Category: In English

When your mind goes blank

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Träning/training2 Comments

When waking up 5am yesterday I made a very mature decision to go back to sleep and skip my planned and very long workout. I had the whole day planned and I had a lot going on. But life kind of happened this past week. Sick kids, not a lot of sleep and a travelling husband. The problem is that when you are awake early in the morning it is hard to go back to sleep.

But today was the day, time to conquer the pool and the LeMond. I’ve been a bit worried how to stay sane and motivated. Let me tell you a little bit what happens in my head when I spend a lot of time by myself.

If I have the pleasure to take off for 3-4 hours on foot I get my shoes on and leave. It is about .75 miles to the first stoplight so that’s where I usually tie my shoes again and check my heart rate while waiting. And then it is another 0.75 until I leave sidewalks and streets and disappears into the woods. That’s when it happens, my mind goes__________. And three hours later when I unlock the door I wake up and life goes on. My head is not completely empty, I have long conversations, solve problems, sing and make plans but I usually leave it in the forest and forget all about it. That’s how I rest my mind.

For me biking and swimming is not mind resting. I think and I try to stay motivated. I use 100 different mantras, I do some people watching, drink water and I do a lot of complaining in my head. I had 3 hours of biking/swimming to cover today, that’s a lot of mantras and complaining for a brain.

1st 30 min on the bike: The gym is empty, 7am. Holy &%$#, had to put Ralvero’s Extreme on repeat to survive. That song is 6 minutes and 17 seconds. I played it 4 times. Am I turning insane, already? Got company on the bike beside me the last 5 minutes. He looked at me and said, lucky you, you’re almost done… told him I just started.

1st 30 min swim. Forgot my arm brace but I am not leaving my lane, the pool is filling up fast. Went from this is not too bad to this is bad. If you would need a drivers license to swim laps I would still be using a permit. Need to book a couple of lessons. I think my legs are going to touch the bottom of the pool, not floating today…

2nd 30 min bike: Nice, happy to be out of the pool. I nod to the guy who is still biking. Now with a towel on his head. My mind goes blank… and look up and have only 3 min left. Trying to recall my thoughts but have no clue what’s been going on in my head.

2nd 30 min swim: This is very nice. Paddles on and I can actually speed up a bit. The yards are adding up quite fast but the guy beside me keeps kicking me when he passes. Not cool! Realized that I forgot to send a couple of work emails last night… need to finish this and… and time’s up. What?

3rd 30 min bike: He is still there. His grey biking shorts changed color to a very dark grey and his face is bright purple. I feel like I am cruising down the street, downhill. It is nice to get a break on the bike. I am so good at making playlists… Who needs Ralvero on repeat now?

3rd 30 min swim: Shared lane with a nice chatty lady. My elbow makes noises. Or do I hear noises in my head? Emails, don’t forget to send… and buy raspberry jam and flour… geeezzz my shoulders… tired… I am so done with this…

4th 30 min bike: I did something wrong here. My program said 3 swims and 3 bikes, I’ve lost count. How many times have I been on the bike? I decided to bike for 30 min and check my watch when I am done. My legs feel a little bit tired and heavy. My grey shorts company disappeared, there’s a tiny guy in sandals beside me. He needs to raise the seat, his knees are way too bent all the time. I am so hungry. But I did pretty well with nutrition this time, not too tired, been drinking the whole time, and eating every hour… Maybe I should text the kids and tell them to get dressed to we can go and get lunch when I get back. And blank……… time’s up. What happened? 3 hours gone. I almost feel a bit disappointed, where is the pain, the fighting for motivation, the insanity? Am I really finished, maybe I forgot a swim or a bike? Cleaning the bike and then checking my watch. I am done and did 30 min too much. I obviously have a math problem. I biked 30 min too long. Walking to the locker room and see a hand in front of my face, the greyshortsguy runs on the corner treadmill and gives me a high five me when I pass him.

And best of all… my ankle looks… normal, not swollen or blue for the first time in 6 weeks. I hate to say it… I was wrong and my excellent coach right, sometimes it is good to take a break from running.

