Yet another challenge

Throughout the past few years I've set myself up to a few challenges, sensible or not. These challenges, almost all related to exercise, were of varied degrees, realistic goals or even with a fair timeframe. There was the I'm going to start biking to work, no matter the weather - a challenge that worked out pretty good and lasted much longer than I expected. Three months later there was the I'm going to bike to the summer house work trip and back and shortly after that the I'm going to participate in the 60 km Blue Lagoon mountain bike race. All of these within the first 6 months of starting exercising on a regular basis again. I managed all of them with varying success of course. But I finished. The following two years brought on a 10 km run, another Blue Lagoon challenge, biking between two glaciers and biking the most popular hiking trail in Iceland. All finished.
And now, I've challenged a colleague to a fitness feat. This time around, it is the 100 day burpees challenge. In this, we aim to do a 100 burpees within 20 minutes on the 100th day of the challenge. In the days leading up to it we start by doing one burpee, adding one every day after that until we reach those 100. What is a burpee you ask? Well, a burpee is a full body exercise that tests both strength and aerobic ability. To perform, you start in a standing position (as per above photo), squat down and put the hands on the ground in front of you, kick the feet back to the starting position of a push up, lower your chest as you would in a normal push up, up again, kick your feet forward and then finally jump as high up as possible. Then repeat. 99 times. In 20 minutes.
This challenge is quite popular these days in the CrossFit scenery but has also been used extensively in marine training from what I can gather. There actually several very good exercises that follow a similar philosophy in CrossFit but most are of a similar degree, i.e. murderously hard!
We started on the 21st of February and so today was day 14. Now, 14 burpees might not sound like a lot, but believe me, I'm starting to feel them.
Wish me luck... I'll need it.

Labels: day2day, english, exercise, Jeddah, Saudi-Arabia

as written by Tobbi G. at 11:06 AM GMT

Squats
At work, there is a small but nice gym for employees to use. try to go there at least three days a week during my lunchbreak for a nice weight lifting session to break up the day. Although the gym has most of the equipment needed to get a complete and proper workout done there has always been one machine missing. And in fact, it was the “machine” for doing my favorite exercise: squats. Many people would agree that my body is nearly designed for this exercise. I can almost touch the floor during the squat and still keep the balance needed since my legs are fairly short. And the weights? Well, I put a few kilos on the bar.
But since the frame for the bar was missing I was forced to use an alternative way. My friend David suggested I try something called Tabata squats. In essence the Tabata method is about performing as many repititions of an exercise as possible in 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest period. This is then to be repeated 8 times totaling in 4 minutes for the exercise. Yeah, I know. No, really, I know what you are thinking. I did too. I also hated a good friend of mine for 4 minutes once a week. In fact, never have 20 seconds taken so long to pass while 10 seconds went by in a ... well, they are gone.
So, it was with great pleasure when I heard the company would be shelling out for a squats machine for the gym. So, on a Friday afternoon me and a monster (Amador) colleague headed for what I thought would be a short trip to a nearby Decathlon to pick up the needed stuff. Turns out the “nearby” Decathlon was across Barcelona, on the south side. To make things just that little bit harder, the nearest Metro station to Decathlon was what seemed a million blocks away (in reality more like 6). I figured it couldn’t be THAT hard. Amador had thought of bringing a ridiculously gay looking trolley which we were pushing together through the busy streets of downtown Barcelona. Did I mention ridiculous?
Once at Decathlon we bought the required stuff after hanging out by the muscle men equipment for a while, just to make sure people didn’t think the two trolley men were a part of the Meditterranean ballet group from the next aisle. It became apparent at the counter that the 70 odd kilos or so would be a challenge when it came to switching Metro stations or lines. “Ahh, let’s take the line that takes us direct to the company.” Oh, there is one? Of course there was, but the problem with that one meant there would be much much much more walking. After way too little deliberation we settled on taking the bus as it turned out one of the lines went nearly direct to our company. So off we went, into a stuffed bus full of impatient Barceloneans on their way home from work. While people looked at the funny guys in the bus, one holding a gay trolley and the other hugging a big box, Amador gave me a good sight seeing tour of places he knew nothing about. The bus took a ride through parts of Barcelona I’d never seen while others I have been to a few times already.
The bus stopped about 6 blocks away from the office but to make the challenge greater (and more heroic after the fact) all the streets were up-hill. After running down a few old people with the box and hitting a few kids with the barbell we finally made it to the office. The machine was in the house. Now, two weeks later I have used it but to my surprise I am going to keep doing the Tabata exercises as well.
Every good story should have a punch line. If it doesn’t, it isn’t good. This one doesn’t. So I’ll lie... you know what? There is a Decathlon 5 blocks away from the office!

