Changes in Latitudes

Today I revisited the race which was my first half marathon. One of the races that started it all. I was there for two things: get a new PR on the course and become a Fjord Viking. Marius dropped me off and we took a quick look at the sports expo (not super impressive), and then I rushed outside to start warming up. We were really lucky with blue sky and warm temps...well sorta lucky. I really don't like running in the heat because I need more water. More water stops = slower finish. Marius cheered me on at the start and then had to go because he has a soccer game today too. Between the 4th and 5th kilometer, I saw Marius' car driving towards me with the sunroof open and he was holding a little American flag out of the roof of his car. I got a good kick of adrenaline then, but then I was really starting to struggle. Bigger races have more runners, which also usually means more people cheering. It's amazing how much cheering pumps you up when you're racing. So I...

I realize I never got around to posting about Madrid. I wanted to upload pictures from Marius' camera, but that has been hard to remember the few times I go to Oslo. So I promise to post something with the pictures I took with my phone. So news since Easter... April 30th I logged over 1000 kilometers of running so far this year. I saw at the end of March that I could get myself to do it, and I did! It was a great night in Bergen for making that goal as well. June 1st I'll start my training cycle for the Oslo Marathon. My second attempt, so I'm aiming for anything better than 4:09:00 - my finishing time last year. My shoes that carried helped me run past my 1000th km this year also surpassed their 1000th km of their lifetime My favorite running spot lately is Fjellveien - a road which runs along the rim of the valley just above the city- Great views of downtown, fresh air, gravel pathway. Experimenting with some new ways to fuel - quinoa berry bowl ...

I have moved around the Sars Centre (for Marine Molecular Biology) a bit now since beginning here with a 50% position last November. Now I am moving my way up the ladder. Last week I began full-time as a research technician for the cnidaria facility (sea anemones). My main responsibility is keeping the animals alive by regulating the tank system, feeding and washing the animals. I have become quite technical with the new position. So in the morning when I come in, I prepare the food ( artemia  sea monkeys) to feed the Nematostella (anemones). And then prepare the batch of artemia  due for feeding the day after next. Then I give them some time to eat. In the meantime, the resesarchers put boxes of animals in the incubators to stimulate reproduction. I pull out packages of eggs and fertilize them. Cultivating brine shrimp/sea monkeys/artemia The boxes get washed on a schedule - each one is done once a month. And that takes up most of my day. However, next week I...

This year I have happily logged nearly 450 miles in preparation for my fourth half-marathon, which will be in Madrid on March 29th. I have put in 15 solid weeks of dedicated training in hopes of setting a new personal best. To date, my best time for 21 km (13.1 miles) is 1:47, but I'm aiming for a sub-1:45! A couple of weeks ago I set a personal best in the 10k.. 45 minutes and 25 seconds. I bet if it had been a race then I could have shaved off more time. I've been running 6 days a week. Occasionally this is twice a day, but only in the last couple of weeks when the sun has been shining and the days have gotten longer. Being in Bergen has made my training really enjoyable since we haven't had many days below freezing to create ice obstacles for me. I don't mind cold temps, but ice is not fun. I haven't signed up for a marathon yet, but I will have to choose between Amsterdam and Oslo if I want to reach my goal of at least 5 full marathons before I'm 30. An...

[Pretty mornings walking past Bryggen to work] Not much has happened since the New Year besides for, what seems like, great job potential at the place I'm currently working (Sars Centre for Marine Molecular Biology). There is a full-time position opening up and they are hoping that I will be eligible  based on my visa requirements. I'll be handing in a new visa application tomorrow morning, so it will be a great birthday present if the police station can grant me temporary work permit while my new application gets processed. So that's happening.  I have gone back to Oslo a few times the last couple of months, and we actually haven't gone up to the cabin. We went to Tylldalen to visit Marius' grandmother who is currently in a recovery home. The weather in Tylldalen was beautiful and I managed to sneak out for a run, but no ski since our skis are at the cabin. Marius' grandmother has her ups and downs. She is always in high spirits and enjoys playing gam...

Last weekend Marius came to visit me in Bergen for the Light Festival. We were a little disappointed because there were not as many Christmas songs as the last time we went, but the fireworks at the end were still good. [Christmas atmosphere in Bergen] [Annual Bergen Light Festival/Tree-Lighting] [Beautiful sunrise on my way to work last week] Right now we are at the cabin in Synnfjell for our first ski weekend of the season with Tron and Rigmor. We also have Kajsa with us because her owners are in Copenhagen for the weekend, and they asked us to dog-sit (she is the old cocker spaniel). Marius' two younger cousins who live near Oslo are also up with us, and they like having Kajsa around but forget that she can't hear. [Kajsa likes to roll around in the snow whenever she gets the chance] Tron, Marius and I arrived to the cabin on Friday night. I woke up with Kajsa around 7:30. It was still dark and the moon was really bright. After a little breakfast we r...

But only temporarily, as of yet. In the beginning of the month I took the train from Oslo to Bergen. It was a beautiful trip cross-country ascending to over 1000m above sea level and back down again. My friend Knut said that I could stay at his place until an apartment was available to rent. I picked up the key from his mom, dropped off my things, and went back downtown to go to my Norwegian course. He was out of town for the week for work, and my first day of work was not until the following Monday. So I used the next five days reacquainting myself with Bergen....mainly by running around my old neighborhood. On Monday (Nov 10) I started my new (tempoary) part time job at UniResarch Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology...UniSars for short. Technically I am called a "research technician", but I'm more like a glorified dishwasher at the moment. I made sure to tell the researchers that I am more than capable to help them if they need an extra pa...