6 October

Over a month since I wrote a post. Haven't had motivation to write to be honest and have had other things to do. Most of you who read this blog now some stuff I have done and happen since last post.
Most happened on Thursday 6 October. It was the day my younger brother went on his mission. Minnesota Minneapolis Mission. He just arrived from the MTC to Minnesota. He really enjoy being on a mission and is looking forward to work in the mission field.
Same day, Steve Jobs passed away. Not that I am an Apple fan, but he has done big changes.
A third thing happened that day as well. My relationship status changed  from "single" to "in a relationship".
Three weeks from today.

I have run but not very much. Been about once a week. Usually on Thursdays at Skatås. The club have long distance training that day. Have been running in the 5 min/km group. Now I just try to keep me in good shape instead of improve my times. Will wait until next year, when the weather will be better. Rain and cold winds are not my favorite weather to run in. We have a sauna in the club house, so I can warm me up if I get too cold. :)

How a sauna can look like

I have loads in school as well. I will get a "home exam" this Friday and have until next Friday to finish it.
Next course will be tough. We are expected to read all literature at least once. Roughly 155 pages a week.

Wonderful week

Last week was a really good week.
Four lectures and preparations for the seminar I had yesterday.
I also went on a date in Göteborg, watched Rise of the planet of the apes and had a great time. Good movie and a good day.

I didn't run in Skatås, but ran Lunnarundan. Last time I ran it was before Göteborgsvarvet. I thought I would get a time between 43 and 45 min. I kept a good pace and realized I could get a better time. When I stopped my watch it said 40 min 46 s. Season best! 4:27 min/km. I had my Forerunner 305. 9,15 km it said.

It was also a wonderful week spiritually. First a chill night in the YSA centre in Göteborg with Japanese theme. We made sushi, first time ever I tried it. Neither disgusting or tasty. The evening ended up with a anime movie. Then a fireside on Sunday with Elder and Sister Oaks as speakers.

That was a short summary for last week.

I have run once and had the seminar so far this week. I didn't have any expectations, but felt it could gone better. Tough to defend something you don't support. The best thing is to take the good things and things you can improve on and use it in the next seminar or task.

The running in Skatås was great. The rain was kind and waited until we were done. We ran in the forest, real cross country. I was glad that I had my long legged running trousers.
I think to run in Skatås on Thursday and home on Saturday. Three times this week would be fantastic.

Run well!

Back to school

After almost three months holiday, I'm back to university and my second term.
I will have two classes this term. "Democracy and welfare" and "Law in Public administration". Will be interesting. Right now we focus on theories of justice and democracy.
I have run three times after the trip to England. I have taken walks and tried to to some workouts, but I just count the times I go out running or playing sports or do any planned activity longer than 15 minutes.

The first training was on a Monday two weeks ago. We had a 2 km warm up jog and ran about 9 km with short intervals. It rained heavy when we ran. All my clothes I wore were soaking wet. It was an experience to run in that weather. I don't think I have done it before. Only in drizzle. I kept a 5 min/km tempo. So about 45 minutes. I pushed wrong button and reset the stopwatch.

The second training was a bit hilly. 6 times uphill and rushes when we came to a hill while running.
I missed a tram to Skatås. I took the next one and had to run to the club house. Less than a minute to leave my stuff before the others ran away.
It was a good run. No rain this time.
I want more and more buy a GPS watch. Both these trainings have been hard to memorize where we ran and times. So I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 the same day I had my third training.

The previous trainings were on Mondays. The third was on a Thursday. Which means long distance running. Running for 1h 15 min. I ran in the group which kept 5 min/km tempo.
I ran 15.06 km in 1h 14 min 44 s.
It was my first time to run over 10k, so it felt nice. The weather was brilliant for running.
The Forerunner worked very well. I have played with it more afterwards.
Virtual partner seems interesting. You put a time and distance and have a virtual opponent. Nice when you want to run faster.

School, institute, church and running. I wont be bored, but the rain haven't helped my motivation. I think I'm a weather person.

This will be an interesting week and hopefully a great one.

So long!
Kimpan

England

I haven't posted for a while, but now when I will start run often I hope I will be more active here though this is a running blog.
It is less than a week until I go back to university. My second term. Democracy and law will be two subjects this term. I will be interesting.

Last weekend ( Saturday 20 - Wednesday 24) I visited my mission in England (England London Mission).
I visited two of my areas. My first, second last and my last. Sounds like three, but I served twice in my greenie area. I also visited London the same day I flew home.

I flew with Ryanair, got a return ticket for 817 SEK, from Göteborg to Stansted.
I was over in England for four days, five I count the day I came over. I arrived at noon. The first two were spent in Witham, Essex. Stansted is not that far away from Witham and a family came and picked me up. That was very appreciated. ;)
I visited church while I was there. It was  nice to see some of the members again. A lot of the members where on holidays, so there were loads of members that I didn't see.

The third and fourth days I did spend in Canterbury. Stayed over in Faversham and visited Broomfield.
The weather was nice in Witham, 25°C, but cloudy in Canterbury and rain. I managed to take cover before the rain poured down one day.

I left Faversham on Wednesday and traveled to London. I planned to stop by Hyde Park chapel and see President Patch. He wasn't in, but I could leave my suitcase there and went out. I bought something to eat and sat in Hyde Park, the park itself. I had many guests around me, who wanted the left overs. :)

I visited the Natural History museum. I think I was there for 1h 40 min. It was interesting.
I was first thinking to stay in London to 3 pm, but thought I will have to rush to Stansted.
I went back to the mission office and it was locked. The office couple had probably lunch.
I sat outside the office and waited. Suddenly President Patch came out from the elevator.
He gave me a CD with pictures and other stuff from the mission during the two years he had been mission president. I had to take my suitcase and rush to the tube and Stansted Express.
I was thinking to take a fish 'n chips in London, but didn't have time for that.
At Stansted airport I came there 1h 45 min before departure. They want you there two hours before the departure. I checked around and decided to have some Asian food, noodles with beef.
Sometimes your schedule can clash with others and things don't go as you plan or wanted.
Anyway... everything went well and I came home safely.

