Contemplating in nature

It was rather windy, that friday afternoon in September. Time for contemplation.. the forest and the ocean made me contemplate and think about my life. What is it all about? Am I happier having everything I can point at? Having the luxury to be able to run here in Aarhus in some of the most beautyful surroundings in Denmark made me feel lucky and rich. Some of us do not always appreciate what is just there. Like the nature. It's always there. But imagine that you have never seen it and just saw it for the first time.

Nature is wonderful. Perfect for contemplation - and yes, running :o)

I ran past Tivoli, in the Marselis forest, almost all the way to Moesgaard beach, back through the forest, the last two kilometres along the coast in the sand, went past Kongevejen and Marselisborg castle. What a pleasure.

Distance: 13.32 km
Duration: 01:02:33
Avg. pulse: 159
Max pulse: 176

Skive ½ marathon

The half part of the run, I kept a km pace of 5:00 but I had plenty of energy so I decided to increase the pace to about 4:00 - 4:30 which went fine.

The last 3-4 km of the route is rather hilly in a forest, that was probably the hardest part.

All in all a great run.

Avg. speed: 12,15
Avg. pulse: 161
Max pulse: 181
Duration: 1:44:13

First run after Marselis run

Yesterday evening I went for a run. In the beginning, I ran with a high intensity but I could not keep that the rest of the route due to "sidestik". I don't know why I started to get this but one of my colleagues have told me that stomach crunches should eliminate them.

The trip was fine and no rain. It's getting colder though.. brrrr.

Distance: 7.7 km
Avg. speed: 13.2 km/h
Avg. pulse: 156

Marselis run 12 km

Marselis run is over. I was a bit anxious in the beginning, probably because of all the people and the tension but when we got started, I focused on running instead.

My plan was to keep my pulse at no more than around 160-165 for the first kilometers because I knew that the killer hill would come after 6 km. That did not exactly work out as planned because I followed the crowd but still "listened" to my body and monitored my pulse and speed.

After 6 km, the hill came. Oh my oh my. It was pretty hard but I decided that I would not stop running. Some other runners did that but I wanted to get a good time so I kept running, despite my pulse was in the red zone most of the time.

4 kilometres before goal, I got "sidestik", the thing when it hurts in the side. I have no idea what it's called in english :-) So I had to reduce the speed, that was a shame because if I ran 1 minute and 55 seconds faster, I would have got a "star time". But hey, it was still five minutes and four seconds faster than last year.

Avg. pulse: 170
Max pulse: 177
Avg. speed: 13.35 km/h
Ascent: 145 metres

Training for upcoming Marselis-run

I ran longer and faster than usual to test my current shape before the up-coming Marselis run on sunday. I think it went pretty good. I did not push myself and the pulse was not that high, so I am quite optimistic concerning sunday ;o)

Distance: 15.3 km
Avg. pulse: 158
Avg. speed: 13.7 km/h
Avg. 1 km: 4.22

Lovely weather - wee :o)

Fantastic weather, a big contrast to many days with rain and windy sucky weather. The run went good. It was the first one for some days. Now I am back in Aarhus after working some days at Sealand. So back in the shoes again! ;o)

Distance: 7.7 km
Avg. speed: 13.2 km/h
Avg. pulse: 157
Max pulse: 168

Rain and thunder

After spending some time working at Sealand, I was longing for a run back in Aarhus. I raced a bit with another runner, we went different ways after four km.

I tried to run a bit faster and the last two or three km, I increased the speed. The effect was a pulse peaking at 176, a max speed of 16.5 km/h and avg. speed of 13.9 km/h :o)

Distance: 9.6 km

Evening trip in light rain

It's getting colder, brr.. only 15 degrees. A bit of fartlek, which I like a lot. The rest of the trip was plain running. Tried to run as fast as I could ;o) My speed record so far is 24.5 km/h.

Avg. speed: 13.66 km/h
Max speed: 23.1 km/h
Distance: 7.8 km

Lovely run in the rain

Refreshing! My first run in the rain. Previously I've avoided running in the rain but it can actually be very refreshing and nice. I did a bit of fartlek but most of the trip was just ordinary running.

Distance: 7.7 km
Avg. speed: 13.1 km / h
Max speed: 17.7 km / h

Run in Ballerup

After living at a hotel for some days, it is especially nice to jump into the shoes and run. So I just went a bit around in the neighbourhood. The hotel is located in the IT mekka in Malmparken, Ballerup so there are not any dedicated routes or forests. Instead I ran on the asphalt and looked at the companies.

