Not so High Tech after all

When training for the marathon I bought a GPS running watch. I felt like I had taken my sports to a brand new shiny level. I had become a high tech runner! After the marathon the watch got abandoned. I felt liberated running without meticulously tracking my every move. I preferred the old fashioned freedom of just running. Today I dug out my high tech device again, charged it and relearned how to use it. Then I ran under the watchful eye of the satellites and felt very pro. So now I know PRECISELY how far and how fast I go. The results are beautifully showcased in this colour coordinated picture. (yes the watch matches the flowers I got from Rob yesterday…but then again yellow is my favourite colour and I can easily match lots of yellow things together)

BUT apparently I am not so high tech after all. A friend asked me to become his friend on this running app or website called Strava. You need to have a GPS device compatible with the app to take part. Basically you should be able to upload your runs directly from this device to the app and then you can track your training and compare results with friends and all sorts of things. My not so high tech anymore GPS watch uploads info to other devices using the old fashioned route called eyes then brain then maybe pen and paper. Well, I am a hippie sort of runner anyways so this didn't bother me too much, however the ability to map your runs made me jealous. Since I can't get the map out of my GPS watch I had to use old fashioned mapping skills. I found a website called mapmyrun where I can recreate my runs on the map. This obviously involves a bit of guess work around the park areas where there are no marked roads or paths. But I love maps and am pretty good with orienteering so here it is, todays 10 km created with my very own GPS brain!

So today I ran 10km. It was cold for this country which is good, very good indeed. Cold enough for all the damn mud to be sort of frosty. From tomorrow on the weather goes warmer again and this country returns to it's normal state of mega mud. Then again I should be happy with the muddy conditions. I am training for the Tough MUDDER after all!

Superhero Ninja Warrior RAMBO edition

 It's time to say goodbye to the old superhero challenge and say hello to a brand new and even crazier one!

 Well to be fair the last challenge, the London Marathon 2013, happened pretty much already THREE years ago. It was the biggest and stupidest challenge of my life so far and since then I obviously haven't stopped being a superhero but uhm …there just haven't been such mega projects. I did climb up some mountains but I  wasn't too worried about the mountains. I am a superhero ninja warrior after all. Also I sort of believed that I am done with stupid athletic challenges such as marathons. One marathon in a lifetime surely is more than good enough? Turns out the answer is NO. My subconscious clearly wants me to run more marathons. It has taken me a good few years to come back to this business but I am here again. So I want to run the damn marathon again. This time I want to run in my original home town Helsinki. It feels right. Helsinki marathon is in August and annoyingly I already have commitments for this August. No worries, I will train well and run next year, I sensibly thought. The very next moment I found myself signing up for something totally different and totally much more bonkers: The Tough Mudder! Once my head wants a challenge it needs it faster than next year August! So this May I will be a Rambo fucking version of myself. I know I can do long distance running and Tough Mudder is "only" 16 kilometres BUT holy fuck all the other challenges on the way seem like a mission impossible! How do you train for electric shocks, rotating obstacles, slippery slopes, mud pools….? I am very very scared and do not have a clue how to get myself ready for this, but am also rather excited. This time the mission is not a solo mission either but I am part of a super team. It's all Jim's fault….

when the Superhero Ninja Warrior met Barry Blue

That's me running and totally not noticing my friends in the crowd. As you can see, the Tower Bridge is on the background which means I was absolutely exhausted by this point. I only had few miles to go...

After the finishing line I hiked to a friends and family meeting area but could not find anyone. The whole city was so crowded and busy because of the marathon that my sister and my man got stuck in the traffic. I finally met them in Trafalgar Square. Kiira had made me this amazing pink bunny as a 'well done' present!

We made our way to Green Park where I was given recovery drinks... We named the pink bunny Barry Blue. He looked so sleazy and relaxed when chilling out that all I could hear in my head was Barry White singing. Blue seemed funny because he is actually pink.

Extra note: Week and a half after the big day I put on my trainers and ran again. The weather was summery and running felt nice. I might need to invest in smaller summer running clothes though. Black leggings felt way too hot. But the point is: running is here to stay.

damn those 48 seconds!

The marathon is over. I did it and I did it pretty damn amazingly. My sister Kiira flew to London the night before to support me. She made me panda ears and helped me with my panda manicure. 

Stupidly early on Sunday morning we travelled to Greenwich to the start of the race. Trains were full of marathon runners and we both got pretty nervous.

Once in Greenwich the reality really started kicking in. We walked trough fenced roads that I later on ran on! 

Panda team met before the start to take some photos. I had to change into my race outfit. It all started feeling more and more real...

My best supporter and the ultimate panda fan Kiira with me.

