Sköna söndag

Hon är tapper vår lilla tjej, så tapper! Näsan rinner, hon hostar och kraxar men ändå är hon så glad och go emellanåt. Den går åt rätt håll förkylningen, men på eftermiddagen när hon skulle sova kunde hon inte andas genom näsan vilket betyder att hon inte kunde ha nappen och det är ju katastrof!!!

Emilia tyckte att vi skulle köpa näsdukar när vi var och handlade

Jag är så jäkla glad att jag har kommit igång med löpningen igen och det är så härligt att ha skogen så nära. Jag springer alltid runt Mörtsjön numera, det är grymt att ha ett motionsspår i närheten. Under en längre period så har jag varit tvungen att bygga upp löptiden genom att varva gång och löpning. Huvudet vill så gärna bara springa på, men jag har haft för stora problem med ryggen så jag har varit tvungen att ta det steg för steg. Idag var första gången som jag sprang 5 km i sträck och det kändes underbart skönt. Jag har inga känningar i ryggen än så länge så jag hoppas den håller. Målet är nu att bygga på löptiden ännu mer successivt för att kunna genomföra Tjejmilen som jag är anmäld till i september. Jag hoppas verkligen att det går, jag älskar att vara ute och springa. Nästan ännu mer nu när man är småbarnsförälder och behöver lite egentid ;)

Ikväll testade vi att laga pulled pork för första gången. Det är många som har pratat om det och jag har länge velat prova själv. Jag hittade ett recept på nätet och så var vi och handlade imorse. Köttet åkte in i ugnen strax efter lunch och fick stå och puttra i ca 5 timmar innan vi tyckte att det var klart för att äta. Köttet föll isär så fort man började peta lite på det med en gaffel och vi åt det på surdegsbröd med tillbehör som sallad, tomat, lök, majs och gräddfil. Det var så himla gott! Rekommenderas starkt :)

Nu känner jag mig nöjd och ligger här i soffan och degar. Sambon är ju också förkyld och ska snart hoppa i säng. Själv ska jag nog ta fram en bok, några tidningar och bara ligga och slappa ett tag innan jag joinar de andra. Hoppas att ni alla har haft en härlig dag!

Tjejmilen 2013

Yesterday I registered for Tjejmilen 2013 which is a 10 km run on September 7th. I think it will be the perfect challenge for me to get back into shape during next year. It's my first time doing the Tjejmilen run but I'm looking forward to it and I'm dying to start exercising again. I should probably follow a specific running programme to make sure I do it the right way and with the right pace.

No baby yet, 3 days til my due date now and no action whatsoever, not even any Braxton Hicks contractions (false labor contractions). We'll see what happens in the next few days. I was so sure the baby was gonna come before my due date but now I'm not so sure anymore ;)

Today is going to be a relaxing day, I might take the bus to Bromma Blocks to buy a few sheets for the pram that we need. Other than that I'm doing nothing, might make English muffins that I want to try out. Hope you're all having a good Thursday!

+ 18 kgs

It's not very nice to step on the scales these days as it now shows + 18 kgs! It's quite tough to carry around all that extra weight, but it won't be for that much longer now. I'm dying to have my old body back, even though I know it probably will take a while before I lose all the weight again. I think the most important thing is not to rush things, I mean it has taken nine months to add on all this weight so it will most likely take about the same time to lose it as well.

I've missed exercising so much during the pregnancy and I really look forward to being able to do that again. We'll see how much time I have for exercising when the baby is here, but at least I'll be able to go out for long walks to start with. Right now I'm struggling to walk a few hundred metres ;) I also have a gym membership that allows me to go to the Actic gym in Täby when we move out there. Normally I go to the one near my job. Can't wait for the first time I'll have a sweaty workout again, it has been way too long!

This week has flown by. I have done nothing really other than getting my hair done, meeting up with my brother, going for a walk, cooking some food to put in the freezer for when the baby has arrived, doing some shopping etc but still feel that I need a few more days to just rest. We have no big plans for the weekend though. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with Maria and we're just going to walk around in Sundbyberg and have a coffee somewhere. Looking forward to chatting with her and just have some girlie time :)

Sweaters

Sitting in the couch chilling out after a swimming session tonight. I went to the swimming pool that they have here in Sundbyberg after work, it's actually only a few hundred metres away from where we live. I swam for abut 40 mins and I love the fact that you're weightless in the water. Because when you're pregnant you're definitely not weightless above the surface ;) Anyway it was so relaxing and I think I'm gonna continue with the swimming at least once a week, for as long as I can manage.

