work, sweat but no tears. Always a good combo. I think it will be another great season.

I went to pick up some shirts and a dress at the dry cleaners today. I am there quiet often and the little lady behind the counter is getting more and more chatty every week. My dress didn’t get cleaned because of the fabric, they didn’t think they could do a good job. No big deal. But the little lady with a very cute Asian accent tried to give me a grown up talk, enlighten me a bit. First of all she loved my dress and I must say that I really like it too. Then she told me… “Ms. Charlotte, if you are going to party hardy don’t wear a nice dress. You are only going to stand up and look pretty in a dress like this.” I felt a little bit puzzled, I didn’t really ”party hardy” wearing the dress. But I thanked her for the nice advice, paid and got my clean shirts and started walking out. The she called me back and said “stop wearing black and white dresses all the time. I keep track! You only clean black and white dresses, striped, polka dot and solid black.” Well thanks, I guess I am going dress shopping. So to all my friends, I will start to party hardy in my not so nice clothes. Whatever that means. Bring out the champagne, I am wearing shorts today. I was thinking of bringing in my good sleeping bag and a couple of down coats I wore in Alaska but I am really afraid she will give me some more creepy advice.

I bumped in to a friend that I haven’t seen for a while, that is always nice. I think I need to do better job keeping in touch with friends. I switched gyms and since a year back I don’t hang out with my regular crew on a daily basis, I think this needs to change.

The zoo like feeling around our house changed. The lovely deer family is gone. I guess they ate all my vegetables and moved on. The veggies dried out a bit with the nice and warm weather so I guess it didn’t taste as nice and juicy as always. The bunnies that more or less lived in our back yard moved on last week. They got a few new family members and are now living in the bushes. All good, they got a little bit too friendly. They looked at us when we had dinner outside and more or less asked if we actually made reservations because they were there first. The new zoo members I don’t really care about that much. Raccoons, not my favorites. And a cat that looks half eaten by something big. He insists on hiding in our garage. But since I will never become a crazy cat lady I am running around with a broom chasing the poor thing but really trying to speak nicely at the same time. I am more of a deer or moose person than a cat person.

Back in town

On By lillahjarnanIn Barnen/kids, Blandat/mixed, In English, Resor/travelLeave a comment

The beauty of getting up really early. I am still searching for it. I used to enjoy running early, greeting the sun, slowly see the forest wake up. Waking up before the newspaper arrives, before coffee tastes good, before the TV news starts.

We are back home and life is slowly getting back to normal. A month away is a long time. There are new houses in our neighborhood, new asphalt on 85th. Jetlag hit me hard this time again, it doesn’t get easier. I woke up early and waited for the gym to open at 5.30. Back home after 7 for a second breakfast. Watching a movie at 8 with kid #2 that is up early too. I hope the day lasts longer than yesterday. A few more minutes every night.

Thanks to all family and friends in Sweden. We all had a great time. Next time, please get this weather thing straight. We have enough rain and cold winds at home 😉 Thanks for letting us borrow houses, beds and cars. And thanks for your time. If we missed you, there will always be a next time. We got a few days out in the archipelago celebrating an important birthday. The weather finally turned around and the sun came out. Thanks for letting us stay in the annexe. We will be back! And we feel very honored that Bosse the dog even considered jumping on to the boat when he saw us, even if he missed and ended up in the water.

We are looking forward to a bunch of visitors for Christmas and we are secretly hoping for company for Thanksgiving.

It feels like it’s been two months since I spent time at home. Before Sweden, Alaska happened and I had a week at home in between. That week was filled with great friends visiting from Sweden and nightly sweats, no sleep and nightmares. The nightmares ended after a few days with my parents. This time I slept through jetlag, I was too exhausted after the race. I also kept on eating lots and lots of food, somehow I felt starved weeks after. For the first time in a long time I didn’t feel like moving around or working out. Lucky me, I had really messed up feet so I could not wear shoes for weeks, so no running. When I finally got out for a run I actually felt good and Caroline and I even joined a gym. Caroline climbed and I tried to rehab my shoulder but I spent most of the time people watching. That will be another blogpost. Wow people. I don’t know if I am a very changed person from living abroad for 8 years or if Swedes changed. Maybe a little bit of both. I even visited a CrossFit box for a workout. That made me more homesick than ever. I really miss BelRed and it will be good to get back on track.

