Är det inte fredag?

On 26 March, 201426 March, 2014 By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, Resor/travelLeave a comment

Onsdag och det känns som fredag. Hämtmat på grund av tidsbrist och ett glas vin. Men så är det bara onsdag trots fredagskänslan och trötta kroppar. Vi skulle behöva helg nu. Förra helgen var det turnering i Spokane för Jo. Volleyboll i dagarna 3. Där hade vi stämt träff med kusinen som varit i ödemarken i Kanada och farit runt i skidbackarna sedan i julas. Och hem kom de med bilen fullpackad med en kusin och bagage. Vilken lycka att återse honom hel och frisk efter ett sådant äventyr. Nu sitter han på planet hem till Sverige och vi ses till sommaren igen. Vi har hunnit fara runt lite kusinen och jag. Shoppat och tittat, ätit lite och slappat lite. Igår passerade vi en trevlig fransos som lockade in mig till en salong och ville smörja rynkorna. Han smörjde och smörjde och visade resutlatet. Han höll upp en spegel och sa, ser du inte hur slät du är på höder öga? Jo tack, fantastikt minsann. Naturligt Botox i en liten tub. Sen tyckte han att jag skulle köpa hela paketet för att bli mindre rynkig på andra ögat. Jag var ju inte så sugen att hosta upp 500 dollar i ett bräde för några rynkor skull. Det kändes som ett omotiverat impulsköp. Jag sponanköpte ett par springiga shorts istället. Det kände som om det var vår igår och då kommer de korta shortsen på när det är dags att skubba. Idag är våren borta. Vinterbrallorna åkte på igen. Regnet öser ner och solen har gömt sig igen.

För oss som stannade kvar hemma i helgen så var det klättringstävling och svenska skolan. Ingen rast ingen ro.

Sen var det skola igen på måndag morgon och alla undrade var helgen tagit vägen. Vi avlsutade skolvolley säsongen igår med dunder och mirakel. Sofias lag vann och är nu distriktsmästare. Helt obesegrade hela säsongen. Det känns bra för alla inblandade. Det har varit mycket bänknötande men helt klart underhållande. Det kan ju inte bli bättre än man vinner.

Det manliga inslaget i familjen är mycket på resande fot. Exotiska platser och vanliga resmål om vartannat. Inte alltid lika spännande som det låter.

Nu packar vi om lunchväskorna inför morgondagen och tackar för idag. Vi stänger av nyheterna för idag och hoppas är att morgondagen blir något bättre. Jordskredet som drabbade Washington växer i omfattning och skadorna är enorma. Bara några mil härifrån.

Ö till Ö, World SwimRun Championship 2013

On 6 September, 201313 February, 2017 By lillahjarnanIn In English, Resor/travel, Tävlingar/races, Utflykter/outings2 Comments

First of all, thanks to all of you that have sent messages and kind words. I can’t believe how fortunate I am to have so many great friends all over the world. And a big thank you to the organizers and the volunteers for Ö till Ö, The World SwimRun Championship 2013. We had an amazing time and I will never forget this weekend in the Swedish archipelago. The weather was amazing and we felt really lucky that the wind stayed decent. We got the chance to meet really nice people, other participants that we got to know a little.

I am back home, arrived just in time for a huge thunderstorm. The sky opened up and burst out in thunder and lightning, but I went to bed and slept a whole night for the first time in nine days.

I have been trying to think and form some kind of race report in my head. I don’t know if you are allowed to write a race report when you didn’t finish but it feels important to close this chapter and start over. I had about 20 hours of travelling yesterday and decided to write something, it didn’t go that well. I picked up two new books at Stockholm Airport and finished 1200 pages before I started thinking. (For all of you Swedes out there, Keplers new book Sandmannen was really good.)

If you don’t know what Ö till Ö is please read my previous post and check out www.otillo.se for more info.

The first swim 10 hours before the race.

For some reason it is hard for me to remember the whole day, the islands kind of float together. The landscape is beautifully intoxicating. The water and islands go so well together and you never get tired from just looking at the horizon. If it would have been a regular summer day I would have sat down on a cliff and enjoyed the view, got my thermos and a cinnamon bun and stretched out to feel the sun. It would be nice to come back and do this again and maybe enjoy the view a bit more.

