Taking the ice, Training run, apartment find, cleaning house

Since the last blog I did, I had a chance to take the ice on our "home rink" for the first time. It has been warm, so Thursday is the only day so far we have been out there unfortunately. We are creeping up on our first home game a week from today, so we sure hope the ice will be ready.

Friday I did a nice 10k run by the lake here in Nasby Park, Taby. I did the 5k loop that Miska showed me twice. I was so taken by the scenery, that I had to do it the second time and take my camera. While I was running, I could have sworn I ran from the lakes in Minneapolis to the Horse Fields in Madison! (No Paul - these horses were NOT like the ones in Madison that we saw...) It felt great and I managed to keep an 8:00 pace both times! After my run, I went to the apartment in Solna to pick up the keys and pay the deposit. I was excited to get into the apartment, but was instantly deflated when I saw the condition of the apartment - the place was filthy! UGH! So, I contacted the leasing company but they told me that they wouldn't clean it! So...I'd have to figure out what to do now - obviously 'get supplies and clean'. I really wish Thom was here for his really good thorough cleaning abilities --- among other things like his company and the fun we will have when he gets here! Head back to the burbs with some disappointment settling in...not a big deal, I'll survive...it was just the anticipation and then the let down. Bummer. Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend! Once back at the house, Miska and I go to the REAL Ikea - and yes, it IS less expensive here! I didn't buy much because I don't know what I'll need at this point - Miska and Camilla are going to get stuff from their summer house that they are selling and let me "store" it for them for 5 months until they move it to their new Summer Home in Gotland. So, I buy some scrub brushes to make the trip feel worth while. At least I know where the outlets are and where Ikea is so that way I can load up on the things I need to get when I figure it out! Back to the house for some dinner, wine, and relaxation!

Saturday we are supposed to take to the ice again for some practice, but the 8 degrees C (~46 F) made the ice too soft to skate upon, so we cleaned the locker room and painted it instead of practicing! Great team building! I spend about 3 hours there doing that and then head towards my apartment to do much of the same. I go shopping for cleaning supplies - mops, buckets, sponges, solvents...you know - the basics. I walk through "Solna Centrum" and pick the things up from the stores that I have learned are the "inexpensive ones" - spend about $35 USD and have everything I need! Rock on! Head to the apartment and it is dark outside - so as I ride the elevator up, I realize "I don't have any lights in the apartment - I'm not going to be able to do much!" Oh well - I have the light in the bathroom and kitchen - I can get those 2 rooms done today, tomorrow, I can take to the rest of the place in the daylight, and then Camilla will be back with the stuff to fill the apartment with the necessities. Perfect! I spend a few hours there - I'll spare you the details - it wasn't TERRIBLE, but I guess my mom has conditioned me to be a perfectionist when it comes to keeping a house clean. I'm only here for 6 months, I'm not going for perfect! Head back to the house for some great Thai food and relaxation.
Tomorrow I will finally get my hair cut and do more cleaning as well as go for another run.
I am finally starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the transit system and getting around. I didn't miss any connections today and I didn't even need to go online to map my route for the first time! I just used the maps and time tables I picked up in the transit center and figured it out - whew! I guess it takes a few weeks to get accustomed to it, but when you finally get it, it feels great! I then showed Miska where my apartment is on a map in the phone book - she was quite amazed with the location - being very close to the city - in fact, my closest "Tube" station is downtown! How cool! I did a walk to Solna Centrum tonight, thinking that was the closest, and that was only a 15 minute walk. Awesome to have DownTown right outside of my door. Additionally, a great park for walking and taking the pooch is about a 5 minute walk from the apartment! Things are starting to come together and this is beginning to feel more and more like home.

Here's a few interesting photos for you - As I walk out of 

the apartment to the bus stop, I see a billboard --- yep, that's Team AIK DamBandy! I head north to Solna Centrum a bit more and another one - with 2 pictures of the team. Kinda cool to realize what your team means in the city where you live. My apartment is very close to AIK Futboll stadium too...AIK is all around me. I'll be dreaming in Black and Yellow tonight - everything is feeling all right --- I just wish Thom would hury up and get here so that I could share this with him. I will be able to show him around like I'm a regular by the time he gets here, and hopefully, I'll be playing bandy like I've been doing it all of my life.

