Something bit my butt

I should have bitten my tongue...

"If you are feeling great and completely out of pain, don't tell anyone",  a wise friend told me. Just a little too late... About three weeks ago I was feeling great, my form was steadily improving, and I remember telling several people during a training session that for the first time in almost three years I was completely free of pain, I didn't feel any discomfort what so ever in my legs.... And then just two days later my hamstrings started to complain... I have been struggling with them since then, but I have some hope that the situation is getting under control.

How did I get there in the first place? I honestly don't know what I did wrong. As I was writing in an earlier blog post, improved form is the foremost danger of injury. You start running faster and longer, and then one thing might lead to another. However, I was really being cautious, not running more than before, and not pushing for sprints or max HR. It could actually be that the triathlon weekend, although it gave varied training, was a bit too heavy with the kind of training I was not used to. Seven sessions of 90 minutes each, all within 48 hours. Hamstrings started complaining shortly after that, with a few really painful "lumps" in the muscles at the back of my thighs.

The worst part of starting to feel some pain that could be the start of an injury is not knowing what to do. "Shall I back off? Shall I stop running completely for a week? Shall I run short and slow runs? My form was so nicely improving; will everything be ruined if I have to stop for a while?" Once you decide what to do, then you relax and start focusing on your new plan. You have to decide wisely though. Loosing a week of running now could be so much better if you can stop the pain from developing into a consistent injury, which might make you loose several months of running later. I think I have managed to reverse the pain now; and this is how I went about it:

Backed off from running for about two weeks. I decided not to take any risks. I stopped running and weight training on the legs, to give them some rest. The triathlon weekend had made the threshold much lower to go to the swimming pool, so I swam several times a week during this time. I also had the opportunity to go cross country skiing, which worked perfectly in this period.

Compression and ice. I frequently applied ice on the hurting parts, and used compression around my thighs. Several days I wore both my tightest compression shorts and a compression band underneath my clothes. I still have two half liter bottles filled with water, in the freezer, and I take them out and place them under my butt when I am sitting, sometimes even when I go to bed.

Positive thoughts. Like: "Even if things get worse and I cannot run for a while, there are so many other things I can do. I can bike, I can swim, I can go to spinning classes, I can row, I can do more strength training, I can do Stoltzekleiven and Ulriken regularly, ...." Or: "If I cannot run Bergen City half marathon, then it was really fortunate that I signed up for Ironman in Haugesund. I can concentrate on the swimming and biking part of that, hoping that the legs will be in shape to start running a month or two before the race."

Massage. Poor Frank.... He massaged me (and still does) every day to loosen the lumps. Having tried all sorts of therapists during my previous injury period, I knew exactly where to press and how hard. I could of course go to a massage therapist again, but the very hard and painful pressure is not really working for my body. I did consider needling, though, because that works much better. But so far the massage has worked pretty well. The lumps are decreasing in size day by day and getting less and less painful.

Yin Yoga. Wow! Why did I not try this before? I think I know why. Probably because there is not enough workout in it. Actually there is no workout in it. Yin Yoga is simply about relaxing, stretching gently, holding the stretch for several minutes, letting go of all tension, and not pushing harder than what feels comfortable.  I have done this several times now, and it actually takes a few times before you realize how it works. At the first session you think that you are relaxing but actually you are not. There are so many small muscles all over the place that really need some practice to completely relax. It's just wonderful. I could never have imagined. I really really recommend it to all runners.

Heavy slow resistance training.  Although it is my constant intention never to stop with these exercises, I had been neglecting them recently. After giving the legs a few days of rest, I took up HSR training regularly, and I immediately started to notice improvement. These are the remedy to every injury! There are HSR exercises designated for every part of the body. And there is the added bonus of getting stronger by doing them.

Back to running. But not too fast and not too cold. I decided to try and see what worked. Flat fast running brought back the lumps, whereas uphill running worked much better. So the concentration is on the uphills these days, and the flat running happens mostly indoors on the treadmill. My legs work best when the surroundings are warm, and I try to avoid icy conditions.

Bike roller. After every run I sit on the bike for about 15 minutes and roll easily to loosen the legs. This actually seems to work wonders.