We didn’t have time to enjoy the view, we felt like two stressed deer in headlights moving over one island after the other, chasing cuts and trying to keep the pace up. We kept a decent running pace but lost too much time in the water. We made 4 out of 5 cuts and raced for almost 12 hours. It felt good to take a shower and go to bed that night. I woke up after 2 hours and thought I had a bad fever. My body was steaming, it was no need for a sauna. My legs swelled up after a few hours and my ankle got more purple and swollen every hour.

We lost a lot of time on the longer swims. The first and longest swim, 1650 meters towards the blinking light on one the islands in the horizon, took a long time. For some reason it didn’t feel long in my head. Maybe it was the helicopter and the boats that made it feel short, maybe it was the vomiting in the beginning that made it so enjoyable Winking smile , maybe it was the shock of the cold water. I don’t know.

The first two islands was running and jumping over rolling, loose rocks. We stayed close to the edge of the water and our feet were under water for the first 2 hours. I got a rock under my left big toe nail at the first island and it took 12 hours before I got it out.

My fear of waves and the uneasy feeling about swimming in the ocean was cured 10 minutes into the race. On every run I couldn’t wait to get back into the water and get chilled off.

The 1400 meter swim to Kvinnoholmen after 8 hours really sucked the energy out of us. It was windy, cold water, high waves coming in from northwest and it was… the open sea so a wrong turn ends up in Finland. I could see the boats on the side but they kind of disappeared in the wind and the waves. A couple of hundred meters in our rope broke and I saw the pink hook sink in the waves. I dove down and got it and we attached it to my west that after that got a bit stuck over my head at every stroke. At least we were attached together. On all the longer swims I counted breaths or strokes to keep my mind on something and get the time to move faster. This time I told myself that it would probably take 3000 breaths to get over to the other side. 3000 breaths on the right side were I found an air pocket in between the waves, that’s about 6000 strokes. We didn’t even get close to halfway after 3000 breaths. The wind increased and the waves got higher and higher. But, somehow we got over to the other side. The cliffs looked like a wall and we started climbing again.

Even if you move the whole time when swimming you get cold. My fingers and especially my nails turned purple after the first swim. We both had difficulties to use our fingers and hands before and after the swims. It got more and more difficult to get everything on and off. Just opening the hooks felt impossible. It felt like my paddles were made for a 2 y o every time I put them on, it was just impossible to fit my hands thru the holes. Getting water out of the bag felt unnecessary since I knew it would be difficult to get the bottles back in. Probably a big mistake.

After the last long swim, 970 meters Kymmendö Bunsön – Getskär, we knew we had to run fast to make the 4^th cut at 4pm. We ran the 2,7k so fast that I didn’t even have time to breath. I thought the race would end for us right there after 10 hours but we made it. We stuffed a Kexchoklad into the wetsuit and jumped off the boat dock and swam the last 300 meters to Ornö. We got out of the water and started running again. A few kilometers in we heard really strong thunder and a few seconds later the sky basically just opened up and it was pouring down. It got really, really cold and I tried to get the arms of the wetsuit on to warm up. For us this was the last part of the race, we realized that we wouldn’t make it to the next cut. We jogged and walked 12k to the next energy station on very sore legs. We were wrapped up in blankets and got drinks and bars and life felt pretty good there for a while.

Something that stole a lot of energy was to get out of the water and up on the cliffs. It is easy to forget that we got in and out of the water 56 times, and there is no time to adjust when you get up, you just have to keep moving and do what you need to do when you are moving forward. I always feel very unstable and dizzy when I get up and I don’t know how many times I took a wrong step and twisted my ankle. The cliffs were brutal. It was slippery, hard and scary. On some places the cliffs are so high and steep, I thought more than once that if I fall I will not walk away alive.

When you read the description of the race 65k running and 10k swimming doesn’t sound that bad. 65k running is about 1,5 marathons and that feels like a doable run, doesn’t it. But the 65k run is one long obstacle course, it was more climbing than running. When you thought that you had a trail around the corner it was cliffs, forest with trees to climb over and bushes that hurt all the way into the bone marrow. Actual running didn’t happen too often. This is the part of the race that feels most surprising but also very exciting. It is impossible to count pace and finishing times since the terrain is so difficult. But this also suck the energy out of every part of your body. Every step you take you have to lift your legs above your knees, and you climb and use your whole body. I have never experienced the pain I had in my calfs and I’ve never felt so tired emotionally as I felt when I reached Ornö after 10 hours in the race.

