Back running again

Lysefjorden

Finally it seems that my patience has paid off. After more than two months of patient recovering and therapy it appear that I'm ready to start running again. This week I've been running three times.  A short session on Monday and Wednesday and a longer session on Saturday. It's been pretty tough not to be able to run for such a long period of time, but luckily I've been able to be active in other sports-especially cross country skiing.
No trace whatsoever in my knees. Important now is to be patient and not move to fast when it comes to number of sessions and total volume.

Recovering from a bit of fluea..

Mouth of Lysefjorden

Last Sunday I noticed a distinct soreness in my throath and feared the outburst of fluea. Unfortunately I was right and this week has been a constant struggle to fight it off. In some mysterious way I managed to execute two workouts of training on Monday. A session on the bike and one in the pool, respectively 30 and 45 minutes.
Since then the activity has been zero... Right now I'm over the "hill" and clearly recovering. Hopefully, I'll be able to start some serious training again on Monday next week. I may even go skiing tomorrow.
Last weekend I visited the south western part of Norway where I grew up and spent the first 20 years of my life. The place still attracts me in one manner-the beautiful scenery of nature. In particular I'm fond of one of Norways best kept secrets-the lovely fjord Lysefjorden. It plunges some 40 km from the open sea and into the mountains, rising up to more than 1.000 metres above sea level and narrows down in with to one km at its smallest. It's one of the most beautiful fjords in Norway. One attraction, which is a minor part of the fjord, is well known though-the mountain formation Prekestolen, situated about 10 km from the mouth of the fjord on the northern side.
My next individual run is to run around this fjord, covering around 160 km and elevating some 3-5.000 metres of height. This run will take place in late July this year.

Skiing Nordmarka from north to south.

Tverrsjøen

What a day! Skiing in excellent conditions through some of Nordmarkas finest spots. Mylla, the lakes Ølja, Skravvatnet, Pershusvatnet and Spålen. Further on Butleren, Langli, Kikut, Bjørnsjøhelvete and ending at Sognsvann after 47,5 km of skiing and 5h and 20 minutes later.
Not the only one present at Grua station after a short travel with the train from Oslo this morning. In total we were 10 eager people occupying a taxi from Grua to Mylla. Spirit was good as we headed towards Mylla. Nearly perfect conditions with sun, -7 degrees and no wind.
I looked forward to a full day in the woods skiing. I'd planned a course that would lead me to some new places I'd never been before-Finstad, Spålen and Butleren.
Starting out at Mylla dam shortly after arriving I felt almost immidiately that I wasn't in top shape. For some reason I felt worn and my lower back was causing me some trouble. As always I focused on executing as good technique as possible and that is the key to perform good no matter what shape I'm in. In addition my skies needed some attending-more kick-wax. I decided to await my first break-scheduled at the north of the lake Spålen. It's a pleasure to ski over the lake Mylla and this time-in oppose to 6 weeks ago-the tracks were in better condition(not so icy). Skiing almost westwards I quickly focus on the mountain-top Helgehaugen-one of Nordmarkas five tops with an elevation of 700 metres above sea level. It is also one of the demanding check-points of an ultrarun I'm attending later this year-Kristins Runde.

Pershusvatnet

Before long I arrive at the western shore of lake Mylla continue towards the lake Ølja. The lake is not big, but it's a delightful place to visit. You ski over the lake and directly towards the sun. Good to fully realise then that this is what is goin' to be the rest of the day-skiing towards the sun in wonderful nature.
Shrortly after the place Tverssjøstallen is approaching and rigth after that the tracks splits into three possibilities. I took the one-hopefully, less travelled by-and for a while it was..What a place! Crusing over three lovely lakes in a row with the majestic mountain ridge Pershusfjellet hoovering above along the whole way until I arrived at one of the oldest settlements in Nordmarka-Finstad. Life doesn't get any better than this.
And I had what I expected to be the finest part lef-Spålen. Stopping at Finstad  for a montent before heading on to Spålen. Only a short distance between those two places, but the "track" was pretty demanding, leading me through densed woods in deep, rotten snow. Anyhow, it was exciting and I soon arrived at the northern part of the lake Spålen, and yes, it was a nice place, but the part leading up to Finstad was even better.
Time for a well deserved rest, something to eat and a cup of coffee. The view southwards was promising. While resting there were lots of people passing by, Actually, this was one of the most crowded places on the whole trip-except the part between Ullevålsæter and Sognsvann later on. Well, I finished my lunch, added some kick-wax on my skies and headed soutwards. Still pretty crowded, but at the end of the lake the track diverged in thre directions and I took the one less travelled by :-) Leading me through a narrow valley and after a short, but steep ascend it was going downwards-not to steep and long..wonderful, I needed that one right then.

