Påske, Colorado & Fyr til Fyr

There must be a connection between the extreme amount of holiday time that Danes get and their reported high level of happiness. Denmark is historically a Protestant country, but today there are actually very few practicing Christians here; this was a surprise to me coming from such a strongly Christian country.

Nonetheless Easter is celebrated here with 5 days off for just about everyone. This has meant time for playing with the family, planning our move to Colorado and training. In terms of training, I am already tapering for Fyr til Fyr (Lighthouse to Lighthouse) 60km along the coast of Bornholm next weekend. So the focus of the past week has been on some speed and not on distance (glad I have a coach who can make this decision for me). I should also point out that I am no longer cycling as that now seems to have been the source of the problems in my right leg and hip. I guess cycling so much on a bike that was slightly too big for me had its consequences.

 Here was the past week:
 Sun: 10k (Griseløbet) in 41.15 + Bikram Yoga
Mon: Mave, baller, lår + 30min elliptical + my own Crossfit

Trying out all of my equipment for Fyr til Fyr 60k, which is self-supported except one aid station at 30k.

Tues: about 21km icy trails in Fruens Plantage (Lady's Plantation) and Fårbakkerne (The Sheep Hills) in 1:50 something??
Wed: 4km easy, Bikram Yoga
Thurs: 10.2 km on snowy trails (42:09) (Skærtorsdagsløb) (SR ran, too, in 37:09)

What's this? Have I seriously learnt pose running form? btw "learnt" is just as correct as learned, I have learned :o).

chicken

we won paper towels at Skærtorsdagsløb

 Fri: Strength & core + 8km easy with SR
 Sat:  15km in 1:12 on trails
Sun: CX worx, pulse, Bikram Yoga (next to Michelle Vesterby-- the proefssional triathlete!! whoah)
Mon: Strenth & core, warm-up, 4 x 1000 on the track with SR in 3:45, 3:51, 3:45, 3:46 (this earned me a "good job" from SR at the end :o)). My fastest ever 1000 meter intervals. Btw (according to my Garmin 1km in 3:33 - but I KNOW it doesn't count. Just saying...).

after intrevals today on our home track

I hope I never take my runs with SR for granted. 

Moving to Colorado

Here is where I need the help of you readers. SR and I are planning on a temporary move to Colorado while we apply for future residency/fellowship spots and I finish writing for my PhD. We are looking for a short term rental- and right now we're deciding between Fort Collins, Boulder, Loveland, Woodland Park and Crystal Lakes. The latter is a secluded community in the mountains with very reasonably priced cabins and hundreds of miles of running and cycling trails. (I just learned about). Do any of you have thoughts on where we should make our temporary home?

It wouldn't be too terrible to live here in Crystal Lakes (from imgur.com)

It should be noted that we are still looking to buy a place (let's call it the Hard Rock Chalet) with  Alicia and Divesh where we can rent out to friends wanting an adventurous mountain vacation. We'll have guided trail runs, bike rides, etc. This is going to take a while to get up and running, though - so be patient!


Running with Sunglasses

Doing the Ultra-Eye Study had an unexpected benefit for me. After reading so many peoples' experiences, I started doing all of my running with sunglasses. I had previously had this perpetual rash around my eyes and irritated conjunctiva. My patients and colleagues (in the Ophthalmology Dept, of course) nearly daily asked me "What's wrong with your eyes?" Anyway, it is now very clear it was environmental irritation while running that was causing it. If you suffer from similar problems, you might want to give sunglasses or non-tinted glasses a try.

Easter in Næstved

pre-teens

Thanks again for the hat, Olga

The spring experience