Day 55 – Competition Rehearsal

Dear G, today I ran the Tjejmilen, as a test for the competition that we are running in two weeks. On the radion they talked about the environment and how we all need to take responsibility to save our planet, so it felt a little odd to drive from our neighbourhood (that is so full of running opportunities) TO RUN!

Never drove to run before.And never ran with both a Ipod, Iphone, car key and a map in my hand.

And to be honest I didn't really run the Tjejmilen, but something close to it. Running Tjejmilen on a non competition day is impossible. The actual day will be a great party, and they will block the streets from cars. Today: nothing of that.

As I couldn't make the cars go after me I had to take some alternative trails, and sometimes they got very alternative. First I realized I had taken a shortcut, and then I ran way too long several times.

I think that I ran a longer than it will be August 30, and so thinks my Nike+.

But there are so many things that my Nike+ doesn't know about. It doesn't know what Djurgården means to me, and how special it is for me to run there.

This was the place where I ran very often between 20 and 25, when I lived nearby (and then again between 29 and 31). I rembember it as I was in quite good shape, but with the Tjejmilen map I can see that my habitual trail was only about 6k.

This was also the place were I took so many Sunday walks with boyfriend materia, that most of the time after a walk here turned out NOT to be boyfriend materia. And nothing has changed – here are so many couples walking and you could guess which of them that will make it, and which won't.

So I had to ask myself: what's the most surreal about this: that I'm back, after so many years, and that I'm actually stronger in my 40's, after giving birth to three children?

Or that I'm not 25 anymore, that I have a husband and three kids back home?

I still don't know. But I feel so blessed.

This is the place by the canal, were you are allowed to choose either the south or the north side. As you can see I chose the north side, but in two weeks I will choose the south side, as I prefer to run on grit to asphalt.

I have to tell you that I really had trouble following the map, and as I followed the trails round the water instead of running the straiter car roads.

I ran 10 k in 55.42.

To return to the goal (and start) I ran another 0.67 and finished at 59.15.

I know that it's cheating as I stopped to look at the map so many times, the calibration might be too good and the Nike + is just a step counter… But I feel so satisfied!

And much, much less nervous about August 30…

WORKOUT: I repeat: 10.67 in 59.15.

SINS: After running I was worth a glass of chilled Australian Riesling. And another glass with CJ's gorgeous Risotto with chicken and asparagus.