I did a Costco run yesterday and had an Alaska flashback seeing all bars and snacks that I will never eat on a normal day. I think this race will follow me as long as I live. And I can’t wait for the next adventure. And it will hopefully be sooner than later. Hopefully without close to death experiences. I can take feeling like a human piñata a few weeks after but not the nightmares.

School is around the corner and the kids have days filled with school stuff and try outs. It’s a bit different from elementary/middle. A few years ago the most important thing was crayons, markers and notebooks. It’s all money now…parking permits and fees. But I think I will take them getting some new markers and sparkly pens… I am still an elementary teacher, it’s the best part of the year except from the last day of school.

So, basically everything is the same here as it was before summer. We are still the same but different. Kids are still concerned who’s the tallest of the three of them even if they stopped growing. I still get excited when a package shows up on our doorstep even if I ordered it myself. Amazon delivered a new waffle maker today. Do we still shop at Amazon after that very intense article the other day?

Still wondering if the kids have figured out that I have no clue what I am doing. But it seems to work.

Life struggles

On By lillahjarnanIn OkategoriseradeLeave a comment

Phone: Crushed screen, dropped it running the other day. Apparently running in a bouncy way. Need to work on running form. And need to work on better language when sh** happens.

Computer: Dead, very dead. Quiet and cold. Been booting, praying, cursing, charging… 

Weather: Rain every day and night so far. No joke, worst summer since RV tour around Sweden 1977. Pale as an uncooked shrimp. Cold as a frozen lobster tail. Freckles gone.

Body: Still not cooperating. Been resting more than a person in a full body cast. Working my brain more than my body. And filling every little piece of it with bread. 

Activity level: Ehhh, a bit itchy so C and I joined a gym. Found a climbing wall and some kettle bells. Made a lot of interesting discoveries. I need to change my work out clothes to blend in. Get some ink and pump my biceps. And be quiet. Will try again tomorrow.

Come fly with me

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Resor/travel, Utflykter/outingsLeave a comment

Some of us are on vacation or home, it’s difficult to know really. Home or away from home, who knows anymore. We live out of suitcases so I guess it’s vacation. A lot of things have changed since last time. And a lot of things have changed since we moved. I can’t always say what it is but it’s different. Maybe it’s us. Uppsala feels a lot smaller and everything feels close. A walk downtown took forever 15 years ago, now it takes me less than 15 minutes. A run around the closest trail is done in 20 minutes, very frustrating, that’s just a warm up.

The flight over had no surprises really, just plain boring. I think I might have grown since last time, it felt like I didn’t have any space for my legs. We had a few hours in Amsterdam and had the opportunity to listen to people speaking Dutch. I didn’t understand a word so I really had to listen up and concentrate. How can your brain shut off like this. It’s been 20 years or so since I said a word in Flemish or Dutch but how can I forget everything? And how can it be 20 years? The only words I can think of is schaar and fiets. It feels like yesterday when I walked the foggy streets of Leuven and bumped into the prince of Belgium.

And a small cappuccino in Holland is not the same as a small cappuccino in Seattle. I think I’ve been away for too long. One sip and it’s empty.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4hHbeIIKO5Y5uLyIEbY9Gn

It didn’t take us long to adjust this time. I think the kids felt ready to be full time Swedes on the flight over. But the weirdest thing is when people address us in English in stores and on the street. Do we look different? I had to explain that I speak Swedish in a store in Stockholm and the woman behind the counter looked surprised. What is it that makes us different? The hair, the clean faces with no makeup, (we are on vacation and I couldn’t care less) the clothes? It’s very obvious that some things are very popular here and not at home. Swedes love Polo Ralph Lauren in bright colors, Abercrombie and Fitch (ouch) and Converse, it doesn’t matter if you are 10 or 65. Let’s just say that I don’t think you should walk into a A&F store if you are over 18. And no short, skinny, colorful pants on men.