Spålen

Not so long after I passed the place Butleren. An interesting place deep in the woods a short distance from Langlia-I need to read some more history. Langlia is a low-point-above sea level that is. After that the course ascends. I think it was a nice place a while ago, but there has been a lot of forresting there's a power-line passsing right through the area. In total this doesn't make this area my favourite. The view from the top of the ascend though is nice, overlooking the mountain-top Oppkuven.
Shortly after the course levelled and I looked really forward to my next break, the cottage Kikut. Just before 4 after the start I arrived at Kikut. The place was crowded as I expected it to be and I had my break at the front overlooking the lake Bjørnsjøen. From there I could see large part of the last part of the course,leading me through Bjørnsjøhelvete and ending at Sognsvann. I reckoned I had short of 2 hours skiing left. I was wrong, it went much quicker.
However, it was very nice to have a brek, eat some food and drink some coffee. The view, the day and the moods were excellent.I'd managed to keep a steady pace in spite of this not being my best day in physical terms. I'd skied Bjørnsjøhelvete one time before and I vaguely remebered some pretty steep ascends and descends. They were there, but more negotiable this time than last time and the course was just lovely. It's my favourite so far from Kikut to Sogsnvann. Long, levelled parts and some nice descends.

Butleren

Before I knew it I was encountering the last part from Ullevålsæter to Sognsvann. There are also some long descends here. A month ago I was a bit terryfied experincing thes, but now I look forward to them. Apparantly, my technique has improved. Arriving at Sognsvann is always a pleasure and especially when the kiosk is open. A wonderful day spent in Nordmarka has come to and end.







Technicals:
-Distance: 47,41 km
-Time: 5h 21m 49s
-Average pace: 6:47 min/km
-Average moving pace: 5:49 min/km
-Elevation gained: 537 m(11,3 m/km)-mostly levelled and overall downwards.
-Calories: 3.131 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Sunny, blu skies, no wind, -3 to -7 degrees celsius-excellent conditions

..and some more strength..

Tiergarten, Berlin

Last workout with strength-training this week. Pretty funny to attend the rowing maschine. The more even I row when it comes to speed, the longer the distance. It pasy off to have as even pace as possible. I'm trying to narrow the pace-gap and to end as exhausted as possible. It's wonderful training for my core and I'm certain that it'll pay off when I start running in the terrain the coming spring. As for the two other exercises I need to keep the workload a bit in order to consolidate my strength before I increase more. Compared to the start last fall I'm up by 30 % in max-load. Before spring I should be up by another 20 %-reaching 100 kg. That would be great.



Technicals:
 -Warm-up: running to the gym, 0,6 km, light.
-Seated rowing: 15 minutes, ligth load(level 5); 3.470 m (Consept 2-Rowing machine)
-Squats: 1 set/8 reps/ 32 kg, 1 set/6 reps/37 kg, 1 set/4 rep/42 kg, 1 set/4 rep/47 kg, 1 set/4 rep/52 kg, 1 set/4 rep/57 kg, 1set/4 rep/62 kg, 1 set/4 rep/67 kg, 1set/4 rep/72kg 1 set/4 rep/77, 1 set/4 rep/82 kg,
1 set/4 rep/84,5 kg
-Deadlift: 1 set/4 reps/67 kg, 1 set/4 rep/72 kg, 1 set/4 rep/77 kg, 1 set/4 rep/82 kg, 1 set/4 rep/84,5kg
-Workout time: 45 minutes

Skiing..again..and again

Top of the ascend in daylight

Out in the dark again-literally speaking as it turned out. I went skiing Wednesday evening, starting and returning to Movatn. It was dark, foggy and no wind. I felt pretty worn after a lot of training lately. it was though to negotiate the long ascend at the beginning. At first I thought the fog had something to do with my headlight not functioning properly, but as it turned out the batteries were low on energy and I had virtually no energy left when I headed down the hill again. A challenging experience to ski in the dark. It wont happen again-at least not unintentionally. Learning experiences: number of weekly workouts skiing will be limited to two, one workout in the evening focusing on hills, the othe workout during the weekend focusing on long distance and low intensity.





