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.

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

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

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)

Skiing through southern Nordmarka

Movatn-what a start!

What a day! Sun, mostly calm winds and good tracks. I went to Movatn as usual and planned skiing to Gørja, then Kikut and to Sognsvann , passing Kamphaug. The part over Kamphaug was new to me.

The long ascend from Movatn was though today-after two skiing-workouts before this one this week. However, I managed to keep a record pace and finished the ascend after 30 minutes. Some water and a quick rest and I was on my way through the woods towards Gørja. Many people were present at the train obviously going to ski. Not many of them were heading towards Tømte as I was. Fewer were skiing pass Tømte and before long I was alone. I felt a bit worn and the body is in clear need for some rest. Not much snow the last weeks and the track were pretty hard and partly icy. I guess some of my kick-wax was left during my first long ascend. Anyway, I headed further into

Gørja

 the woods and soon came upon the crossing to

View from Kikut

From Kamphaug

Gørja-45 minutes after my start. It's situated around 6,5 km after the train station. The part form this crossing and to the lake Kalvsjøen was new to me. A nice experience, typical terrain and not to steep. Before long I was arriving at Kalvsjøen and headed north towards the cottage Gørja-arriving at Gørja after 55 minutes, record pace!. The place was packed and I had no intention of paying any visit inside. Instead I had a few minutes rest and something to eat and drink before continuing to the cottage Kikut. Pretty levelled as I progresses towards Kikut. The toll from the two skiing-sessions this week was apparent, but I managed to keep a decent pace and clocked in afte 1h 40m, 15,25 km after starting. Not bad with all the elevation gained. The place was crowded. People were queing up in the yard. I had a light snack and a few minutes rest at the front, overlocking the lake. Soon I was on my way towards Sognsvann-this time by encountering a course that would leed me through Kamphaug-a beautiful spot deep in the woods, high up. Leaving the track to Gørja I started an monstrous ascend towards the lake Rottungen. Although I'm getting better ascending this was challenging. Luckily I was going upwards. Anyway, the course leveleld a while later and I was able to negotiate some low-steep ascends-lovely. Right before Rottungen  though the course went down very steep. no way I was going down there so I continued a bit and made use of another descend. It was better, but occassionally I had to walk down parts of it. Shortly after I entered the woods at Kamphaug. Lovely scenery. Passing two minor lakes, some uphill and then it went down-long, not so steep descend. Just excellent-my favourite. After a while I was at lake Skjærsjøen-one of my favourite places in southern part of Nordmarka. Not so long then before the last stretch towards Sognsvann. A levelled part and then the last, long ascend towards Sognsvann. Arriving when daylight was still present was nice. One month ago-at the same time-it was pretty dark here. In short, another great skiing tour in Nordmarka.


Technicals:
-Distance: 31,87 km
-Time: 3h 37m 29s
-Average pace: 6:49 min/km
-Average moving pace: 5:43 min/km
-Elevation gained: 471 m(14,8 m/km).
-Calories: 2.130 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Sun, clear skies, quiet/windy partly, -4 to -8 degrees celsius-good conditions!

Bike session-a bit of air!

Oslo-view from Grefsenkollen

Second session on the bike this week. Hardly noticeable over the course of time, but in the end there's less air in the tyre than last time I checked. I supplied before the session and the result was higher speed working on the same cadence. I chose to stick to my speed at 27 km/h and the result was a lover, average cadence. I'm beginning to feel the effect of the workload from the accumulated strain from skiing and strength-training. This week I've had to workouts on skies and I'm executing another one today. I've had one strength workout and I'm having the second one tomorrow. I'm confident that this will pay off when it comes to establishing a foundation for later sport-specific training, especially when it comes to running. 