The first week passed really quick. Dinners, fika and some reading time. My plan to visit every CrossFit gym around is not working that well. I can’t wear shoes because of my toe and I still can’t use my right arm/shoulder because it’s in a weird way frozen and out of place. I’ve been squeezing my toe into a pair of shoes and have tried to run as far as I can without shooting pain. My longest run so far – 50 minutes. And it only lasted that long because I had to run back home. It can only get better.

So, what changed since last time.

The grocery stores are overflowing with new dairy products and apparently lots of people think it’s very healthy to eat kvarg (curd cheese or quark) It was called kesella a few years ago but to make it more trendy someone renamed it and did some clever marketing.

There are hundreds of different yogurts. Who eats all the different kinds and when?

The bread section is overflowing but I hear people complain about the lousy bread in regular grocery stores. It’s not comparable to the terrible bread in the US. I am overeating bread with extra everything.

Roast beef, cheese, ham, sausage, salami… so much more flavor.

All the roundabouts?? What’s up with those? I’m driving in circles!

IKEA is actually nice here. IKEA Seattle should really take an educational trip to a proper Swedish store. I almost bought a sofa and chair but realized that I don’t own a house here anymore.

A lot of people, young and old, throw in a couple of English words in a normal conversation. And add some bad words too. Shit, vi hade så kul. Oh my god, så jävla bra. Stop doing that, it makes you sound a little bit stupid.

Since when do Swedes say “Have a nice day”? I’ve heard “Ha en bra dag rå” in every store in Uppsala I’ve been in. No, no, no, it sounds ridiculous in Swedish.

And I still get the question “when are you moving back home?” every day. We are not moving back anytime soon. And yes, we live a normal life “over there”. We work, eat, sleep and read the newspaper. It’s the same as here but different. Very different. And I am happy that I get to enjoy both worlds.

I am not travelling with kids anymore. They are officially adults. I have stopped counting kids every time we stop somewhere and I actually want them to do things on their own. It’s up to them if they want to join me or if they want to do something else. I am happy to say that they usually want to join me. Former summers’ constant chaos and jetlag that made me wish for a cyanide pellet is gone. One nice things is that we don’t have phones. And that seems to make people around us more frustrated than we are.

Highlight so far, a visit at a moose park. Flashback to Alaska but less wild.

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Body and injuries …or how to age 25 years in a week

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Tävlingar/races, Utflykter/outingsLeave a comment

We ate, we moved and we actually avoided injuries. Nothing really bad happened. But even if nothing happens your body feels torn and achy after a week. Eric took a big fall on the bike but shook it off. It resulted in a huge bruise on the hip. It took a few hours to fix the bike in the middle of the night but after that he kept going. He fell down a steep hill and was lucky to hit a boulder that stopped him. He basically disappeared in the darkness. I took a couple of falls on the bike but nothing that hurt. It was tipping over because I fell asleep riding. One of those things that happens when you don’t sleep.

Feet: You can imagine what happens when your feet are wet for 7 days straight. We had our first river crossing 12 miles into the race, I got wet up to my waste. I went through 20 pairs of wool socks in 7 days but the socks never stayed dry more than 5 minutes. Crossing the glacier in ice and snow took us close to 2 days of walking and climbing. I had cold feet from the first step and got hypothermic the first night. When I finally took my boots off after 2 days my toes had changed color and shape. 4 days into the race I had blisters on every toe and around my heals but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. My toes and feet are still numb and I am on my second round of antibiotics for an infection. I still have trouble wearing shoes, but I finally got a pair of runners on and got a few miles in. I have a big toe that looks yummy.