What's the plan ahead? Simple. Just keep doing the things that work and stop doing the things that don't. Keep the positive thoughts, although I did notice a slight worsening of the form. My HR is a little higher now,  and it is easy to fall into negative thoughts like "but things were going sooo well, why did this have to happen now?" Then I tell myself to stop whining and remind myself of all the much worse things many people are struggling with everyday. This is in fact nothing in comparison!

Set your priorities right, keep you spirit high, enjoy life in every way that you are able to.

When sickness forces you to rest

In sickness and in health...

Sometimes becoming sick can be a blessing in disguise for a runner. Of course I am not talking about serious illness, but something like a light flu that binds you to bed for a few days. The thing is, we who love to run, are not always very good in taking a rest when we should. In that sense, having to stay in bed, as annoying as it is, might give your body exactly the rest it needs.

The first time I experienced this was when I was preparing for my very first half marathon. Just a week before the race, I had a 10 km test run in the early morning where I really pushed myself, after which I entertained guests, drove a long way, and was outside in the cold for the rest of the day. In the evening of that day, I started to feel terrible, got high fever, and ended up in bed for four days. I was so worried during that time. First of all I was afraid that I would not get well enough for the race. But I was also very worried that I was losing my form and my strength by having to stay in bed. What I realized later is that becoming sick at that point was perhaps the best thing that could happen for my performance at that race. As inexperienced as I was, I knew nothing about tapering and slowing down before a race. Had I not become sick, I would have continued to train until the race, and my performance would most probably be much worse. With completely rested legs, and a short run to get my legs going two days before the race, it all went very smoothly and well, and it was an incredibly good race experience.

It happened again just this week, but this time it forced me to rest after a race. The day after the Deer Run race last Sunday, I got sick again and had to stay in bed for three days and away from running for five days. I have become much better in tapering and resting before a race, but when it comes to resting after a race, I am still not patient enough. So this sickness has given me the rest which I might not have taken properly otherwise. After Oslo half marathon in 2014, I did not rest at all, which started a period of more and more pain, and finally ended up in a big injury and no running for a long time. At that time I had just joined my running group Melkesyre in Bergen, and I did not want to miss a single training. On top of that, we went for a holiday in Italy, and I wanted to keep running to compensate for all the eating there. I forced Frank up early every morning, and we went for tough uphills before our friends woke up and we continued the day with hikes and late nights with them. My legs were aching, the morning runs were not pleasant at all, but I still kept going. So incredibly stupid, when I think of it now...

Of course if sickness is going to be a benefit, one has to obey it and actually get to bed. I learned also this the hard way. Exactly a year ago, we were on a week's skiing holiday. The whole family was together; the youngsters hit the downhill slopes whereas Frank and I had plans for cross country skiiing. I started to feel sick already on the second day, and instead of staying inside and enjoying the rest, I took painkillers and went on (now in hindsight) unbelievably long and tough cross country skiing. Why? I was so impatient at that time about training. My form was steadily improving and I wanted it all too fast. I was so afraid to let any more than one day pass by without proper cardiovascular training, because I did not want to lose my form or fall behind my improvement plans. What happened of course, in addition to some pretty unpleasant skiing experiences, is that I got really sick in the end and had to stay in bed probably much longer than I would have had to, if I had not been so stupid and stubborn to start with. But that was not the worst part. When I finally became well and started running again, it took me extremely long to get back into shape. I lost so much form due to training when sick, and it was really hard and took a long time to get it back. I have since then read that this is very common. If you push yourself when sick, you might experience a serious deterioration of your form, which might take you long time to repair.

During the times I have been sick and impatient to train, I have been desperate and searched for hours and hours tons of advice on the Internet. There seems to be a rule that if the discomfort you feel is above your neck, then you can still train. So, just headache, or running nose, or pain in the throat, does not necessarily have to stop you from running. But if your whole body aches, regardless of whether you have fever or not, it seems to be the best to stay away from training. And I have read that training when you have a fever can actually be seriously dangerous. You might end up hurting your heart and having to stay away from training for a long long time. For myself I have found the following rule: if I have to take painkillers to be able to run, ski, bike, swim, etc, then I simply don't do it. Instead I try to concentrate on the benefits of no training for a while.

