I'm Out There, Bloggers, and I'm Loving Every Minute of It!

[Okay, that title didn't work at all. I thought the quote was "I'm back, Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it," but a quick google search told me I'm full of it. That was my attempt to cleverly tell you I've returned to the interblogs. Also, I still don't know what you're supposed to capitalize in a title.]

Monday workout: 5 miles, super easy, on the treadmill in socks

Tuesday workout: 6 miles with 1 x 5k (8:30 pace with 400m rest), Connects

Wednesday workout: rest

Thursday workout: 10 miles, 8 at tempo (9:25-ish), Connects

Oh hey, fancy seeing you here! You come here often? No? Hey, me neither. At least, not these past few days.

Sorry about that. I wasn't trying to be dramatic or anything ("Did she decide to stay in Norway?!?!? Did she break her leg?! Does she not like us anymore?!" Or, more probably, "Jeano who?"); I just had a shit ton of stuff to catch up on. I am not anywhere near caught up, but there's only so much work you can do before you need to chill the eff out. I'm chilling out by chatting with you fine folks, sitting next to an incredible remote-controlled fireplace, watching Parks and Rec, taking advantage of a well-stocked fridge, and being harassed by an attention-starved cat at the house I'm housesitting. It's delightful. Anyway, let's get to it!

I'd be remiss not to start with Boston, although adding another "thoughts and prayers to those affected by the tragedy" to the mix sounds almost hollow at this point. It's not that I don't mean it, of course not. I just mean that because I am not particularly adept at talking about feelings, I don't have much to add to the many wonderful things that have been said already.

As someone who likes to take action, tragedies like these are extremely frustrating ("frustrating" is an understatement). We can't outlaw pressure cookers and backpacks the way we can (and should-gettin' political!) outlaw guns. And given that we don't even know who these guys are (yet), there is nothing to direct my rage towards. All we can really do is sit around and twiddle our thumbs. I just hope we catch the assholes who are responsible for this.

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So I lied about not running in Oslo. I ran. 10 miles. I know, I know, I babbled on and on about wanting to walk all over for hours and hours and how running didn't fit in with that, but I obviously spoke too soon. I'm an idiot. 

I'm paranoid about budgeting a ridiculous amount of time to do even the simplest activity (for example, when I lived in New York I would give myself a solid two hours to try out a new subway route that only took a half hour because I was so worried about screwing it up). Last Saturday, my only full day in Oslo, I decided I wanted to go to a lake on the outskirts of Oslo. I figured it would be an all-day affair. 

Sognsvann. It was not the lush paradise I had pictured. There were billions of runners out, though. I saw a sign with the Olympics rings so I think it might have been a training camp of some sort?

Well, I went, I walked, and I conquered that lake in, like, two hours. I was back in my hotel room around 11:00 a.m. The hell? What was I supposed to do with myself for the rest of the day?

Go for a run! Duh.

I made the mistake of starting by the ocean, which I thought would be pretty, but it really wasn't. Think construction. Oslo apparently loves construction (or, I guess, cleaning up the city, an admirable goal!).

I wasted four miles along the water before heading north along the Akerselva River, which runs right through the middle of the city. I'm so pissed I didn't start there, because it was gorgeous. The farther north I got, the higher I went (this run was insanely steep. I'm not sure I would have done it had I known just how steep going in) and the more picturesque it became. Had I continued, I would have ended up at a lake.

HOW IS THIS IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY???

It was spectacular. Since it had been an extremely low-mileage week, the run didn't feel hard. I did a lot of walking afterwards and didn't seem to feel it.

I love the heart statue in front of the church (church? Fancy building of some sort).

The opera house, the only scenic part of the waterfront.

View from the opera house. It took the entire trip, but the weather finally cleared up!

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And thus we conclude Oslo coverage. Norway was amazing, if ridiculously expensive, and I am so happy I had the opportunity to go. Honestly, when I left I was kind of upset about it because the timing was so inconvenient (close to the end of the semester, right when I had to make some big decisions about grad school, etc.), but the very short time I was there has me itching to go back (in a million years when I'm earning six figures). I LOVED Oslo, which really surprised me because I hate cities. Oslo: five Jeanos up! That's the new super awesome rating system I just came up with. People should pay me for my genius ideas.

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Last week killed what had been, up to that point, a nearly perfect marathon training cycle. Some commenters claimed to admire my "dedication" and "commitment," to the Hanson Method, although I think what they were actually trying to say was, "Jesus Christ, you are an obsessive maniac. Chill out already." I wish I could say that my week off allowed me to do just that, but if anything, I think it's made me even more determined to follow it exactly. Suckers!

