It's energy! It's nature! It's freedom.

" Whatever nation your are. It's a sport for everybody - just go and ride your bike!"

I just watched the UCI MTB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018 - the women's championship, and it was so exciting!!
Some of the girl mtb riders made an awesome inspirational video. Here it is:

Enjoy it!

As for the championships, it is available to watch on Redbull TV (you can find it here). If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, watch the start and the two first laps and the last two laps. Do NOT skip lap 6 out of 7, that's when the most exciting thing happens!

And go out and ride your bike! 😊

Jack Wolfskin - a sustainable outdoor brand?

I am still looking for solutions for making sustainable, hopefully more environmentally friendly outdoor gear. Including clothing.

That is not a simple task!

I think there will maybe never be the ultimate solution, but we always have a choice, and we can choose between different materials, and different brands.

So today, on a peaceful, rainy sunday morning, I was surfing the internet for inspiration by googling "making your own sustainable outdoor gear" and somehow stumbled upon a  brand I have known for over 20years.

Jack Wolfskin is a German brand, known for their outdoor apparel and equipment since 1981.

The four items I have owned/still own from the company are:

- a set of synthetic isolating, a long-sleeve shirt and longs (made of 100% polyester fabric by Polartec®)
- a T-shirt (still have it, after 20 years!)
- a 18L backpack, which sadly, had to go into the trash, since it had become completely unsable, after having replaced zippers, been washed, and taking care of, the bag had become unrepairable and unsable - I removed all the usable parts for re-use though, and still have the rain-cover)

All I have known about Jack Wolfskin throughout the last 20years, it that the company makes great quality apparel and equipment (I still remember a visit by a friend of mine who had gotten herself a new jacket - from Jack Wolfskin - and it looked amazing on her - the perfect combination of daily weather protection that also easily would keep you dry, and maybe even comfortable, through a mountain hike - I wanted that jacket, too, very badly - it was purple).

So, back to the article - here it is, by GearJunkie :

Screenshot from the article at GearJunkie.

Because why should I re-write a good article that sums it up so well.... "Most-Sustainable Gear? German Brand A ‘Quiet Leader’" found on the GearJunkie website.

(Btw I am not sponsored or anything - just expressing my thoughts and reflections)

Creative Crisis!

I am and have always been, a creative person.

This is one thing that may just "lie in my genes" but also, I want to give my parents credit for that. My mother was always creative. I remember her sewing table in the bedroom,  the sewing machine and all the sewing accessories.
And: the classical butter cookie or toffee box that contained sewing accessories instead of the original contents - definitely something I wan to do, too).

She was making costumes, altering pants (I'm the younger sister so I had to use some of my older brother's clothes - sometimes they had to be altered to fit) and sewing everything in the house, both useful things and for decoration (I mean - decoration is useful, too., btw).

Well but sometimes I get so obsessed with my creativity that it actually stops me from creating. That is, some days, I can be creative in my mind, and have lots of ideas, but just don't have the patience to get going.

Or, if I try to get started, I am just too much in my head to continue.
And I can't find the material I know I have somewhere, my appartment is a mess, I am hungry, or thirsty, or cold, I can't decide what material, and so on.

Today was a day like this.

It started with an innocent exchange of ideas with my best friend, B, over FB chat.
So many cool stuff to find on pinterest!
Look at this, look at that! 😊

While deep down inside, I wanted, yes, deep DOWN inside, I wanted a DOWN skirt.

The SKHOOP Short Down Skirt 

I have suddenly become obsessed with the idea (yes, I am definitely OCD today) that I NEED a down skirt. An athletic type - that is, both athletic and cute.

And there we have the SKHOOP  skirts coming in.

A week ago, I had actually taken the step and ordered, not only one, but two.
Then, after some days, when I didn't get the usual notice about "Your order has been dispatched" I called the shop and one of the skirts was no longer available.