Always look on the bright side; take your rest and enjoy it!

The days are just packed

It is quite unbelievable that I've only been in Istanbul a little more than a week. It already feels like much longer, and I feel quite settled and "local". The most interesting is perhaps that some of my new running buddies already feel like old friends considering the level of trust and affection I sense in our relationship. I wonder how things would have been if I had not found and contacted Team Istrunbul. Of course I am very lucky to move to a place where I already have a lot of close friends and family, but come to think of it, I see my running buddies much more often than I can meet with my old friends and family. It was the same also in Bergen, and I am grateful for the experience and confidence that I got from Melksyre and Fjellgeitene, which I think enabled me to get in touch with Istrunbul so quickly. This weekend Frank is visiting, and also he joined the group and enjoyed very much the social running, and not the least the super cozy coffee gathering afterwards.

Let me give a brief summary of how the three most important things related to this blog are going at the end of the first week.

Running
Well, as you can conclude from the above, it is going wonderfully well. I am so pain-free that I cannot believe it myself. I try to understand the reason, but I have no clue. Is it that my body actually prefers asphalt running to uphills and terrain? No matter the reason, I am regaining speed more quickly than I could have hoped for. In Bergen, I felt that I was stuck in slow running, and now suddenly everything seems to have opened up. Perhaps it is all in the mind, and a physical change of environment gave the necessary change of mind and inner motivation to run faster. I am now working on increasing my weekly mileage.

Eating
This is a big issue, and considering my goal of losing a few kilos this year, I am in the wrong place. This country offers (arguably) the best food in the whole world. And it is so easily accessible; my neighborhood is packed with restaurants of all sorts, and home delivery of whatever you might wish is only a phone call away. As long as I am alone, though, I have been behaving really well.  For breakfast, cereal or oatmeal, just like at home in Bergen. For lunch, my work offers a large variety of hot dishes everyday for a very reasonable price, and there are several different vegetable dishes and salads, and lean meats in the menu every day. I have been strong enough to stay away from bread and deserts, and I am very content with how the lunches are working so far. For dinner, I usually just make a salad or a quick wok, and also try to stay away from bread/pasta/potatoes there. Of course, my wonderful regime has fallen apart very badly now that Frank is visiting, and there is no limit to the variety of things we have been eating and drinking. I am taking this as an opportunity to just taste once the things that I have missed so much (mezes, kebaps, deserts, boza, sahlep, ...), and afterwards I hope I will continue to be able to keep away from them.

Strength training
I have started Pilates! I liked it immediately, and everything my Pilates trainer told me already at the first lesson made perfect sense to me. First of all, it is serious strength training, and as I asked to be pushed hard, things got pretty tough. The idea of Pilates, though, is that there is a balance between strength training and extensive stretching. And the stretching part in particular I think will do me well. (Just look at the picture above; how stiff I am!) As I had noticed myself already, and my Pilates trainer saw immediately as he studied my posture, I am very strong (and too tight) in the muscles on the front side of my body but not as strong in the ones on the back side. So now we will try to balance the strength, which means for example extensive stretching of my chest muscles, and perhaps losing a bit strength there. This is very hard for me of course, agreeing to lose a bit strength at some places, but I am willing to give it a try. In the end, if things don't work out, I'll simply let Ketil fix me up after going back to Bergen. :-) Joking aside, I do truly believe that I can get stronger and more flexible during these six months. The type of Pilates I will be doing has several interesting "machines" to do it on, which mainly give instability in many different ways so that you have to use your own strength to stabilize your body. I am sure there will be reports with pretty funny pictures in the sequel.

Stay strong and balanced.

Forza Norvegia! Lake Garda Mountain Race

My first race outside of Norway!

Team Melkesyre has a tradition to participate in the annual Lake Garda Mountain Race. The 2015 edition took place on Saturday, and I was one of the 17 members of this year's troop. The course of the race stretches between the center of Malcesine and the Cima Pozzette peak of Mount Baldo. I did the short version together with half of my team, which goes to 1700 m along 9.5 km.

