I’m in love with a long legged blond goddess. She pulled me through my run tonight, sending me under the for me magic 6min/km.

We met up about 1k into my run, it took me a while to realize we were running the same route, she was slightly ahead of me when I first noticed her and the I just decided to not let her open the distance between us.

At some point she turned down a side street and I thought I had lost her, but we met up again 500m further along. Again I just managed to keep up with her and I ran right behind her for a while until we got to the one incline on the route. She graciously allowed me to get ahead and I stayed ahead for a long while.

About 1k from the end of my route she, decided I was too old and fat for her and ran off. I envied her the ability to just change gears and go, but then she looked no more than 25 and was a least 20cm taller than me just the length of her stride did it.

So I ran the last boring leg by myself pretty pleased with having kept up with her for a while and even managed to keep pushing myself to the point of having a slight taste of blood in my mouth at the end and a HR of 176.

The time on my Polar was well worth it

Polar says: Total time: 24:48 Average HR: 152 In zone: 24:11 Kcal: 254

Darn I wish I could find a better way to gauge my speed than eyeballing the way I move past power poles or by checking my HR. Today I felt I was running fast, turned out I was plodding along. I ran my shortest route and should have easily have run it in a sub 6min/k pace and ended up at 6,5min/k which is really slow.

Polar says: Total time: 17:32 Average HR: 148 In zone: 16:29 Kcal: 168

Ran at dusk on a clear winters evening 30F and ice and a tiny dusting of snow on the ground. Was amazing.

I did freeze my butt off the first 5-6 minutes but it's a wonderful feeling when starting to sweat in the cold.

Did not set any personal records or some such spectacular achievements, but had fun and that's what it is all about

Polar says: Total time: 30:56 Average HR: 147 In zone: 30:33 Kcal: 301

Nice short run after long and somewhat busy day at work. Cold and clear ice is forming on the roads and pavement.

Polar says: Total time: 16:59 Average HR: 147 In zone: 16:37 Kcal: 167

Holy cauliflower,

It's been like three weeks since I last ran, what's up with that?

Today I did a short one in damp conditions at 41F - almost perfect running weather for me.

Polar says: Total time: 17:17 Average HR: 152 In zone: 16:47 Kcal: 169

Today I learned the hard way that I can’t take a month long break from all exercises and expect to just pick up where I left off.

I started out on my medium long route – gorgeous weather, 34 F, light snow on the ground, brilliant sunshine, a bit of wind – and fell apart after 20 minutes. Managed to cover the 4k in 29 minutes – walking twice.

Actually not too bad when I look at it like that, I just haven’t walked for soooo long that it feels like failure.

It felt a lot worse than the facts indicates.

Going up the one incline on the route I had to overtake a man walking. It's a real narrow pavement, so I had to run on the road itself and I didn't want to startle him so I basically gave him a wide berth and held my breath and shot past him.

When I was back on the pavement and allowed myself to breath again I felt like throwing up.

That's what I get for keeping up apperances and slacking off my running.

But I finished in a decent time and my average HR wasn't too bad. All may not be lost even if it feels like it

Polar says: Total time: 17:45 Average HR: 153 In zone: 16:56 Kcal: 185

My first run this year. I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Sunday evening and Monday I felt like crap. I think my immune system was doing fearful battle with some food bug and won.

Today I felt the remnants: Lead in all limbs and a sluggish liquid pumped around the system by a heart doing overtime.

Put I did run all the way - even if it was a short way.

Polar says: Total time: 17:55 Average HR: 155 In zone: 16:18 Kcal: 191

Okay, okay it's been two full months since I last did any kind of excercise, so allow me to be a bit surprised that I could run a full route.

It's very cold tonight -2C with lot's of ice and badly shoveled snow on the ice so that slowed me down to begin with but I ended up only a minute slower than last time I ran.

That's not too bad actually.

Today is exactly six years since Pia and I got married and pretty bang on a year since we got divorced - I've thought about that today, but not as much as I feared.

Polar says: Total time: 18:58 Average HR: 160 In zone: 16:42 Kcal: 218

I had better put this down for posterity: Yesterday I ran 2k, swam 400 m and walked 10.000 steps.

This morning I ran 3K on the threadmill in 22:46 and swam a grand total of 800 m. I have walked a bit, but nowhere near as far as yesterday.

Feeling good. Am even surprised that I can run for 23 minutes after the winter hiatus.