Technicals:
-Distance: 12,78 km
-Time: 1h 20m 33s
-Average pace: 6:18 min/km
-Average moving pace: 5:54 min/km
-Elevation gained: 235 m(18,4 m/km).
-Calories: 853 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Dark, fog, quiet/windy partly, -1 to -3 degrees celsius-demanding conditions

Strength-actually

Finse

Feeling more and more fit. Increasing the load again on all exercises. It feels very good to experience progress due to consistency in my work of training.
The workout was carried out on Thuesday evening.


Technicals:
 -Warm-up: no need-started with seated rowing
-Seated rowing: 15 minutes, ligth load(level 5); 3.450 m (Consept 2-Rowing machine)
-Squats: 1 set/8 reps/ 32 kg, 1 set/6 reps/37 kg, 1 set/4 rep/42 kg, 1 set/4 rep/47 kg, 1 set/4 rep/52 kg, 1 set/4 rep/57 kg, 1set/4 rep/62 kg, 1 set/4 rep/67 kg, 1set/4 rep/72kg 1 set/4 rep/77, 1 set/4 rep/82 kg,
1 set/4 rep/84,5 kg
-Deadlift: 1 set/4 reps/67 kg, 1 set/4 rep/72 kg, 1 set/4 rep/77 kg, 1 set/4 rep/82 kg, 1 set/4 rep/84,5kg
-Workout time: 45 minutes

Swimming-back to basics

View from Lillomarka

Well, then here I go. Writing this report three days after carrying it out. Anyway, I went swimming again Monday evening. Last session a week ago was disappointing when it comes to technique. My measure was to return to a small pool and focus on technique again. It worked! Within 45 minutes of reps consisting of drills with a length of 10 metres I managed to regain some of my technique and make som improvements. The latter was to lift my head a bit in order to reduce resistance in the water. In addition, by practising reps of just 10 metres, technique is 100 % prioritized. That clearly makes a difference. My approach in the coming time is to focus just on technique using the same workout and increase number of workouts a week to two.

Technicals:
-Total time: 45 minutes
-Total distance: unimportant

Running..testing...a bit

Sunset, Oslo

Well, I make use of one opportunity to run when I'm paying my manual therapist a visit. It happens once a week. The total distance is 4 km. This time I thought I push a bit and see what happened. It seemed right to do so about 4 weeks after the beginning of the therapy. I ran the first half at a pace just over treshold. I managed well and none of the knees made any protests. No pain or discomfort were present. It still hurts though when my therapist is triggering the IT-band, but obviously my condition is improving. I have scheduled 4 more therapi-sessions and then I'm trying without. Regular running-training starts in week 9 at a very low volume. So far so good.

Technicals:

-Distance: 3,92 km

-Time: 23m 09s

-Average pace: 5:54 min/km
-Average moving pace: 5:33 min/km
-Elevation gained: 45 m( 11,5m/km).
-Calories: 272 kcal.

-Average heart rate(max): Not measured

-Shoes:Saucony Kinvara

-Weather: Clear skies, -5 degrees celsius, quiet, low humidity in the air, overall cold

Bike-session

Skjærsjøen-Nordmarka

Back on the bike again Monday morning. I'm so busy these days I don't even have time to log my workouts the same day they're carried out. Anyway, I felt a bit tired this morning. I kept the speed at the same level and my heart rate is right between zone 2 and 3. I'll continue likewise the next session this week. Next week I'm increasing the cadence to 90. That should bring the speed up to about 28,0-28,5. The nest step after that is to gear up one gear.

Technicals:
-Distance: 12,6 km
-Time:  30m 00s
-Warmup: 5 m ( 20-27 km/h)
-Recovery: 5 m(20 km/h)
-Working time: 20 m
-Average speed: 25,2 km/h
-Working speed: 27 km/h
-Cadence, average: 86
-Gear: 12
-Elevation gained: 0 m
-Calories:  277 kcal
-Average heart rate(max): 153 (160)