Labels: day2day, english, exercise, Spain

as written by Tobbi G. at 3:24 PM GMT

Laugavegurinn

Me and Heiðar, my sister's boyfriend decided some time ago to bike Laugavegurinn - the most popular hiking route in Iceland. 54 kilometers total, rising from a starting altitude of about 500 meters, up to 1,000 meters and then down to roughly 30 meters. With an amazingly varied landscape the route is incredibly beautiful and lots to see.
Normally the route is taken in four legs (one each day) while hiking. Some do it in two days and then there is a group of crazy people that do the ultramarathons there - in 5 hours or something like that. Me and Heiðar decided to bike it in one go. There are three cabins on the way and we planned
We drove on Friday the 5th of September (if I remember correctly) up to Landmannalaugar where we stopped for the night. Luckily my sister was willing to drive the car over to Þórsmörk on Saturday so we wouldn't have to worry about anything else than the pedals. As we expected this to take most of the day we were up bright and early to eat and get going. The trail starts going uphill from almost the very beginning. As expected, I felt dead one meter after the almost very beginning.
The total route took us about thirteen and a half hours if I remember correctly. We managed to get over to Þórsmörk just as it got dark - a good thing as any biking would have been impossible in the dark. This trip had been a goal of mine for a long time, pretty much since I started working out and biking. So I'm pretty ecstatic about finishing it. It wasn't easy and there were times where my head just wanted the body to stop. Fortunately Heiðar is the opposite, with endless drive. And my pride didn't allow me to stop. Now I wonder what is next?
For entertainment, a few photos can be seen here on Flickr. For obvious reasons I cut all those that showed how bad I was feeling at any given time.

Labels: english, exercise, travel

as written by Tobbi G. at 9:05 PM GMT

Running
I've strapped the shoes on again. Sweat dripping down my hairless head and ache forming in my legs. Days are spent feeling sorry for myself and moaning in the hope that other people do so as well.
The 10 km run I did last year is up soon - second half of August or so - and I have started exercising for that. Going off fairly slowly with a mix of running and walking in one session. Started well but I am starting to feel a pain in the achilles tendon after a few minutes running. I guess I'll take it a little slower for a little bit and see if it gets better. The odd thing is though that I feel it less the faster I run. Seems like I'm running wrong by going slower. And therein lies the problem. I don't have the stamina for faster running yet - but I'll get there.
I added a widget to the right of the main posts where you can see the statistics of my last 5 attempts at running. I am using Nike+ as before so this data comes up automatically. They also have a new feature where you can set up a training program and see your status there. Pretty cool and gives you an extra incentive to keep at it since it tells you off if you don't go by the plan.

