Running Tonight

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The pavement and the streets were glazed with recent rain that had just started to freeze, and the first kilometer was more about skating and keeping my balance than it was about running. After that it got better and I had quite a nice run, though it was not a fast one.

I started running again a few weeks ago after the very snowy period we had here in Denmark and all the illness we had in the family. And if you’re thinking about getting out there running, I really just want to bring some encouragement to the table, because it may be cold and dark, and I may be tired in the evening, but I am genuinely enjoying my runs! I use the running app Endomondo for my iPhone to track my routes, which also adds motivation by enabling me to compare and share my runs. Also, during my last run, Mads discovered the peptalk function in Endomondo, and receiving messages like “Run faster you lazy bastard”, and “You go girl” in my headphones during my run just cracked me up.

A winter walk in Køge Marina

Anyway, most of the snow is gone, but it’s still winter here with the temperatures that follow. Last weekend, we all went for a walk in Køge Marina. Mads and I recently learned that we’re first in line for a space there that fits our boat, which is brilliant because it means we’ll have our boat (wrote about it here) much closer to home when summer and sailing season arrives.

Køge Marina

Don’t you just long for summer now? I do. We are seeing more of the sun, though, so I guess we’ll do with that for now.

Busy! Did you guess?

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Evening sky  

I’m busy at the moment, and I’m thinking you probably knew… Haven’t been sewing at all for weeks, and I’m neglecting my own blog as well as the blogs, that I follow. You know it’s bad, when your readers start asking you where you are… Sorry about that everybody (and especially you, Rikki)! :)

Bear with me – I will share what’s going on, I just need you to have a little more patience.

At the Chinese restaurant 

For the first time in ages, this past weekend was one with no plans in particular. I love that – blank days in the calendar, with spending time together as the most important thing. Friday night we all went to our favourite Chinese restaurant, and we had such a nice time. The girls were exemplary, Frida spent the entire time eating shrimp chips, and Ronja wandered cheerfully around the restaurant, twirling a bit here and there. The tablecloth had Chinese signs all over it, and we got to talking with Ronja about how those are the Chinese letters. She thought they looked rather difficult, and we asked the sweet Chinese waitress if she was able to write Ronja in Chinese. She wasn’t quite sure, but she said it would be something like what the note below shows. Mads and I joked around with the fact that she could have written “Dumb Danes” and we would be clueless…

At the Chinese restaurant     Ronja in Chinese - we think... 

Saturday we decided to take the girls for a run, meaning that Mads and I ran, each with a kid in a Baby Jogger. Mads gave me a Baby Jogger for my birthday last year, when Frida had just been born, and we recently bought another one second hand to be able to run together and bring both girls. I must admit, that to me running with a baby jogger is pretty tough. Being used to focusing only on myself, my breathing, and my running, it makes a big difference when you have to handle the baby jogger as well, not to mention being there to answer questions from your child. I hope my baby jogger running will become less of an effort with more practice. The girls enjoyed the trip, I think – until they both fell asleep.

Sunday we were all sick – Frida and I still are. Sore throats and runny noses for everyone – I’m not sure if the long trip in the fresh air was to blame, but I suspect so. Even though the girls were wrapped up pretty good, there was a strong chilly wind, and we all had mild colds to begin with. So Sunday was spent inside the house, which was ok I guess, since it was raining all through the day. We spent some time tidying up some stuff, and as the girls, Ronja in particular, needed some action in spite of the day indoors, I painted her face. Not in the nose-area, though – it still had to be wiped…

Face painting     You sure look pretty!

A princess

Ronja loves to have her face painted, she is ok at sitting still for a 4-year old, and I actually think it’s fun to do it. I’d love to be really good at it – check out for example what this woman can do… I find it amazing how simple it looks!

So anyway – I hope I’ll find time to do some sewing soon – at least I can promise you that I’m not going anywhere!

Frida below the apple tree

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At the last part of my running route, I always see two horses – well, there are quite a few horses on the trip, but these two are different. They are standing close to the road, having their grassy dinner, and looking very peaceful. There are not many people around in that area, so I always go “Hi horses” when I run by. And they turn their heads and nod kindly (well maybe that last bit is my imagination, but you get the point), and they’re probably thinking “There’s that crazy lady again – whatever is she trying to catch?”. Anyway, I like our little rendezvous. My run yesterday evening was tough, so the friendly nod from the two horses was very welcome!

Got a few shots of Frida in the shade of the apple tree, wearing her apples yesterday.

Frida wearing her apples

I was amused that Jeannine in my comments on the last post tried to guess what Frida would be wearing with the blouse for the modeled pic. Could’ve been both red pants and blue jeans, Jeannine – however with the heat we’re having, I went with the more natural look.  ;)

Looking up through the leaves

As always, I was considering several combinations of fabric for this blouse, and I’m so glad I chose to leave the fabric alone.

By the way – Frida is soooo crawling now! Not just experimenting – really crawling!

And then one final thing: We just ordered our vacation, so we’re leaving tomorrow for a week in Greece! :)

Copenhagen ZOO

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Last night after the children had been put to sleep, I was out running. I had the most beautiful scenery – the dark forest against a lavender sky, with shiny pink clouds coloured by the setting sun. I wish I could show you pictures, but my description will have to do. I had a wonderful run, though – the best yet.