I bet it sounds like I am whining and complaining. I am but I am not. I loved the race and I could never have imagined before how difficult it would be. It was everything x 1000. I heard a voice in my head that said never again, never again, over and over. But somehow I forgot that and the next morning I could only remember the nice view and beautiful surroundings. The only thing that reminded me of the bad pain, the emotional hopelessness was my beaten body. I don’t know why but I really, really hope I get another chance.

And a huge thank you to Josh Fitchitt and Seby Alary. I don’t think I would have made it to the first island without your coaching and your positive attitudes. Thank you! Merci!

The day after, no waves and sun.

It’s been five days since the race and feel ready to make new plans. I brought home new toys… lets roll…

The day after ö till ö

On 3 September, 201312 November, 2013 By lillahjarnanIn In English, Resor/travel, Tävlingar/races4 Comments

I don’t even know how and where to start. Maybe 18 months back, a morning 3 h run in Redmond Watershed, a cold morning in April. Anna was the first person I met that have heard about Ö till Ö, my dream race. We met and decided to go for a short run. Anna asked how much time I had and I answered 3 hours and she said that it sounds like a nice, short morning run, I think I like you already. Our short runs gave us a lot of time to talk. I think we talked about the race very run we did for a few months. The only problem was that I didn’t swim very well. When they released the lottery tickets we got so excited so we bought 4 and waited for the big day. Anna moved back to Sweden, I broke my elbow and my wrist in a bike accident but we stayed in touch waiting for the lottery result. And I started working on my swimming, just in case.

The race is divided in about 65 km running and 10 km swimming, you run over 24 islands and swim between. You swim in your shoes and run in your wetsuit. It is called the World swimrun Championship and most of the participants apply on merits. You need to win a couple of Ironmans and World Championships in swimming to get a spot and its people from all around the world that applies for the 100 team spots. Interesting crowd. And we got a team spot for the magical race September 2nd 2013 Stockholm archipelago, Sweden. And after a lot of training, thinking and basically learning how to crawl I found myself looking out over Sandhamn harbor dressed in a wetsuit and a heart beating like never before.

We started in the back row and did a short 1,2k run and reached the sea. The Baltic Sea. I cannot tell you how worried I’ve been about the swim part of the race, the almost 10k ocean swim. We started out really slow, tried to find a nice pace. I somehow got a bit stressed, started to swallow saltwater and vomited after about 50 meters. Anna didn’t even notice so we just kept on swimming. We reached the first island after 1650 meters of swimming, one long mile and I felt good for finishing the first long swim. And then we started climbing cliffs, chasing cut offs and we never stopped.

The running part was almost no running, it is everything but running. You climb cliffs and try to get through really bad terrain. We kept a good “running” pace the whole race, we kept moving forward but we didn’t go fast enough. We knew from the beginning that our problem would be the swim part. We did ok, kept a steady pace but we didn’t swim fast enough. We had to chase every cut starting with the one at 9am and we felt stressed like crazy. When we reached Ornö after racing 10 and something hours we heard a big thunder and it started to rain. We checked the time and realized that our legs did not move fast enough to take us 20k to south Ornö before 6pm, the last cut. On a normal day we could have done it but not after 10 hours of racing. We decided to jog the 12km to the next energy station and take the boat back. And we felt pretty ok with it. We knew that we did our best. Maybe we could have made it if we had a better day without jetlag, sleeping issues, more swimtraining… but we did what we could that day. And it sure was an interesting day.

I will try to describe the islands, the swims and the surroundings another day but I still feel too tired to even think about it. My body hurts on few places but I am surprised it’s not worse. I have big bloodblisters under my big toes and a messed up toe from running with a rock under the nail for 10 hours. It feels like my left calf is about to fall off but I am sure it will get better soon. My lefts foot is swollen and unstable from twisting it a million times. But my biggest concern, my left elbow feels ok. I am trying to sort out what happened in my head. I did drink and eat the whole day but I could have done better, as always. We rushed to every energy station/cut and felt like we had to grab something and leave in a few seconds. I had a cold cup of coffee at the 2.30pm station, best cup I’ve ever had. And someone handed me a piece of Twix after the 1,4k brutal swim and it felt like I got a million dollars in a piece of chocolate. Heaven. All the volunteers and race staff did a fantastic job. We felt safe with all the boats around when we swam. We spent two excellent nights at Sandhamn and Utö and could not have asked for more.

