Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Given the principal purpose of being in Oslo this week, it was always on the cards that a planned schedule would be upended on at least one day, and so it proved with the arrival of Maja Katinka (to be known as Katinka) last night. (Cassie doesn't muck around with these things - there was still no sign of action when we left the house around 7 last night and the baby was born by 10).

With the morning devoted to family matters any running plans were shifted to the afternoon; this time with the cut-off start time to finish before dark shifted to around 1.30. This isn't really a time I'm used to doing long runs and the start was fairly dismal, but started to pick up from about 3k onwards as I hit the tracks along the edge of the Oslofjord - well populated on a sunny afternoon, even with the temperature slightly below freezing. (I'm staying in Sandvika due to a excess of people for the available space in Baerums Verk, which at the moment is not such a bad thing because it's below the snowline). Left those behind a bit later and, thanks to missing a sign for a track, found myself on a couple of roads for a while which looked reasonably major but were very quiet today, and settled down quite well. Turned around at the north edge of Fornebu, near the old airport, and was looking forward to the second half, but after being pretty good for the last month my back decided to throw a wobbly, and the rest of the run was about getting back by the shortest route possible and as intact as possible. The rolling hills and back street/bike track combination would have been nice under normal circumstances, but it was hard going today, and I had no inclination whatsoever to take it out to two hours (especially as the Achilles was starting to arc up a bit by then as well).

Headed into Oslo once my bag had arrived; by the time I got to Cassie and Jim's place it was almost time for lunch (i.e. it was past 11am - first 'welcome to Norway' moment, but felt a bit strange because I'd taken full advantage of the hotel breakfast, and done so reasonably late). Ended up planning on an afternoon run; the second 'welcome to Norway' moment was the realisation that if we wanted to get this done before it got dark we'd need to be out there at 2 or slightly after).

The quirks of winter conditions were on display today. Last time I was here in the colder months, the extra altitude at Cassie's place meant good-quality snow up there and an icy mess lower down. Today it was the opposite - icy up top (drizzle onto snow a couple of days ago), but essentially clear lower down. Struggled to keep up with Jim on the rougher trails above the snowline - I'm sure it helps to have an instinctive knowledge of which bits of ground you can trust and which you can't - and after a good month back was a little iffy today, but not too bad as a run. Felt comfortably warm even with temperatures below freezing (probably -2 or -3).

Last session in Geneva in what's not my favourite pool, although it's been better on this trip because I've been able to get in early when it's not too crowded. Seemed particularly uncrowded this morning; presumably the rain was a bit of a deterrent (although why rain should be a deterrent to swimming in an indoor pool is something of a mystery). Today is the first time in three trips that I've seen significant rain on a November trip to Geneva; I gather that this is a somewhat unrepresentative sample. (Even today, though, there's a decent rainshadow; 11mm here so far, compared with 77 at La Dole in the Jura maybe 30km away).

The job is done in Geneva now (although I'll presumably have a certain amount of follow-up once the statement itself appears on Wednesday), and it's now on to Oslo. Hopefully, unlike January, I won't have an unscheduled night in Copenhagen en route, although it is a promising sign that (a) it isn't snowing and (b) as I write, the incoming flight is on the final approach into Geneva, and not on the ground in Basel like it was at this stage last time.

In the finest traditions of earlier such efforts at Dubai, the run from one end of Copenhagen to the other after getting off plane #1 18 minutes before the departure time of plane #2 (at least there were no stairs/escalators/lifts involved, and you don't have to go through security again if changing planes within the EU). Unsurprisingly, my bag failed to make it but I'm told it's on the morning plane (something I'm just about to put to the test).

Had a certain amount of company for this run, although not as much as in Berlin airport last year where the surging pack had at least a passing resemblance to the first leg of Jukola (minus the lights).

C • ...one end of Copenhagen to the other 1

It's been the heaviest block of training I've done for a few months, but this turned out to be a bridge too far - struggling badly from midway onwards in a very ordinary performance. At least at that stage most of the hard part of the route (including a full frontal assault on the Cologny hill) was done and there were only a couple of smallish climbs to come, for which I was grateful. Perhaps picked up a little bit in the last 15 minutes, and did manage to muster the enthusiasm to do an extra lap of the block to get the time up to two hours.

A topographic map I saw at Neil's place last night promised "traces de dinosaures". Before younger readers (or their parents on their behalf) start getting too excited, to get to said traces requires climbing to 2400 metres in the Alps on the Swiss-French border (and, after Saturday's forecast dump, will be buried under snow for about the next six months).

Joined Neil for a run from his place in the evening - same loop as in January (I think), with some fairly rough trails in places in the dark, though a bit less hairy this time because it was drier. Seemed to be handling it reasonably well although Neil was definitely stronger on a couple of the sharp climbs. Still rather warm.

My side gig this week is representing the Antarctic at a meeting on possibly setting up a multinational climate centre for polar regions (Australia was asked to send someone for this purpose at short notice, no-one else could go, and I was already in town). Unsurprisingly 99% of the discussion has been about the Arctic and my main role has been to remind people occasionally that there are two poles.

C • Well the earths poles 1

Intervals session along the lakefront on the clearest morning yet - excellent view of Mont Blanc (at least until the sun came up directly behind it). Felt pretty good today and performing a bit better than last week, too; feel as if I'm in a reasonable patch at the moment.

You certainly can't accuse Global Cryosphere Watch of looking for junkets. Their next workshop is in Salekhard, Russia, on the Arctic Circle in western Siberia - in the first week of February. (I won't be there).

Speaking of matters Russian, I was somewhat surprised to learn today that the Commonwealth of Independent States still exists, sort of.

Warm-up and down. A bit of traffic on the way back.

Fairly smooth session at the pool, not as busy as it is in the evenings, after another earlyish phone hookup with back home (although at least this one was 6am rather than 4am).

On entering the office there was a sign for a meeting "Safe and Secure Management of Conventional Ammunition". Evidently the responsibilities of the World Meteorological Organisation have expanded considerably since I was last here (either that or someone else was borrowing the meeting room).

I may be a long way from home but news of two epic fails back in Australia have reached me - one being the TV station which illustrated a story on France with a backdrop of the Dutch flag, and the other being the Queensland MP who said that the threat of terrorism should open a debate on reintroducing the death penalty - something which I'm sure will be a serious deterrent to suicide bombers.

Lunchtime run, initially through the botanical gardens (which I think is the first time I've run there - they don't open until 9.30 in winter so lunchtime is the only time it's possible), then along the lake. Felt reasonably good, and less slow than usual for a Monday recovery session - I continue to be surprised with how little impact yesterday's long descent had on the quads.

It was a delightful day, sunny and calm and around 15-16 degrees, and many were taking advantage - I saw people water-skiing, sunbathing in bikinis, and even a couple of people swimming in the lake. I'm not expecting too many of these people to be doing the same thing this time next week: current forecast is snow flurries and -7.

Perhaps I wasn't quite as far from the action on the weekend as I'd thought - Grenoble was one of the places where there were police raids today, although they seem to be of the sort which involve hauling in for questioning someone who knew someone who knew someone whose second cousin went off to fight in Syria (the serious stuff seems to have been in Brussels and Lyon).