My old body is very happy it has not been taken skiing on this trip – the sudden burst of action with swimming and running is quite enough to make it ache with soreness.

I ran 3K a minute faster than yesterday: 21:44 – that’s actually not too bad.

It’s been a long time since I’ve run on a threadmill but I still can’t wrap my mind around the differences in speed between road running and stationary running. I run so much faster IRL. I would absolutely have thought it was the other way around – no wind, no distractions and a constant aids in maintaining pace.

I know my route measurements at home are accurate – I’ve measured them in three different ways including a very respected one online.

So I really can’t explain it – the 10km/h pace that’s needed to run 5K in 30 minutes is a speed I can sustain no longer than the last 250 meters on the threadmill and yet I know I’ve run that pace IRL – not for 5K but for almost 4. Strange.

Between my morning and pre-lunch swims I managed 1000 meters. I do not time my swims. Times are always impossible to compare because of differing pool lengths – this one is 20 meters so I’ve swum 50 lanes.

If I just wrote up the dry numbers from my Polar, nobody would be none the wiser. Should I ever read back it would look like decent numbers for my medium long route.

The numbers simply don't reflect that I walked four times on this run, which I've never done before. In other words I must have run really fast when I did run, and that means I've lost my capacity to pace myself

The only redeeming factor I can see is that the wind was very strong along the water and I have a very sore right hip.

Polar says: Total time: 26:11 Average HR: 151 In zone: 25:53 Kcal: 266

I played a little mind game with myself as I ran my shortest route today to make sure I didn't have to walk halfway.

It went like this: Imagine someone is running right next to you with the sole purpose of getting you to complete the run as fast as you possible can. Would you prefer for that person to berate you, calling you a fat, miserable looser or to tell you that you are doing great, that you are a winner and nobody runs better than you?

My answer is very clear: I would prefer the latter and would preform much better with that person on my shoulder.

Why then is the inner dialog I have with myself when trying to push myself always negative?

I do congratulated myself and feel proud when I'm done. But out there on the route, when my hip hurts - and it does - when all my limbs feel heavy - and they did - it's not kind words I exchange with myself.

I'm going to try to change that.

Polar says: Total time: 17:53 Average HR: 156 In zone: 17:02 Kcal:

Allow myself a short selfsatisfied HA. After almost a year I realized that my membership at the gym gives me access to all their gyms, including one closer to where I live and in connection with a wonderfull swimming pool.

So I set out today for a big triple hit: Weights, running on threadmill and swimming. And am extremely pleased with the result.

Especially the weight training. It has been several months since I last did any, but all is not lost. Far from it, I can still do considerably higher weights than I did when I started a year ago. Particularly my legs seems to have lost very little power.

Lever Seated Leg Press: 1x8 100kg 1x10 90 kilos 1x12 80 kg
Lever standing hip extension: 1x8x2 55kg 1x10x2 50kg 1x12x2 45kg
Lever chest press: 1x6 35kg 1x10 30kg 1x12 25 kg
Lever shoulder press: 1x8 20kg 1x10 15kg 1x12 10 kg
Cable Front Pulldown: 1x8 35kg 1x10 30kg 1x12 25 kg
Back stretch: 1x8 45kg 1x10 40kg 1x12 35kg

Running: I ran just about the slowest pace I can remember, but my hips still bugs me, so I have to be satisfied with the result: 1.73 km
Polar says: Total time: 15:00 Average HR: 162 In zone: 14:40 Kcal: 162

Swimming: A wonderful 50 meter bassin with the sun lighting up everything and very few fellow swimmers. Even the water temperature was perfect - a little cooler than at spa hotels since everybody swims laps.

Polar says: Total time:12:03 Average HR: 141 In zone: 12:03 Kcal: 127

Went to the gym after work - got there at a very busy time, which ususally get's me a bit stressed. I skipped one leg session - hate to wait around for machines. And was very easy on my arms and shoulder. They are still extremely sore form the other day.

Lever standing hip extension: 1x6x2 55kg 1x8x2 50kg 1x10x2 45kg
Lever chest press: 3x8 25 kg
Lever shoulder press: 3x8 15kg
Cable Front Pulldown: 1x6 35kg 1x8 30kg 1x10 25 kg
Back stretch: 1x6 45kg 1x8 40kg 1x10 35kg

Running: My hips is not really bothering me any more, but my slow pace is. I ran for more than 8 minutes with a HR close to 170, that was bloody hard: 1.86 km in 15:00.

Swimming: 500 meters - I don't have a time.