We had the equipment worked out pretty well, but you learn from your mistakes. My paddles really helped me but it also took time to get them on since my fingers turned purple after the first swim. Even if we had big hooks for the rope we used for the swims (and some runs) it was time consuming since our fingers didn’t work. I have to use ear plugs when I swim in cold water but that took time too. Everything gets difficult when you are cold and it took me hours to figure out that I was cold. Spending a whole day in a wetsuit is not very much fun but it worked. It felt pretty cold after a while and we only got the arms out a few times on the bigger islands. The problem with the wetsuit is that your heart rate gets higher, you have a constant pressure over your chest and that makes it difficult to push on your runs. It steals energy when you run. And it takes too much time to get your arms out so it is easier to suck it up and run. I didn’t say many words during the whole day. I am usually the one that talks when we run and Anna is the quiet one. I heard that Anna tried to talk, ask questions and get me prepared for the next swim or run but I couldn’t answer. My lips couldn’t move, I had to look down at my feet because of the terrain and I was too exhausted to waste my energy on words. I heard her but I couldn’t answer but I heard the answer in my head. Scary. It probably means that I didn’t eat enough. I also had the map and course memorized in my head but could not remember one single island. I had the distances written on my left leg on my suit but I couldn’t focus long enough to read. We just kept moving.

And here comes the strange part. I almost cried one hundred times because it hurt so much. My left calf could barely move forward and every step felt all the way up to my brain. The stress was the worst part, the constant chase after minutes and cuts. It was cold. The terrain was brutal. One wrong step on the cliffs and you fall and break every bone in your body. But I loved the swimming parts. The body felt light and pain free (if you don’t count bad calf cramps on the longer swims) when I jumped into the water. We had one long 1,4k swim in bad waves from NW that sucked the energy out of us but it still felt better than running. And I don’t even like swimming.

I heard myself say never again in my head over and over again, this is a race for crazy nuts and extremely mentally strong people. But when we talked on the boat on the way back to Stockholm today I hear myself answer yes, I will do it again if we get the chance. I know how to do it now. I have never experienced anything like it and I could not imagine before what it would be like. Indescribable. Something happens when you’ve been out for 6-7 hours and you can’t compere it with a short marathon or a shorter swimrun. A terrible and a fantastic day. And somehow the bad parts and the pain fades away after a nights sleep. I wonder when they release the lottery tickets?

Framme

On 29 August, 201329 August, 2013 By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, Resor/travelLeave a comment

Är på plats i Uppsala och har till och med hunnit med en tur till Västerås. Flygresan var ganska händelselös men självklart finns det ju en hel del att fundera över. Hade Icelandair kuppat när jag blev placerad bredvid en hostande man som behöll sin beiga garbardinjacka på sig under hela resan Seattle-Reykjavik. Han knaprade halstabletter och hostade i armvecket. Han så också lite allmänt skum ut. Jag drog mig så långt bort som det bara gick, på yttersta kanten av sätet. Men det är svårt att hålla sig på sin kant på ett flygsäte uppe i luften. En förkylning skulle nog vara det värsta som skulle kunna hända. Nästa tur, Reykjavik-Stockholm blev jag placerad bredvid en 2 årig pojke. Det är nästan första gången på 16 år jag flyger utan egna barn och då blir jag placerad bredvid en rätt trött och skavande yngling. Men jag hade ju i alla fall tur med vädret.

Idag har Anna och jag träffats i Västerås. Vi klämde i oss varsin pizza och diskuterade paddlar och ylleunderkläder. Allt känns toppen och vi ses ju igen på söndag när skärgårdssemestern börjar. Om bara vinden lägger sig så skulle det vara tipp topp.

Nu har det passerat sovdags för länge sedan.

På återhörande!

How do you prepare for the unknown? Some good advice.