Time for bed - must get up early in the morning for another 10k run!

God Natt,
KP

Public Transportation

We have had 2 days of training on the running trails around here this week (and it's only Wednesday), and I'm happy to say, "I Survived!"  My first comment after we did our 'warm up' and first few sprints around a 500 meter hill was "Welcome to Swedish Bandy Kristy - it's not all about a stick and ball!"  I'm amazed at the things I haven't done to train in the past.  This is so cool.  

There's this place called "Ursvik" - it's a great park that I can only relate to back home as 'being like Theo Wirth Park' - but I'm not even sure that is accurate because these trails that we are running along are well groomed, all dirt, and a series of up and down hills.  The terrain is tough for a runner, and the setting is pretty.  I guess the way to think of it is a mountain bike path that has been widened and made for running.  I need to find some trails like this when I get home to train on.  

Getting to Ursvik from where I am now isn't so tough...now.  The first day was quite the joke on public transportation for me.  I took a train to a station in "Morby", and then was supposed to find "Platform M"....um...but it is like 1/4 mile away, and the bus driver I asked for directions had me walking down the highway!  Yeah, lesson #1, find out how to do the transfers before going.  I get to the bus station to make that transfer, and as I'm running up behind bus #157, it pulls away.  CRAP!  I have about 15 minutes left to get to the training....but like many people will say about Stockholm transportation, it's pretty frequent.  (Read here - rush hour you will see a bus on your route every 15 - 20 minutes, off peak hours...every 1/2 hour).  Since it's rush hour, another 157 bus comes along and I hop on.  Now, the trick of which stop to get off on...logically, the one called "Ursvik".  I get off at that stop and step off of the bus, take a look around and I see highway, and more highway.  The sidewalk goes about 200 yards before the intersection, so I walk that way, cross the street, and see that the sidewalk only goes to the next bus stop before it ends.  Ok, so I can go 200 yards either way, but otherwise, it's all Highway E18.  What do I do???  Call the coach and have him pick me up from the stop!  It took me an hour and 15 minutes to get to practice on Monday....lessons to learn about the public transit system - don't take the train to Morby to get to the bus station if you are going to have to take the bus from Danderyds Sjukhus (that's hospital), and if you do, figure out the walking path to get between the 2 platforms; or just avoid taking the train.

On the way home, I note the stop that is much closer to the training field since I will be here again the next day.  Sundbypark Ostra (Ostra = East).  Noted!  I take the bus to Frescati this time to catch the train - I know this stop from a journey before, so I know that I have a small walk before getting to the train - and wwwwhooooooshh!  there goes the train I wanted to take!  Ugh - I know that in Frescati, not every train stops, so I have a good 1/2 hour standing, waiting for the train with a wet baselayer of clothing from running.  Finally, the train comes and I make it home to a hot sauna just an hour and a half after I started my venture home.  Day 2 of training this week, I will make better route plans.

I took the time on Tuesday to go to the "SL Center" (Public Transit Center), to get some maps.  It was a good thing I did!  I mapped a route to practice that would take me 30 minutes this time (and it took me less because I made a transfer from bus 618 to bus 157 on the early bus), and mapped out a plan to take the bus back home that would be 1:15!  What??!?  How can it take me 30 minutes to get somewhere, but an hour and fifteen minutes to get back?  Ugh!  I think  "It's going to be a long one", and it was.  The bus that www.sl.se told me to take from practice to the first transfer doesn't even go to the first transfer that it told me...so, luckily I had my trusty map and figured out 3 more transfers to get home...this time, it only took me 1:45 to get home.

As I sat in the sauna after day 2 of training, I began to wonder "what if someone came to Minneapolis to train, would I know how to help them get along the public bus system there?"  No...I wouldn't.  Something I should know in my own town, and I don't.  Something to put on my to do list when I get home.  I also thought about the conveniences I have taken for granted for so long.   When I got to practice early on day 2, I had to stand in the chilly night air, waiting for others to arrive.  At home, I would have sat in a toasty car.  I thought about being able to come and go as I please - not having a car is a bit different.  I thought about being able to get to places by taking the shortest route known - you can't do that when you have to follow the route of the bus or public transportation system, so everything takes more time.  I thought about how when you drive yourself somewhere, you don't have to worry about the timing of transfers...if you miss a connection, you could have just set yourself back a half hour on public transit.  