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Who’s counting?

On By lillahjarnanIn In English, Träning/trainingLeave a comment

I like a lot of things. I love hanging out with my family, watching movies, goofing around. I love reading, always loved reading and I have really early memories of reading marathons and covering thousands of pages over a weekend. I love hearing and watching my kids’ talk, sing, argue, think and grow. I like cooking and baking, not every day but most of the time. I love packing up the car, going on road trips to new places and trying new foods and watching the sun go down. I love brie cheese and I can’t stop eating until it’s gone. I actually love teaching too, and I miss regular every day teaching in my own language and spending years with kids and seeing them grow and move forward. I am in love with a flowered patterned couch and I know that it is crazy but one day I will spend 20 000 dollars and buy it and ship it over here. I love the smell of fall in the forest, sitting on a rock and drinking coffee from an old thermos listening to nothing and watching the grass grow. And I love working out, anything from a class at the gym to a trail run or a hike. I like to ski, bike and sometimes even play golf. I would love get a pair of roller skis, I think it looks super fun.

A couple of weeks ago I had a chat with a trainer at the club and got an interesting question that actually made me completely quiet. He looked at me and asked why I kept pushing myself, obviously not feeling very comfy with my arm in a cast and not just cutting back on calories. I got so surprised that I just looked at him and wanted to ask how on earth he could do what he is doing if he thought everything was about calories. So I just said, yeah right and walked away. The same week another trainer hinted in a very fun and relaxed tone that I had tendencies to do unnecessary training. Not the first time I’ve heard that from him. I wish I would have asked him exactly what he meant. So is it about calories? Is that why the gym is filled up with sweaty and some not so sweaty people every day? What about life people? I actually wanted to say that I am training for the coolest thing ever and every step and stroke feels important, but after breathing deep I realized that we all see life in different ways and we are all moving but not always in the same direction.

I must admit that I got a bit annoyed by the comments. Is that how people see me? That I am at the gym taking an unnecessary class? (My gym time is actually less than it’s been in years but my trail time seems to grow.) Then what about a hike? Do people hike to burn calories or to feel stronger, get your heart pumping and enjoy the time outdoors. And what about the view? Or the company? I like eating and I enjoy a nice glass of red or two and I couldn’t care less about the calories. I am strong, I can run for a long time and I think I could walk for days if I had to. And I can’t wait to do more, run longer, hike another mountain, get stronger and keep moving. To burn calories? No, just to keep living and exploring.

And since I am stuck on the indoor bike for a couple of weeks I’ve been exploring my cycling playlists and planned on giving you the best song I could find. But there are too many good songs. Seize the day, Cobrastyle, Greyhound, Oh Yeah, I feel your pain, One way or another… can’t choose. Well, Highwayman it is…

And this song must be the worst nightmare in a cyclingclass…

It takes a fool to remain sane

On By lillahjarnanIn In English, Okategoriserade, Träning/trainingLeave a comment

Are you sane enough to handle getting injured? One day it happens. You hurt your knee skiing, brake your arm falling on the trail or as I did fracture your elbow biking. It happens in less than seconds and then you’re stuck with the problem for months.

There are hundreds of books, blogs, articles to read about endorphins, runners high and how exercising makes you feel good.  After a couple of hours of running the remaining of your day becomes light and bright and you feel good inside and out. At least that is how I feel. On the other hand there are just as much information about how horrible or depressed you can feel when you for some reason can’t exercise or your routine gets interrupted. It’s important to do what you can and try to find new ways to get your endorphins kicking. It sounds easy. Just try something different and stay in your routine that works for you. Easy. Start knitting or kite flying. Yeah right! It all sounds so easy stay motivated, eat healthy, crosstrain, surround yourself with friends and volunteer at a race… Yada, yada…

I am not a serious athlete, not a tiny bit professional, I don’t get a dime from lacing my shoes and heading out. I just enjoy training, running trails and biking. I am just a regular 40 year old enjoying life. I like working hard, sweating and I really enjoy feeling the good pain the next day. And I have to admit that my least favorite day of the week is my rest day. I get motivated by moving, it makes me want to do more. I force myself to sign up for races to stay on track. So, what happens when I get injured? How do I stay sane? I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far. I’ve had a lot of practice. I’ve done what I can, sometimes a little bit too much but kept my daily dose of sweat going. For a while it felt like I at least got the minimum amount of happiness out from my slower and shorter runs. But it comes to a point when you feel that it has been enough.

