The chains of time

When writing this it's close to 6 weeks left before I'm due to run my second marathon in Oslo and allthough I'm looking forward to it I'm a bit scared as well. It's a little like the second album musicians talk about. You've made a hit and now you have to follow it up.

In my first marathon my goal was to complete. The time was secondary. This time around it's all about the TIME! I've set an ambitious goal of finishing within 3 hours 30 minutes which translates to 3:29:59. It's eating away in the back of my head during every training session. I look at my pace and think: How can I run a marathon at that pace if I can barely manage it for 10km? So I guess it's time for a reality check, and to sort my priorities.

First of all: Running is fun, it gets me outdoors, in sunshine, sun sets, sun rises, rain, snow, wind. I run on roads and in the woods where I see the wildlife and the seasons change. It keeps me fit and happy and I can endure more of everything in my job and personal life. It keeps me going. So what's the big deal about the time again? After all endurance running is about going the distance and feeling good about yourself.

So I need to slow down and get back into the art of running. Something this animated film James Jarvis made for Nike captures.

Onwards from AKQA on Vimeo.

Enjoy your run everybody.

Sentrumsløpet 2009

I was very excited about running Sentrumsløpet 2009. First of all because it was my first 10km race and for the last 2 years sine I started running I have been focusing on the full marathon (I started with a couple of half marathons before doing a full marathon last year in Oslo). Secondly because it's in the middle of the pollen season so I was worried about my condition.

I arrived in Oslo a couple of hours before the race to pick up my startnumber and get ready. It turns out I was early, as always, with no lines anywhere. So I sat around waiting for the race and watching the kids race of 500 and 1500m.

The race had 3500 participants and with such a crowd I was a bit nervous about the start and getting up to speed fast enough. I had set a goal of maximum 50 min. and I'm a stayer, but not very fast so I wouldn't be able to make up for lost time at the start. I managed to get close to the front but still with a lot of people in front of me.

Of we went and I managed to get to the left side of the road to be able to pass a few people up the first hill past the Royal Palace. With this kind of crowd I tried to be as gentle as possible passing people so I wouldn't heart my self or others. The start is the most risky phase of race if you ask me.

The first 2km is pretty much uphill, but my legs felt really good so I kept a nice pace picking it up a little bit when entering Vigelands park. After that I could pretty much keep my own pace not worrying about bumping into fellow runners. Passing 7km I was still feeling good, but the last 3km turned out to be really hard. Much of it was uphill and I had to push myself hard to keep upthe speed. I crossed the finish line at 45:46 very happy with my performance and time. I don't think I could have gone any faster that day.

I'm definitley doing more 10km races in the future. Loads of fun.

I even did a short video about the race. Check it out.

My running history

I'm not really a blogger I just have things on my mind that I need to get out of my system. Incidentally that's also the reason why I started running in Januay of 2007. I'm not an expert on exercise or diet I just enjoy my training and races. It all started during christmas of 2006 when I was at my parents and talking to my brother who had started training for a marathon. He showed me this website http://www.marathon.se with training plans for everyone based on your initial level and goal, be it to be able to run 5 km or elite level training for a marathon. This was just what I needed to get started:

• A goal: Running a marathon
• A plan: http://www.marathon.se
• A motivator: My brother

So of I went and I can vividley remember how much I struggled to run my first 5km. I was completley exhausted. Allthough I quit smoking 11 years earlier my condition was poor. 5 months later I was able to complete my first half marathon! And in september of 2008 I completed my first marathon. I must admit to shedding a tear crossing the finish line in Oslo reaching the goal I set 21 months earlier. I actually believe almost anyone can complete a marathon, you just have to do it!

Today I'm running Sentrumsløpet, a 10km race in Oslo. This is my first 10km race so I'm a bit anxiuos especially because of all the pollen. But I've got so much energy I don't think it will be a problem. So let's go, it's time to start running.

You can follow my training on http://twitter.com/janmande and http://www.dailymile.com/people/janmande