Labels: english, exercise

as written by Tobbi G. at 8:41 PM GMT

60 km on a bike, but forgetting something

This weekend I finished the Blue Lagoon challenge my second year in a row. I was hoping that this year I'd beat my time of 3:37 from last year but knew it would be hard since my shape is not as good. I had gathered around a few people to go with me this time around but as the weather forecast was crappy all of them canceled and I wound up cycling alone again. Good decision on their part as the conditions were worse than expected. Head wind for the first 20 km, and really muddy parts on the off road section.
After the first 20 km I was dead. And beat. I didn't have much will to finish but kept going. After the first 20 km you also exit the pavement and go on some rough road used for rallying. The gravel was very loose and some parts were so wet and muddy you had to be quite careful. Shortly after going off road I came upon a woman who had a puncture but her pump wasn't working. I lent her mine but unfortunately her second tube punctured as well. We found a piece of glass inside her tire which we took out, and I lent her my spare tube. 20 minutes later she was up and running but we were dead last out of the 160 people group. With about 35 km to go the challenge had gotten much harder in my mind.
When there were about 20 km left I was going down a long decline getting good speeds of about 35 - 40 km/h. As the road was quite rough all I could do was focus on staying on the bike, and minimizing the shake on the bike. When things slowed down I noticed that my Garmin GPS had fallen off the steering bar down that hill. I turned around to look for it but had no luck. With my spirits quite far down, and the biggest uphill in the history of uphills still to be conquered I got my head together and headed for the finish. The last 20 km were amazingly hard but I managed to pick up some speed on the last few kilometers and passed a few bikers. My final time was 3:59 - longer than last year's, but my main goal was achieved - to finish.
The greatest reward of finishing is having the chance of relaxing the tired muscles in the Blue Lagoon afterwards. I had every intention on doing so and enjoying it through and through. I somehow managed to take my dirty bike attire off (with some agonizing pain I must admit). But it was at that very point that I realized I had forgotten my swimsuit at home. So... 60 kilometers biked, every little bit of my will tried and every square cm of thighs absolutely wasted - and my brain couldn't remember the bloody swimsuit! But I did finish... I told myself.

Labels: english, exercise

as written by Tobbi G. at 8:02 PM GMT

New stallion

I have just purchased a new stallion for my biking. My old Gary Fisher was showing signs of failure - ready for retirement after 11 years of good service. I shopped around a bit, and after giving up on going for the brands I really wanted (Trek or Gary Fisher) I opted for a Giant Terrago Disc. It is very similar to the one pictured but with better brakes and gears.
The bike is a huge change for me. Even though my old one was a hardtail as well, this one brings changes in the fork, gears, brakes and geometry. The bike is a little bit smaller than the old one, giving me better control off road, but probably making me slower on the pavement. As I use one bike for all purposes there have to be shortcomings somewhere. But the biggest change for me is going from old old old brakes to hydraulic disc brakes. Man, it is almost dangerous how quickly it slows down. And going from a rigid fork to suspension takes some getting used to as well. Hopefully it will serve me as well as the old one.

Labels: english, exercise

as written by Tobbi G. at 7:51 PM GMT

Nike+ test

Labels: english, exercise

as written by Tobbi G. at 3:46 PM GMT

The Blue Lagoon Challenge

A little over a year ago I started biking to work. Over the first few months I started reading about the mountain biking communities here in Iceland and found out about a yearly bike race called the Blue Lagoon Challenge. Although at the time I found the distances offered for the challenge to be a little too long I played with the idea of participating in 2007. The photo above (clickable for a larger version) should be hint enough but if you haven't figured it out already I'll say it; I participated this year.
The distance covered is approximately 60 kilometers and the clock is running for 4 hours and 45 minutes. I had no real idea of what would be a reasonable goal to set for finishing so I really only set out with one thing in mind. To finish the whole distance within the 4:45. I was a little stressed the night before and had a hard time falling asleep. Woke up an hour later than I had intended to so preparations called for quick moves. Eat, pump the tires, final checkup of the bike and filling of water bottles. I rode down to registration where close to 150 cyclists had gathered. The spirits were high, weather perfect and stomach upside down.