On 13 August, 201313 August, 2013 By lillahjarnanIn In English, Okategoriserade, Resor/travel, Tävlingar/races, Utflykter/outingsLeave a comment

It’s getting closer, 20 days left. We are prepared, as ready as we can be. But I have to admit that I am nervous and a bit anxious. How do you prepare for the unknown? Maybe that is the thrill, to not know what’s going to happen.

We have our gear picked out and tested but there are still a few questions. How much water, food, some extra stuff that need to be considered. Two weeks until I leave, 20 days until race start. I am dancing weather dances and are hoping for a beautiful day and no wind and waves. Fingers crossed.

I have followed my plan and should be on track… But giving some good advice on the way, just in case.

If you can’t carry it, you probably don’t need it.

You’re the boss of your own circumstance, so make good choices.

When given the opportunity, wear a costume.

Give lots of hugs to everyone you care for.

When frustrating things happen, keep them in perspective. It can’t be that bad.

Try to learn the rules of football

Get oil changes on time; check the tire pressure, take care of your car.

Whimsy is essential.

See the beauty everywhere.

Allow yourself to be moved

And don’t forget to wear your seatbelt.

Vacation

On 18 July, 2013 By lillahjarnanIn In English, Resor/travel, Utflykter/outingsLeave a comment

Söndag

On 16 June, 201316 June, 2013 By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, Resor/travel, Tävlingar/races, Träning/trainingLeave a comment

Söndag. Och jorden snurrar vidare. Vi fick sovmorgon imorse, tjejerna och jag. Brjann drog iväg tidigt igår morse, innan solen gått upp, mot Canada. Det var dags för Victora Half Ironman igen. Årets första halva. Nu är han i mål. Och det verkar ha gått bra! Tack och lov för internet. Varje år önskar vi att vi skulle kunna följa med och heja på men den här helgen är alltid fullproppad med tävlingar, avslutningar och examensfester så vi får alltid dela upp oss i fem delar. Jag och tjejerna blev kvar här i Washington. Och tur var väl det. Idag har vi firat sommarfest – skolavslutning på Svenska Skolan med sommarsånger, jordgubbstårta och glada barn. Den blomstertid låter lika vacker var man än i världen befinner sig. Och har jag berättat att vi har världens bästa svenska skola i utlandet. Nu kan det ju vara så att jag är aningen jävig men det är så. Utbildade lärare från Sverige, engagerad styrelse, ett stort bibliotek med bibliotekarier, i runda slängar 100 tvåspråkiga barn (och ibland tre-fyr)och till det alla fantastiska föräldrar. Vi är bra! Och tack för året som gått. Jag ser fram emot hösten!

På vägen hem blev vi riktigt hungriga. Vi hann inte ens ut på motorvägen innan diskussionen om lunchintag var igång. Vi kände oss vingliga. Alla konstaterade att det kurrade rejält. Själv började jag få tunnelseende lagom till vi kom fram till bron. Det kändes som om jag tittade igenom ett litet, smalt sugrör, sikten blev begränsad. Vi konstaterade att vi alla blir på dåligt humör när vi blir hungriga, och ganska ilskna och eländiga. Vissa blir värre än andra. Enligt ljushuvudena i baksätet blir jag förfärligt elak och barsk. Det är därför man ska bära runt en Snickers gissar jag. Nu har vi hittat hem och skickat i oss lunch. Nu har jag till och med fått en kopp kaffe och snart går bilen mot nya äventyr. Jorden snurrar vidare och jag tror att Juran ska få mala en omgång böner till innan vi ger oss av.