I can't tell whether my legs feel refreshed or awkward and leaden after my time off. I guess I'd say it's a little bit of both. During my runs I've been pretty tired (although I'm still sort of jet-lagged so I'd say part of it has to do with that), but afterwards my legs have felt great. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dead by the time my next rest day rolls around, though.

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Well, this post has been kind of all over the place (blame Parks and Rec!) so I'll stop while we're behind. I am eager to start reading blogs again and can't wait to hear what you've all been up to!

Sophisticated Lady Tours Oslo on the Wrong Side of the Sidewalk

Friday workout: walk 5 bajillion miles around Oslo

Saturday workout: 10 miles, 10:30 average, Connects

Yesterday, I walked. And walked. And walked and walked and walked. You get the idea.

Walking's no joke when you're out of practice. When I lived in New York, I was the walking queen. I walked all day and all night. Walking for 3+ hours was no big thang.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

It's easy for me as a runner to look at a proposed route and think, "10 miles? I can run that just fine, so I can obviously walk it even more easily." WRONG. I can't say for sure that I walked ten miles yesterday, but I was on my feet and moving for four and a half hours so it must be something like that. Although I was literally taking survival breaks on benches whenever possible.

That's my very long introduction to, "here are some pictures of Oslo!" It's a beautiful city, albeit a city that's still very much dead. It was cool, rainy, grey, and windy yesterday, but like the intrepid tourist I am (side note: my ex-boss once called me intrepid and I think it was the best compliment I've ever received), I got out there and took in the sights.

Without further ado, a tour of Oslo through Jeano's eyes!

First up: Munch Museum.

If I'm being honest (and we like to be, here at JJ-o), I wasn't crazy about this museum. I'm a Munch fan, but they didn't actually have much of his work displayed. They're in the process of changing exhibitions or something (All I heard was, "The Scream isn't here"), so they actually had the work of a lot of other artists who influenced/were influenced by Munch on display. Some of his work was thrown in, but not nearly enough for my liking.

In fact, the piece I liked best was on display in the basement by the bathroom:

Lover of bathroom art. AKA sophisticated lady. Also, can we talk about how taking pictures of art in a museum is dumb? I realize my hypocrisy in posting this. But really, you see tourists spending every second taking pictures of every single piece of art without actually stopping to take it in through their own eyes!

Sir Jahren, you have the handwriting of a 12 year old. This suggests you are, in fact, a 12-year-old (making me an extra sophisticated lady), but I doubt it.

So austere.

Because it was right there, I went to the Botanical Gardens. Obviously, there's not much to see right now.

The route to Old Akers Church:

Old Akers Church! In addition to having tons of dead people (always an attraction, amirite?), it was on one of the steepest hills I've ever ascended (it made my heart stop seeing how many runners were using it for hill repeats), which allowed for some nice views of the city.

I obviously had a love affair with the church door. Leave me alone, it was vibrant!!

The tiniest stained glass window I ever did see. 

Miscellaneous houses:

I love all the yellow buildings. 

I decided to take a scenic route back to my hotel via the Akerselva River, which runs through the middle of the city from north to south. It's rather dirty, honestly, and there is pretty major construction what seems like every 100 feet (there must be some initiative to clean it up), but it's still a gem.

So that's what I was up to yesterday afternoon. I'm gearing myself up for today, which is going to be even longer (and thus more painful). I'm not an "eat in fine dining establishments when I travel" kinda gal (sophisticated lady. Also, my pocketbook would thank me if I had one) and much prefer to just walk around and see pretty things, so there will be a lot of walking.

Oh, what's that? What about running? Wasn't I telling you all about how excited I am to run here? This is true. I was really, really looking forward to it, and running is a great way to see a city. However, the running clothes vs. regular clothes issue is too much for me to deal with when I have so little time here and want to see as much as possible. I don't need to wear much clothing while running, which is all well and good, but that means that when I finish running I need to be back inside immediately or I'm going to get hypothermia and die (or something). If I want to run somewhere that's far from my hotel (which I do/did) and then continue to explore the area post-run, that would require two trips, which I'm not cool with. And yes, if I wanted it badly enough, I could probably figure out a way to make it work, but I'm on vacation, guys! Let me live a little! My muscles are not atrophying (quite the contrary, in fact) and I'll be back at it come Mondag (oh god, Mondag is going to be miserable. Also, see all the Norwegian I'm learning?!).

[UPDATED TO ADD: I'm such a liar]

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As for my totally interesting observations from a couple of days ago, I've got one more to add:

From what I can tell, Norwegians walk on the left-hand side of the sidewalk and not the right (Americans do do that, right? It's not just me?).

