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Half-way Point.

Posted 18:40 CET Monday June 21st, 2010 (74 days ago). 191 views. No comments. Tagged with Exercise.

Luckily the start and finish are not where they usually are…

Around the Pond.

Posted 17:34 CET Sunday June 13th, 2010 (82 days ago). 183 views. 2 comments. Tagged with Exercise, Formula 1, Personal.

Today I had my third and – so far – longest run this year. Only three runs in just as many weeks is pretty damn lazy, but I did plan to go for another one this week. Unfortunately, life is designed so that more often than not things just don’t go according to plan: Last Sunday I spent in the park with good friends; eating, drinking and talking about life, the universe and everything. The next two days I spent puking tiny pieces of typical park food and that took its toll on my ability and motivation to start running around.

But today I felt better and took off out into the wild. I was planning to plot the route in Google Maps using the GPS file from the Forerunner and use it to brag about my run by posting it here, but it turned out that getting this done was a bit of a pain. So you’ll just have to take my word for it: From Gamlebyen, via Bryn to Østensjøvannet, around that and back home again via Helsfyr. A nice route, but perhaps a bit to much up and down for my taste.

Next week looks kind of bad in terms of running because I’m busy every afternoon except for tomorrow, but it’s not very likely that I will set out on another adventure that early. My feet hurt now and there’s a good chance they’ll feel a bit funky tomorrow as well.

Now it’s time to eat some dinner before the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2010 from Montreal starts. Damn Hamilton is in pole position, but we can always hope that he spins off in the first corner, making way for the Red Bull team.

I went to Canada once, but I can’t really remember if Montreal was one of the cities I visited. Memories – they fade. Bye, bye, memories. No hard feelings, I hope?

Noise.

Posted 20:56 CET Wednesday June 2nd, 2010 (93 days ago). 336 views. 2 comments. Tagged with Exercise, Gadgets, Technology.

I praised the Forerunner in my previous entry, but since Sunday I’ve found a serious flaw: Every time you start a workout, a message telling that “jogging can cause intense muscle pains” should be displayed. Going downhill really messed up my thigh muscles and I’ve been walking around like an 80 year old since Monday. Today was the first day I’ve been able to get down the stairs without clinging to the railing. Sounds like I have to go for another jog soon, yes?

And now for something completely different.

A couple of years ago I bought a dead cheap surround amplifier from Argon. It was a demo model they’d used in the store and I got the amplifier and a region free DVD player for 900 NOK, about €114. A bargain. The DVD player gave me a mild electric shock if I touched it whenever it was plugged in a wall socket, but the amplifier worked like a charm until a few weeks ago, when a static noise began to sound from the right front speaker. Cleaning and dusting the insides of the amplifier didn’t help – I’ve successfully “fixed” a similar problem doing that in the past. The reason for the static noise is evidently a soon-to-fail thingy inside the amplifier and since I don’t have the wiring diagram, an oscilloscope, spare parts or the skills to fix it, I’m guessing it’s about time to get a new surround amplifier. Continue reading "Noise." →

The Forerunner.

Posted 19:48 CET Sunday May 30th, 2010 (96 days ago). 286 views. One comment. Tagged with Exercise.

It’s been a week since we spoke already? So it seems. Time flies like a butterfly.

Today I had the first run with my brand new Garmin Forerunner 305. In spite of the transporter strike that’s still going strong, I got it in the mail on Friday because the online store I ordered from changed delivery company from the one I’d chosen, which is on strike, to one that wasn’t. They probably had to go to striking company’s storage facility to get the package; from what I could see from the tracking on the website, that was were it was stuck. Kudos to Komplett.no for their proactive thinking and customer service.

So, what about the Forerunner, then? Well, yet again I’ve experienced that no matter what kind of cool gadgets I strap to my body, jogging is exhausting. But, considering this was my first actual run this year, I think I did all right. The GPS on the Forerunner seems fairly accurate – I uploaded my route to Google Earth, and even though it looks like I ran on the wrong side of the road, it’s still the correct road. Continue reading "The Forerunner." →

Running Man II.

Posted 19:40 CET Thursday May 20th, 2010 (106 days ago). 273 views. 2 comments. Tagged with Exercise, Personal.

Summer. It’s awesome! Leaving the office today, I stopped and took a few deep breaths to once again feel the excellent scent of summer. The hot season came suddenly this year, more or less skipping spring. It will probably just last for a short while, though, I’m guessing it will get a bit colder again before the real summer hits us. Still, good times, good times.

My exercise regime has worked out (pun intended) quite well so far this year, with an average of three visits to the gym a week, and with the added bike ride to and from work I feel all right shape. The last three weeks have been lazy, though, with only one work out each week. The main reasons are some added workload at the office, an urge to get home to Anniken and that I really don’t like to work out when I’m hungry. So, to be able to work out as much as I want to and juggle everything else, I’ve decided to start running jogging again. Continue reading "Running Man II." →