It's amazing the things we take for granted and don't realize it.  I did take note as I was riding all of these different buses and trains that Reese will be welcome on all of them that I rode this week.  She won't have a problem getting around once she gets here...as long as I figure it out first!

I'm adding a link below that has some pictures from the futboll game on it....the pictures of me show how badly I need a hair cut!!!

Ciao~

Public Transit KP

http://magnusneck.se/gallery2/v/AIK/AIK-Helsingborg-2008-11-02/

I think I experienced a slice of heaven...

The weekend had some activities scheduled, nothing major though, and well, it turned out to be quite fantastic!
We had a late practice Friday night, so I took advantage of Saturday morning to catch up on some much needed sleep. Ok, I was up at 9:00, but still...it was sleeping in for me. After getting up and lazing around for a little bit, I decided to go for a run. Miska (house host) was up for showing me her 5k route and it was beautiful. It went along the lake side and was just so relaxing and pretty. I think it was a little over 5k, but she claims it just feels that way because we were running slowly --- (not really!). Because that was only 5k, I thought I'd go back out, but asked Camilla (house host) if she wanted to join me...she thought about it for a little bit, and said she would! She took me a totally different direction - to the trail for 9k more! WOW!

I've never been one for cross country running, but I may be changing my outlook a bit. The trail was awesome. Granted, it was muddy and slimy and slippery all at once because of the recent rain fall and what not, but it was a gorgeous setting! We ran through the "oldest golf course" to get there, and once we got there, I was in for a real treat. The trail was rolling with challenging hills and great terrain. We kept a very good pace throughout the whole thing, and it was just beautiful. Along our run, Camilla mentioned (towards the end) that she was motivating herself by thinking of a cold beer and a Sauna---ok, that sounded like heaven! It couldn't get much better than that, could it? So, I joined her and it was definitely a slice of heaven! I could get used to that!
We cooked some MN wild rice and had Ludde and Micro over for dinner - everyone enjoyed the "taste of home" - so much so, I've written home to ask for Thom to send me more :) Then, I was off to a birthday party for Frida E with the gals. It was a group of younger gals - most in their early 20's (if that), so I was the old one of the group ;) That was fine though because I got to see some more of the city and got to know a few of the gals even better. I really enjoyed talking to them, playing games, and learning some more Swedish words and songs. We also went to a club and we were out very late --- later than I think I've been since my days in college.

I came back home after staying the night with one of the gals (thanks Linnea) and got ready for a Futbol game of AIK. That was a really fun soccer game, even though it was cold 

outside, I still enjoyed it. The bandy team got to go down to the field before the game started and some were interviewed (glad I was not since I wouldn't have understood a word in the question!) AIK won the game 3 -1, and I have never seen such fancy footwork with a ball in all of my life. My favorite goal was scored by #29 when he did an awesome fake with his foot by moving it around the ball (with the ball in motion), and then kicked the ball to hook it around and into the inside post and into the net. Quite cool!

Now, I'm winding down and getting ready for a busy week ahead of me. Tomorrow night we will go to a set of trails and run, same with Tuesday, Wednesday is ice time I believe, Thursday more trail running, and Friday will probably be ice time. We have our first game on Nov. 15th, so we hope to get onto the big ice to practice a bit before 

then....as much as I don't like being cold, I think I'm ready for the cold weather so we can get out onto the big rink!

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween and enjoyed the weekend!Have a great start to the week!
Later,
KP

Sorry for the delay - here's a recap on the week!

So, I last posted on Monday, and I've been trying to get back to another blog to update everyone ---sorry, I've been doing double shifts for work; Swedish hours and US hours.  Oh well, a small price to pay for the things I'm doing.