Browsing through the web shops - as you do ;) - and found some nice sweaters in Gina Tricot's web shop. They're really nice with lovely little details and look so comfy :)

Vigårda

Today after work I had decided to meet up with Ellinor, we haven't seen each other since November. Time's flying, can't believe it has been so long. Anyway, we agreed to meet up at the Mood shopping centre to find somewhere to eat, we chose to go to Vigårda Barbeque. I've never been there before but it's a fast food restaurant with food of higher quality than any other fast food restaurant, it's not exactly like McDonalds. You pick the meat you want, choose something to go with it like a potato salad or chips for example and then you also get to pick a dressing. I loved it, it was all really tasty! Ellinor and I got to catch up properly as well while enjoying our yummy food.

Now I'm back in the apartment again, I'm really tired today so I think I'm gonna go to bed shortly. By the way, I started this morning by going out for a 45 minute walk, it felt really good. Hopefully I'll manage to do this more often because I really need to exercise more than I do today!

9 holes became 18

Today we had agreed with M & M to play nine holes at Bromma Golf since at least myself and Maria need to practice after the course we took two weeks ago. Our official start time was 10:20 but we all met up before that to warm up at the range. I was a bit nervous since it was my first time playing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it especially since the weather was really good today. I didn't play that well, but it was certainly good to practice. We were quite tired after the nine holes so we decided to have lunch there out in the sun. I had a lovely prawn sallad and then coffee after that :)

After a bit of rest we started thinking about playing the nine holes again (since they don't have 18 holes at Bromma Golf, you're allowed to do the nine holes a second time) and after a bit of consideration that's what we decided to do. I did some better shots this time around but towards the end I was really really tired and found it quite difficult to focus. Tonight F has gone out for a few beers and I'm left in the apartment. I'm gonna sleep really well tonight I tell ya, but first it's time for a film. I just don't know which one to pick yet ;)

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

Golf

Last weekend myself and Maria spent in total 12 hours at Bromma Golf as we had registered for a beginners course. I was really worried about what the weather was going to be like but we were very lucky. It didn't rain at all, and on Sunday the sun was shining pretty much all day and we even got a bit of a color when we spent 2 hours on the golf course playing 9 holes in two teams. It was really difficult but so much fun!

The course was very good and divided into several parts. We got to try chipping and putting, we did some bunker shots and also practiced several shots using both iron clubs and the driver. I really enjoyed every moment of it, now it's up to myself to really practice as much as I can. Below you can see some pics from the weekend.

Reebok easytone

I don't know what has happened lately but I haven't been good at updating my blog. That'll have to change I think. Right now I'm lying in bed because I'm really tired even though it's only after 9pm. I've had a really good weekend but that is over now and I was thrown into a new week once again. It don't really mind since we're going to the Maldives in less than three weeks now. I'm longing for the sun and I can't wait to take off with my darling for two relaxing weeks in the sun.

On Friday last week F and I celebrated our first anniversary. I can't believe it has been a year already. We went on our first date a cold night in February last year and one year on we're happier than ever :) To celebrate this we went out for dinner in Old Town where we enjoyed a three course dinner together. We had a lovely time and talked about that night on the 17th of February 2011 when we first met @ Fashion café in Sundbyberg. My darling - I love you to bits!

On Saturday we went to the afters of a wedding, Lina and Hilton finally got married and they looked so happy together. The dress was absolutely gorgeous on Lina, she looked stunning. Congratulations again you guys!

Earlier on that day myself and F went to Solna Centrum and he bought me a pair of Reebok Easytone trainers that I've wanted for quite some time. They were on sale in Nilsons and now I'm really excited to try them out. I'm looking forward to when the snow is gone and it gets brighter, because then I can start going out for walks in the evenings again!

Post it note

Last week when I had been out for our Christmas party with work and I came home, I found a lovely little post it note on the mirror in the bathroom :) Little things like that makes me smile!