I och med att det blev sovmorgon till 7.30 imorse så har jag sparat mina kilometer som står på schemat. Det kändes som en otroligt bra deal kl 5 i morse, nu mindre bra. Den mesta av träningen gör jag i veckorna, på helgen är det oftast bara 2-3 timmar löpning. På något sätt ska ju det ändå springas och snart är helgen slut. Medan jag har funderat på det, hur jag ska hitta två timmar i dagsljus har jag tröstat mig själv med två lakritspipor. (Det är viktigt med dagsljus! Bara de senaste veckorna har flera löpare blivit påkörda när de sprungit tidgt på mornarna. Visserligen knatar jag mest i skogen men dagsljus är viktigt! Tänk på det! Reflexväst och lampor, det är ok att se ut som en julgran fast det är juni.) Jag har vilat lite extra och bara haft roligt de senaste dagarna. I fredags hade jag turen att få hänga med en halvgalen fransman och få lite specialträning i kajakpaddling i blåst. Armarna och magen har fått sig en omgång, och tummarna är lite blå och blåsiga efter några timmar på sjön. Vi styrde rakt ut mot brobygget i Lake Washington och kajkade runt i för mig en hejdundrande fart. Han tyckte nog att det gick lite sakta. Men som han sa, han var ju inte där för att träna, bara för att ha trevligt. Jag svettades ymnigt. Det blåste vita gäss och det krängde hit och dit. Men eftersom det faktiskt var 19 grader i vattnet och kajaken kändes otroligt stabil så gjorde det mig inte det minsta om jag skulle hamnat i plurret. Trots båttrafiken runt omkring och pontonplanen som landade och startade runt kajaken. Och trevligt var det, så trevligt att jag raskt tog mig hem och började leta begangnad kajak att införskaffa eller åtminstone kanske en egen kolfiberpaddel. Lyxliv! Riktig lyx att få hasa runt på sjön och diskutera mogna brieostar, vita långkokta bönor och franska berg med en alldeles riktig paddlande bergsget från södra Frankrike. Lyx på en pinne! Tänk så mycket jag får vara med om.

Nej ni, på’t igen. Nu kör vi vidare.

Tjing!

Yakima tur och retur

On 12 March, 201314 March, 2013 By lillahjarnanIn Barnen/kids, Resor/travel, Tävlingar/racesLeave a comment

Efter en lång helg i karga Yakima i östra Washington har vi återigen landat hemma i Redmond, i Washingtons absoluta mitt. Yakima var en ny erfarenhet för oss, vi har mest passerat innan. Jag tror att vi mest kommer att passera om vi far åt det hållet igen. Yakima lämnar ingenting åt fantasin, det man ser det får man. 60- och 70-tal, slitna byggnader, torrt, trädlöst och ganska ocharmigt. Men nu var det ju ändå så att vi var där för att spela och titta på volleyboll och så blev det. Det var mycket tid vid sidan av planen för oss medföljare och enormt mycket speltid för spelaren. Så mycket speltid att spelaren drabbades av uppmattningssyndrom vid hemfarten. Man kan lätt säga att luften pyste ur och kvar blev bara ett blekt skal efter 8-9 matcher på två dagar. Väl kämpat av vår outside hitter och väl kämpat av de två andra vilande spelarna som var medförljare. För hur kul är det att vara lillasyster och titta på? Guldstjärna till alla tre. Vi fick trots allt känna på hur det känns med sol mot nästippen och lite ljumma temperaturer.

Mellan matcherna letade vi lunchställen och kaffehak. Vi cruisade runt på avenyerna och tog in hela stan. Vi gjorde en hel del spännande iaktagelser.

Internationellt college of cosmetology i coola Yakima.

Javaheaven med extra glittriga girlanger.

Varför sitter alla trafikljus på sniskan?

Yakima by night

Mycket fruktlådor längs järnvägen

Ingen löpning på hela helgen men jag läste i alla fall senaste Runners World från pärm till pärm.

Och så här såg det ut straxt utanför Ellensburg på väg hem.

Bra kombination av affärsverksamhet? Stanna och ta en persika och en gungstol.

Och nu närmar vi oss passet. Bergen tittar fram och är det inte ett stort, tungt lock av regnmoln som vi ser längre fram. Jo, då måste vi närma oss Seattle.

Helsvenskt i LA

On 21 October, 201221 October, 2012 By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, Resor/travelLeave a comment

