Distance

About nine years ago I began participating in endurance events, with a few years involuntary break. Just mentioned as an excuse to explain my results. Anyway, I started with what I thought was long distance, like 90 km skiing, 30 km running, 300 km biking, just because then I didn't need to finish with a good time, for me it would be enough just to finish the race. Over shorter distances it's all about time. Now I find myself fighting for time anyway. And I'm looking for longer distances, with the exact same reason as before.

It's time

Today I was in a shop for outdoor life stuff. A young shop assistant approaches me and asks if I need any help. I tell her that I'm looking for a sports vest, with a wind proof front and a net on the back. She shows me some vests, but she's not sure those are the only ones they have. So she asks her colleague across the room. He looks at us and asks: "Male or female?" My helpful assistant looks a bit embarrased when she answers: "Male..." To his defence he only saw my back. To my defence as well. But I think the female shop assistant was the one who were most bothered by the situation. I take it as a sign that it's time for me to go to the hairdresser. It's not the first time I'm mistaken to be a girl. Maybe that's it, I can outsource the decision about when to get my hair cut to the people around me. One thing less for me to worry about. As my friend said: "Oh, I miss military service, people told me when to wake up, when to eat, when to sleep... I didn't make a single decision in a year."

New blog

I've just started up a new blog. It will be written in Swedish... This blog may continue to live, maybe not. The new blog is:

http://magni-puls.blogspot.com/

It will be endurance event related.

Role model

Today I took a bike ride together with other people who think that a day on the saddle is a well spent Saturday. On my way to the meeting point by the ferry I passed a mother and her kid on bikes. I passed them just before arriving at a red traffic light. I saw there were no cars coming, so I thought about ignoring the light. Then I thought about the kid. Am I supposed to be a good role model and do what I'm supposed to do and stop? I decided I could live with the lost seconds and stopped. Just to be passed by first the mother, and then the kid. So much for my good intention. A few meters after the light the mother realizes something and says: "Oh, maybe we should stop."

We took the ferry over to Fosen for a great run in valleys, over mountains and by the fjord. From the bike saddle I felt this years first smell of newly moved lawn. Lovely. Smell of ocean. And while passing a small harbour village smell of fish. Although I'm not really fond of that particular smell, it gives a genuine feeling. Cliché, yes. But nontheless true. Why all this talk about smells? What about the other senses? Because, we are traveling at speed at which you don't want to slide against the pavement. And we're doing this with only a few centimeters of distance between us. In order not to cause a major crash I keep staring on the rider's in front of me behind. So that is pretty much about what I see during the run, and there really aren't that much to write about the visual impressions of a bicyclists butt. Not to talk about the smell. Once again, those words in the last sentence was just for fun. They have no support in reality. In fact, the other is not completely true either, I do see more, and it was a great nature to view as well.

Too hot

While running my mind usually drifts around, investigating corners of the memory seldom visited. Yesterday I took a 20 km run along the coast line of the Trondheim fjord and my thoughts crossed an episode from 2006. I had run the Stockholm marathon in extraordinary heat. I was feeling a little bit of guilt because I hadn't spotted any of my family members cheering along the course. The matter of fact is that I pretty much didn't notice anything at all during the race, except from my heavy breathing and the refreshing water depots. My friend, who also took part in the race, asked me: Oh did you see the castle? Did you see this and that museum? I could only answer him no. So I could well have missed any known spectator. But my dad lightens my conscience but letting me know they didn't go into town to watch the marathon. And the reason: "It's too hot!"

Training and alcohol

Training can have about the same effect as alcohol. Just enough of it and I become euphoric. Too much and I loose the fine control over my limbs, and becoming dizzy. A quite frustrating state. Both activities have made me unable to keep the contents in my stomach. And now when smoking is prohibited in clubs, the differences between a club and a training center have also diminished. So, if this is true, can you replace parties with training without loosing anything? Can you replace training with party and achieve the same effect?

Pseudo random thoughts

I like traveling. But I don't like the packing part. It might be related to the stress of forgetting to bring something. So I postpone this activity as long as possible. Because as long as I don't pack, I haven't forgotten anything.

It can only be in Norway streets called North street and South street are located to the east and west of each other.