Tonight I'm taking it easy, Petra made me go to the bodypump class at lunch today even though I was still sore from the bodypump class on Friday. I added some weights today as well so my legs are hurting now. My darling is doing the laundry (again!), but I cooked us dinner so it's only fair ;)

Went to Solna Centrum after work to get another Christmas present, I have to go and buy a couple more tomorrow but after that I'm pretty much done. I'm looking forward to Christmas now. We're not gonna have much traditional Christmas food this year and I can't say I'm too sad about it since I'm not mad about all that food. Christmas Eve I'm gonna spend with F and his family and Christmas Day we're gonna spend at my parents' house. Christmas Eve we're having Korean food (yum) and on Christmas Day we're having venison (double yum)!

Badminton

F and I have started exercising at the weekends and it's really enjoyable. I normally go to the gym as much as I can during the week (2-3 times) but it's more difficult to go at the weekends, especially when F don't go to any gym right now. If he doesn't go, I don't wanna go either ;) But in the last month, we've been swimming, going out for walks and playing badminton. I haven't played badminton since I went to high school and I had forgotten how much fun it was to play. F is quite good at it so I was running around like crazy while we were playing. It's all good though, the more I run - the more calories I burn! ;)

Early bird

This morning I had to get up at 5 o'clock since I had promised to give my brother a lift to the airport. He was heading to New York the lucky thing where he's going to take part in an ice hockey tournament with his colleagues from the fire brigade. I came in to the office at 7 o'clock and started working then to be able to leave earlier than usual. I was so tired when I got home that I went to bed for about an hour and a half. Now I'm taking it easy, I'm following the bidding on a jacket and a dress that I'm selling on Tradera. I seem to be able to get some money for it so it seems to be worth selling rather than just throwing it away :)

Since the summer holidays I'm trying to get back into the training routines again and I have been to the gym quite frequently. Even though I'm working my ass off, that extra bit of weight that I gained during the summer does not seem to wanna come off :( At least not yet anyway! On Monday I went to my first bodypump class in about 5 months and I was dreading it. Even though I used the lightest weights my whole body is so sore that I can't walk properly and sitting down and standing up is a big challenge! ;)

Tomorrow it's time for a spinning class again, the last time I went to that class was before the summer. I'm getting ready to sweat together with my idol Petra! :)

Watching football

Tonight I'm watching the football match between Sweden and Ukraine and I'm looking forward to it. Came home about an hour ago, I've had my dinner and now I'm sittting in the couch ready to watch the match :) The plan was to make my own muesli tonight but I don't know if I have the energy, perhaps I'll do it after the first half of the match. I've wanted to do it for a while now and bought a lot berries and nuts that you can have in it when I went to Ica after work.

Today I went to the gym again, I did 30 minutes on the crosstrainer before it was time for an exercise programme that my physiotherapist gave me when I was there on Monday. I've had problems with my left knee ever since I did the half marathon in May. I tried to ignore the pain first but during the summer I realised that it's not worth risking anything. Therefore I've use the crosstrainer instead as well as doing power walks and spinning. I've only been able to run a couple of kilometres at a time due to the pain. In the last couple of weeks I've done 4-5 kilometre runs though so lets hope that it will get better. My physiotherapist said that it was good that I didn't do any extensive running while my knee was sore and that I seem to be on the mend. It is important not to be too eager now though and to listen to your body.

On Saturday I was supposed to take part in Midnattsloppet but I've decided not to do the run since my knee will probably just get worse. It was going to be my 5th time participating but I guess I will have to wait until next year. Instead my plan is to keep going to the gym to make sure my knee is getting better and to try to lose some of the weight that I managed to put on during my summer holidays ;)

The weather has been terrible today, a lot of rain and thunder and lightning. My outfit for the day was a pair of beige MQ chinos and a pink cardigan with black birds from H&M.

 

Result 1:58:42

On Saturday it was finally time for me to run a half marathon in Gothenburg. I had been waiting for it ever since I decided to register for the run at the beginning of this year and I just wanted to get it over and done with. Luckily the weather was just perfect for the day, about 15 degrees - not too cold nor too hot ;) I left Stockholm at around 9 with the train and I arrived in Gothenburg at 12:20. I hopped on the tram that took me to the place where the number pick up was. I was starting with the charity group as I was running for Barncancerfonden, the organization of my choice. We were over 2600 people that were running for charity and together we raised over 1.3 million SEK.