So, Monday was a day off, as was Tuesday, except I decided to do a "lactic acid relief run"

and hit the pavement for a bit with some of the playlists that Thom made me, thumping in my ears :).  I have some pictures posted here that I took on that run around the current neighborhood.  It was such a peaceful run, even though it was raining and a bit dreary outside.  Where I am, there is a lake near us, and the little town rolls up and down some hills.  I really found it peaceful at the top of the hill, just looking out over the water.  I'm currently NE of Stockholm Centrum (the center).  I would love to be in the heart of the city, but rent is hard to find and afford, so here I am at a former AIK players house, on the hunt for a place to rent.

Tuesday was a typical Swedish Autumn weather day - not my favorite season here I think.  It's too wet.  At least at home in autumn, it seems that we have a few rainy days, but here, it has been raining every day for the last week and a half.  I've been told that this doesn't always happen, but it's not uncommon either.  It doesn't rain all day, but most of the day.  Anyway...

Wednesday we took to the hockey rink and had an "easy" practice because some of the gals

from the team (7) had been playing with the Swedish National team against Russia in 2 more matches after AIK took the World Cup home.  My legs were thankful as they are still in some pain.  What I've drawn as a conclusion on my legs is this - my hips are tight and my fast twitch muscles were under trained.  When I was doing my sprints, I tore some of the muscle fibers in my quads that are the 'rapid fire' pieces.  Yowie, this hurts, but it will heal in time.  I need to keep stretching my hips and my quads and all will restore itself eventually - I just need to lay off of the sprints, which is hard since that is the same motion you use when you do quick starts in skating.  Oh well...time.  

Thursday we had another day 'off', but again, I did a nice 4.5 mile jog around the neighborhood and enjoyed the crisp October air before a rain came down.  

Today, Friday, was a whirlwind tour.  I received an email earlier in the week from a coworker here in Sweden that said she had an apartment lined up for me to go look at.  It took me a while to figure out the public transportation that I needed to

 take from this Eastern Suburb, but I finally figured it out, made it to the train station, got off at he right stop, and hopped onto a bus to the apartment.  My first wrong turn was once I got off of the bus...I didn't know where to find the building.  Luckily, I have a working phone ;)  Never leave home without it!  

 Once I got to the apartment, I took a look and wow - um, yeah, so I have some shoe boxes that are bigger than this place.  Yikes!  I did a small debate in my head of "do I commit or not?"  As I made my way home on the bus, then the train, I decided that I'd wait to see if the search I've had people on would turn anything else up.  I get home, send off an email, and a couple of hours later, I'm told that I need to be at another location by 2:30 --- and it's 1:15 right now, it takes 15 minute to get to the bus stop and an hour of transit time --- you do the math - that's cutting it close, assuming I even know the bus stop...which I found out I didn't know.  I call the host family I'm staying with, they swing by, pick me up and drop me at the next stop where I pick up my 2nd connection.  (Mental note, still need to find Bus Route 618!).  I get the next 2 transfers right and show up at the place.  Much more spacious...and by "spacious", I mean that the whole place is the size of the main floor at home.  It's for 5 months, I can manage.  What's even more interesting is that the kitchen is smaller than the bathroom!  The fridge is the size of mine from college, the stove/oven is 2 burners deep, 1 wide, and the sink is 'normal'.  I have to take pictures of it if that is where I end up because I still can't believe they can call that a "kitchen".  I have some debates to do on this now --- it's close to downtown (read 1 bus for 5 minutes, or even the "tube" --- subway), there is a veterinarian just about 3 blocks away, there are food places within walking distance, and it is in a 'medical college' area...meaning "students", meaning that I hope things are less expensive.  The down sides --- it's 30 minutes to practice and 30 minutes to work...a bit of a haul, but in the middle of the 2.  There is no microwave...guess we'll have to figure out how to fit a pizza in an oven 6" x 10" - one piece at a time?  there is no furniture...so, I have to rely on the friends I have made to help me out.  I guess there is a lot of green space nearby - I think about this because I wonder where will we walk Reese?  Where will I go for my "off day" runs?  

All in all, it's coming together, one piece at a time.  It truly was an adventure today taking on the new transit system without much help (thanks for the ride to the 2nd transfer!!), and sloshing through the rain and puddles; today's weather was probably the worst we've had, and I had to be out in it - - - icky.  It made me, as well as others, wonder "and you came to Stockholm for winter because....????"  Yes, because of Bandy.  I shall come back some day in the summer time and spend time enjoying the city, not walking briskly and missing things as they pass by.  