This is me pretending to do some stretches. In reality I was so nervous that I couldn't really concentrate on them!

 I had to leave Kiira outside my start area. It was a tough situation. I felt like crying.

After the start of the race Kiira managed to break the camera. My boyfriend Rob has some pictures from after the race and even one of me running. I will post them, once I get the photos!

First half of the race was simply fun. I high fived every child who was cheering us on. The atmosphere was amazing and I steadily overtook lots of people. Around the Tower Bridge I missed Kiira and Satu who were there following the race but they saw me. By the time I got to the Canary Wharf the race started feeling bit more difficult. The sun felt stupidly hot and my energy levels were not the same anymore. Last hour or so was a struggle but seeing the London landmarks and knowing that the finish was in the horizon, kept me going. 

When I finally saw the finishing line I ran as fast as I could. Once on the other side those very same legs that juts ran so fast, didn't know how to walk anymore. I didn't know my official time until I met my friends who had followed me online. I ran the fucking marathon in 4hours and god damn 47 seconds! If only I would have known it was so close...

Nevertheless, I'm super proud of myself. These statistics just make me so happy. 

After the race I've done everything against the rules on how to recover. I've drank champagne and cocktails, ate cake and pastries, done shopping in high heels and still haven't done any stretching. But I have felt so good that fuck all this health shit at least for few days. It's finally a party time!

there's no going back anymore

Above are my last pathetic fundraising attempts: self promotion leaflets. First I did the pretty coloured versions on computer (on left) but since I forgot them home yesterday I quickly drew a new design at work and photocopied it.


Today I travelled to Excel Centre to register to the Marathon. This is me drawing myself on the train.

I have the best running number ever: 3001! I got goosebumps when I saw it on the top of my registration station. I couldn't hide my overly emotional excitement from these lovely guys who handed me my marathon pack.

After the registration I ventured into the Marathon Expo. There were endless displays of sports gear and god knows what energy supplements but the first thing that got my attention was the beer tasting stand! Fuller's is the official sponsor of the London Marathon and obviously I had to test it. Look, it's a hobbit pint!

Then I got eaten by zombies... These zombies were advertising a race where the runners get chased by zombies! I mean, how cool is that! I do get scared way too easily though and am not sure if I would survive a zombie apocalypse. Again I managed to be so stupidly excited that I got given a green zombie wristband and then all the zombies wanted to take pictures with me.

I wasn't really too keen on browsing trough any of the serious sport stuff so the only other stand I visited was the WWF one. The panda people were super lovely and chatted to me for a good while. I also got this panda goodie bag. Back home I tested the peppermint and liquorice tea. It's quite yummy but doesn't agree with savoury food...

Tomorrow on Friday I will meet friends for some Italian food. It's a good opportunity to relax in a good company and stock up on those very important carbs. On Saturday my sister Kiira arrives to support me. So I don't think I will necessarily have a change to update my blog until after the big day. 

See you on the other side! 

5 days to panic...

After complaining about my too big running vest for few days I finally did the right thing and called the panda people. They were super nice about it and promised to send me a small one straight away. It arrived the very next day! I was stupid being afraid to complain about this matter. As my workmate Bill pointed out: if it would have been too small I would have not hesitated to contact them.

Running outfit sorted and my leg pretty much healed the next thing that happens is me feeling ill. Holy shit I managed to panic over this potential killer bug over the past few days. Literally everyone around me has been sneezing and coughing like there's no tomorrow. On Friday morning I felt really shit and then I panicked. The truth is that panicking doesn't help at all but how to switch off the panic, I'm not sure. So I skipped my last long run and tried to rest on Saturday.

On Sunday(yesterday) I felt much more alive already and attended my karate grading. My new belt comes in this beautiful bright shade of green. I'm tiny bit more ninja now which will hopefully boost my superpowers next week. Ninja Warriors with green belts run better than the ones with orange belts. It's a fact.

the Final Countdown!

There's only TWO weeks to the big day! Metamorphosis from just a simple superhero to a special panda one has started...
Last Thursday I ran 30Km! Yes, THIRTY fucking kilometres! The day was rather horrible as well: blizzards and freezing cold wind. My fingers nearly just fell off because they were so cold. Good news are that after 2 hours of running the energy gel really works and that my fucking knee survived from the whole thing. Actually the whole leg feels nearly healed now. Today I ran totally without the knee support. The spring has also finally arrived after that horrendous snow storm. It's been sunny and pleasant for the whole weekend!

Postman brought me lots of last minute propaganda and also a panda running vest. The vest is too big which annoys me. Call me vain but I don't want to look stupid on my big day. Besides all that extra fabric will surely slow me down. It's so not aerodynamic!

Now I will take it bit easier until THE DAY. I'm scared....