My goal was to just finish the run without doing any walking. I was thinking beforehand that it would be nice to run with a pace of 10km/hr to complete the run in 2:06:00 and I was dreaming about getting a time of under two hours. My start was at 14:50 and I was very eager to start running. The course circles the city crossing over two bridges. After the first couple of kilometres I started feeling less nervous and it felt good running. The first 10 kilometres felt great actually and I passed 10 kilometres at 53:35. When I got to 12-13 kilometres my knees started hurting a bit. A while later when I reached 15-16 kilometres my legs were getting really sore and my knees hurt even more but I was determined to keep on going. After another couple of kilometres - at around 18 kilometres - I started wondering if I was gonna be able to complete the run at all as my legs were so sore and my energy levels started dropping. I still kept going but at a slower pace as I was getting really tired. I looked at my watch like so many times before and realised that time was ticking away. But after another few kilometres I finally finished the run and the time I got was 1:58:42!

I'm so happy and proud of myself for doing it. This was a personal challenge I had set for myself this year and I did it!! :) Thanks to all of you for cheering me on, it meant a lot to me.

I took the train back and arrived to the central station in Stockholm at just before 22:00 that evening. F was kind enough to come and pick me up and I was in pain walking to the car I can tell you. But after putting on some tiger balm and a good night sleep I felt great again. I actually thought I was gonna be more sore than I was.

Yesterday F and I went to Brunnsviken with the boat where we stopped the engine and did some sunbathing. We had some bubbly and just relaxed together, it was so nice. After a while we went to café Sjöstugan where we had some lunch and then we went back to Djurgårdskanalen where we met up with F's friend for a coffee. We had such a great Sunday in the sun and I'm already looking forward to taking the boat out again ;)

Great run

Today I decided to go for a run at lunch time, Rita had a zumba class at the same time but since the half marathon is in two and a half weeks I wanted to concentrate on the running. As soon as I stepped on the threadmill I felt that I was full of energy and therefore I started running at quite a high pace, 12km/hr to be exact :) I kept running and increased the speed even more after a while. I managed to finish 10 kilometres in 49:45 and 12 kilometres in 59:31. I'm so happy, that is the fastest run for me ever. OK I was running on a threadmill and if you run outside you probably won't be able to keep that speed but I'm happy anyway and feel proud of myself, he he.

Tonight I had to bring my laptop home with me to do some work. I hope we're gonna be ready for tomorrow, I'm quite excited actually. I'm also excited about the weekend, glad it's finally here. I'm hoping to have a lie in on Saturday, it's so nice to be able to stay in bed. Now I'm gonna finish off for the night, meant to look at a particular problem we ran into this afternoon but I forgot the papers in work. Will have to get up early tomorrow morning instead :S

4 weeks to go

It's now less than 4 weeks until the half marathon in Gothenburg when I'm running Göteborgsvarvet. I have done a few longer runs but the last time I did 15 kilometres I had such a sore back and knee afterwards that I haven't wanted to do a longer run since then. I did 9,5 km run on Sunday and felt fine afterwards so hopefully I can continue now without any problems in the next few weeks. I have been consistent in my training all year and feel as prepared as I could be I think. I don't want to overdo my training since I want to keep my health and strength until the race. I'm gonna be sore afterwards, that's for sure. But it's gonna be worth it as long as I manage to complete the run and I'm determined to do it!

I wonder what the weather will be like on the day, hopefully it won't be too hot since the race is during the day. My start is at 14:50 in the afternoon, I'm in the special charity group and my start number is 38259. If anyone wants to follow me and how I'm doing during the race, you can send a text "GV 38259" to 72700 ;) It costs 30 SEK.

One thing that I haven't been able to do yet is to find out if my stomach can handle the sports drink. I will have to go for a run during the week and bring some with me to see if it works ;) I hope it does since you'll hopefully get more energy than from water!

My training has looked like below in the last while, gonna continue running for 3 more weeks but I've decided to rest in the last week:

Week 10
Monday: Bodypump 55 min
Wednesday: 10 km run - 10km/hr

Week 11
Tuesday: 5,47 km run - average 10,94km/hr (interval training)
Thursday: 14 km run - 9,94 km/hr

Week 12
Monday: Bodypump 55 min
Friday: 10 km run - 11,23km/hr

Week 13
Thursday: 6 km run - 10km/hr

Week 14
Monday: 10 km run - 10km/hr
Wednesday: 10 km run - 10km/hr

Week 15
Wednesday: Spinning 55 min
Saturday: 14,95 km run - 10km/hr

Week 16
Wednesday: 5 km run - 10km/hr
Friday: 5,5 km run - 9,43km/hr
Sunday: 9,5 km run - 10,18km/hr