I have a list of some things that I will do while I am here -

1) Shop at the real Ikea

2) Shop at the outlets

3) go to the "Ice Bar" and have a drink

4) go with Thom to the "Ice Hotel" and stay the night --- we'll have to figure out what to do with Reese....

5) see the Vassa ship

6) learn the transit system without a map!

and of course, these go without saying: 

enjoy the adventure, learn more of their culture and language, WIN the championships with AIK.

And since it is Halloween - here is a fun tid bit about Sweden and how they celebrate Halloween:

It used to be a holiday where people would go to their loved ones graves and put a flower or candle on their grave site.  That is less and less common as time and tradition changes.

They don't always do the "American Traditions", but some kids do go out trick or treating - I told the host family about how mom sometimes makes kids she knows do tricks....so, they tried that here tonight and they got some funny looks in return....guess the American ways aren't fully brought over here yet.

We always do Halloween October 31, no matter the day of the week --- they, however, do Halloween the last Friday/First Friday of November (whichever it falls on --- if today ha

d been Nov. 1, they would have done it today)  

They also take 1/2 day holiday from working here! (I think that's the part of the Swedish tradition we should adopt!)

So, there are some fun facts about the things I've been doing and learning.  This weekend, we will go to a party tomorrow night (whoo hoo!), and Sunday, we will go watch AIK Futbol as they play their last home match of the season.  I guess everyone sings the "AIK" song...I know some of the words (when they say "Ah-eee-koh" for AIK...but that's it).  Then it's back to business as normal.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween and the kids made out with a lot of loot!

Keep on keepin' on....still putting one foot in front of the other,

KP

"Professional Athlete" - we're all in the quest for something

I've never seen an "indoor bandy rink" before in my life...ok, so I've really only seen maybe a dozen bandy rinks total in my life. For those of you who don't know how big a bandy rink is, imagine a soccer field. Yep - that's the size. Imagine flooding that with water, then enclosing a building around it. Quite massive and very impressive. I have finally seen an indoor rink; I must say it's awesome!

