As Richard has already alluded, there were some big goals and plans tabled by we two Jacksons from a lovely hotel nestled into the French Alps on the first day of the year; perhaps our biggest round of dreaming yet! It has certainly made for an exciting start to things, and has really left me filled with energy and motivation for the coming months. Hurra!
Of course, one can't put all the cards on the table right off the bat, but I am quite excited to begin by sharing a nearly crazy athletic goal I have marked on the calendar.
To celebrate my birthday this year I will be attempting the Åre Extreme Challenge! In short, we are talking about 25 km of river/white water kayaking, 15 km running up and over Åre mountain, and 35 km mountain biking back around said mountain!
It seems this is the premier multisport race in Sweden ... so heck, why not give it a try, right?!? I will be tackling this fine event with my amazing race partner, Ulrica, from the Uppsala Raid Multisport extravaganza we tackled in September. Fortunately for us, ÅEC requires a lot less orienteering ;)
I have a small bit of nervousness regarding this race ... making it to the finish being my big goal. Oh Catherine, why aren't you here this year to whip me into paddling shape and maybe teach me a thing or two about kayaking as well?!? I clearly did not plan this very well: Catherine is a former Canadian National Kayaking team member and former coworker here ... and she moved back to Canada from Gävle last August.
To try and meet this goal, I have set up quite an extensive training schedule! I am nearly through week one and have made it through every work out so far. Only 5 3/4 months to go :) To get my arms and trunk into paddling shape I have joined the Gävle masters swim team. It is such a delight to be back in the pool on a regular basis and I am thoroughly enjoying this new community.
To train for the hill running I have also introduced a hill training evening into the routine. Last night was my first outing, and I arrived at the local ski hill (bump) armed with nordic poles and a head-lamp. To be honest, I think last night might have been the first time I really questioned how crazy I had become in my sporting ventures. It was only about 3 degrees below zero but still, there I was out running around in a dark forest with a light strapped to my head, trying to track down a couple of girls I had arranged to meet so I could charge up a snow-covered ski hill. Of course, once I located them, it all seemed quite normal to join the cue of similarly clad people running (or briskly walking, as was the case for some of us) up, then running down the side of said snow-covered hill. I giggled a lot over the first ascent whilst contemplating the degree of crazy, then succumbed to the higher heart rate and just smiled and enjoyed the evening. Still ... there was that moment when I thought I really had joined the ranks of the outdoor natters! Funny how that has never struck me when racing my MTB in the pitch black forest in the middle of the night. Must have been the nordic poles ;)
In case any of you are interested in the nitty gritty, here are the deets of my current training plans. If you have any tips or alternate suggestions, feel free to send them along! Of course, I will also accept inspiring messages on a regular basis :)
Monday - 90 minute swim with the Gävle Simsällskap
Tuesday - 2 hours spinning or 1 hour spinning + 1 hour functional training at Friskis och Svettis (my gym)
Wednesday - 60 - 90 minutes hill training + running with the Gävle Multisport Klubb
Thursday - 60 minutes weight training early in the morning with my friend Stefan (Swedish class at night)
Friday - REST
Saturday - long walk or ski (2-4 hours) with anyone I can coerce into joining me (or a good book on my iPod)
Sunday - long run (60 - 90 minutes) with Richard
NB - inherent in the next six months is periodization, that is, changing of intensity and duration. This plan is predominately for base training and will hold for about the next 10 - 12 weeks.
One really good side effect of this training schedule is the large number of training hours that are spent training in Swedish! Yes, I can now prattle on (in my bad Swedish) even when in a rather hypoxic state! I swear that means I must be getting somewhere with this language learning :)
To balance out all this rather intense sounding training stuff, I though I would share my one and only new year's resolution.
I officially resolve to empty the tea leaves from my loose leaf tea diffuser immediately following every use! Yes, I will no longer leave the silly thing draining out onto the counter, thereby leaving a brown puddle and mess.
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| idag blir det en bra dag - today will be a good day my new morning message in a mug |
And finally, although it is not a resolution, I resolve to read at least two novels in Swedish. Real novels - not just lätt läst or 'light reads' like I have done so far. And not just because I have to for my Swedish course :)
First on deck: Grabben i Graven Bredvid (The guy in the grave next door). Thanks to Camilla for the recommendation!
And that, folks, is how 2012 looks so far.
4 comments:
Crazy woman! I prefer your fridays :)
And I look forward to the resumé of the book ;)
// C
Oooh! I've read that one! It's a nice feeling to know that you can make yourself understood (with more or less grammatcial correctness...)!
All the best with the training schedule.
You are the first to wish me god fortsättning! The race and trianing sounds awesome, best of luck! You are plenty strong and fit enough for the kayak portion. From the look of the pictures washriding won't be an issue, but picking a line might be (choose the ribbon, not the eddies). Finding a good balance of fast/stable boat seems like the most critical thing - point 65 has several designs you could try out to see what you are comfortable with(they also have some technical courses!)
I agree with "C" - your Friday's sound great! Good on you...and no doubt you will do amazing!
K
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