One year into the challenge.

One year ago I went out running, for the first time in a long time. It was about time to get active, to get fit, healthy and slim down a bit.

That wasn't the main reason to get up from the couch though.

No, the real reason was, that I had an idea planted in my mind. I was challenged by a friend to do something quite daunting. I was challenged to train myself fit for an eight day trans Alpine run. And I had eighteen months to accomplish it. I decided to "just do it".

One year into the project I have some perspective. I was hit by reality in the head a few times during the past year. First I broke my arm. Then I over trained. I did a death march on the trails and killed my left knee. It recovered though. Then I cracked my shin bones, running on hard surface in a pair of running shoes way past their retirement date. Time and rest healed them.

To put it short. Nothing went as planned.

I've learned a lot about running during the last year. And something about patience and perseverance as well. I've put in a lot of effort. I've ran 1.352 kilometers. I've skied 175 kilometers. I've biked 260 kilometers. I've swam 12 kilometers. I've rowed 26 kilometers. I've burned some 150.000 kilo calories. And I've seen all the progress made wiped out over and over again. That is a humbling experience.

So what are the lessons learned so far?

1. Stay injury free. You need consistence in training for consistent results.
2. Be sensible, don't over do it. It's important to be able to enjoy the training, after all that's 99 % of the experience. And if you over do it, you will have setbacks of some kind - be it injury or loss of motivation.
3. When you get slapped in the face by destiny, don't take it personally, don't make it an excuse to give up.
4. Never give up. Give it more time if needed. Be more graceful towards yourself if needed. But never give up. You'll never get there if you give up.

I'll keep it up. My second half marathon coming up in a month, Helsinki City Run 5th of May. This time I have no time goals, no fixed training schedules. My only ambition for this one is to enjoy the training and the experience. I'll get to the trans Alpine starting grid too, if providence agrees. Not in 2012. Maybe in 2014.

Injured and Sidelined: Double Stress Fractures

The combination of using running shoes with more than 900 kilometers on them and a hardened surface (due to freezing) trashed my legs. I got stress fractures in both of my tibia (shin) bones. The fractures gradually worsened in November and December. I did my last run on December 7^th, back and forth to work totaling 20 km. I could feel the pain while running and started to feel really sore even walking. The state of my legs finally dawned on me when our dog stepped right on the fractured spot. Auch! Intense pain!

I had to take some time off from running.

I’ve been swimming a couple of times and snowboarding and skiing on a vacation in Lapland. I even had a one hour session on a stationary bike last week. Not enough to keep my fitness level though. The Polar OwnIndex has declined from a good 58 to a measly 50. I’m not getting the consistency in training that I should get. To get back on track I bought a pair of new running shoes and enrolled for the Helsinki City Marathon. First street marathon coming up in August 2012! I’m also enlisted for Helsinki City Run (Half Marathon) on May 5^th. So it’s about time to start logging mileage again! On Sunday I’ll try out my legs and new running shoes in the Esport Ratiopharm Arena in Espoo.

Hopefully we’ll get a serious snow cover in Helsinki someday soon! I’d really like to cross train cross country skiing as it’s a lot of fun. And it’s easy on the limbs and bones. I saw some skiers in action already on the nearby golf course this week. Back then I suffered from a stomach flu and really couldn’t do anything more than short walks with the dog. Unfortunately we had rain and the tracks melted away since then.

A few steps backwards and none forward.

The good thing is my motivation is peaking again. I can’t wait to get aerobic action! I feel the recent low activity level and it doesn’t make me feel good. The addiction is real. Mind and body craves momentum.

November Rain Motivation

It's wet, cold and dark outside. November rain can really drain your motivation. It feels like I'm stuck under a heavy blanket when I think about getting out running. But that's not all. I've had a setback in fitness as well. After overstretching myself twice. First I cranked up distance volume way too quickly during summer. Then I participated in a trail marathon way too early considering my fitness level. The result? I got myself back to square one. So what should I do? Cry and give up?

Nope. Well, maybe cry a little bit over the lost fitness - but then it's time to get back on track. After the trail marathon I cut myself some slack. I really needed it to recover. My knees were painful for more than a week afterwards. So I actually couldn't have been training although I did want to. Slowly I got myself together and started cautious jogging only to find out I had lost a lot of fitness. It felt devastating - but what can you do? All that work had been wasted. Or that's what I thought back then.

Now I've logged 30-40 km/week consistently for the last three weeks. Most of the "lost" fitness came back very quickly. The windy, cold, dark November rain is still an issue though. How do I deal with it? I try to plan my running as a way to commute to work. I decide on which days I will run there, and on which days I will run home. Then I set up the logistics so that I have to follow my plan or suffer. If I don't stick with it I'm either without proper shoes at work, or I have to borrow money for the bus home or I have to wear wrinkly shirts, sometimes all at the same day. It gets me over the psychological barrier of demotivation. When I do get out, I actually don't care about the icy rain stabbing my face and the slippery mud sucking at my feet. I actually feel proud of myself for sticking with it. I feel strong for following through even if it costs me some.

When it comes to the bottom line it's all about some basic facts of life. The days pass and never come back. If I want to make my dreams reality I can't afford to waste my time coming up with excuses. But whats even more important is to try to really enjoy the moment and keep an open heart, because destiny can change even the most well thought out plans. That's all I have to say for November. Take care people, of yourselves and of each other.