We were on our way to Edsbyn Sweden in the quest for the World Cup in Women's Bandy, 2008. Edsbyn is a town of about 5,000 people, and is ALL about bandy - even the Pizzeria is called "Pizzeria Bandy". AIK is a defending champion of the cup, so it's quite a big deal. The team this year has a lot of new players on it, so the tournament being this early in the season makes it quite challenging and can help define where the true talent lies - (there is no natural ice outside yet - heck, not really any artificial ice, so there is no way to really practice on the big rink, rather we go into a hockey rink and practice there). With such a new team, we really had to mesh together and understand everyone's role on the ice in order to be successful. Thanks to my friends on the team, they went over a few plays in a notebook with me on the van ride on the way there! whew - I learned some of the plays before I had to take the ice!
Upon our arrival, I was told that I'd be playing midfield in the first game against another Swedish team - wow! Um, yeah, ok! My legs were still sore from the training we did on Sunday the 19th - I REALLY pushed myself that day in our sprints. I realized that I was in "good enough" shape --- good enough to allow me to push myself, but not bad enough to tell me when to stop. That's a problem. Oh well, I laced up my skates and put on my new uniform and new number 9. (it's a 6 upside down, right?? ;) I love my #6, but this will do!) I took the ice for the first time to play a game of bandy as an AIK member; an awesome feeling went through my body as I took those first few strides...then a feeling of pain and disappointment came across me the first time I tried to push myself across the ice. Crap - those dang legs. Oh well - it's just the quads at this point, less likely to pull anything than if it were my hamstrings; I will survive. I made a few good plays during the game - ones that I can be proud of anyway - and then there were a few where I felt like "doh! I am showing my lack of experience on the ice!" My timing needs to improve, and I need to work on my defensive steering in addition to many other fundamentals...it will all come in time I'm sure - this is why I am here! We win the game and now it's time to head back to the "old school" where we are staying for the weekend. Game 1 is behind us, we have 4 more to go.
We arrive at this old schoolhouse where they have set up bunk beds, have a kitchen, and a little lounge for us. This old school has a Bandy museum in it! I can't believe all of the bandy stuff I see! I found this book among the many that talks of bandy in 1978 - what a great year! I saw many things like the first design of the bandy ball, which was more of a basket weave of material around some other materials. I saw some really old bandy sticks, skates that were like my dad's old hockey skates, and many old jerseys, awards, and memorabilia. Way cool! After we tour the school, we all grab a bunk, make our beds, then we head out as a team to do some grocery shopping. Then it was time to go back to the school to relax and hang out for the night of watching Swedish Idol, discussing the game we played and the days events ahead of us. Then it was lights out because we had an early game the next morning - 7:00 AM - and that game was against one of the better teams in Sweden - Sandviken AIK. Whew - I was going to sit that game because of my legs and the fact that we had so many extra players, someone had to sit! I watched our team play in that game and learned a lot just from watching the team. Such talented people, and I'm honored to be able to skate among them - another win! After the game, it's back to rest at the school, grab some food, rest some more, then take on our 2nd game at 5:30 - that game, I was skating again! I lace them up and hope for the best...my legs feel pretty good, but still not 100%. I did pretty well - about the same as the last game, but got frustrated that my legs didn't want to carry me like they normally do. We skate to yet another victory! We head to dinner after the game, back to the school, we do strategy sessions, play some Team Building (FUN!) games and off to bed! The next day was much like the first - we skate early in the morning for the Semi Final game and I get to skate again...but much to my dismay, my legs weren't having any of it. I laced them up, had a pretty good first half, but my legs just couldn't hang. I skated less in the 2nd half, and knew that I wouldn't be skating in the final match. I am ok with that though - I saw this as an opportunity to watch the 2 best teams in the tournament face eachother - a chance for me to watch from the stands and analyze the play!
Between our Semi Final match and Final match, the Men's World Cup had to come play in the indoor rink because the ice that they were skating on an hour north was too soft, the weather was too wet, and the winds were awful --- so, I got to see some elite athletes play bandy. Let me just say - their passes are harder than ANY of my shots will ever be! They are so incredibly fast and strong, it's almost super human! I was in awe at the skill and speed of the guys that were out there. I found out that the men in Sweden at that level (yes, pretty much the same level as the team I'm playing on) make enough money to live on! The men in Russia make VERY good money -more than a Swedish bandy player would. The only problem is that it's all men that get paid - not the women. Some day I imagine that will change - I hope I could be playing at that level when it does! :)
The final match was a nail biter! I sat in the stands as we started the game and felt pretty good when we were up 2-1, then 3-1 and holding as we played "Record" from Russia - basically the Women's National Team from Russia. 5 minutes left to go in the game and one of our better players gets her 2nd penalty of the game, resulting in a penalty shot (again!) Linda - our goalie had already stopped one of the penalty shots, but Russia has some excellent shooters, so it was nerve wrecking to see them take position for that shot and then they scored. A minute later, another penalty against us, and another penalty shot resulting in a goal - it's tied 3-3!!! UGH!!! Over time - 2, 5 minute Sudden Death periods, followed by a shoot out - Play goes on for 9 minutes, and then the skater from our team who had 2 penalties makes up for that time in the box and puts the game winner into the net! Whew! We just won the world cup in women's bandy, 2008!!! I didn't realize it, but the winner --- they receive a check for the team! wow! How cool is that?!?! So, technically, I got paid to play --- I will benefit from the win as it will go towards sticks, balls, etc, for the team expenses this year. How cool! After the match, I ran down to the team and I was handed the cup to hold onto...what an awesome feeling!

As I was holding the cup, I realized that this was only the beginning; the real competition is going to heat up during our season. I can't believe what lies before me - it's really starting to set in that "bandy season his here", and here I am on a team of elite athletes, we are all on the quest for winning a championship at the end of the season. There are many games and practices between now and then, but there is a common vision among the team members - to work together to achieve the goals WE have set as a team.