Technicals:
-Distance: 12,8 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: 85
-Gear: 12
-Elevation gained: 0 m
-Calories:  217 kcal
-Average heart rate(max): 151 (156)

Did it! Skiing Movatn-Holmetjern

The crossing towards Gørja

Another workout on skies after dark. Starting from Movatn again with a clear target: Ski back and forth from Movatn to Holmetjern under 2h. Pretty cold this Thursday night, but the temperature was a bit higher at higher altitudes. Starting with the long ascend as always I managed to move forward at a better pace than before covering more ground on the same amount of time. I'm down 10 minutes compared to the start. Reaching the top was lovely enabling me to increase me pace and move forward deeper into the woods. It's pretty interesting and to be out after dark. The sounds, reflecting of lights and lack of fellow skiers is apparent. From time to time you come upon a fellow skier, but shortly after you're back in the dark by yourself. Lovely, I prefer it that way.
Passing the crossing to to the cottage Gørja way before previous times I went forward at excellent pace. Right after there's a lovely and long descend. Just sit down and cruise at around 3 min/km without doing anything but that-wonderful. Afterwards I started encountering the long ascend towards Holmetjern and arrived after excatly 1h from the start. A minute later and some water I started the return. Lovely to fly down the hill. Midway I went so fast that balance was lost and I fell. Pretty hard surface with tracks and ice, and me not quite managing. Anyway, no big deal, and I was on my way a few minutes later. Not much kick-wax left on my skies as I started to ascend again. I didn't stop to correct it, but went on. It may come handy with shortage of kick wax later on when descending towards Movatn. Before late I was doing just that. A month ago that hill caused med trouble, but now I just fled down arriving at Movatn train station 10 minutes before the train was due to leave for Oslo. What a session-one to remember!


Technicals:
-Distance: 19,03 km
-Time: 1h 51m 53s
-Average pace: 5:52 min/km
-Average moving pace: 5:31 min/km
-Elevation gained: 366 m(19,2 m/km).
-Calories: 1.248 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Clear skies, quiet, -4 to -8 degrees celsius-good conditions!

Skiing: Movatn towards Holmetjern

View from Tømte-Nordmarka

New approach Thuesday night. I went skiing after work in the dark. Equipped with a headlight I headed out in the woods, moving from Movatn towards Holmetjern. I travelled out by train and was to return the same way in two hours. The distance to Holmetjern is approximately 10 km and there's an elevation gained of just over 300 metres. I'm not very skilled when it comes to skiing, but I went to see how far I could go before I needed to return in order to catch the train back. The woods were quiet and there weren't many people out there. I was alone during greater parts of the skiing. It's wonderful to be out in the woods at night. The silence and darkness is very welcome after the noise and stressfullness of the city at daytime.
The long ascend at the beginning is becoming a far less demanding part the more I ascend. The track has hardened a bit because of lack of new snow and in the beginning it was a bit slippery. A bit up I turned better and I moved forward at a descent pace. This is actually the first time I've been in the woods at night skiing and it was both interesting and enjoyable. Luckily I'd been there at daytime because the surrondings are very different at night. Anyhow I moved forward at a steady pace, increasing as the terrain levelled at the top of the ascend and soon arrived at the crossing to the cottage Gørja. Right after that there's a descend before the last ascend towards Holmetjern. I managed to descend a bit, but started the return with just around one hour left before the train was bound to leave. As it turned out I needed just over 40 minutes to return, leaving me to wait for 20 minutes for the train. At the turning point I was 2,75 km from Holmetjern. At my pace I'd need another 20-20 minutes, resulting in a very thight race to arrive in time for the train.
However, I turned back and soon started the long descend. It went faster than I'd experinced before as the snow was very hard and slippery. The headlight was excellent enabling me to keep a close look at what lied ahead of me.
Overall a very good workout. I've planned to weekly sessions on skies the rest of the winter season. One will be a shorter session at night from Movatn. My overall target for the season is to reach Holemtjern and return in time to reach the train. I'll have to do that within just under 2 h.

Technicals:
-Distance: 14,64 km
-Time: 1h 34m 49s
-Average pace: 6:28 min/km
-Average moving pace: 5:57 min/km
-Elevation gained: 241 m(16,5 m/km).
-Calories: 952 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Clear skies, quiet, -1 to -4 degrees celsius-good conditions!

Indoor ride-recovering from my injury?

