tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39304965420824915922024-02-22T11:08:13.705-05:00Echoes From A RunnerA blog about my running adventures seen from my side of the finish line...Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-58266716489663231392019-11-23T10:49:00.001-05:002019-11-23T17:02:54.361-05:00#TeamAwesome 2020<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I am very pleased and honoured for having been selected to be a part of <b>#TeamAwesome</b> for </span><b style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Tamarack </b><b style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Ottawa Race Weekend</b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> 2020, where I am once again running the </span><b style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Ottawa Marathon</b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> 😎</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>What is Team Awesome?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Team Awesome is a group of enthusiastic runners (and social media fanatics) who are participating in the <b>Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend</b> and want to share updates about their training and race weekend information, as well as support other runners along the way. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sadly only a part of them could fit into the photo below, however, you can see and read about all of my <b>AWESOME team-mates </b>here:<br /><b><a href="https://www.runottawa.ca/torw/social/teamawesome" target="_blank">www.runottawa.ca</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As mentioned, I have signed up for the <b>Ottawa Marathon</b>. Actually there are many different races throughout the Ottawa Race Weekend:<br />On <b>Saturday 23rd May</b> you can run <b>2km</b>, <b>5km</b> or <b>10km</b>, and on <b>Sunday 24th May </b>you can run <b>Half-Marathon (21.1km)</b> or <b>Marathon (42.2km)</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And for the avid runners there are <b>challenges </b>which combines multiple of the races Saturday and/or Sunday. The challenges have increased in popularity in the past years. <br /><b>Have you signed up yet? 👍😃</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Training for my marathon has begun, and as the race is in end of May, most of the training is during the winter, which means lots of snow, freezing temperature and a frosty beard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So far this year I'm on <b>+1800km</b> and aiming for 2019km, leaving somewhat 200km for the rest of the year, which should be within reach. Of races for 2020, I have of course signed up for Ottawa Marathon, and have my eyes on a few more races. More on that later... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Till then, see ya out there!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">November 16th 2019</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">November 12th 2019</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">October 22nd 2019</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">October 10th 2019</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-17024493461082909482019-06-10T19:44:00.003-04:002019-06-10T20:29:43.368-04:00New adventures in Ottawa, ON, Canada<div dir="ltr">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The past year
has been quite eventful and I have not spend much time in here, however, here's an update. <br /><br />Almost a year ago me and my partner-in-crime moved to
Ottawa to start a new adventure after having lived in beautiful Oxford (UK) for the past +6 years. We both </span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">loved</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">(and still do) Oxford and our
friends there – and will always have a special place in our hearts!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As this is
a blog mostly about running, so I’ll try to stick to that...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Moving to
Canada from UK has meant a huge change weather-wise. Especially the winter: here in Ottawa they actually have a proper winter with snow and ice - somewhat different from our years in Oxford where I think we had snow maybe 5 times in total lasting from a few hours to a week at the most. (Don't get me wrong - it could for sure feel very cold outside in UK too!) This - a proper winter - I have been looking very much forward
to experience: -35 deg. C, +2.5 metres of snow, skating to work and for fun, snow-storms,
freezing rain, ice in the beard, etc. You know: a proper winter - Like when my Dad
was a kid </span><span lang="EN-US">😉</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We knew
from the start when we moved here, that winter was going to be much longer than
what whatever “winter” we had in Oxford (and Denmark for that matter). And we
were told we’d have to try and embrace it, otherwise we wouldn’t last one winter here. <b>And just that we did: Embraced it! Used it! And made the best of it!</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Instead of
complaining about the weather and staying warm inside, we conquered the winter-months
(snow from mid-November till somewhat mid-April) by venturing out into the snow and cold.