Looking back at the weekend, I realized how cohesive the team is. Everyone works together, and when we don't we fall apart on the ice a little bit, and the other team, if they stay together, will catch us when we are weak. It's important to stay together as a team, and AIK does a great job of it --- we played a team building game that brought us all a little closer, we did warm ups together and brought us closer together, we won our games as a team, bringing us closer together. Looking ahead, I see a lot of time together with my teammates - one of them is having a party this weekend that we'll go to - but then there is all of the practice time we have together too. It's going to be a lot of work, but it's going to also be a lot of fun...after all, looking at the feelings felt by winning a tournament so early in the season, it's going to be amazing to experience the quest to the final match where the final cup will be won. My quest started out just to live in Sweden and play bandy --- it's evolving to much more than that now; I will learn more culture, I will experience bandy at a level that I've never experienced it, and now, I'm meeting new people that are much more than teammates. Yep, this quest is just beginning --- I have started to ask myself - "what will you aim for after this???" I realize it's too early to ask that question right now --- I need to enjoy the rest of the ride on this journey first! We're all in a quest --- mine is to enjoy this adventure and enjoy the awards along the way!

One foot in front of the other

That's how I'm focussing on walking today! ha!
If you would have asked me 3 weeks ago "Do you think you are in great shape?" I would have said "I think I'm in 'good' shape, not great shape." And I honestly would have believed that! Now...ask me what kind of shape I'm in!!!

You would think that after a season consisting of a marathon, triathlons (including a 1/2 ironman), 1/2 marathons, and duathlons, and frequent trips to the gym to lift and work with a personal trainer, one would be in "good" shape. Yeah...you'd have thunk it!

Let me tell you, that until you do lifting like I've been doing, or running like I've been doing - fitness will remain at a 'moderate' level in perception. I now have a new outlook on 'fit'. (Sorry Thom - this may mean more time at the gym upon my return...I'll never want to lose this because it's painful to get it back!) Luckily, I'm not the only one that is sore --- many of the other gals were a bit sore last night too as we embarked on our "hill run". So, we modified a bit. Instead of sprinting up the hills, we...well, we sprinted the whole damn thing! Ok, not like we were doing on Sunday morning, but really, we ran a course of what I was told is about 12 - 13 kilometers (yes, yes...conversion for you English Unit folks: about 7.5 - 8 miles)in an hour. Ok - so that's about an 8:00/mile pace if we ran 7.5 miles, about 7:30 if we ran 8 miles. It was on all different types of terrain - we started off road for the first 20 minutes through mud, rocks, tree roots, dirt...you name it, we probably stepped on it - and perhaps some dog poo (I know some of you thought that!). That was a bit of up and down - nothing too terrible. Then we spent the next 40 minutes on pavement, going up gradual, long hills, and up more gradual hills...maybe down a little, but back up....and keeping a 7:30 pace. I managed to keep up with the first 3 runners in front of me - that made me feel pretty good. There were quite a few behind me, but inside my head, I kept telling myself "there are still those 3 in front of you!". We got back to the locker room and stretched a bit, and then it was a night.

Today, (tuesday), we had the day off. I got up at a 'normal' time - 7:30 (sleeping in a house with twin 2 year olds - you don't sleep much past 6:00!), and then started the work day... I had to make sure to get up once in a while to walk around so my legs wouldn't seize up on me. They hurt like the dickens - and what's this? Tomorrow at 6:00 - "POWER"?? then skating at 7:00?? oh my - I hope my legs are back to normal by tomorrow morning! (Power is a lot of plyometric work where we will do lots of jumps, side to side lunges, etc. Lots of leg work!) I will survive...what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

Friday morning, we are leaving for the tournament - 8:00 AM "mini busses" roll out and we are off to a tournament where we hope to be competing in the championships on Sunday night. I don't know how much ice time I'll get - being the "newbie", but I'm excited to see "ice" bandy played indoors! I'll be sure to take some pictures and post those!

Besides the bandy - I've seen a lot of different fashion as I sit at the desk in my room and work during the day. There is a day care down the road where moms/dads/nannies can go and socialize with their babies. There always seems to be someone walking down the road pushing a stroller, riding a bike, or just taking their pooch for a walk. Golashes are big here (the weather is rainy this time of the year), and tight/skinny jeans. No one ever looks shabby when they are out and about - in fact, there is no way I'd survive wearing some of the shoes they wear walking. All about fashion! I haven't had much of a chance to get out and see much more just because when it's daylight, I'm logged into work, and then at night, I stay logged into work...or go to practice. I hope that when I move to the apartment near downtown, I'll get to see much more.