I am done with this, fed up, tired of everything concerning injuries and modification. I came to that point a couple of days ago, after a little bit more than four months of casts, braces and painkillers. I’ve had it. Life gets so uncomfortable when you have to modify everything from driving, sleeping, cutting bread to running and lifting weights with only one side of your body. It doesn’t matter how many smart blogs and articles you read, it is impossible to prepare yourself for how it feels or how you will react. And this is not even life-threatening, it’s just an arm. I get angry and cranky. And I cry. Not very pretty people but that’s how it goes. And here I am now. With a sore arm in a purple cast and I have at least another month left to enjoy it. And the rest of my body starts to ache and give up because of the way I run. The only way to handle it is to suck it up and keep moving!

Anyone have a good book or an article to read about how you get your sanity back after a breakdown? Please, send it my way.

50k = 31.07miles

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Tävlingar/races, Träning/trainingLeave a comment

First of all, big fail. This #Blogg100 thing will not work for me. Who wants to blog when you don’t have anything to say… well that is usually what I do but… it’s not working. I forgot to blog yesterday despite many interesting things happening in the world yesterday. It was the last day of work for the pope. Hope he got to sleep in this morning. And Iceland wants to ban porn from the internet. Good luck with that one! Following the footsteps of North Korea, China and Iran. Not a big fan of internet porn but it sounds like a difficult task for little Iceland to change the world.

Had this strange feeling after browsing through Trader Joe’s talking to the staff today. Staff recognized me and asked about the new gluten free flour and I hear myself using words as heavy, moist and dense when I talked about piecrust and bread. Really, so this is why I took 8 years of university? No, I apparently have a $%^@ load of student loans so I can run. You see, running makes all the pain and worries go away. It is a form of meditation that leaves you feeling empty and happy, and afterwards you are totally unaware of that the world keeps spinning. Very nice as long as you remember where you parked your car and when and where to pick up your kids at the end of the day.

I met with the guru today, Superman, my very own coach (well I am aware of that he has other clients but I try to ignore that). He is very calm, nice and he is extremely positive. Always. A winning combination. Somehow he makes me think I have the ability to do all those things you see crazy people do. He must be very good at his job or completely nuts. After the very interesting Orca’s race I did with my little running group last month I said, just to be funny, let’s do a 50k. That was the only thing I could think of that could be worse than running up and down Mt Constitution. Well guess what, 50k it is. I thought about it all the way to Trader Joe’s and home and it didn’t sound bad, actually kind of nice. It is not every day you get to spend a whole day by yourself, sipping water, working on your sanity.

I came home and unpacked the bags, made a quiche, cleaned the kitchen and answered a couple of emails and then it hit me. What the @#$%??  Only crazy people run more than 26.2! I remember my last marathon, Vancouver 9 months ago. I swore I was going to sue the city of Vancouver for making the 26.2 a 26.3 race. I was convinced that they moved the finish line two minutes before I got in. I cursed and got upset and ran to the car and drove back home. 50k is 31.07 miles. Enough said.

And all this time I’ve been worried about my non swimming ability. Now I have to start worrying about running long and fast. That is ultrafantastic! I think I need a new pair of runningshoes.

 

 

Orcas 25… 27k

On By lillahjarnanIn In English, Tävlingar/races, Utflykter/outings3 Comments

I didn’t feel like the coolest kid on the block yesterday, not the toughest in the world. I was actually ready to give up for a short period of time, but that is not really like me so I kept going. I am usually pretty good at mentally preparing for difficult things and keep on going even if I hear strange voices in my head. A marathon is a marathon, you kind of know how it’s going to feel but this was totally different. I know how 25k feels but I had no clue how bad 25k going up Mt Constitution could be. I swore, I cursed and I kept going in snail pace… and I forgot to bring gummy bears. My water froze, my clothes were soaked of rain and covered with snow. And it was actually a great day.