 Life is good. My bike-fitness is improving. Average heart rate is down from medium zone 3 to medium zone 2. If I'm further down the next time I'll increase the workload by gearing up by one gear to the 13th.
This was a morning session. I'll continue to keep it that way and move strength- and and swimming workouts to that time of the day as well. The body feels good. There's no sign of excessive tiredness from the biking and my other training. I've started to run lightly to my strength-workouts. The distance is about 0,5 km each way. This week I didn't feel any discomfort in my knees at all-I have before. I take that as a good sign. Anyway, no running workouts before the planned one at the beginning of March.



Technicals:
-Distance: 12,6 km
-Time:  30m 00s
-Warmup: 5 m ( 20-27 km/h)
-Recovery: 5 m(27 km/h)
-Working time: 20 m
-Average speed: 25,2 km/h
-Working speed: 27 km/h
-Cadence, average: 90
-Gear: 12
-Elevation gained: 0 m
-Calories:  267 kcal
-Average heart rate(max): 150 (157 (160))

Skiing-Nordmarka revisited.

Me-north of Langedalskollen

 Another great day in Nordmarka. I'd decided to get to know some new places and increase the distance from last Saturday. Movatn was again my starting point. I've gotten to like this place. There arent that many people present here and there's a long ascend at the start-excellent to get warm before the rest of the skiing and good strength-exercise as well. I consentrate on executing as good technique as possible at all times. Today I learned that it's efficient to try to use diagonal stride even when ascending. By staying in zone 2/3 and not pushing to hard I managed to increase the average pace up that long ascend at the beginning. Moving on at the top I'd decided to ski to Gørja as the ending point of my first lap, but not over the lake Kalvsjøen. Instead I chose to ski to the lake Holmetjern and turn westwards to reach Gørja. It was a wonderful trip towards Holmetjern. Arriving there I was tricked by the the track as they led me directly to the lake. Being there I chose to ski to the other side of the lake in order to see if there was a possibility to continue on to Gørja from there. There wasn't and I had to ski back a bit and continue on the track. Only a few other skiers were present and the terrain was lovely-typical terrain-track thorugh densed pruce forrest and over frozen lakes. I doesn't get any better than this.

Just south of Holmetjern

Not long afterwards I arived at the cottage Gørja and had a short break outside before continuing to the cottage Kikut-some 7,5 km further on. The tracks are at this stretch well prepared and on a gravel road. The course is pretty levelled and I soon arrived at Kikut. Upon arriving it had started to snow and the snow was a bit hard and felt irrititating towards the eyes-I need to buy some glasses.

At the lake Gryta-north of Holmetjern

It's always nice to have a break at Kikut. A cup of coffee and a piece of cake and some rest. I didn't stay long this time though as it was pretty late and I needed some daylight in order to navigate on some tracks new to me. From Kikut I went towards the cottage Ullevålsæter on a course completely new to me. Over the lake Bjørnsjøen, passing the lakes Åbortjernet and Sulutjernet and ascending towards the cottage Kobberhaughytta. The ascends were pretty heavy and I was happy to arrive at the cottage still able to breathe normally. The view from the cottage is lovely and I spent a few minutes with a light snack outside before heading on. It was getting darker and I suspected that there were some pretty demanding descends waiting for me and I was right. It's a challenge to descend when it's getting so dark that you cannot see the end of the descend and only minor parts of the track, but I managed allright. Obviously I've improved on technical skills descending. Overall the altitudes indicated downwards and so I went. It was a nice stretch leading through the marsh Merramyra and the place Lørenseter-places new to me. It was now turning pretty dark and many people were using headlamps in order to navigate through the woods. I was only short of a few km before entering the illuminated track from Ullevålsæter to Sognsvann-my final destination.

The vast lake Helgeren west of Gørja

Before long I arrived at the track and started the last km to Sognsvann. It almost feel like being there when I see the lights. There's only a levelled stretch and then it's followed by some pretty nice descends. I felt insecure when descending those on my first session, but now I look forward to them. Down it went-at maxuimum speed! Shortly after I arrived at Sognsvann feeling tired and very satsified.