The day before the race we took the cable car up to 1700 m, and slowly went through the last part of the long version up to 2100 m. The weather at the top was not so pleasant, and the organizers were discussing whether the long version would have to be canceled.

Fortunately, already Friday evening the weather started looking much better, and Saturday morning we woke up to beautiful clear skies.

I had a hard time getting into race mood this time, and it was difficult to make a race strategy since I did not know the course. My goal was to finish in around two hours. I decided, like at Skåla Opp, to go with the heart rate. Try to keep it just below 160 for the first hour, and then push it up to 165-169 for the rest.

Warming up with team mates and knowing that I would have the company of several of them throughout the course gave both motivation and a nice feeling of comfort. And suddenly the start time was there! Everybody started running and so did I. But it was very steep already from the start, and at the lower station of the cable car I started walking. My heart rate was a bit higher than planned, and I had a continuous debate with myself whether I should slow down more or not. I did not have the feeling of pushing too hard, so I ended up going with the feeling rather than watching the hr closely. For as long as I could I followed the back of my friend Arvid, and he helped me a lot for the first kilometers. Especially since this part involved a lot of bottlenecks and trying to pass people with walking poles.

The first drink station came very quickly and earlier than announced. At this point I had lost Arvid, but I got the company of Øystein instead, and he was great to follow with a huge Norwegian flag on his back. The first four kilometers went pretty well and at the planned speed, but I was surprised and dismayed that it was so steep. I comforted myself that it could not continue this steep for the rest, as more than half of the elevation was already done. At the second drink station I took a gel together with the served drinks and felt a bit better, especially since the first flat stretch came right afterwards. It was nice to be able to run for a while and feel the distance shrink a bit quicker. At this point I also lost Øystein, but I had the company of two Italian ladies for the rest of the race. We kept passing each other all the time, and this gave good motivation and helped keep the focus.

Everything went pretty well until I passed 8 km. At that point, I was still feeling pretty good, and I took my second gel to get a boost for the last 1.5 km. I was a bit worried because there was still quite a bit of the elevation left for the last part, but I tried to comfort myself with "Just a Stoltzekleiven left now; you can do it!". The part from 8.5 km until the end became very tough, though. I felt my speed go down, and I could see that several of my team mates who were behind me from the start started to come closer. Perhaps I had started out too fast after all?

Towards the end I felt completely empty, and everything in my body was screaming for me to stop. When I saw more and more uphills where I was expecting the finish line, I really wanted to give up. What saved me was the voice of my friend Hans Erik right behind me for the last kilometer, motivating all the time and finally telling me to run when he knew that we were close to the downhill that lead to the finish.

I finished in 2:03, and I was really finished at the end.

Recovery came quickly with pasta, sandwiches and cakes that were served at finish, together with wine and coffee, and soon we were all dancing and celebrating the good results. Jeanette: number 1 of all women on the short course! Siren, myself and Bente: number 7, 8 and 9, respectively!

The rest of the day was a long long party, and we all had a great time. I am so happy to have participated in this race, and really grateful to Bjarne and Frode to have started this tradition and for the nice organization. On the other hand, I did not get the immediate feeling of wanting to do it again, like I do at the finish of many races. Most of the course is covered with forests, and one looses one of the greatest advantages of a mountain race; the view.

Coming up next, though, is a race with incredible views: the Limone Vertical K race already Friday evening! In the meanwhile: breathtaking hikes and wonderful time with good friends.

Rimanete sintonizzati!

The first swim competition: Bergen Open Water 2015

Sometimes things go better than expected...

Os Triathlon is just a week away! As part of my training towards it, I participated in the Bergen Open Water swimming competition yesterday. The suggestion about this came from Fredrik, one of my closest colleagues and oldest friends, as a comment to my blog post about open water swimming during the summer holidays. At that time I did not really consider it that seriously, but as the time for Os started to approach, I figured I needed the experience. The options at yesterday's race were 50, 400, 1500, or 5000 meters. Since the swim distance at Os is 750 meters, I signed up for 1500 m.