Fingers/Hands: Bushwhacking in Alaska is not so different from bushwhacking in Washington. The only difference is probably the huge Devils Club that goes through everything, even gardening gloves. I had a bad infection under my fingernails from all the thorns when I returned home and my hands were covered in tiny blisters. It only took a few days to clear it up with penicillin but I am still completely numb and very clumsy.

Lungs: Got a lot of water in my lungs after the pack raft got caught in a strainer upside down. And a sore throat and stuffed up sinuses. Still working on that.

Hips: Completely seized up before the 70 mile bike. It was so painful to walk but if I managed to get up on the bike, and I was fine. Overload of pills for the last 3 days of the race. I still can’t lift my left leg and it looks like I’m 85 when I get in the car.

Shoulder: I had no strength in my right arm when I paddled the last days but could not really figure out what it was. Realized when I got home that it popped a little bit out of place. It’s now completely frozen and my shoulder blade points out. I can’t even lift a milk carton out of the fridge or hold it straight out. And my strategy has been to wait it out… it’s not working that well.

Bruises: All over the body from bumping in to rocks, ice, trees, falling, tipping over…

Tailbone: Coming down the glacier included a really steep climb down tundra and a bushwhack in the dark. I managed to glide and fall a few times which resulted in a very sore tailbone. We were all happy we still carried our ice axes for self-rescue gliding on the grass. I crushed my tailbone a few years ago and got the same feeling this time, including the bleeding part. Biking and paddling did not feel comfortable.

I will bring more socks and shoes next time. Even if they get wet it’s a nice feeling to put on dry shoes.

I think we all did well with clothes. I wore double jackets a few days and sometimes even triple. I even wore my down coat under my dry suite a few times. Glacier water is cold. I would bring one more down coat for the TA next time and one more sleeping bag to keep in my bin.

So, it’s overall pretty good. Nothing broken this time but lots of stuff to heal. It’s been nearly two weeks since I left Alaska and I think it’s the first time in years I don’t feel like working out. But if I had a bike around I would probably go for a ride. I’ve been out running the last 3 days, short runs. Lots of compresses and tape on my toe and roomy pair of shoes. I don’t feel tired, it’s easy breathing 8 minute miles but my body feels torn. I think it’s time to sign up for a new race to get the mojo back.

Food

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Tävlingar/races, Utflykter/outingsLeave a comment

I wish I could say that it was all about bananas and rye bread, avocados and lean meat. Think sugar and carbs, chocolate and gummi bears. When you plan your food intake before a long race it’s all about calories. How can you get enough calories to keep going. If you do a race that is long, 2-3 days or so you can still pack fresh foods and vegetables. When it’s 7 days, not really. Like a shorter race we packed 6h zip locks and then brought enough zip locks to last until the next TA. Let me just say that I failed a little bit. I apparently have a big fear of starving. I ate more or less all my food during the glacier walk so without knowing I packed food for 4 days or so for the next leg and that gave me some nice extra weight in my pack. And I kept doing that until Robin stole my pack and my food and repacked it to his pack.

Food feels complicated before you start the race but then it kind of just happens. You eat all the time, and it’s not the kind of food you would eat on a regular day. It’s the kind of food I would never touch on a regular day. It doesn’t taste anything really, you just know that you need to eat. It’s granola bars, fruit leathers, fruit cups and nuts that works and every once in a while some candy. Jerky and gels doesn’t work for me. Robin was desperate to make me move faster on the bike at the end of the race and I feel really queasy when I drink 5 hour energy (or Red Bull) and try to avoid it but felt desperate enough to try it. Three minutes later I am on my knees heaving by the side of the trail regretting it. But it somehow worked and we did speed up a bit. And you only live once, I tried again midnight paddling. And I almost enjoyed the next one I had.

Ramen noodles, still a bit crunchy, tasted divine after 40 hours without food. But, I will never drink unheated chicken noodle soup from a can. Seriously guys, so classy.

After race: Give me food! Anything works. I have developed an ability to inhale food. Hotdog, 3 seconds. I found myself inhaling a large burger and an ice cream when I got to the airport at midnight. And then another burger. I knew this race would make me grow personally.