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.

Did I Just Do That? New (Weekly) Mileage PR

Saturday workout: 6 miles, 11:33 average, Connects

Sunday workout: 10 miles, 10:26 average, Connects

And thus we conclude a perfect month of training and my highest mileage week ever! 41.5 miles. I'm no Shalane Flanagan, but I do all right.

So does Anchorage.

It seemed it was going to be kind of a blah day outside, but obviously the weather gods were excited I was going to beat my previous weekly mileage PR, because it got clearer and clearer as the run went on and turned into a bright, sunny day!

I took y'all's advice and introduced some fuel into this run: Nuun and shotbloks. Also, side note, I must have been raised by savages because I was shocked that Anchorage shut down for Easter. I had planned to go to REI and blow my dividend, but I had the (all too uncommon) foresight to look it up before I left. Closed! Then, after my run when I wanted to go to Subway, both locations I stopped at were also closed! Quiznos? Ditto! Seems not even that creepy hamster creature works on Easter. Didn't they know I needed to reward my hard effort with a delicious sandwich? I had to settle for a boring grocery store sandwich. Rude.

Anyway, Sports Authority was open so I hit them up. Last year, a blogger sent free Nuun samples to anyone who wanted them, and although it took me a year to use twelve tablets, I liked it enough to buy more. Lemon-lime and pink lemonade. The lemon-lime was not nearly as tasty as I had hoped, but it seemed to do its job well. I didn't bother looking at the suggested water-to-tablet ratio, so maybe if I tinker with that it will taste better. Also, drinking something sweet for an entire run is too much. Towards the end all I wanted was regular water, but I was stuck with my sweet brew. I'm going to start with water next week and slip in a tablet halfway through the run (that sounds like a roofie joke) and see how that goes. I'll also bring more shotbloks - three was not enough. Strange, since I usually don't need food or water for anything 10 miles or less.

As for the run itself, it went really well! I manned up and didn't let myself run on my flat pavement route. Granted, there wasn't much elevation gain on the route I chose, but it was enough that I was able to tell myself I wasn't taking it easy. Also, I'm glad to see my elevation chart confirms that miles 7.3-8.8 (and  2.4-3.9 since I did an out-and-back twice) were all uphill. It was pretty gradual so I wasn't yelling about it or anything, but I remember wondering at mile 8.5 just how long I had been going up because it seemed like a comically long time.

I was more bored than usual (I managed to refrain from turning music on), but my energy levels were pretty solid. The only time I had that end-of-long-run-deadleg feeling was on a random downhill during the first half. The road I was running on (see here for a very basic description) ends at a rehab center where my mom actually used to work, and it seems patients were allowed to go for an Easter walk with their families because I passed a lot of groups that obviously originated from that parking lot and not the one the rest of us have to park at. They all seemed to be having a really nice time, which made me happy.

Here are some splits, just for kicks:

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How convenient that the last day of the week and month happen to fall on the same day! Here's a little roundup:

Monday: 6 miles, easy

Tuesday: 6.5 miles with 6 x 800 (at 8:30 with 400m rest) while dodging pucks

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 8 miles with 5 tempo (9:44)

Friday: 5 miles, easy

Saturday: 6 miles, easy

Sunday: 10 miles, slightly faster than easy

Weekly total: 41.5 miles

Monthly total: 154.75

Like I said, I ran more miles this week than I've ever done before, and I feel SO MUCH better than I did after my peak week last year (which was 4 runs of 5, 10, 5, and 20 miles). Granted, I didn't run a 20-miler. But I also don't want to kill myself. I'd call it a huge win. Last year, running 10 miles meant I was done for the day (unless there was a promise of beer - these legs will always move for beer). Today, if I didn't have homework to get to (you know, after the more important task of blogging), I'd be out shoveling my deck. I'm really not that tired. And I'm not kidding when I say I think I'm in the best running shape of my life. I swear that's not just me being dramatic again.

I'm beginning to really trust these Hanson dudes. They seem to know what my body is capable of better than I do. I can't tell you how many times I've looked ahead at my plan and just laughed because there is absolutely no way I'm capable of what they're asking of me. Then, of course, I do it, I survive, and I feel great. Although my heart still sometimes starts a-fluttering when I look at what's in store for me (this coming week's 10+ - miler with 8 tempo miles, for example, or my 15-miler next weekend), my first thought is no longer "no f-cking way." Now it's more, "Well, it's not going to be easy, but I'll do it." And really, although I've worked hard these past 8 weeks, it hasn't been as hard as I imagined. I'd say it's been easier than Higdon's plan, actually [I reserve the right to take that back six weeks from now when I'm running almost 60 miles a week].

Let's catch up!

• What did you get up to this weekend? Any great runs? Any Easter fun? I've kind of ignored Easter the past six years, but since I'm home this year I guess it feels more like a holiday. I wish it came with a weekday holiday, though...
• What's your favorite Nuun (or whatever other electrolyte drink you may use) flavor? I really thought lemon-lime would do it for me; I was so disappointed!
• What do you do when you're on a long run and you start getting bored (besides listen to music - I want to save it for when I really, really need it)? Usually the scenery keeps me entertained but maybe, horror of horrors, I'm getting used to it?!

My Readers Are Too Smart

Friday Workout: 5 miles, 10:42 average, Pace Gloves

A picture you've seen a million times, this time with a truck!

So it seems no one agreed with my "good school with no funding is better than less good school with full funding" delusion. And unfortunately, you guys are smart dudes so I can't just dismiss it and go on my merry way. Why are you making me think so hard about this?!

Let me tell you a story. I'm the kind of person who, as soon as a plan enters my head, I accept it immediately without really thinking it over. For example, back in college I'd be at the bar (yes, "the") having a fantastically fun time and suddenly I would think, "Hm, what if I went home right now?" It's not that I wanted to go home, and it's not that there was any reason to go home. It was just a thought. Two seconds later, I'd be leaving. The next day people would ask, "Jeano, why'd you leave all of a sudden?" and I'd have no answer for them. I left because I happened to think about the possibility of leaving! Duh. It made no sense, there was no reason behind it, and yet that's kind of how I make many of my decisions. I wouldn't call myself impulsive, though. Maybe just crazy? Also, I lied. That wasn't a story. More of a character analysis.

Why did I tell you that? Well, your thoughts kind of made me do a 360  on this grad school situation within, literally, a half hour or so. My hypothetical situation is only partially hypothetical, and I've actually been offered full funding (for the duration of the program) from two schools. I'm waiting to hear about funding from the school I thought was my top choice, but have been told I may not hear until May (!!!), which means I can't just wait to make a decision until I hear. Meanwhile, one of the two funding-offering schools has been wining and dining me (or, just sending me a lot of emails), and the professor whose work I'm most interested in has told me he has some projects going on I could get involved with immediately. The other schools have made no such effort. This makes me think that going to a school where at least one faculty member is eager to work with me may, in the long run, open up more opportunities than being a more lowly student in a better program.

Basically, your comments made me realize I haven't given this school a fair chance, and I thank you for that. I've obviously got a lot of thinking to do, but I'm glad I could get some feedback from people who have been there. I'm going to talk to some other people in the know (hell, I work in a building full of 'em), but you guys have really blown this thing wide open. Thanks for everything!

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And now, to run six easy miles (partially) in my neighborhood and (partially) on the treadmill. Bailey's been giving me the cold shoulder for not running or hiking with her (even though I walk her twice a day, the ungrateful mutt), so I'm going to attempt to win her love back.

No questions today, enjoy your Saturday!