Last time I was out running, was last Friday. After I posted pictures of my route to my blog that Friday night, I went to bed. And then I fell ill. I won’t go into details, just say that I spent the entire Saturday in my bed. My mother was coming Sunday, and we had so many plans for that Saturday of things that we wanted to get done – instead Mads looked after the girls while he cleaned the house, did the shopping, and patted me on the head once in a while. What an amazing guy I’ve got me!

So when my mother arrived on Sunday, I can’t say I was totally fit, but at least I wasn’t sick anymore. We had some really nice days, going to the ZOO, to Køge (the nearest commercial town), and just relaxing at home. The Copenhagen ZOO is wonderful – they just opened a new enclosure for the elephants, including a house that was designed by Norman Foster and it is quite stunning. The elephants have so much space there – you can actually tell that they are happy!

Scratchy nose...     Copenhagen ZOO 

Walking in an elephant's footsteps 

Copenhagen ZOO     Watching an elephant

I have a short note on Frida, who is taking a few leaps at the moment. She can actually crawl now. When she needs to get from A to B in a hurry, her old method (pulling and pushing her way around) is still the quickest, but she’s experimenting a lot with crawling. She also had her two upper front teeth a few days ago, so she’s chewing on everything she can get in her mouth.

Our summer vacation starts today – we haven’t got anything planned, except that we’re going to take a trip to Amsterdam to visit my brother and his wife – other than that we’ll probably start planning today… ;)

Running off

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 I’ve started running again. One week ago, Mads suddenly wanted to go running, two days later he bought running shoes, and presently, I do believe he has read all information available on running on the internet. Very Mads’ish.

Images from my running route 

It got me started – I’m supposed to be the runner of this family! I haven’t been for a while, but I used to run quite a bit. I like the fact that running is something you can do whenever, wherever – all you need is the shoes. Well – that’s not entirely true – you also need to do it, which is the tough part - and I should tell you right away, I’m not a natural. So anyway – Mads started, and I didn’t want to be left behind, so I went and bought myself a pair of new running shoes as well. I can definitely recommend Run4All in Køge, by the way – terrific service, and the guy who runs it seems to know what he’s talking about.

Images from my running route 

I have been out twice so far – taking a route of 5.6 km (3.5 miles) that leads me through a forest near here, and on to a village surrounded by fields on the way back. It has actually been going surprisingly well. I’m not a fast runner, but I feel quite good running, and it doesn’t hurt noticeably anywhere – big difference from the last time I picked up running. I like enjoying the surroundings while I run, and though it would be wrong to say that it’s entirely a pleasure, I think in the long run (got that?), I’ll enjoy it.

Images from my running route 

One thing I enjoy for certain is the feeling I have when I come home from a run. A wonderful feeling of tiredness and good conscience. I’ll keep going to the gym once a week, so I’ll probably have time to go running twice a week – I’d be perfectly happy with that!

(All pictures in this post are from my route.)

I’m siiiiinging in the rain…..

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Yep – that’s right! It has been raining a lot the past week, and I know that some people complain about it, but really, it’s just a sign that the temperature is so high the snow comes down in the shape of rain – which means that spring is on its way. I was wrong last time – we had lots of snow until the middle of March, and we had several sled rides after my last post. This time I think I’m right. We have lots and lots of crocus in the garden, as well as winter aconite and snowdrop – and I do believe the daffodils are even on their way. I cleaned all the windows yesterday, so we’re definitely ready for the sun to start shining.

We went to the ZOO at the end of February. We received annual passes for the ZOO as a Christmas present, and now the weather was mild enouh for a ZOO-trip. Ronja had so much fun – she loved the little trolley we rented for her and she was gawping at the monkeys, the elephants, the lions, the seals and – well, I could go on. We just had a really great time!

For shrovetide Ronja ended up going as a ladybird. She looked really cute, and maybe next year for shrovetide she won’t be so shy… ;o) Mads and I were both there, and she didn’t leave us at all – she didn’t want to tilt at the barrel, so she stayed with us and watched the other kids going at it. Fair enough, I guess.

A while ago Mads and I decided to replace our desktop computers with laptops. We have been using an old laptop instead of our desktops, and the result has been that our office upstairs hasn’t really been put to good use. So Mads bought a Dell Inspiron 6000, and I bought a Dell Inspiron 630M. We chose Dell because it seemed that we got the most value for our money in these, and so far we’re both really pleased with the new purchases. We have partly financed the computers through selling our old desktop computers and the old laptop and we’re much happier with the new solution.

I went running today in the rain, and I had a tough but nice run after I have been down with a sore throat for a while. I have discovered a really great tool for measuring running routes in Denmark, which I have added to my link collection on this site. It’s called the iFORM Running Route Planner. Many other tools are used to measure running routes, but this one in particular is very user-friendly, it shows the maps in air photos as well as ordinary maps, and it even allows you to search other people’s saved routes in the area you wish to run in. Definitely worth recommendation.