I came home late Friday night after a week abroad with long hours of work, late nights and little sleep, and I was still feeling pretty exhausted yesterday morning, even after 11 hours of sleep. It was hard to imagine how I would manage to race just in a few hours, but as I was considering Bergen Open Water only as a practice for Os Triathlon, my shoulders were down and my expectations super low. I was sure that I would be slower than everybody else and come in last in my heat. I had even thought of a funny title for today's blog post: Making a fool of yourself.

Frank, my biggest supporter and fan, volunteered to come along to cheer, take pictures and assist, although it coincided with the weekly Melkesyre uphill interval session. It was great comfort to have him with me. To have some warm up, we parked at Spelhaugen, which is 1.5 km away from the start of the race at Tennebekktjørna. Although the weather report was looking good, we quickly got caught up in a heavy rain shower. Oh well, I thought, I am going to get wet anyway. But poor Frank, who would just stand there and watch, would have a harder time in wet clothes.

It took us 15 minutes to walk the path through the forest, and I could feel my heart rate increase as we got closer to the lake. At the first sight of the lake, I felt a sudden rush of nerves, and I said to Frank "I hope at least that I will be able to finish". I participated in a trial run of Os Triathlon a couple of weeks ago, and there I had a hard time at the start of the swimming session. I ran fast into the water together with the others, and tried to get ahead of the breast swimmers, and in the struggle I lost my breathing rhythm. In fact I had to completely stop and regain breath, and reset my brain before continuing, which cost me several minutes. I wanted the experience at Bergen Open Water exactly to be able to cope with such situations, but I was a bit anxious that the same thing would happen again.

Very happy to find Fredrik among the starters, and a bit intimidated to learn that he would also swim 1500 m, and not 5000 as first planned, I registered, got my swim cap, used the bathroom, and finally put on my wet suit. I had decided beforehand that I would go out into the water before the competition started to get a small warm up, to adjust the goggles and to defog them. I did this, and I think it was very useful. When I afterwards stood at the start line, I felt much calmer and ready. Fredrik and I discussed finish times, and I really had no idea what to expect. In the summer, I could swim about 2000 meters in a little more than one hour. Now, with the fast effect of the wet suit, and since there are no waves in a lake, I was hoping that I could perhaps manage 1500 meters in 40 minutes in the best case. Fredrik assured me that 40 minutes would be a piece of cake for me, but I had hard time believing him.

Then the start shot went, and instead of rushing into the water like I did at the trial of Os Triathlon, I took it easy, to make sure that I would not lose breath. I calmly went into the water and started swimming pretty slowly, to make sure that I would not miss any of the markers and gates I had to swim through. After a while I felt that I found a good rhythm and I could start going a bit faster. I had the impression that I was behind everybody else, but I started to catch up and I passed several people. My goggles were fog-free and completely tight, and everything felt good. I had no idea of time and distance while swimming. I had configured my watch to give me a buzz every 500 meters, but either it did not do it or I did not feel it. It is very difficult to see the display during swimming and I did not even bother. I was all the time preparing myself that there was probably a loooooooong way to finish yet. It is pretty funny to race in a lake you have never swum in before, especially since you cannot see things clearly. "Oh my goodness, what is that big black wall out there? Oh, it's a dam", "Oops, I was a bit too close to land here and touched a big rock", "Eeeeww, grass and seeweed"...

Suddenly, I could see the beach where we had started from and I could not believe it. Finish so soon already? I increased my speed, reached land, and got up and ran to finish, as I had read that one should do. Then I looked at my watch... 33 minutes!!! My first thought was that I must have missed one of the markers and swum too short. When I looked up the first thing I saw was Frank's face with a big smile. I pointed to my watch and looked at him with the big question in my eyes - is the time correct? He was laughing and giving me a thumb up, at the same time as nodding. I was so surprised and happy at that moment that I could not do anything but laugh.

Several minutes later,  while I was changing, people (even men) were still finishing 1500 meters, so I was definitely not the last one in my heat! And I did get a medal, so I had not missed any markers, and was clearly not disqualified. I had so low expectations for this race, both when it comes to how I would perform and also when it comes to how much I would enjoy it. It exceeded my expectations in both terms; it was in fact a lot more fun that I had thought beforehand, and I am still astonished about the finish time, especially with so little swim practice after the summer holidays.