On Friday morning I took the ferry from Anacortes to Orcas with four friends. All the orcas seemed to have hidden out in the cold but a few seals were bobbing around and eagles routed over us. We arrived and checked in at the glamorous Doe Bay, a quaint cabin by the sea. We went around the island, had coffee and enormous cinnamon rolls and then we drove up the whole mountain. We didn’t get all the way up because of snow and ice, but the view was stunning, sunny, light blue skies and dark blue water. It was a beautiful day!

We stopped by and checked in and got our bibs and chatted a bit. We listened to a few of the organizers and that was a big mistake. We overheard one of the pros saying that she ran the course in medium tempo in four hours last week. What does that mean for us? 5, 6 or 7 hours? How bad can it be? Holy &%$#. It did not look good, 4500ft elevation, rain and a lot of snow. They decided to add on a 1000ft compared to last year for an extra challenge. I looked around and felt like I was standing in a room full of experts. They all looked the same, puffy coats in bright colors, sunburned in January, cool shoes and smiling faces. Really smiling! Nothing to smile about here. Have you read the map people!! I pulled my puffy coat closer to my body and had a feeling that it was going to be a long day and a very long run tomorrow. Or hike?

The wind woke me up around 5am. It felt like our cabin was about to take off and sail away. Nothing to worry about and I slept for another hour and woke up and heard the rain. Excellent! We had breakfast in silence, I guess we all tried to figure out whose idea this was from the beginning. Three or four layers? Coat or no coat? A short car ride and it is time for the Garmin to locate satellites.

250 happy trail runners take off and I swear 235 looked like pros. Raincoats, trail shoes and hydration packs. I have always wondered how you choose to run with a bottle in your hand when you can wear a pack. Time to start and everybody takes off. It starts with a 5 mile loop around Cascade Lake. Beautiful, soft trails and the rain drizzles down. It is Alice in Wonderland kind of pretty and I feel all smiling and happy for a while. This is easy and I take it really slow waiting for the big bang. And then it comes! The wall! Of mud! It was so steep that we more or less had to crawl up for a mile. We are moving slow, very slow and my thoughts wander away. How can I feel this weak? How can I be this tired after an hour? I need to spend more time on the Versa. Do I like rain? No. Do I like mud? No. Do I even like running? We keep moving and keep talking and I have absolutely no memory of what we talked about for one hour.

8 miles and halfway, 2000ft elevation and I feel great. Who’s complaining now? Keep it up ladies! I am trying to hold back a bit so I don’t burn myself out. Something buzzes on my arm. My new, shiny watch makes a noise and I look down for a half second. I hear myself say 9 miles and… flying, moving in thin air… and somehow I make a ninja move and turn myself around and end up on my non broken side but quickly jump up. OK, my elbow is still in one piece but I now have a bleeding knee and a bruised hip. Nothing feels broken and I keep running. We actually keep a pretty good pace now and it is snowing hard. My soaked clothes starts to freeze. We reach the second top and the snow is deep. But this is great! We have been moving for more than 3 hours and we need to finish this now. It is cold and windy. We stop at the aid station and drink a cup of Coke and start to chat with the volunteers. They look really cold. We are the lucky ones here.

After one minute, we continue to run and it feels like my knees are locked. Wonder if they rattle loudly or if I only hear it in my head. We are going downhill. It still feels as if I should hold back. I check my watch and we should be close to the end. Surprise! They added on 1.5 miles (2,5 km). What the heck, I paid for 25k not 27. New hills, new mud. Please let me finish this thing now. The mud is packed, people are cheering and we drink an organic lime drink. Wet and slippery as an eel, cold as a popsicle and reasonably happy to finish this climb even if Garmin said 4.12. It could have been worse. But… as always 10 minutes after I start thinking. I am standing here, breathing, talking, and having a drink… why didn’t I run faster? I am still standing. And we all looked at each other and agreed that we will not do this race again.