Technicals:
-Distance: 36,45 km
-Time: 4h 21m 56s
-Average pace: 7:11 min/km
-Average moving pace: 6:18 min/km
-Elevation gained: 548 m(15,0 m/km).
-Calories: 2.405 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Partly snow , cloudy, light winds, -1 to -4 degrees celsius-good conditions!

Speeding up

Lake Ormtjern-Lillomarka

Feeling strong on my last session and with average heart rate way down in zone 2 it was time to increase the workload. My approach is to keep the cadence steady and increase the speed by gearing up from 11th to 12th gear. By doing this I increase the speed with 2km/h. Heart rate is up to medium zone 3. I'll keep it this way untill I'm down in zone 2 again. A good workout carried out as a morning session.

Technicals:
-Distance: 12,7 km
-Time:  30m 00s
-Warmup: 6 m ( 20-25 km/h)
-Recovery: 5 m(20 km/h)
-Working time: 19 m
-Average speed: 25,4 km/h
-Working speed: 27 km/h
-Cadence, average: 90
-Gear: 12
-Elevation gained: 0 m
-Calories:  279 kcal
-Average heart rate(max): 156(160)

Lovely Nordmarka-Skiing on old an new tracks

Kalvsjøen, beautiful as always

Due for another XC-Skiing session today. Heading to Movatn by train and then to Kikut and finishing at Sognsvann. Familiar places, but I added a twist to the course after Kikut. Thinking about my endeavours on skies the last two weeks it's no wonder that I felt a bit weary today. I quickly felt when encountering the ascend after starting at Movatn that I was a bit worn. As always I emphaziesed to execute as good technique as possible. Having prepared my skies after last Sundays trip through Nordmarka I had minor slips as I ascended. I managed to keep a steady pace and soon arrived at the top of the ascend. Not many people present today, being Saturday and a bit demanding weather. That's good. I like to spend some time alone skiing through the woods. Upon closing up on the track towards the lake Kalvsjøen I noticed something odd on the ground. A brown, little creature lying quit steady on the ground. Not moving, only breathing-a mouse. I suspect he/she didn't even paid attention to me. Well, I have his/her photograph. Nice to see that there is some wildlife in the woods, event at winter. Shortly afterwards, I turned north and approached the lake Kalvsjøen. It's normally a pleasant experience to ski acroos the lake, but today the tracks has detoriated as temperature has rised a bit, leaving water on top of the ice. The tracks weren't as good as two weeks ago, but it's always nice to cross this lake. Before long I arrived at the cottage Gørja. A nice little place. It's possible to make a stop, buy something to eat and drink. Unluckily it's just 8 km from Movatn and it's a bit early to stop at this point, I think. However, I will stop some time. The course towards the cottage Kikut is pretty levelled and I arrived well some 50 minutes later. A lot of visitors, but I managed to get something to eat and drink and a place to sit for a little while. Mowing on I have a challenge to overcome. There's a very steep descend from the cottage towards the lake. I'm definately not an alpinist, but I'm improving. This time I walked down. Next time I'll ski down :-)

Wildlife present, nice litle fellow :-)

Next in line is he crossing of the lake Bjørnsjøen. The twist of the course metioned earlier on consisted of encountering the track in the terrain form the lake towards the cottage Ullevålsæter. The track goes through the larger part of a very narrow valley-Bjørnsjøhelvete, it's very hilly and the terrain is lovely. It was an eye-opener. Definately not the last time I'll make use of this track. More people present as I was closing up on Ullevålsæter-that is, I didn't pay the cottage a visit. I passed it on a track nearby. The last part of the course is on illumunated tracks and it's also often packed with people you normally don't meet beyond Ullevålsæter. As always it's nice to see children out skiing-maybe for the first time. The reward is a long descend after a levelled part and shortly afterwards Sognsvann is there, still visible in the dark. Another good skiing session to remember.


Technicals:
-Distance: 30,41 km
-Time: 3h 38m 34s
-Average pace: 7:11 min/km
-Average moving pace: 6:37 min/km
-Elevation gained: 401 m(13,2 m/km).
-Calories: 1.997 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Snow, cloudy, light winds, -1 to -4 degrees celsius-good conditions!