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I guess it's the freakin' weekend for you guys (and me!) - go have some fun! Get in lots of runs so I can train vicariously through you and not feel guilty once I get back to Alaska.

And thus we conclude the longest post in JJ-o's history.

Insightful Norway Observations

Workout: 10 kilometers, god knows what average pace

See how fancy I am now that I'm in Norway? I use kilometers!

So, I totally failed at running this week. By my calculations, I'm about 15 miles behind. Whoops. I did go for a 6-mile walk on Tuesday and I walked around for probably 5 miles after my run today, but that doesn't really count.

I jumped back on the running bandwagon with 6-ish agonizing miles on a treadmill in a hot-as-hell Norwegian gym I paid $15 to use (and that was the discounted hotel guest price!). Why didn't I run outside? Because I didn't bring my goddamn Yaktrax and it's slippery as hell out there. Why didn't I bring them? Because I was too lazy to get them out of my car before leaving to the airport. Yup. I can survive six miles in a sauna but I can't walk 30 feet to a car.

Anyway, I finished my work stuff today so now I get to hang out in Norway. How did I hang out this afternoon/evening? I ran, walked around, then spent $47 on a personal pizza and a single beer. You read that right. Shit's expensive! Also, I live life on the wild side.

Some photos for your enjoyment!

We went dog sledding!

We went dog sledding! Then we drank tea in a(n allegedly) authentic Sami tent.

Did I mention we went dog sledding?!

I was trying to find the infamous Alta river and totally failed. I saw some farm-y land, though.

That's so Vermont.

I was going to tell you these were all different hills that look the same, but I think they might actually all be the same hill.

Some Norway observations:

• Norwegians are crazy drivers. I don't think they're bad at it, I think they just choose to drive like bats out of hell. As someone who flips out about riding with a good driver, this has been bad for my blood pressure.
• So. Expensive. But you knew that already.
• From my (admittedly limited) experience, Norwegians don't seem to make eye contact or say hello when they pass each other on a path or whatever. However, they've been extremely friendly as soon as I've started talking to them.
• Norwegians speak better English than I do.
• Despite being at the same latitude as Barrow, Alaska (waaaay north of Anchorage), the weather/snow cover here is identical. Also, they somehow have trees, which don't exist above the Arctic Circle in Alaska.
• Except for a totally bland fish stew the first night I got here, the food's been fine and not "disgusting" as it has been described to me by some Americans.

Wow, when I started writing that I thought I'd be more insightful than that. I'll add more as I learn more.

Off to Oslo tomorrow!

Alaska Meets Vermont

And by that I mean Norway!

Ahhhh!!

Ahhhhh!!!!

Seems my computer's excited it's in Norway! It also seems I'm revealing my super top-secret all-time views number, which I know you're all soooo jealous of. Some people get 8,533 views per day. Some get 8,533 views per decade. I hope I'm not inadvertently revealing important identifying information with that picture; my terrible memory of what information is typically listed on that page tells me I'm not, though.

But who cares about that, because I'm in Norway! One more Ahhhhh!! The flight blew pretty much as hard as I thought it would, but I made it in one piece. I fell into bed the second I got to my hotel room and woke up four hours later in a panic with my room phone ringing. I had made plans to meet someone to tour the town and get dinner and my alarm clock had obviously not gone off two hours ahead of time as I had intended. So I guess that means my phone alarm clock DOES NOT work here. Oops. Good thing I figured that out now.

Anyway, just checking in. It is beautiful here (I'm in Alta, waaaay up north), very similar to Alaska but with more rounded hills than jagged peaks. Also, Oslo looked a lot like Vermont, only covered in pine trees. I'm excited to go back there in a few days.

Running has obviously not happened. I might try to go outside for a run tomorrow, but I'm kicking myself for not bringing my Yaktrax. Seems Alaska isn't the only place that still has snow! There is a nice paved trail that follows the main road through town and leads to beautiful ocean views, so if it's not too slippery that's where you'll find me tomorrow morning (assuming I figure out a way to wake myself up - maybe I'll go extra posh and see if I can get a wake-up call).

I'll be sure to keep you krazy kids updated, if I can!

All Take, No Give

Workout: 9.5 miles (8 tempo at 9:35-ish), Connects

Today was an incredibly satisfying day. 

And a beautiful night. This was taken at 9:45 p.m., FYI. Things are getting light up here.