After a couple of hours when we sit in the car waiting for the ferry, listening to old 80s music I can’t help about thinking of next years race at Orcas Island. Maybe 2014 will be the year for a 50k. It was a really pretty mountain.

Crush it without being crushed

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

I feel a bit anxious and impatient. I got the latest from my doctor concerning my broken elbow. It is not healing well. My fault or bad wibes? Don’t know. I am pretty tired of the left part of my body and need a positive boost. Life is like intervalls on the treadmill. If you push it too hard the first four you will never finish your 8th. You will quit after number 7, ready to puke. How you feel is always a choice. If you keep a steady pace, get your ponytail soaked and your feet wet you know you’re on the right track. And I am planning on getting back on track. Soon.

I am waiting for the weekend to come. I am taking a little trip with my runningbuddies. Roadtrip, ferryride and sleepover. One of our buddies left for other adventures but we are adding on a very interesting guy from CA. I am afraid he is a little bit faster than all of us together, but we get to enjoy the view a little bit longer. I am planning on a long run, I might even bring a picnic. And a map. I am not getting lost this time. And I don’t want to get crushed so I have decided to crush it. Give it a good shot and try my best. Who am I kidding, I’ll be happy if I’ll finish this one.

I am so grateful for my little group of peeps. If it wasn’t for them I probably would have spent an enormous sum of money on therapy by now. We are talking mafiaamounts. And running is far better than stretching on a shrink’s couch, at least that’s what I have heard. It is a constant journey and you never get there. It’s always a new day tomorrow. A new sunrise and a new drizzle.

I used to be a night owl, reading until the sun woke up and then I was ready to crawl under the covers. Most of the days when my alarm makes a soft noise before 5 I am awake and ready to eat breakfast in two seconds. I don’t mind getting up early but I am in a constant tired mode because I don’t go to bed in time. I wish the day had 3 more hours so I would get nice 8 hours of sleep. Saturdays at 6.30, heck that is late.

We used to be four, but now we are only three. The blond one took off. Hopefully we will meet our fourth somewhere in the world and run some new trails soon. We really miss her and I know our running dog does too. There are so many differences between us but somehow that makes it more interesting. We represent three different countries and have varied backgrounds. Small kids, big kids, no kids. Pets, lots of pets and no pets. And our life’s that we live right now are like night and day. What a strange combination but a very good one. How great is that? It is so nice to meet, think new and big thoughts or not think at all. The conversations that take place 6am on a dark trail in the light of a couple of headlamps are very different from the conversations you have on Starbucks during the day. Time spent with these ladies are luxury. And as long as we have the road and each other to look forward to, it’s all good. We’re laced up and ready!

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And some golden wings for the days you feel like flying.

Life lessons for my three daughters and Happy Brekkan America Day

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

I have three amazing kids, three beautiful girls. I don’t know how it happened but they are growing up. What feels like a couple of years ago we worried about preschool and swimming lessons, now we deal with drivers ed and honors classes at high school. The days go by slow but the years fly by so fast. 15 years feels like 5.

Today, January 10th we celebrate 5 years in this country, 5 years in Washington, 5 years away from what used to be our home. Our move here was a big change in our girls’ life, both good and bad. As a parent you always question your decisions that involve your kids. You always wonder if you did the right thing, made the right decision. We have all learned and experienced so much and it has been a lot of laughter but also tears. I can’t even remember the first year we lived here, my mind blocked it somehow. Did we make the right decision? I do think so and I really hope so. This adventure will be a life long experience that we will all carry with us for the rest of our lifes. And I am sure growing up in different cultures has shaped their lifes. They will always view life through a lens that is different from their friends. Friends that lives on two different continents. We live in different cultures instead of reading about it in textbooks, we meet people that are very different from us every day. What awesomeness.