Since I kind of had ordered more spontaneously than well thought-through (I had also ordered expensive merino pants and an ever more super expensive, but perfect alpine skiing and snowboard backpack from Osprey) I canceled the whole order.

The reason for that sudden purchase was, that I had almost a trip to our capital planned for this week end, to meet someone from my childhood days I hadn't seen for twenty year. And that deserved a "signal garment":
You see, I live in Norway, and "We know how to dress proper AND stylish in the december cold." (my friend was coming for a super short trip from Germany, Hamburg, that is, usuallt mild and wet in the winter).

Have a look at the SKHOOP website - soooo much nice! I want it all!!!!! 

Well - no SKHOOP skirt for now.
(The one I had decided to obviously had a full-length zipper at one side, bit could not be detached completely - something I definitely need).

But I got so fond of the idea of an insulated skirt that I ordered an athletic Dynafit skirt, filled with primaloft instead of down, and more athletic looking. It hasn't arrived yet, since we have had some troubles with our mail due to snow, and the shop I ordered from is an actual shop (not only net shop) in Tromsø in Northern Norway!

Looks cute and athletic and wearable - and it has Primaloft fill, I like that.
Check out the Dynafit TLT Primaloft Insulated Skirt on their website!

But - what better place to order an insulated skirt from?

Now - I feel like my next skirt has to be on sale, or either super perfect to buy a regular price for.

More about what I mean a "perfect" insulated skirt should look like, later.
I also consider making a skirt myself.

Preferably with synthetic fill, since the thought of working with actual down in my appartment doesn't appeal to me at all.

So - today I had thousands of ideas - with those down skirts in my head - and the question: should I order a down skirt and return it if I don't like, but then at least I have seen how they are made?

I couldn't agree with myself today.

I tried to mend some of my merino clothes, but the result was too lousy, so in the end, I went for a walk with the dog.

At least I got fresh air, and feel my could bum that was craving some sort of insulated skirt thing!

While walking, I created a smart 3/4plants, and then short fleece pants, and insulated pants, just to distract myself from the down skirt obsession.

When I got home I tried to finish some of my mittens I want to sell, but I couldn't even find the right needle to do so.

So the mittens will have to wait.
I actually felt a bit like being in some sort of micro "manic" episode - obsessed, creative, unfocused, irritable, chatting in super speed with my friend, being really witty and all, but at the same time, I couldn't get things done. And even though I was hungry, I didn't "need" food.

Well, I am not bipolar, so I guess that is just my super interesting changing personality - not one day is the same and it never gets boring.

Tomorrow is another day.
We'll see what I can do then :D

When the stars in the sky bring you closer to earth...

I felt so detached.
It was as if I was going on autopilot, just living and doing but not really being myself, just as if I was a passenger on moving body doing tasks, performing tasks, talking, walking, but my soul, my self seamed to be somewhere else.

Maybe I was too absorbed by all the tasks, and  often enough, I am more in my head than I am myself in the world.
So, I needed grounding. Not the literal grounding by making barefoot contact with the ground (or I could have tried that, but it was actually below zero and ice on the ground), just the process of stopping and being in nature, outside, re-connecting myself to the world.

So, when walking with Lukas in the evening, I decided to dress well and breing my headlamp and go for a stroll in the woods, to one of my favorite places.

Ironically enough, this is a place where there had been an old forest that had been taken down. I remember that night after it had disappeared, I was heading for a small hill, with Lukas and a huge backpack, to sleep in my tent.

I also remembered I was so shocked by the place where the former beautiful forest had been, that had now turned into something resembling a war zone.

Nevertheless, throughout the last three-four years, it has turned out into a place where I walk more than anyplace else. It's an open space. There still is the trail. Of course, there aren't orchids anymore. Or old trees, or the ancient paths leading to other places, but it's an opening to the sky.

I found myself a tree stump to sit on (not hard to find one) - and turned off my headlamp.
There they were... the stars.