Although it was simply half an hour's effort, and it did not feel like hard work while it was going on, I felt really tired the rest of the afternoon and evening yesterday. Today I can feel that my shoulders, chest, upper back, and arms have been through tough work; even legs are telling me that they were working hard. And I, who was planning beforehand to do a Stoltzenkleiven session right after the swim competition... well, today is a new day with new opportunities. Stoltzekleiven Opp is still my number one race this year, the only one left on my A list, and I am not sure whether training for Os Triathlon is a good priority in the period where I should rather be training for Stoltzekleiven. But in the end the whole purpose of our training is to have fun, and in a period of injury and rehab where I could not run, it has been very motivating and energizing for me to try out and accomplish new things.

Wish me luck next Sunday at Os Triathlon!

Back on track: Skåla Opp 2015

Finally racing again!

Exactly one year ago, a long time dream came true when I got to experience the famous Skåla mountain in Loen by participating in the Skåla Opp 2014 race. It was a great experience in many different ways, and most importantly, it was at the top of Skåla I met some of my Melkesyre friends for the first time ever. Little did I know at that point how big a part of my life they would become and how much they would come to mean to me during the year that has passed since.

This year's Skåla Opp race, which took place on Saturday, was if possible even a greater experience. Not having raced since March this year, and not having had any endurance training since January, I was completely uncertain about what to aim for or what to expect during this year's race. My Stoltzekleiven form is better, but my endurance is much worse, on the other hand my legs are considerably stronger, however my resting heart rate is higher.... Some pros, some cons. What to expect???  I decided that anything better than 2:30 would make me very happy.

I started out with a good pace from the start but I made sure to keep my heart rate well below my lactate threshold, not touching 160, for the first 4-5 km. By then the first 1000 meters of the total 1800 meters elevation gain is done. After that my plan was to allow my heart rate to get close to 170, however this turned out to be pretty impossible. Although the climb gets tougher around the sixth kilometer, and I went as fast as I could, my heart rate went actually down. The advice from my physiotherapist Ane was "push it real hard, but don't race". I interpreted this as "race, but not at the expense of worsening your injury, so slow down if something becomes painful". Fortunately my hamstrings tendon behaved better than in a long time. It actually gave much less discomfort than during the slower and easier hikes in Jotunheimen just a couple of weeks ago.

I finished the race in 2:15, just two minutes worse than last year, which is a wonderfully encouraging surprise. Skåla seems to be telling me that everything will be OK. I even had a better feeling throughout and after the race this year compared to last year. I was less exhausted during and after, and my legs recovered much more quickly. Mentally it helped a lot that I had company, as I walked with my friends Hans Erik and Solveig from the start.  It gives energy and strength to have the comforting presence of friends close by. In fact Solveig and I kept together almost all the way to the finish, upon which we were interviewed by the national broadcast channel. The best news for me, though, is that my injury has behaved incredibly well also after the race. Normally, after a tough training I would feel some ache in the injured area, but this time I felt nothing at all!

An even more motivating achievement was that of my friend Jeanette at this year's race. You might remember that she won her class at last year's race, whereas this year it wasn't certain at all whether she would be able to participate. She injured her knee in April and had a surgery in May, and consequently has not been running for the past four months. But she did participate, and she was only a few minutes behind her personal best from last year, becoming number three in her class this year! What about that??! I think it is such an incredible performance, in fact a hundred times more impressive than if she had improved her PB with a few minutes without an injury. I was even happier about her result than mine; it gives such an amazing boost of energy, hope, inspiration and motivation, and it proves once and for all: nothing is impossible! We celebrated our victories in the Skåla lake...

It is such an indescribably nice feeling to be racing again. The mental and the physical push, the calculations in the head all the time, the pain, the incredible rush of adrenaline before the start, and the flush of endorphins and the intense feeling of happiness at the finish. Oh how I had missed that, and how I got reminded why I love racing. Of course the best part this year was the endless celebrations with my Melkesyre, Varegg and Fjellgeitene friends at the top and later in the evening. It is simply wonderful to be a part of such a group of positive, inspiring, kind and fun people. I cannot believe my luck...