The only thing you really want for your kids is happiness. Not power or money, just for them to find their sweet spot, their thing that gives them goose bumps. You want them to grow up doing what they like to do, enjoy their lives. And you don’t want them to make the same mistakes as you did. But maybe they’ll have to. To get the experience and to feel some sort of pain. If I could I would pass my experience down to them but I can only give some advice. Just a few life lessons on the way, some more serious than others…

Keep swimming girls… before you blink high school will be over.

  • Be nice to your sisters, always.
  • It is ok to be homesick and long for all loved ones in our other country… they will still be there next summer.
  • Never get in a car with a drunk driver. Call home, any time.
  • Work out. As much as you can and as hard as you can. And it is ok to look sweaty, not very cute and feel like you are going to puke. It is actually good for you.
  • Always work hard in school, it will pay off. But remember, you can only do your best.
  • Never be afraid to ask for help.
  • It is ok to spend a lot of money on shoes, especially running shoes.
  • Don’t worry about love when you are 15, you have plenty of time. I am sure you will not even remember the name of the cutest guy in 9th grade when you turn 30. Life goes on.
  • Accept people around you. Nobody is perfect. Not even you.
  • Do your thing. Be different. But don’t wear too short skirts.
  • Travel as much as you can.
  • Laugh often and hard. And laugh at yourself.
  • Keep your eyes on the ball, in sports and in life.
  • Learn how to drive a stick.
  • Learn how to cook and bake bread. Enjoy food, it is good for you and it brings people together.
  • Change is good, scary but good.
  • Do things that scare you.
  • No tattoos or visible piercings. And no, I will not change my mind about this.
  • You are all three so much stronger than you think.
  • If you can’t think, go for a run, a long run.
  • Don’t stress… you have a long life ahead of you.

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.  ~Danny Kaye

Our favorite backseat song

2013 Know your limits, but never stop trying to exceed them

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In EnglishLeave a comment

Nu är det helt plötsligt ett nytt år och vardagen knackade på dörren imorse när jullovet var slut och bilen skulle ut och värmas upp när månen fortfarande var uppe. Det känns som om jullovet var extra kort i år så nu hoppas vi på ett riktigt kraftigt snöfall så vi kan få några extra snödagar. Helst i slutet av januari, när det är finals. Frosten ligger vit på marken och taken men ingen snö hos oss. Det är extra mycket snö i bergen några snabba mil bort. Vi firade in det nya året med goda vänner och en drös av ungdomar. En riktigt trevlig kväll som blev till sen natt. Det tackar vi och bockar för.

Nytt år innebär för många nyårslöften och nya tag. Jag vill egentligen inte avlägga några löften som jag antagligen skulle raskt bryta innan januari har tagit slut, men jag kan ändå inte riktigt låta bli. Vem vill egentligen misslyckas offentligt? Framåt januari vet jag mer hur året kommer se ut men kan ju fram till dess avge några vaga livsord. Tillräckligt vaga för att för att man inte kan misslyckas. Mina riktiga löften behåller jag för mig sjäv. Ett tag till i alla fall.

  • Lära sig något nytt. Här snackar vi inte ett franskt ord eller att steka lagom bruna pannkakor, utan det ska vara något riktigt som att ta körkort (om man inte skulle ha något), bygga en dator från grunden, lära sig dansa flamenco etc. Det ska enligt säkra källor vara utvecklande och bra för hjärnan att lära sig kluriga saker. Jag vet inte hur många gånger jag har hört att sudoku, korsord och musik är bra. Men nu är det dags att gå ett snäpp till. Kanske lära sig ett nytt språk eller ta en ny examen i något spännande tekniskt.  Vad jag ska lära mig vet jag inte riktigt men det brukar dyka upp spännande saker framför ögonen, om man bara tittar.
  • Sova lagom mycket. Det är ju bra för alla. Här vet jag att vi alla periodvis sover för lite och sen försöker vi ta igen det var fjärde helg eller så, inte så lyckat. Vi började i alla fall det nya året med att ta sovmorgon. Det är väl ett bra mål för alla inblandade. Och nu sitter jag här och räknar lite enkelt på ena handen att det blir dåligt med sömn i natt. Klockan ringer 4.45 för mörkermöte. Tur att man har ett helt år för att jobba på det målet.