My pulse was already thumping when the race started but it was only a taste of things to come. The group quickly stretched out and I was quite content with being one of the backtrackers (the second photo is just after the start, clickable for a larger version). I had to make a stop after only 4 kilometers as my seat wasn't properly fastened and was lowering to an uncomfortable height. No biggie. For the first third of the distance most of the riding is on pavement so you manage to set into a good pace. There is a slight climb the whole part which you don't feel too much since it is laid over close to 20 kilometers. I felt pretty confident when this part was over.
The second third is entirely on a fairly rough gravel road and I realized I couldn't set the pace as easily there. During the first uphill I went way to aggressively and found myself very much out of breath. I had to take it a little slower following that averaging about 15 kilometers per hour. Shortly after I had another little set back when my three easiest gears wouldn't work. I got a little worried as it seemed to be progressing and I foresaw biking for the rest of the distance with only half the gears available. Fortunately that did not happen. I had to walk up a couple of hills which I think was a good thing anyway. Gave the muscles a little time to recover.
The last third of the race was partly on pavement and partly on gravel. The gravel was not as rough as before so I managed a good pace for most of it. There was a long long long uphill on the pavement which nearly saw the last of me but I persisted (with some walking) and finally made it to the top of the 150 meter hill. The effort was rewarded with a steep downhill where I hit a maximum speed of 58 km/h. Lovely.
When I only had about 4 kilometers left I could feel the body slowly realizing it. There was little energy left and only my mind was keeping me on. After 3 hours and 30 minutes of biking I finally crossed the finishing line in place 105 of 116 participants. My odometer showed 62 kilometers total biked at an average speed of 17.2 km/h. Not too shabby. A dip in the Blue Lagoon followed to soothe those sore muscles.
I am quite proud to have managed this after 18 months of training. On top of it all my bike was not up to its best, I had no suspension (like most of the others), my back was aching and I'd only just recovered from the pain in my calves. I'll definitely take part next year. I should be able to better my time then as I know have a little more experience of the route and will avoid assembling the bike a day before. Maybe some break in period is better.

Labels: english, exercise

as written by Tobbi G. at 4:26 AM GMT

Running man

Yes, I've gone all crazy and started running. I am now in my third week of eighteen, preparing for a the 10 km run in Reykjavik's marathon on August 18th. It is starting off fairly slow and now in my third week I'm running 5 minutes, followed by walking 2.5 minutes repeated 4 times. It is quite tough at times although so far I have been able to finish all the requirements set up by the program and in some cases exceed (at a high cost though - panting and screaming).
I set myself this goal some time ago, not long after I started biking. I was quite worried I would not be able to get it going as I'm still quite heavy but it seems my legs and knees are holding up under the pressure. I had to buy some shoes as my old running shoes got totaled on one bike ride some 6 months ago. I decided to get Nike shoes that were compatible with the Nike+iPod system. Blame it on the Apple fanatic that dwells within me. :) I quickly found the shoes, not because of good service but rather because of the lack of variety. It is shameful really. But anyway, they seemed to be a good fit which is all that matters. I also bought the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit which is a small receiver that goes on the iPod and a transmitter that goes under the sole in the shoe. The running info is then sent to the iPod which stores it for uploading at a later date. The info is uploaded to Nikeplus.com where you can have an overview of all the runs you've done. You can see a screenshot of my overview here.
During runs I can press a button on the iPod and a voice tells me the time done, distance covered and current speed. I absolutely love this. It gives me a little incentive and does help with keeping track of one's progress. I'm sure I'll enjoy the accumulated data come August. A real sense of accomplishment is what I'm hoping for.
I added to the sidebar on the site two items related to this. First there is a RSS feed of my runs and second a "badge" that shows the totals for my runs. The info is pulled directly from Nikeplus.com. Maybe someone out there I know enjoys watching my progress. I just wish I could have the same for the biking.
Oh, and anyone that wants to sign up with me to do the 10 km this August is welcome to. I'd actually enjoy forming a team called Big Baby Boys! By the way, that photo at the top of the post is not of me. It is Lance. A promo shot from Nike. Thought that was needed to mention.

Labels: exercise

as written by Tobbi G. at 1:52 AM GMT