I was hoping to do a 16-17 km run before the race but I have given up the thought of that. I think it's better to leave it until the 21st of May. I'll take the train down to Gothenburg in the morning and then back again in the evening. I'm hoping that somebody will come and meet me at the central station later on that night to lift me off the train ;)

Proper running socks

The other day when I went for a run on the threadmill in the gym I tried out my new running socks that I bought last weekend. You might remember that I had problems with blisters on my feet when I started running and I still haven't got rid of them completely so I thought what could be better than buying proper running socks!? ;) There is actually a big difference so it was a good buy. I love the way they put L and R on the socks so that you won't put the wrong sock on the wrong foot. It must be just in case you forget where your big toe is located? ;)

Tonight I attended the second part of the photo course with Jonas Borg and my colleagues. We learnt all about ISO, the right white balance, Kelvin scale and how to edit your photos in an editing program (quick fixes). It is amazing how easily you can make your photo look great rather than good. It has been a very inspiring course, I have taken some notes and I'm eager to start taking photos to try everything out. Lets hope I can take some nice photos this spring!

Spinning class

I had planned to go for a long run in the gym last night but got there quite late so I only had time for 5 kilometres, it was quite a nice run anyway and I ran faster than I normally would. Today Lena pursuaded me to go down for the spinning class, I haven't been to one for at least a year and it's not really my thing. I wasn't too excited about it beforehand but it was a great class and I really liked the instructor. She also had good taste of music ;) It was a tough workout and I was sweating loads but Lena and I were very happy afterwards!

Last night F and I started to watch Flashforward and we watched three episodes. Ehrmm, well at least two.. On the third one I accidentally "closed my eyes" a couple of times and started breathing heavily, don't know what happened there ;) I like it so far anyway and I'm looking forward to watching more episodes.

Now I'm back in the apartment and I'm planning to cook some dinner and then watch Sveriges Mästerkock on telly, one of my favourite programs at the moment. I've just been to the recycling station to drop off loads of clothes that I don't wear anymore, feels great. I also went to Alvik to pick up a parcel from Mollys scrapbooking. Hopefully I'll have time for some scrapbooking this weekend, dying to get into it again!

Happy Friday

I've had a good productive day in work today and finished the week off by going down to the gym to run 10 kilometres on the threadmill in 53 minutes and 27 seconds to be exact ;) I was quite tired after that but haven't done any exercising since Monday when I went to the bodypump class. I don't think I'll be doing any more running this week and on Monday I'm going to Denmark with work which means I won't be going to the gym for the first three days of next week either :( Felt great after the run today but now I'm really full since I've been eating loads and loads of cheese and biscuits. I've also had some red wine but that's allowed since it's Friday ;)

Have been playing around in Photoshop Elements 9 this evening with a photo I took this week of the beautiful tulips I received :)

Tomorrow it's Saturday and that means it's only one more week until Maria and I take off for Lanzarote!! My friend Niamh from Ireland will also be there that week so I've promised her we'll try to meet up one of the days. Can't wait for my holidays, I need some sun :)

My running is getting better

Last Thursday I managed to get up and go to the gym in the end and I was determined to do a longer run. When I went on the threadmill I hadn't made up my mind about the exact distance but I was hoping for something between 12 to 14 kilometres. Already after a couple of kilometres I got a stitch but decided not to let it ruin my run. I ran and ran and after 1 hour and 24 minutes I had completed a 14 km run :) Needless to say I was proud of myself, I have never done such a long run before, he he. I know I will have to add on another few kilometres before the 21st of May when I'm running a half marathon but I'm getting there and that is the main thing :) My calves were a bit sore on Friday I can tell ya!

Burnt over a thousand calories :)

Had a fantastic weekend from start to end. On Friday night I went to Odenplan to play pool at Roq. We played for about an hour and a half (I won! :)) before we headed to Vimmel for a bite to eat. Had a lovely dinner with lovely company and a nice bottle of red pinot noir wine kept us company. On Saturday I met up with Maria and Marcus in town for a coffee, they had been shopping for a while and I wanted to buy a present for Petra since she was throwing a housewarming party on Saturday night! Had a great time and drank even more wine ;) Petra's new apartment is lovely, I think she'll be very happy there.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous all weekend, I'm getting the spring feeling and it makes me happy! I'm checking the weather in Lanzarote on a daily basis as well and it's looking good, Maria and I are heading off now in less than 2 weeks, yay!