Many years ago, when I lived quite far away from places with dense artificial lights, in a little place with 50 inhabitans just at the foot of Hardangervidda, I spent many hours outside, with a little red lamp, my dog and a skywatching book, and looked upon the stars. I got really good at telling apart and naming the different constellations.

I remember some of them. But now, you can also use an app to determine the names of the constellations in the sky, no need to bring a book outside anymore!

Anyway, while Lukas was entertaining himself with a stick to work on, I sat there watching the sky, so dark between the surrounding mountains, and tried to memorize the names that app had provided me for some of the brighter stars I saw.

Despite the cold I felt calm and at peace.
I really apreciate living in such a small place, where you can go outside and find peace and quiet on a saturday night.

Just that night, all I needed to put myself together again was the fresh air, the calm of the woods, the darkness of the sky and the quietness surrounding me.

I'm thinking that it would be fun to try and refresh my knowledge on all those beautiful constellations and star names. To me, seeing again Orion on the dark winter sky is like greeting an old friend.

After that walk in the woods, I felt like one piece again. My soul that had hidden from my body possibly due to too many errands, finally got settled back inside me. I felt grounded.

I think I need to be aware of that - that from time to time, I have to stop and take my time, be inside me, at my own pace.

Those magic moments...

In addition to all my strength training, I'm again trying to improve my fitness, meaning, my endurance.
So I have started interval training, mainly running, either on the track or running up a hill (and walking down).

I really like running on a track, it's easy, measurable, predictable, effective, you can just turn on the music, start the clock and do your workout.

Last friday though, I wasn't so sure whether the track would be the best place to do my intervals on. It was sunny, the sky didn't show a single cloud. And that was something that hadn't happened too often the last months.

So... I decided to turn my running intervals into hill sprints/lactate threshold interval/steady state or whatever workout, packed a small bag with extra warm clothes, a few slices of polarbread, a bottle of sports drink, a beanie, gloves... got Lukas ready, got dressed, got my poles, and went off.

Up my favorite training mountain top in the neighborhood.
I call it training mountain top because this one is truely not suitable for enjoying the hike up to the top. The path through the dense wood is quite steep all the way up, the trees are mostly hiding the view and the sun, but all that, I don't mind.

I just go.
It's a workout.
The last 500m or so, after the one and only flat part on the way up, you can actually turn around and enjoy the first view. Then the trail leads through a dense part of rocks and trees and there it is - the top!

The reward for the dripping sweat, the skyhigh heartrate, the burn in your calves and thighs, the mental game of just going on and not thinking too much, just going up - the view!

Hattefjell moutain is a faboulous mountain for me to climb up onto.
Since I don't own a car, I can just walk from home, and it takes me a bit more than an hour to get to the top.

It's simple. It's doable. And if I am lucky, and went early enough in the fall or spring, I catch the last rays of sunshine, which I did last friday.

Was I lucky...

Calm?

Today I was looking for toe socks that are a little longer so I could use them for deadlifting.
The requirements for competition are: "Shin length socks must be worn to cover and protect the shins while performing the deadlift" - and since I still prefer my fivefingers for deadlifting, I will have to find toe socks that do just that. Btw the socks are not supposed to be that high that they come into contact with knee sleeves. Not that I would wear knee sleeves while deadlifting, but still..

I stumbled across a fancy pair:

So fancy! But what I found most funny was the name for the color: "Calm" 😊

All those shoes....or: how to come back into running after a few years...

There might be a new BIG HAIRY GOAL for 2018... I, or WE haven't quite decided yet... that is... ok here it is: Me and a friend  have this idea about doing an Ironman together, a full-distance ironman triathlon, in 2018, as a relay.
I will be doing the swimming, she will be doing the bike part, and I will run. Run. Yep, that is a MARATHON!!!

