Training Log Archive: Rosstopher

Yesterday I was pretty wiped still, so today the plan was to be very relaxed. Sam even let me sleep in as long as I wanted. Our two excursions for the day were a) to take a nice walk to the grocery store mostly as an excuse to get some fresh air, and b) to bike down to gympa with Lisa and Sebastien. I think those were the only two times today that it rained/hailed.

Gympa was good though, all my muscles were still a bit sore from Friday, so it felt really difficult.

Wow. I was not feeling good at the start. Whole body was unhappy to be awake, and the weather was perfectly crummy. Johan had planned out a nice long trail run through Nåsten, some tiny trails and some more major ones. My calves were especially sore, and the damp aggravated my cough, and my shoes were slipping in the mud. So, not a great time.

Johan and Erik went off ahead and I trailed behind Sam and Hannah, and tried to keep us on the right trails using the 1:19,000 map that Johan printed. Especially bitter and cold as we ran back through the valley. Tough to stay grumpy the whole way when Nåsten is so beautiful.

Sam convinced me to get up relatively early and go to the track for some speed work. Legs are still a bit tight but I am happy to get started on more regular track workouts now.

Conditions a little chilly and windy, threatening to rain. Last night I was thinking to do 10 x 400 @ 70, but the first interval put that idea to rest for me quite quickly. I instead settled on 8 x 400 and the pace I could manage was about 73. 2 minutes of mostly stationary rest between intervals, which I normally wouldn't have liked but I was feeling pretty tired and being lazy was fairly appealing :)

Felt good to roll into the lab at 9 having already done my workout for the day.

C • morning workouts 1

The last Immunology Genetics and Pathology (IGP) department Innebandy session for the summer, so there was a good turnout, and that meant a lot of substitutes. I generally like to spend more time on the field, but my calves were stiff enough that I could appreciate the frequent breaks.

I scored a couple of times and didn't make any truly bad plays. My most valuable contribution still is running at the player with the ball and causing them to get flustered enough to make a bad pass.

My coworker Mimmi overheard the girls in the locker room afterwards chatting about how I was so fast :) that's a great kind of gossip to hear...

C • Valuable contributions 2

Man, we haven't been to gympa in a really long time. It was a nice session tonight, and not so crowded, I guess many of the students are stuck in the library or already home for the summer. I miss the old routine, though it hasn't really changed that much.

C • Zoom 2

Tonight was Blodomloppet in Uppsala, a running festival more than a running race, with a 5k and a 10k race and lots of crowds and music and something like 13000 participants. I hadn't signed up, but Mats's company had an extra spot in the 10k that they weren't using, so I used that bib number for the race.

I raced really well, felt great the whole way, and had a pretty awesome experience. Off the line there was a pack of 8 running together at the front for about 2 k, then a couple guys dropped off, and Lukas and Mats pulled pretty far ahead. At about 5k, I noticed that Hugo was starting to fade and so I pulled ahead on that hill and set my sights on reeling in Jan and Mattias. At this point it was fun to realize that I was training with all of the people ahead of me in the race, it was an OK Linné party :)

At 7k, Janne pulled away but Mattias seemed to lose a little ground and for the next couple of K I tried to close the gap. I was making up time until we got into the area near my lab, and then he just started running so fast. Down the hill and into the track I pushed really hard, but I just wasn't quick enough to make up the spot.

Ended up 5th, with 34:34 for just over 10k on a course with a couple of small climbs. Very happy. Also, Jan said he'd buy me ice cream if I finished under 36 minutes... so woohoo :)

C • Great run! 14