Distance: 5.7 km
Avg. speed: 11.7 km / h
Max speed: 14 km / h

A bit faster on a hot day

26 degrees, sunny and very warm. I followed a group of Aarhus 1900 runners who participated in ½ marathon. They looked quite tired - the weather today is also not so well for running, it's just too hot for my taste.

Anyway, I tried to run a bit faster than the last times. Just to stretch myself. There's an upcoming week of hard work so I have more time to restituate.

Max pulse 175.
Max speed: 16 km / h
Avg. speed: 14,62 km / h
Distance: 4,3 km

Along the water to Risskov

What a beautyful day to take a ride along the coast to Risskov and back the same way. There were lots of other bikers and runners. Sunny and warm.

Distance: 24,2 km
Max speed: 40.7 km / h
Avg. speed: 22.6 km / h

Quiet bike trip around the first Brabrand lake

I went for a nice ride on my new Trek. It drives really nicely. I didn't feel like racing, also the bike needs some minor adjustments before I will do that.

Longer run

I had plenty of energy so I decided to run a bit longer than the last times. My ankle is without pain so I guess it is okay again.

After about 4 kilometres I did some fartlek. I pushed myself so much that it was not so easy to breath in the end. I could not get air fast enough but it went over pretty quickly. It seems that my muscles are strong because I can easily continue if I could get air fast enough. Fartlek is good to combine with other types of training, like running in hills.

Max pulse: 180
Max speed: 19.4 km/h

Gentle run

I went for a gentle run around the Århus creek, still with no pain. I am pretty sure the pain in my ankle was caused by two marathons in one month. I guess that is too much for me. So, my plan is to slowly recover and strengthen my ankle again so I can be ready for Berlin marathon in september! :o)

Also, in september there's Skive løbet and Marselis løbet which I would like to participate in.

Yeah! Back in the shoes! ;o)

So, what to do without a bike, with a bit of pain in the ankle and with a deep desire to to some physical workout? I took the chance and went for a short trip around the Århus creek. It went good, it is not more painful now than before the trip. The pain is only sporadically and thus not constant. I guess it is caused by too much running lately.

It felt so great to run again :o)

Trek 6500

I went for a Trek 6500 MTB with fluid disc brakes and front suspension. Getting it on monday :o)

Wrecked back tyre

I was driving a nice trip to the beach when I suddenly noticed a weird sound from the back tyre. It turned out that the rim was cracked!! The tube was popping a bit out so I went very slowly home. Time for a new bike, I guess. This one has lasted for at least 10 years, so I guess it's about time for a new one...

Biking around Brabrand lake

24 degrees, clear blue sky and what could be more inviting for a nice trip around Brabrand lake!

It was just amazing how many flies there were and whatever species flying around. At some point I got the feeling that they all had a conspiracy against me, they wanted either to fly into my eyes or in my mouth. Some of them succeeded, I guess that was their last mission - kamiaze flies ;o)

The time it took around the lake was 24:59 - exactly the same time as two days ago. Pretty weird.

I can feel that my legs are getting tired from the past days of workout. My average pulse was just 151 despite I was really giving my best. So perhaps I should just spoil myself tomorrow, take a "day off" and lay by the beach or some other idle "activity" :o)

Biking to Risskov along the coast and back

One of the most beautyful (in my opinion) routes for running and biking in and around Aarhus is the route next to Aarhus harbour along the coast to Risskov. I guess this is why it is also very crowdy but the bell on the bike can do something about that ;o)

On my way home through Aarhus, a cardriver stopped right in front of me. Close call - good thing to wear a helmet!

Biking around Brabrand lake

First time I took this route on bike without measuring all the way from home. The route is pretty flat but it's still quite tough.

First run in a week

I still got some pain in my instep so I ran very gently and with a low pace. But it was great to be out again! :o)

The sun was shining from a clear blue sky. The temperature was 26 and I was sweating a lot when I came home, just like when coming from a sauna ;o)

The route I took today was the short one around Århus creek and over the railway bridge.

Yesterday I bought a Nike singlet, it was nice to have on today in the heat.

Bike ride with my new Polar speedsensor

First ride with my new Polar speedsensor for my Polar S625X. That was fun!

I drove along Marselis Blvd., followed Strandvejen and a bit through the Marselis skov and back. It is so much fun to outrace everyone ;o) I've got this "gene" that noone may drive faster than me - it got its advantages and also disadvantages :-D

The sky was clear and the sun was shining, about 24 degrees celcius. What a pleasure! I still suffer a bit from an injury in my right instep. I got this injury a week ago when I ran a halv marathon. Normally this distance does not have an impact on me but for some reason, it did. I guess I will soon jump into the shoes again and try to run again.