Endurance ride

Bamse

A good session tonight. Appears like my consistency has paid off. Average heart rate is way down in zone 2 and max. heart rate is in the upper part of zone 2. Next week I'm gearing up one gear to 12. The cadence will be kept the same though and thus the speed will increase. Well, cycling on stationary wheels is about the most boring I do, but I need to maintain my cycle skills. 


Technicals:
-Distance: 11,7 km
-Time:  30m 00s
-Warmup: 6 m ( 20-25 km/h)
-Recovery: 5 m(20 km/h)
-Working time: 19 m
-Average speed: 23,4 km/h
-Working speed: 25 km/h
-Cadence, average: 90
-Gear: 11
-Elevation gained: 0 m
-Calories:  270 kcal
-Average heart rate(max): 147(153)

Skiing Nordmarka from north to south

Magnificent Nordmarka

What a day!!!
No winds, temperature a couple of degrees below zero, marvellous nature and a whole day to spend skiing from Mylla, north in Nordmarka to Sognsvann, south in Nordmarka.
I have never experienced better conditions skiing anywhere. Add to the fact that the nature in Nordmarka, especially in the northern part, is especially beautifull, and I was all set for a fantastic day-and a fantastic day it became. I had no time to get tired or hungry.
Waking up in Oslo the sky was clear, the temperature was just below zero and no wind to spot at all.
An hour by train(to Grua) and a short taxi-drive later I was ready to start skiing from Mylla. Temperature was considerably lower at Grua(- 15 degrees), but quickly turned upwards to -10 degrees as we arrived at Mylla.
Shortly afterwards I was on my way-crossing the lake Mylla towards the lake Trantjern. It was cold, but it felt good as I started skiing and started to produce some bodyheat.

Lake Ølja

My memories from this area in Nordmarka are very good. Some six months ago I participated in my first ultra race here-Kristins Runde. A different perspective to move on the lake, but the surrondings were familiar-wonderful place. I could easily spot the mountain top Lamannshaugen-the first check point at Kristins Runde and one of the 5 tops that rise over 700 metres above sea level.
Some km later I arrived at Trantjern-an idyllic little lake just south of the lake Mylla. Moving on south the sun had rose and it shon right at me. Before long I arrived at the lovely lake Ølja. The wood was quiet, not many people were present and that made the day even better. After crossing Ølja I soon passed the place Tverrsjøstallen. The place is situated just below another of Kristins Runde's check point-Svarttjernshøgda, which happens to be Nordmarkas highest mountain top-717 metres above sea level. Moving on southwards there are several alternatives. Through Sinderdalen, continue on lakes(first one is Skarvvatnet), southeast passing the place Holosætra and finally towards the lake Gjerdingen. I chose Holosætra and it turned out to be a thrilling choise.

From Holosætra towards Pershusfjellet

By doing this I added some variety to the day as the track was entirly on terrain. Upon ascending towards Holosætra I could easily spot another landmark-the mountain Pershusfjellet. Stretching about 3 km along a ridge it will be a blast passing on Nordmarka Ultra Challenge the coming autumn.

War-memorial

I didn't meet one person between Tverrsjøstallen and Katnosa. Shortly after passing Holosætra I made notice of a war-memorial. The place in question was used as a spot for a parachut-drop at the end of World War II. Nordmarka was a very welcome refugee place for the resitance-forces during this war. Some nervebraking ascends later and I entered the most northern part of the lake Katnosa. Crossing the lake requires a bit of time-it's pretty long. To be honest I was a bit sceptical when I planned the course as it went over a number of lakes. It's convenient to cross them but there's always a risk of the ice collapsing. Not on this session though. The conditions were good.
Midway on the lake Katnosa there's a possibilty to stop at a cottage and buy something to eat and hot drinks. Having planned a major stop at Kikut later on I passed without stopping. It turned out to be a bad decision as the cottage Kikut was very crowded. People were queing up all the way out in the front yard.

