Will try training today- slooooowly. And spring is coming!

Sweden is a strange country.

During the weekend, it was +10 C and the snow was melting fast. Yesterday was too many degrees minus. And the light! Woke up this morning at 5.20 am something, and it was getting bright already. At this time of year, days are as long as the night, and the days are rapidly getting brighter. Something inside wakes up when the light returns to this strange country.

And on Sunday we change to "summertime", i.e setting the clock back on hour to get longer evenings. Summertime. With snow on the streets. Hmmm....

After one week of medication, anti-inflammatory, I will take a sloooooow run on the treadmil tonight. Keep your fingers crossed...

My crazy friend LC!

Its with excitment I follow my crazy friend LC in Panama on his 700 km run through Panama. From as close to the border to Colombia you can get in the east to the Cost Rican border in the west.

700 km.

In tropical temperatures!

Around 55 km every day!!

I thought the marathon in Panama was pretty tough, and our run together from the Atlantic to the Pacific last year even worse. But LC do this every day for two weeks! Craaaaazy!

He is running for Pura Voluntad (http://puravoluntad.org), which is spanish for Pure Will.

A few days ago, LC passed Panama City, crossing the bridge over the canal, Puentes de las Americas, and he should be passing my favourite surf-spot about now, El Palmar. But I hope he sticks to the road. Surfing and Corona is for later, LC.

Go Go Go!!!

Bursit - a good Monday?!?!

Imflammation in the knee, "bursit" (slemsäcksinflammation in swedish). Patience and medication, but no surgery!

The doctor did not think it was a good idea to run 50 miles in April (smart doctor), but Stockholm Marathon in June should be ok if I just took care of the rehab and had patience.

Yeah!!!

Next: anti-inflammatory pills for one week combined with anti-inflammatory gel on the knee. Rest, well, or swimming.
If ok after one week, I could get started reeeeally sloooow. With short strides.

The change from asphalt to snow was probably a large contributing factor that increased the stress on the knee (slemsäckarna). The 80 k run in December and all the races in November and December could of course have nothing to do with it... :-/

Ok. This means I will be a better swimmer, that I will exercise my patience and that I will be rocking in Stockholm Marathon!

Meanwhile, I will follow the progress of my dear (crazy) friend LC on his 800 km adventure in Panama that started yesterday. Will post link mas tarde.
And the three crazy (!) girls in Panama in their preparation for AR50 in April.
And of course my crazy friend Fer- my 80k-pal!

Copper Canyon Ultra - is this real?!?!

http://www.caballoblanco.com/

Is this for real? Is there really a possibility to participate?? To be there???

If so, I know for sure what my next target will be!!! Wrote an email to Caballo Blanco. Waiting with excitment for his reply.. :-)

Still alive..

Now I have an appointment with a doctor, in a little more than a week. Probably record time for socialistic Sweden..

Step-machine actually worked today, 20 minutes, and cheating a little bit with 15 min slow jog. Didnt hurt too much, actually not much at all.

Strange country, Sweden. Strange country..

Down and out

Ok. That was that. No TEC-ultra in April. Looking for a doctor.

Sometimes life sucks.

A bad knee and receipts to China

Lets start with the bad part. The knee sucks. Really sucks. But I guess that is an experience too. Yesterday, I could do 20 minute running, without really hurting. Today 40 minutes. And it felt really good. Then I was stupid enough to add some workout for my legs. That was not so smart. Now I have been sitting with ice on my knee for 40 minutes.

And I think to myself. "Why do I have to make such stupid mistakes to learn?". Isnt there any smarter way to learn? Like listen to other, smarter people? But I guess that is me, and I have to accept me as I am. Even the parts I dont like. Sometimes it is good to be stubborn, sometimes it is not so good.

Change of subject.

At work. Sharing room at work, with too few power outlets. I have this nice desktop that I can change the height, so I can sit sometimes and work standing up other times. Very nice. Only problem is that I have to unplug my charger for the mobile in order to plug in the desktop, to change the height.

So. Easily solved with a power splitter. So, I go to the secretary to ask.

Secretary: "We have no process for ordering power splitters".
Joakim: "Eh. Ok. So, what should I do?"
Secretary: "Easiest if you go and buy it yourself."

Ok. No big deal. Ok, it will be one more thing to fix, but no probs. But to claim the money, which is more or less nothing, 2-3 USD, I have to use the following process:

1. Scan the receipt.
2. Log in to the tool where I put in the claim.
3. Send the claim to China.
4. Send the receipt by airplane to China.
5. China checks my claim, probably to make sure that I dont try to fraud my company for 2-3 USD.
6. China sends the claim to my boss for approval.
7. My boss approves the claim and sends it back to China.
8. China informs the financial department that they have a GO to payout the 2-3 USD, that they now are sure is not a fraud, but an ok claim.
9. When China get my receipt by airplane, the store the receipt together will all other receipts they get from the whole world (in a big barn???).
10. I get my money on my account.

How much does this cost in working time?
How much does this cost in money?

and most importantly

How much CO2 does it cost to fly a receipt to China?

That would be truly interesting to see...

Tomorrow I will go and buy my power splitter. I will not keep the receipt. I think I can survive a 2-3 USD loss, and I will feel good about saving the environment some added CO2 in the atmosphere.

No, I will not tell you which company I work for... :-)