I helgen tog jag en tur till LA. Rodeo Drive, frukost och promenad på Venice Beach, palmer, öppet gräsrökande (inte av oss såklart), hemlösa, drink på nattklubb, oerhört höga klackar och korta kjolar, sand mellan tårna och allmänt mycket glamour för en som hälsar på över helgen. Och som tur var så var jag i fint sällskap av fyra kollegor. Vi gjorde stan på vårt sätt. Mycket bilpromenader med en chaufför som inte gillar vänstersvängar. Vi cirkulerade åt höger och hjälpte till att visa färdriktning med händerna ut genom fönsterrutorna. Allt för att ta oss fram säkert i den täta Los Angeles trafiken. Lite Kurt Olsson känsla i storstan. Det var mycket sjungande och skrattande. På någor sätt är jag lite glad över att Dolda Kameran inte var på plats, det hade varit lite onödigt. Vi for ner till änglarnas stad för att delta i en skolkonferans. Det gick finfint och vi hade en både meningsfull och rolig helg. En riktig flipp måste jag säga, mycket tack vare sällskapet. Föreläsarna gjorde ju också konferansen extra bra och svensk. För vem vill inte få förstahandsinformation vad gäller Skolverkets läroplaner. Och vi har utbytt information med många andra svenska lärare i stora amerika. Nu är vi fulladdade av ord och meningsfulla funderingar. Och vi har fått prata med lärare och styrelsemedlemmar på svenska skolor från hela USA och Canada. När jag jobbade som lärare i Sverige cyklade jag någonstans i stan eller tog tåget till Stockholm över dagen för lite fortbildning. Regnstället på och fingervantarna över nariga, vintriga cykelfingrar, cykelkorgen laddad med kollegieblock och fina pennor. Och en banan till mellanmål. I fredags packades den lilla svarta ner i väskan och rullades på planet. Jag vet inte vad jag föredrar. Båda resmålen har sin charm och sin nytta. Det ena lite mer lätt tillgängligt än det andra. Läs- och skrivinlärning blir inte lättare för att man flyger fram och inte svårare för att man cyklar. Bokstäverna ska fortfarande sättas samman med eller utan prickar på o och a. Orden ska fortfarande bilda meningar. Koden ska knäckas och hjärta, hjärna och ögon ska kopplas ihop. Lätt som en plätt eller latt som en platt. Men det är ju aningen mer glammigt på Rodeo Dr än på Stockholms Central.

Home away from home and finally back home

On 19 August, 201219 August, 2012 By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Okategoriserade, Resor/travel, Träning/training, Utflykter/outings2 Comments

What can you expect when you have been a bit lazy? Sore muscles and heavy breathing. I have been running in my own slow pace for 5 weeks and more or less skipped strength training. A couple of miles when I have had time but only one decent 25km long run in over a month. Add on lack of sleep, I am still on Swedish time. It gets worse every time I fly back home, must be an age thing. 3 classes at Willows plus a long trail run and I am officially broken. I topped it off with 50 min on the rowing machine. (Only because my chiropractor told me my shoulders looked more boney than usual.) So tired and so sore. Amazingly wonderful. I really do enjoy the pain. But I think I had my personal worst performance Friday morning in class. I really tried hard, I did, but my legs kept saying geeezzz woman, go home. I usually get pushed by working out beside other people but I would easily have paid Jeremiah to let me go early from class. I guess it can only get better…

After 24 hours on American grounds I woke up 3.30 am. Almost freezing in the crazy heat. Lucky me, I had a text message from the night before asking if I wanted to meet at 6am. I sent a text back at 4am and waited. Breakfast in the dark waiting for the sun to wake up and one more cup of coffee. Shoes on and the Camelback filled with cold water. So lovely to meet after a long trip. Such a beautiful morning greeting the sun on foot. Yellow light in between the trees. Bridal Trails, talking too much, running too slow, covering 5 weeks of missed runs. So good to meet. What a treat.

I got back from Sweden Tuesday night, tired and a bit stressed from our house adventures. I had a heck of a summer. Lots of work with the house, too much actually. A really close friend of my parents had a tragic accident and passed away after four weeks of struggling, a couple of days before we left. It’s been a different summer. I had big hopes before we took off of how much I was going to get done, how I was going to fix up the house, cram in a workout every day, and meet friends and family every day of our vacation before he** breaks loose in September again. I had big plans to be super organized and efficient. Let me tell you, the house looks great, I would love to move in there again. But it was crazy. So much work but such a great feeling to finish. Hopefully a nice family will find the keys to our perfect townhouse.

Just got home from another great run with old and new friends. Not sure if I would recommend Squak Mt for an easy Sunday run but my legs got a great work out going up that beautiful hill. Really dark and foggy before the sun woke up and cleared the air. Washington sure is a great place to live!

Time for new adventures! Ironman, 50k, swimming across the Atlantic ocean… time for a new goal! Keep breathing! Send me some ideas!