Sandvikhytta-cottage at Katnosa

However I soon finished the crossing of Katnosa and decided to make use of the road to the place Sandungen. The conditions on the road turned out to be unsatisfactory, but I arrived at Sandungen in one piece.
My plan thereafter was to cross the lake Store Sandungen, but that wasn't possible due to security reasons-the lake was not safe to cross. Instead I started the ascend on the last lap towards the cottage Kikut. It was a long ascent and I should have added some more kick-wax on my skies, but I decided not to. A long ascend, a levelled course for some km later on I was due for the descend towards Kikut. The descend was very enjoyable. I'm not very skilled descending and this was just the right angle and the descend was long. Just the thing I needed after nearly 30 km of skiing. Wonderful experience. 
3,5h after the start I arrived at Kikut. The place was crowded-more than crowded. I didn't want to use time queing for something to eat. A short trip to the toilette, a light snack and I headed towards my final destianation Sognsvann. Thinking back on what I experienced further north when it comes to number of people present, I'm surprised that not more people use the areas way up north more.

View from Kikut towards Bjørnsjøen

Leaving Kikut I crossed  the lake Bjørnsjøen and made use of the road to make my way to the lovely lake Skjærsjøen-a fantastic place. A short,steep ascend and I was starting for the last 5 km towards Sognsvann. Being near the city center and with good tracks, this section was crowded with people. It was nice to se all the children out in the tracks-enjoying the snow. Shortly after I started to descend markedly and a right after that I was arriving at my final target-Sognsvann, just over a marathon after Mylla and about 5 h after starting. There's no better way to spend a day than this. I'll cherish this day for a long while.


Technicals:
-Distance: 43,13 km
-Time: 5h 7m 14s
-Average pace: 7:07 min/km
-Average moving pace: 6:13 min/km
-Elevation gained: 388 m(9 m/km).
-Calories: 2.856 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Sun, clear skies, no wind, -3 to -10 degrees celsius-excellent conditions!

Helsfyr course-endurance run: Recovering from my knee-injury?

Nedre Blanksjø-Nordmarka

Bitterly cold tonight. It was right at the level of getting to cold, but it was allright to run when I got started. I was eager to learn if my measures since last session at 23th of December had paid off. Since then I've been stretching regularly. In addition I've carried out a session with cross-country skiing and cycling. Tonights session was slightly promising. I ran for more than half the distance before noticing any pain in my left knee. The right knee is not in perfect condition, but it's far better than it's neighbour. Afterwards the condition of my knee was better than after the session at 23th of December. That's promising. Anyway, I have scheduled an appointment with a physiotherapist the 3th of January. I need an independent evaluation of my condition and a training programme for the knee.
Next time I'm running under similar conditions I'll use some knee-warmers. I noticed discomfort due to the cold tonight and the knees are particularly vulnerable.

Technicals:

-Distance: 6,1 km

-Time: 37m 47s

-Average pace: 6:12 min/km
-Average moving pace: 5:59 min/km
-Elevation gained: 56 m( 9,2m/km).
-Calories: 424 kcal.

-Average heart rate(max): Not measured

-Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire

-Weather: Partly clouded, -10 degrees celsius, quiet, low humidity in the air, overall very cold

Last endurance ride this year

Summer in Lillomarka

Time for this years last ride on the bike. Being 9 days since my last ride it was expected that average heart rate would be up a bit. I guess I'll be down a bit next week. Before long I hope to shift gear to 12 and thus increase the workload-and speed.
Overall this year I've been covering 586,1 km of which 441,4 is on stationary wheels(1 and 4th quarter). The better part was done in first quarter(322,5 km). I almost didn't use my bike in the other quarters this year-which is a shame. Number of sessions is 32. 23 of these are endurance sessions. The other are quality sessions.
I certainly wont repeat that approach in 2011.