But, I guess I'll just have to wait until then.

For now - it is 11:00 PM here and I'm going to call into a work call, then take a nap and do it all again tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have a bit more mobility tomorrow! I know my pain is minimal in comparison to mom's at this point - by the way - for those of you who are reading this and know the family - she is doing very well! She's a fighter --- taking it one day at a time... as I take it one foot in front of the other.

Owie! Is this what it's like to be a pro?

Ok, so I've always said "I want to train like a pro" - well, I had my first opportunity to that, and dang it - I'm "S"-"O"-"R"-to the "E" today! I can hardly move it seems like. Ok, so my fears of the gym were adequate, and here's the story of a "typical work out". (and I crap my pants thinking that it's "typical")

I moved to one of the AIK coach's houses on Saturday, so Saturday night was a nice night chilling with the coach, his girlfriend, and the couple I'm living with (and their twins), as well as another set of their friends. I got to do a real "Finnish Style Sauna" (Miska - the coach is from Finland), and just relax. That was great because then I was actually able to fall asleep at a normal time that night. I slept until about 7:30 AM on Sunday when I realized that it was a day I was afraid of - Training at the gym with the Swedish Bandy Players. I already knew they were strong --- but wow!

So, we head to this "Gym" - which I find out is a "Professional Athlete Training Facility". (Wow!) They had every type of training going on there - track and field (including pole vault and high jump!), wrestling, tae kwan do (sp?), floor ball (or "innebandy"), fencing, and who knows what else! We started out with running for about 20 minutes. And yes, I said "Running" for 20 minutes. I'm used to an 8:00/mile or 7:30/mile pace if I'm going to run for 20 minutes...I think we started out there, but ended at 7:00 or less/mile. Anyway - then it was onto the short sprints. We would lay down on our belly or back, or sit indian style or kneel, or whatever --- anyway - a series of these different starting positions was gone through. You are in starting position on the line, and someone claps so you can't see them doing it, you have to respond based on sound. You get up as fast as can be, then you sprint about 50 yards! Yeah, we did that for 45 minutes straight! Between each sprint, you got about 15 seconds rest. I am very happy to say that I did hang in there with most of them (there are a few girls on this team who are ripped and like Speedy Gonzales!)

After we did the sprints, my hammies were screaming at me, but we weren't done! Oh no - now it's onto the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash! we did the 100 meter dash 8 times and the 200 meter dash 6 times!

That was pure running for about 2 hours. Then lunch in the cafeteria. Many different things to have, including beer! yep! including beer! I thought that was odd....didn't see anyone taking any though.

Down to the weight room. I am SO weak! We did a series of back and leg exercises as well as some tricep and chest. Then, I actually amazed myself and did 10 pull ups with VERY little assistance! I was quite proud of that accomplishment! However...today (Monday), I'm a wee bit...er, a LOT sore! I can hardly walk!

Tonight, we are going to do "hill intervals" of running. I don't know if I am going to survive this first week! Once we are done with hill intervals, we are going to do some core work. That's "it" for tonight, then we have ice practice on Wednesday - oh, but before we do ice practice, we have "power" training. Meaning we are doing a series of jumps and hops for our legs and their power for an hour before we get on the ice for an hour and a half!

This weekend, we are off to Edsbyn, Sweden (NW of Stockholm) for a tournament. Crazy cool. There will be 12 teams - 1 Finland, 1 Norway, 2 Russia, and 8 Sweden. I heard that we might have some extra games after the tournament against Russia, but I'm not sure. Thank goodness we have 20 people on the team so we can sub in and out for games!

So, this is mentally challenging because I see all of the work that lies ahead of me physically, and mentally, I try to focus on work during the day (I mean real work for SJM!) I could see being a pro and being paid to train like this...yeah, I'd dig that, but really, wow! This is nuts! I'm loving it...never said I didn't like something that was physically challenging! It's a good pain I'm feeling now. I just hope that I can run up the hills tonight!

Here's to the hills you are climbing today mom - - - and the mountains you are having removed today. I'm thinking of you, saying my prayers, and counting our blessings!

Hej Da (said like "Hey Doh") for "Good Bye"
KP