I was dreading today all week, for work/school-related reasons. Oh, and an 8-mile tempo on the docket. I was intimidated. But you know what? Today was busy, non-stop, and coffee-filled just as I expected, but instead of feeling like curling up in a ball and dying when it was all over, I feel fulfilled. That sounds like something you'd read in Fifty Shades of Grey (Gray?). What I mean is, I am happy tired instead of dying tired. It's a subtle but important distinction. Instead of feeling defeated, I feel rejuvenated.

I was really worried about doing my tempo just before a midterm because my insides have been known to malfunction for hours following a harder/longer workout, but it was literally the only time I could fit it in so I decided to risk it. I set off from school intending to run on the "road to school" but it soon became apparent that it was too icy to run there. Sidewalks are almost completely clear of snow now (this is, like, the fastest breakup I've ever seen, although we're supposed to get 2-5 inches of snow on Saturday) so I thought I would be okay without Yaktrax, but unfortunately it hadn't warmed up yet. Bummer.

I ended up running in some terribly ugly places and having to stop at some of the longest red lights I've ever experienced (wait, I take it back - Washington, D.C. has the longest stoplights), but I finally located a gloriously ice-free sidewalk I got to run on uninterrupted for the last three-ish tempo miles. It was gravel city (seriously, there's inches of the stuff covering every surface, everywhere), but I guess I can think of it as extra padding.

My pace was all over the place at first because I was constantly slowing down to traverse ice sheets and then speeding up to make up for lost time, but once I found my little sidewalk paradise my pace was very solid and I had to hold myself back some. Surprisingly, this run felt significantly easier than Sunday's 10 miles, which itself was a great run. I was listening to music, which I never allow myself to do, and I brought a handheld with me (with a li'l bit of Nuun), so that might have had something to do with it. I was really pissed I didn't have time to finish with an even 10 miles. I had way more than another half mile in me. Damn you, knowledge!

So that was that. Mid-week 10-milers are scary, even after a rest day, and when you throw the word "tempo" in there it's terrifying. Instead of defeating me, though, this run left me feeling refreshed, energetic, and ready to tackle the rest of the day, which I totally did.

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I was going to go on another "Ahhh, grad school, what do I do Ahh Ahhh Ahhhh panic attack Ahhhh oh, chocolate, gimme" rant, but I'll cool it for today. I was hoping to have my mind made up by the time I leave for Norway, but making a decision is next to impossible when you don't have all the relevant information. It seems I'm going to pull a Jeano and wait until the last second (no joke, I have an email from my mom dated April 30, 2006 saying "Where are you going to college? You have to tell them by tomorrow." I couldn't give her an answer because I didn't know yet. My indecision then was more about apathy than anxiety, though). My latest piece of news is that even if I don't receive funding to the "better" school, I'm guaranteed it from the second year onward. So great, it's an even harder decision now. Let's hope the schools I haven't heard from yet reject me as I suspect they will, because I think my head would explode if I had to consider somewhere else. I will say that I'm definitely leaning towards one over the other, but every hour or so I suddenly panic and change my mind for a few minutes. It's really fun. Wow, I guess I actually did just go on a rant. Sorry about that.

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I'm still on partial blog lock-down, "lock-down" obviously referring to reading other people's blogs and not writing on my own. Sorry! I've really been all take and no give lately. I've got a few pretty long layovers on Saturday (and Sunday. and Monday), though, so I'm hoping to get caught up with your lives then.

Let's throw some questions your way:

• Which do you prefer: tempo runs or intervals?
• What time is it getting dark where you live these days?
• Are you a last-minute decision-maker, or are you a planner?

Breakup!

Monday workout: 5 miles, 11:38, TREADMILL, socks
Tuesday workout: 6-ish miles with 5 x 1k at 8:30 with 400m rest, ice rink, Connects

It took me three treadmill runs, but I finally finished Skyfall. Although I'm not sure you can call it "finishing" if you end up ignoring the end because it got boring and you wanted to see if you were capable of reading blogs on your phone while running on a treadmill. Answer: sort of but not really. Still more entertaining than that movie.

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Happy breakup! It's been blazing hot here the past few days. Like, 48 degrees this afternoon. That's insane. I've been wearing shorts during my runs (although yesterday and today's runs were both indoors, so I guess it doesn't count). So nice. Here's a picture I stole from the local newspaper:

That's Anchorage spring for you. Green grass and daisies it is not.

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Anyway, I just thought I'd drop by to say a quick hello and goodbye. It's kind of stress city 'round these parts so I'm declaring a blog lockdown for the next few days. If you're wondering why I'm not commenting on every. single. one. of your posts, that's why. But don't you worry, my stalkees; I'll get back to it soon.