Technicals:
-Distance: 11,8 km
-Time:  30m 00s
-Warmup: 5 m ( 20-25 km/h)
-Recovery: 5 m(20 km/h)
-Working time: 20 m
-Average speed: 23,6 km/h
-Working speed: 25 km/h
-Cadence, average: 89
-Gear: 11
-Elevation gained: 0 m
-Calories:  270 kcal
-Average heart rate(max): 152(159)

Skiing through the heart of Nordmarka

Gunnar crossing Kalvsjøen

Me, at Kikut

A lovely day out there in the woods through the heart of Nordmarka north of Oslo. I had the pleasure of being accompanied by a runner-friend of mine, Gunnar, on a day with nearly perfect conditions-cloudy, no winds and with modest temperatures. We travelled by train to Movatn and headed northwest towards Kikut. Encountering a long ascend at first but this was soon followed by a wonderful stretch over the lake Kalvsjøen. Our pace went up markedly and we arrived shortly after at Gørja some 8 km after Movatn. We had very good tracks after that and kept our pace as we were closing up on the lake Bjørnsjøen. Before long we started the crossing of the last part towards Kikut. After 2h we arrived at Kikut and it was time for a planned break and a snack. Kikut is a lovely place some 15 km from both Movatn and Sognsvatn and easy to reach both on foot, with a bike and with skies. It was nice to spend some minutes inside the cottage, have a cup of coffee and some snack before heading towards out final destination Sognsvatn.

Gunnar, at Sognsvatn

Leaving Kikut we started to cross the lake Bjørnsjøen and headed towards Bjørnholt. Crossing lakes is a bit funny. If the track is of good condition it's possible to maintain a high pace and we shure did. Not long after we arrived at Bjørnholt. Darkness was closing up and we decided to stick to the road until we reached the southern part of the lake Skjærsjøen. It was pretty nice to be out skiing in pretty dark surrondings. I just love to make a short stop now and then and just listen to how quiet and nice it is out in the woods  at times like these. Arriving at the illuminated track to Sognsvatn we were able to se just how dark it really was. A pretty plan stretch along the lake Åklungen and some long descends and we were finally arriving at our final destination Sognsvatn, some 30 km from out starting point-Movatn. It doesn't get any better than this-spending the better part of the day skiing in the woods.


Technicals:
-Distance: 29,35 km
-Time: 3h 40m 39s
-Average pace: 7:31 min/km
-Average moving pace: 6:34 min/km
-Elevation gained: 338 m(11,5 m/km).
-Calories: 1.916 kcal.
-Average heart rate(max): didn't measure
-Skies: Madshus
-Weather: Clouded, partly snow, no wind, -3 to -5 degrees celsius-good conditions

Running: still a long way to go

Sandnes-Christmas eve

Yesterday I had my first running session since my last race-Bislett 24h race at 27th of Nov. I ran at a very moderate pace and the distance was very short. Naturally I was very eager to learn if I still suffered from any pain because of my knee-injuries. I headed out in the early evening, temperature just below zero, light winds and a bit of snow. After just one km I noticed pain in my knees-especially my left kne(particularly the back of the kne). I got a bit worse and stabilized at a nmoderate level, but I was in no condition to push on towards higher pace. Clearly I have a long way to go in order to recover from my injury. First thing next week I'll schedule an appointment with a fysiotherapist in order to establish a training programme to strengthen what muscles that need strengthening in conection with my knees. I addition I will carry out a stretching programme and use ice extensively for the next two weeks.

Technicals:

-Distance: 6 km

-Time: 37m 0s

-Average pace: 6:10 min/km
-Average moving pace:  min/km
-Elevation gained:  m( m/km). 10-ok
-Calories:  kcal.

-Average heart rate(max): Not measured

-Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire

-Weather: Clouded, -5 degrees celsius, light wind, high humidity in the air, overall cold

Endurance ride

Nordmarka at winter

A good ride tonight. Heart rate is down and my overall feeling is better than after the last session.
I'm down in zone 2 and I'm satisfied with that. In the time to come I'll continue with one session a week and increase to gear 12 if average heart rate stabilizes in zone 2.


Technicals:
-Distance: 11,8 km
-Time:  30m 00s
-Warmup: 5 m ( 20-25 km/h)
-Recovery: 5 m(20 km/h)
-Working time: 20 m
-Average speed: 23,6 km/h
-Working speed: 25 km/h
-Cadence, average: 90
-Gear: 11
-Elevation gained: 0 m
-Calories:  268 kcal
-Average heart rate(max): 150(156)