That's why the goal is not only big, but also HAIRY (I do shave my legs extremely often, though, so that's not the reason).
Hairy, because the last long distance I have been running was back in 2013 - as part of the Im 70.3 Norway.
In 2014, I had signed up for the same race, but had to drop it due to poor health - in september the very same year I got plantar fasciitis... no or very little running after that.
I had to rebuild my feet.
Start from zero.
I switched to strength training, signed up at our local gym eventually and did lots of running drills, while at the same time getting used to run again, in Fivefingers!

I figured, why not start from really zero - zero drop, zero cushioning, zero support from my shoes, just my feet, my legs, my body and the ground with a thin linner of rubber (around 4mm) in between.

That went well.
Still, I haven't been doing regular running since. Some intervals on the treadmill, some running for fun, or for blowing out, and so on...

While this summer so far has been a bit tedious, a bit hard mentally, my mind wandering back to HIM, whom I try to reschedule emotionally as "only best buddy" since he has engaged with a girl he fell in love with (I can't blame him, I got the impression she is really a nice girl) - my body just didn't want to do what I had planned.

So I have been taken it slowly this summer - and now summer is about to turn into fall, which I find just great. A little less pressure around all those fantastic summertime projects and holiday pics and all.

But back to running:
Although I kind of think of developing strength as my first priority, and even training for a powerlifting event in the future, I have found out that I simply, mentally, cannot do without some regular running plus the occasional bike ride - or swimming.

I think my brains need those good chemicals it produces while exercising - but I am not sure long-distance triathlon or marathon training is the key.

But this 2018 hairy goal is tempting.
While not go for it a 100% - I guess preparing for a marathon takes such a huge focus that I won't be able to skip proper shoes, recovery, nutrion and training planning, as I can do now.

Which takes me back to the original idea for this blog post - all those shoes....

I definitely need new running shoes.
My old ones will do for the occasional run, but the treadmill seems a bit hard and unforgiving on my feet, and I feel the tendency to just run and enjoy music (or Youtube) without thinking about how I run.
Running in the gym can be quite entertaining, our treadmills are positioned towards the room, and not the windows, so I can just look at what people do - which is nice and distracting but also just distracting - as for proper running form.

So - I thought I needed at least ONE pair of new running shoes: a nice pair of soft, cushioned shoes to make the run a bit more forgiving.

Since the day I slipped my feet into a NIKE Free shoe, I wanted a pair.
Only, they were expensive and hard to get.
Since then, several versions of the NIKE Free have appeared:
- NIKE Free RN (for running)
- NIKE Free RN distance (for running longer distances)
- NIKE FREE (the original which I also still want, maybe for everyday use)
- NIKE Free TRN (for training and not running(
- and so on - the choices are there.

I want as little drop as possible, with lots of cushioning but little stability and enough space in the toe box - so I decided to order a NIKE Free RN today, since it was on sale and looked cute.
My ultra-triathlon friend Marie mentioned that the NIKE Frees are comfortable to wear but quite annoying to use outdoors, since small pebbles and rocks get stuck in the sole.
So I thought they would make an ideal pair for running on the treadmill -at least for the shorter runs up to 5km or maybe 10km, which is what I am planning this fall - and those longer run I will do outside, I guess (so yay, another pair of shoes is needed!)

The NIKE Free Rn 2017 Solstice.
I think they look cute and somehow not like a "proper" running shoe, and that's why I ordered them -they also fit perfectly for use on the treadmill.

I must admit that I prefer a more "classical" type of running shoe for running outside, but the Solstice are perfect for gym use - I think I can also wear them for lifting weights afterwards, if I wanted to. So - we'll see how useful they turn out!
If they won't make a great running shoe, they will definitely be a super cute everyday-walking shoe.

So... now... I'll just have to wait for delivery (she said, after ordering the shoes half an hour ago).
Just some more impressions of the shoes...since I am so happy I made a decision :)

Cute.

I can't complain about the color scheme - just cute :D