Och sedan har jag några enkla mål som hänger kvar från förra året men vi tar dessa på engelska.

And for all of you English speaking people. This years New Years resolutions:

  • I will do less laundry and use more deodorant
  • I won’t worry so much.
  • I will cut my hair.
  • I will grow my hair.
  • I will stop considering other people’s feelings when they so obviously don’t consider mine – if that unwashed fellow sits next to me again, I’ll tell him he stinks!

Well, that’s not really what I meant… here we go…

  1. Push past my comfort zone.
  2. Know my limits, but never stop trying to exceed them.
  3. Try to not get injured… or only if it is worth it…

Cheers,

Lillahjärnan

Swimming–no shoes, no fun

On By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Träning/trainingLeave a comment

It is a new school year. Volleyball, climbing and badminton started. New schools, new schedules and new homework routines. Still feel very Swedish when it comes to school, will I ever make the transition? Late nights and not reasonable bedtimes, packing lunches, setting alarms much too early for teenagers and moms too, answering emails, going through mail, starting a new school year at Swedish School, meetings at all three schools, running in the dark early mornings, and always wanting to do so much more. There are so many adventures waiting out there. So many mountains to climb. So many trails to run. So many laps to swim… And our house… a constant chaos…it is always a work in progress… a never ending story…

For those of you that read my posts have probably read that I have been working on my swimming. Really working, like visiting-the-pool-every-day-in-a-cap-kind-of-serious working. (Well, not really true. I always think that I should go every day but I don’t.) I can tell you all that it is a struggle, swimming is not really my “thing”. I am still working on finding my thing, my one good and fun thing to do, but I am starting to think that my thing is a mix of many things.

When it comes to my swimming, breathing is really the biggest issue. The trick is that you have to breath every now and then but when I swim I have to breath all the time. Two laps and it feels like somebody punched me. At the same time I have to move my legs, that are supposed to be straight and not bent from your knees and keep my head down under the water. And I almost forgot, moving arms, I need to move my arms too. Million things to think about. It is so much easier to go back to regular breaststrokes and frog legs. So in conclusion, I need to work on my breathing.

When I run I always hate or maybe at least dislike the first mile. My heart beats too fast and hard and I can’t seem to catch my breath. It really sounds like I have bronchitis and I seriously think I will get a heart attack every time. But after a mile I raise my chin, relax my shoulders and forget that I am actually running… and then I can breath again. So simple and without even thinking of it. It took some time to come to this point, easy breathing and forgetting everything around you. So the question is, when will my body start to cooperate and start swimming? Will I ever get to that point? Maybe some people never learn how to swim in a nice, relaxed, easy way?

When you’re in a bad mood, feel a little bit down or lost your running mojo one easy thing to do is to buy yourself a new pair of running shoes. You can never get too many runners, can you? It sure is something special to open up a brand new box… Welcome sparkling new shoes, lets go for a run! But have you ever heard of a new pair of fins, a pair of goggles or a new snorkel that make you feel like you want to throw yourself into the pool or the cold, dark lake. No no. No wonder it’s a struggle, it is not a shoe sport!

I need to be a tiny bit serious today too. I am so extremely grateful for my friends, all my friends that I meet in different circumstances and environments. Friends that I run with, tireless and very chatty morning runs in the dark, mid day runs and sometimes bike rides that usually ends with me crashing and limping back to the car. Friends that make me go to the gym every day and hear me moan and complain. Friends that I meet for happy hour, just being happy together, colleagues that are friends and all you other friends around me. Thanks all of you for all the birthday wishes, phone calls, emails, texts and hugs. I really like hugs! Thanks for enriching my life! I appreciate every single moment with you all!

 

Think I need a new pair of trail shoes… This is how you run if you get a pair of Salomon’s. You will run like Kilian Jornet.