Sunshine Cycling

Today I went out for a little spin on my hot wheels. Normally I always have a goal with my cardio training - it can be everything from pace, distance or exertion rate - but today I just went out riding my bike because I really like to ride my bike. The sun was shining and I just kept the wheels rolling at a pleasureable pace. After little more than an hour I'd done 30k and had a smile as wide as a mile. I bloody love my bike!

Why Are Some of Us Not Happy With Just One?!

Yesterday when I was running lap after lap around Victoria Park I started wondering why some of us has this urge to go longer, get stronger, challenge ourselves a little bit more. While some of us are happy with doing one lap around the park three times a week, but some of us have this urge to do five. What's the difference between those two groups of people and why is there a difference?

When I first started running after having recovered from my eating disorder I almost straight away signed up for the Stockholm Marathon. I'd never run more than 10k before. I was equally scared and excited and stuck, almost religiously, to my training program. After that I was hooked, and I've not looked at running the same way since. I think that this need for perfection partly comes from my previous life as a rider. My then trainer was never happy with half measures - either you were in, or you weren't. It was alright to fail, just as long as you tried and in the process gave it your all. Once you'd reach one goal you set another and you never, ever, settled.

As a person I'm very much a Type A-personality. Competetive, achivement addicted, driven. Yesterday when I started running my laps I felt very focused on the distance. 20 miles, no less. The run was a means to an end but as the endorphines started flowing the balance shifted. All of a sudden I found myself less focused on the distance and more focused on how it felt like I could run forever, and the contentment and enjoyment that brought. I saw kids running around and how the simple pleasure of running brought them so much happiness. I went from 'being on a run' to just' running' and the kilometres flew by. When I ended my run I had done 20 miles, as planned, but that wasn't the best ting about that run. The best thing was the happiness I found just by running.

Regardless if you're one of those people who run five laps of the park or that person who runs one lap every now and then, the most important thing should always be to appreciate the happiness running brings. Stop demanding so much of yourself - not everyone are fortunate enough to be able to run, so remember you are one of the lucky ones next time you go for a run.

Y Swim Masters Club

Today Coach Martin asked me if I wanted to join the Y Swim Masters Club. How that happened I do not know, he must be impressed with my persistence and inablity to drown...

Golden Sunday!

1. 32k done! I woke up with slightly stiff legs from yesterday's Body Pump + spinning and had no high hopes for great speed or great distance. Instead I  ran 32 kilometres at race pace, with legs that felt pretty great the whole run and I bet you I could have done the full 42.2k under 4 hours today. Effing YES!
2. My beautiful friend Julia is going like a boeing in this years Vasaloppet. Just now she passed Oxberg, and I couldn't be prouder.
3. Swedish skier Johan Olsson went and won the men's 50-kilometre classic on the last day of the World Championships in Val di Fiemme! Cross country skiing is a big love in my life and the patriot in me loves a gold. The 50k is the big challenge in the WC's, a big test in both physical and mental strenght and stamina, and I'm slightly ecstatic. Well done Johan!
4. Sunshine! We have sunshine in London today! I love me some sunshine, a rare treat in London lately.
5. Victoria Park. I love Victoria Park, the best park in London without a doubt. Today it was full of runners of all abilities, several football matches were being played, families were out Sunday strolling, there were skateboarders and cyclists....it truly is the people's park, and definitely one of my favourite London running haunts.

Vicky Park, I love you!

Race! It's a Race!

So, in the space of 30 minutes I've entered TWO races. On the 17th of March I'm running the Finchley 20 (32k) and then on March 24th I'm running the Orion 15 (24k). Two weekends of racing on top of each other, but I just see them as organised training sessions ahead of the Greater Manchester Marathon -  and as opposed to Rowan Atikinson I have no hope of winning either....

The Big Smoothie Experiment

Now this isn't the way my doctor would want me to do things ('Less stress Ms Eriksson!') but breakfast time needs to slim down. I am a big fan of a long, slow, breakfast but when I hit the gym before work I sometimes run into some time trouble (i.e. there's not enough time). This has led me to re-think breakfast strategy and the new strategy might involve smoothies.

Today I performed the first Big Smoothie Experiment. After some previous research it has emerged that some people out oats in their smoothies to make them more filling and people also add some protein powder. My smoothie today had skimmed milk, some blueberry/strawberry flavored yoghurt, some frozen blueberries and strawberries, a banana, a small scoop of oats and a scoop of pea protein. It looked pretty delicious. It tasted pretty rank, hence rendering the first Big Smoothie Experiment a failure. I think the problem was too much pea protein, and that overpowered all other flavours. But fear not! I will not let this little failure defeat me! Tomorrow I will try again, and conquer The Big Smoothie Experiment.

Run All The Hills!

Did you know.....

that lactic acid is not a biproduct from anaerobic running, but fuel?! During low intensive running it's cleared as quickly as it's produced but during high intensity intervals it's accumulated in the muscles as the muscles can't clear it as quick as it's produced.

Working 8.30am to 8pm means you have to sort out your training either at the crack of dawn or way past (my) bedtime.... That meant I got up at 5.30am (Jesus wept!) and at 6.30am I got on the treadmill, with the plan to do a tempo run. Nothing very far, fast or exciting, just 6-7k of running 15 seconds faster per kilometre than marathon pace (which is totally manageable at that painful time of day). To avoid falling asleep on the treadmill I decided to set the machine on a hill interval session but run it at tempo pace, hence working my hamstrings a bit harder and also making the whole workout a bit more intense, especially since I wasn't braving any high speeds.

That all sounds like a semi-cushy run, but if you've dragged yourself out of bed that early you want to get something out of it. A while ago I read an article on how you can train your muscles to use lactic acid more effectively by alternating running faster and slower than threshold. By keeping a higher speed in between the intervals, instead of the normal complete rest or easy pace, you hover around threshold and you will (hopefully) train your musecles to use lactic acid more effectively and sharpen your fitness. Today I (kind of) applied this training technique to my morning run. Instead of decreasing the pace on the flat sections in between the intervals I kept a steady tempo run hence making my recovery periods more intense and not quite so restful.

Now, this made things a lot more interesting and quite a bit harder. The intervals started after 8 minutes, and were all 1 minute long with a 1 minute flat rest in between. The incline varied from 2 to 5%, creating some gentle hill intervals, long enough to create some burn and get my heart rate up but short enough to be doable without dropping the pace. After 45 minutes I'd done just over 8k, working fairly hard throughout. I was about happy being able to combine a tempo and a hill run, a concept I'm going to try and do on a regular basis. I finished of the morning's gym visit with a sneaky swim, and I'll be damned if this whole front crawl malarky isn't going a bit better than before. Persistence is the key, or so I hope....

This was me at 6.30am. Sometimes it helps to be a little bit insane...