Just to make the whole experience complete, an added bonus this year was Frank's participation in the race for the first time. He finished in 1:55. As soon as the registration opens for next year's race we will both sign up!

Coming up this weekend is Storehesten Opp 2015...

Run by your man (or woman)

Running with your spouse or life partner is a great way to connect, but it can also be challenging at times. I came to think about this when Frank and I were running in Vienna a couple of weeks ago, during a weekend visit. I had not been running for a while, and we did twice 10 km in the mornings there. I found it pretty tough, although the locations and the scenery were great for both sessions. Unfortunately it turns out to be hard to get back on track after a break, although I had been constantly training in alternative ways. For me it was great support to have Frank during these two runs, but I am afraid the pleasure was mostly on my side. I was simply whining and complaining all the time! Poor Frank was extremely patient and motivating, and I did apologize and make it up to him afterwards. But this experience made me think how I sometimes allow myself to be quite childish when I am with him, whereas I never do this with other people.

Fortunately it does not happen that often (although Frank might have a different opinion). You might remember that it did happen when we were training for Bergen Fjellmaraton, and I remember clearly the very first time it happened, when Frank was teaching me downhill skiing almost 28 years ago. I was falling all the time, and of course it was all his fault! Our friends from Melkesyre keep asking him whether I am always so cheerful; well now you know the answer... Perhaps it can be compared to how our children sometimes behave when they are with us and when they are with other people. Since I learned everything about outdoor activities (hiking, skiing, running) from Frank, he is in a way my parent in this respect. Or might it be that when you are with a person whose bond to you is rock solid and will not be affected by a little whining, you allow yourself to be a bit spoiled from time to time?

Running together can have other challenges as well, but those can be easily turned into enjoyable games. Frank is faster than me, but that is not really a problem when we are running together. If we want to run fast, he can run faster and come back, and repeat this until the end of the course. Or we run at a pace which is moderate for me and slow for him, upon which his gps watch becomes very happy and congratulates him with a restitution run! All these years we have been training for Stoltzekleiven together (also with our sons when they were younger and easier to convince to go with us), and on such short courses it is really easy to make up fun games. For example, I can start a few minutes earlier and he can catch me towards the end; the later he catches up with me the happier I am, which gives motivation for both of us to go faster.

After a few months of hesitation Frank finally has now fully joined Melkesyre as well, and that allows us to train at maximal strength together.  Our Melkesyre friends are at various form levels, and we each have people we can compare ourselves and try to keep up with. Frank was a competing athlete (ski jumping and cross country skiing) when he was younger, and since many years he has been the coach of several football teams for boys. I am not sure whether this is the reason, but he was a bit reluctant to join organized training activity as an adult. However, after he joined Melkesyre and Varegg trainings, his form improved so much that he is now even more eager than me to go to training sessions. We have a weekly schedule of doing the Saturday Melkesyre intervals and Tuesday Varegg intervals together. This week, for the first time he even joined the Thursday Stoltzekleiven training (but that was only because his own football training was cancelled that day).  Although we did a few competitions together outside of Stoltzekleiven, like Bergen City half marathon and Bergen Fjellmaraton, he was not as eager as me in 2014 to join a lot of races. This is also changing now, and I suspect that he will participate in many of the racing events of this year.

Frank jokes to say that he had to join Melkesyre; otherwise he was afraid I would become faster than him. I think it is rather that he realizes that I am serious about running and competing, it is not something that will pass quickly, and he wants to be a part of it. He is always very supportive about everything that I come up with (I do come up with a lot of things some of which are a bit crazy), but he has been particularly great about all the things I tried for getting rid of the pain. "You just go and do your stretches and exercises, I will cook", he says, or "You just go and rest, I will take care of this". I am so grateful and amazed that he can be so sweet and patient, whereas he says he is impressed and proud that I do not give up and I continue to run.

Today we booked our tickets for racing together in Italy in October!