A week until university starts again and back to normal life.

"I'm sorry. I'm really busy."

I heard that lots on my mission.
It was a busy week for me.

View from Ramberget

Mowed a neighbors lawn, cut the grass in the neighborhood entrance, painting, been to a "goodbye party", church, delivered newspapers two nights in a row and running up for a hill, see picture.

I will start writing about the unofficial club championship in hill running.
2,1 km up to the top of Ramberget. The athletics at Fest i nord were the last thing I did before this race, so I wasn't as prepared as I am for Göteborgsvarvet.
I held my normal tempo. Slightly over 4:30 min/km. I came on 19th place of 24 male runners.
9:38. I have a time to beat next year. All the results this year will be beaten next year. This year will be a start up for the coming years.
Here is a video from the race.
I think I am the second behind the one in yellow. You can see my finish from 9:10.

 

 I delivered newspapers the night to Friday and Saturday. I find it hard to sleep before. Maybe I worry about bad weather, sleeping in or other problems that can occur. I felt like a zombie this Friday. The rain that fell mostly the whole day didn't make the day better.

Now these days are over and the delivery job as well. No more night jobs for a long time.

I drove the company car. The steering wheel is on the right side, so you don't have to drive on the wrong side of the road to drop off newspapers. First time I have driven a right hand drive in Sweden.

The week ended with church. The day to charge the spiritual batteries.

I was asked to say the closing prayer in all the three blocks. Elders quorum, Sunday school and the sacrament meeting. Just see it as extra blessings.  :p

My England trip is closing in. Two weeks from yesterday.

Take care my friends!

Fest i Nord

It has been a while since I posted something.
I have been pretty busy with painting and grass cutting.

Fest i Nord was this week in Nyköping. It was great and warm.

It started on Tuesday and ended on Saturday.
I drove up with one of my parents car, a Volvo 945. It was fully loaded with people and luggage.
The ride took about four hours. The car didn't have air condition, so it was a warm ride. We came up and registered us and had lunch.
The first activity was to carve a Totem pole. The groups were based on the month you were born in. We were only three in the April group the last hour. It wasn't the most beautiful of the twelve. The social part was better.
Some of us guys slept in a building where they have dances and theatre, we had all our dances there too (except for one). It was a fifteen minutes walk to the "campus", there we had the meals and some of the activities.
We had dances every evening with different themes. Dressed with the colours of your flag, sport, 90's and Sunday best.

Groups Aprils Totem pole. "Attitude meter"

The second day was a sport day. Most all of the different activities were at the same time, so you had to choose that you wanted to do, if it wasn't full already.
I did track and field. The athletic ground was basically empty. It was only another FiN participant and I.
I signed on to do all the five events. High jump, long jump, shot put, 100m and 400m.
My results were not really impressive. 1,30 m, 4,1 m, 8 m, 13,8 s and 1 min, 10 s. Same order as the events.
I am not sure what I exactly got at the long jump. There were no prize ceremony or the results on the walls. These results are only memorized. I did all the five events within an hour.

On the third day was the testimony meeting. Two hours and with a long queue. We had workshops later on. I went to two of them.
One about seven steps to be interdependent from dependent and independent. The other was lead by one of the brothers in the Herreys and talked about the time when they were famous.

On the forth day, we had an activity called Amazing race. It contained different activities and challenges like pull a car, find a worm and bring it to the secretariat and answer riddles.

Car pulling. One of the activities in the Amazing race

We had in the evening an Oscar gala. Some participants made own movies, with the theme "Attitude is everything", which was also the theme on the whole convention. It ended with a dance.

My bal date and I

The fifth day was the last day. It was a day with adventure.
The car we drove up with broke down. It was the generator that broke down and the ground cable.
So the car was towed to a garage.
We were dropped off at the train station and were thinking to take the train, but it was expensive. I was quick and bough a last minute ticket. The others got a ride to Skavsta airport and rented a car.
I took a bus to Eskilstuna and train to Arboga and changed train to one that went all the way to Göteborg.
Maybe not the best decisions, but we all came eventually home.

This is not the car, but same colour and a 945

I didn't write down everything that happened. It is easier for you to experience it yourself.

It was a great convention. Great weather. I got sunburned and a nicer tan. Met old and made new friends.

Now I will be home for three weeks and then go to England and visit two areas I served in.
Hopefully I will be done with the painting this week.
I looking forward to study again. I have felt more busy now on the summer than I did my first semester.

Take care

A running painter

I have only run once the two last week, but this last week I ran twice!
The Tuesday training did I write in my last post.
The second training was at home in Vallda. I looked on the map and measured the distances.
I often run Lunnarundan or to Vallda church back, but this time I wanted a shorter run, but with sprints in it.
I drew a 3,8 km round with two sprints. The first one was 175 m uphill and the other 300 m downhill.
Before and between these I held a 5 min/km tempo.
36s uphill and 56s downhill. Can mention that the uphill was steeper.
3:07 min/km the first sprint and 3:26 min/km the second sprint.
I knew before I ran that I am not a sprinter.

This week I haven't run at all.
Have been busy with painting and grass mowing.
I feel busier now than I did when I studied.
My left leg hurts sometimes. Especially when I press on the right side of my tibia and on the muscle next to it. Shin splints?
That's also a reason why I don't feel to go out running sometimes.
I will ask next time I go to Skatås.

One whole week more and then Fest i Nord!

Cheerios!