A good Day To Be Inspired

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Today was an unusually pleasant day. I had the pleasure of listening to publisher and founder of the Bromberg publishing house, Dorotea Bromberg who had a speaking engagement at the place where I spend my days. Early this morning I decided I didn’t have too much on my plate so I signed up at the last minute. 3 minutes to the deadline, to be precise and it was one of the best “moves” of the day.

"Allt Går Sönder"

Just last week I was talking about how I should read more books – it’s been a long while. When a colleague showed me a Swedish version of Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe, 1958). It brought back wonderful memories of literature classes in school and I couldn’t help but borrow it at the spot. It’s been over 20 years since I read the English version so I can’t wait to get reacquainted again – the Swedish way.

The opportunity to listen to a publisher showed up in good time to fuel the resurrection of my interest for reading books.

As I am currently on the prowl for interesting books, Dorotea's oration was so relevant. Some of the mentioned were Roberto Saviano, Umberto Eco, Masha Gessen and Jonathan Franzen. So now that I am equipped with a bit more information, I only need to figure out who to start with.

I have to admit that Dorotea was inspiring in more ways than one. And she did it with a great sense of humour. Listening to the events that took place in the years leading to the opening of the publishing house, I couldn’t stop marveling at how strong we humans can be. At the same time, I couldn’t help wondering if I was really leaving up to my full potential.

Anyway, I was still very much inspired when I got home. As a result there was no trace of procrastinating in my home this evening. Busy until 22 hrs, the time that the gym closes, I decided I wasn’t too tired to squeeze in a home workout – my back-up workout. Yay for me!

Going to bed now, I am very certain that this was a good day to be inspired. Being a stress-free day as it was, it allowed me the opportunity and time to reflect and take to heart what I had just heard.

Oh, and it was just as nice to be reassured that the book wasn’t going to disappear any time soon. ;)

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To staying fit and healthy and to all dreams coming true throughout the Year

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Start of December 2011 I thought, “Why wait for New Year’s Day to get back on track? Chances are I’ll be sleeping away the day after an extended evening of celebrating.” I got my gym bag packed and got with the program.

Until then too many workout sessions had been cancelled all through the autumn. To make matters worse I was sitting way too much during the days. It was about time to scrape the chair of my back and start working my butt of – literally. I had gained almost 5 kg since the summer so I needed to shed some of that extra weight.

Things were going my way until Christmas day when all hell broke loose. I was feverish all afternoon and my nose wouldn’t stop running. By the next day I was down with the flu. Three days later I visited the doctor to find out why I had difficulty breathing. It was because my asthma was being aggravated by the flu. Bummer! Still I was relieved to know I didn’t have pneumonia like I had initially feared.

New Year’s Eve came and I was still battling with my illness. While the neighborhood was blasting away in fireworks, I vowed to take better care of myself. A week later, during the second week of January, I made it to the gym twice. It was a struggle getting through those sessions, one of which was a spinning class but I got the motivation I needed to get back on track and so far so good.

Now I am aiming for Blogger Boot Camp 2012. I hope to do the spring 5k fun run for the third year in row and clock in under 36 minutes (I have done the same time -36' - the past 2 years). A couple of 10k:s would be a dream come true and last but not least, celebrating Christmas and New Year’s with my family and friends in good health.
I was “under the flu” during the holidays of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 as well. If memory serves me right, it was the same case at the same time during 2008/2009. I have had enough! This year, I want to tell a different holiday story.

So here is to staying fit and healthy! And to everyone who wants to tell a different story, here is to all dreams coming true during 2012 and beyond!

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Doctor’s Orders after Premiärmilen,

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It’s almost 3 weeks now since Premiärmilen, my second attempt to run a 10k race.

Unlike the last race where the weather was extremely nice, this time it was around 5^oC and quickly plummeting – typical weather condition in March. After running a tenth of the race I decided it was better to limp one kilometer back to the start line than continue nine kilometers ahead.

Just 14 months after taking on this running gig
and I am wondering if I should hang up my running shoes
and take a bow (bad knee)

I found myself in a situation where my knee was painfully stiff and making it rather impossible for me to run. Even the walk back to the start line was excruciating.

This knee only acts up when I least need that kind of trouble. I had started to think it was all in my head when it swelled up a few days later so I went to get it checked up. After twisting, lifting and bending my leg, the doctor decided he couldn’t see anything wrong and recommended I use the ellipse machine instead of running.

I was far from satisfied with that response so I kept arguing, trying to convince him of how bad it was but my words were falling on deaf ears. When he offered to write a prescription for an over-the-counter pain-relieving gel, I understood he was looking to get rid of me.

A few weeks later I checked the pharmacy (just for the heck of it) and there was no such prescription for me to pick up so I think I was right; the good doctor was just trying to get rid of me. However, I wasn’t looking for drugs in the first place; I just wanted to get a diagnosis, to find out how to go about getting better and whether I should continue running or not.

I am over the incident now but the anger lingered on for a good while after that hospital visit.

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Low Temperatures, Low Morale

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With temperatures running as low as     -16^oC, we decided to abandon our routines last evening. 

My other half decided it was too cold to cook. So I got Chinese on the way home and barely made it home with my fingers intact, let alone my face. Consequently, I decided it was too cold to go out again thereby skipping the gym.

I wasn’t really keen on having take-away for dinner in the middle of the week but the restaurant has some gorgeous sautéed vegetables to die for. Besides, chinese take-away is the only way we get to eat white rice at home – except for those times we have hosted the Christmas gig. White rice is a treat for some so who am I to deny?

The vegetables were laced with too much oil though, but I can live with that every once in a blue moon. Looking forward to seeing what today brings.

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Into the Realm of Anti-Doping and (Maybe) Supplements

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My recently regained interest in sports supplements has lead me thinking about what differentiates performance “enhancers” from doping substances. I don’t think I have ever had an encounter with doping agents but let’s face it; a number of ingredients that make it to the labels for the consumer who gives a flying fig do not come in layman terms. Besides, new substances are ever appearing on the black list, why a bit of research is necessary to find out which hazards lark in the supplement jungle.

So before I go scouring the shelves of the local retailers, I have decided to hop on to a an anti-doping course to gain a deeper understanding for the phenomenon. Simply to be better equipped if I should decide to incorporate sports supplements into my diet.

I don’t know if this is where I’ll find the information that I am looking for but accompanying me on this journey, among others, will be:

• Waddington, Ivan & Smith, Andy (2008): An Introduction to Drugs in Sport: Addicted to Winning? 

Et toi, Marion. Et toi?

• Houlihan, Barrie (2nd ed.): Dying to win: Doping in Sport and the Development of Anti-doping Policy



For lack of a better image. Otherwise
he looks like he's really  "dying to win".



I am looking forward to learning.

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