We picked up skating, and I actually started skatting to work on the frozen <a href="http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/rideau-canal-skateway" target="_blank"><b>Rideau Canal Skateway</b></a> (world’s
largest skating rink), which had almost 1.5 million visitors this season. A great
experience to actually be able to skate to work, which would not be possible if
the winter wasn’t as cold as it is here. Where else can you do that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Before the skateway opened for the season (or if it was closed due to poor ice conditions) I
cycled to work. At the time I had approx. 4km on the shortest path to work
(which I only took once, because I was in a hurry). Instead I have been taking the scenic, longer (8km) route to work, which for most of the time would be along the Ottawa River on a walking/cycling
path only partly maintained for winter: in some places it was cleared
completely and in others not so much! However, it was great fun to plow through the
piles of snow, especially on those sub -25 deg. C crispy-air-mornings when nobody
had been on the path yet. It sometimes could be tough work to get through the
masses, but what the heck: it was great fun </span><span lang="EN-US">😊</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigunBC6MdfGCi0Tnqqnl1EPSTweu7-iT6by86tScvY3_8vnoMT8x8su2Tdxt3BDTz_pSuLFG9s65zj_mcA90cdq0etoBoMdOzvXqKhvTJnCNDNXuEHEaf_glK7TI2_syB0nuSul42JyUyJ/s1600/2019-02-13+07.35.14a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="1600" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigunBC6MdfGCi0Tnqqnl1EPSTweu7-iT6by86tScvY3_8vnoMT8x8su2Tdxt3BDTz_pSuLFG9s65zj_mcA90cdq0etoBoMdOzvXqKhvTJnCNDNXuEHEaf_glK7TI2_syB0nuSul42JyUyJ/s320/2019-02-13+07.35.14a.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To be able to conquer the elements on my mountain bike, I invested in spiky tires: +400 spikes on each tire. And they sure came in handy in the those icy
conditions – they worked like a charm – even on the world’s largest icerink they
were awesome! I found out later that you aren't supposed to be riding your bike
on the frozen canal due to many being injured in previous years (those fools: who would ever think of cycling on ice?!😅). However, if
the cycle paths were so full of snow that you could literally “park” you bike
in the snow and it would still </span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">be</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">standing up-right and the roads being nothing but death-traps for
cyclists because many cars (drivers) don’t give a flying s**t about your well-being, I’d
rather put my faith in those slightly expensive, yet amazing studded tires and take
my chances on the frozen canal. And the tires worked beautifully on the ice
indeed!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Okay, okay -
I said I’d try to stick to running… </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">For running in the winter, I found that with temparetures around -30
deg. C and snowy/icy conditions, running is still great fun: <b>You just need to layer up, put your mind to it and get out there.</b> Imagine those crispy -35
deg. C mornings with no wind, icy crystal on every surphase glittering in the sun and you can feel the dry air so fresh in your lungs, and ice-crystals starting to form on every surface of your exposed face: your
beard starts growing icicles and your eyelashes and brows start producing fine-structured
crystals of their own, and before you know it, you look like King Frost/The Ice Queen. There is no
such thing as bad weather for running – only bad excuses. Layer up and get out
there…<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Layers for -35 deg. C: </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1 x inner no-sleeve top</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">3 x relatively thick long-sleeved tops</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1 x wind proof jacket</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">2 x buff around neck</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1 x hat + 1 x buff (double layered) on head </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1 x short tights on legs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1 x long winter tights on legs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1 x outer wind proof layer on legs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1 x pairs of socks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">2 x pairs of gloves</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">That's about it... 😉</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">+ shoes of course.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Ottawa Marathon 2019</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">My training
during the winter months was a necessity as I signed up for the <b>Ottawa Marathon</b>
(26<sup>th</sup> May 2019). I know that you can run on a treadmill indoors
being warm and comfy, but that’s just not my kind of thing. Anyways, the Ottawa
Marathon was quite small compared to the ones I have run previously: Copenhagen
Marathon in 2014 (1<sup>st</sup> Marathon) had approx. 10.000 runners; London
Marathon in 2017 had approx. 40.000 runners and approx. 800.000 spectators.
Ottawa Marathon had about 3500 and sparsely scattered (yet still e</span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">nthusiastic</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">) spectator-crowds.
However, it was a well organized and structured event with lots of amazing
volunteers, who had worked hard to make it a great event. It may be a relatively
small event compared to my two previous Marathons, but it’s still one of
Canadas largest Marathons. I totally enjoyed it and it provide me with a PB-improvement of over 15 minutes. I ended up with completing it in <b>3h31m12s</b>. I’ll
definitely be back for next years event </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">😊</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">. And another plus-side to the Ottawa Marathon: I only have a 5 minute walk
from home to the start/finish-line </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">😉.</span></div>
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My next race/running-event will be a 6-hour-loop-run on a 1.8km track on the outskirts of
Gatineau Park in the end of July 2019. More on that to follow...</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqSapwFZTsLyLj8EQ6o79W03oR4KpMkRyDrCGeOKng33MV_rXK5rz1YSaTx_Rt58DDyzRnCfPpOoh0K_VeS_uvVZjVdkqKvG9oOUYlrT3YehUQXqOgVySICS3XUWrLLoie4EDtFtXpflI/s1600/DRAGON_TRAIL.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqSapwFZTsLyLj8EQ6o79W03oR4KpMkRyDrCGeOKng33MV_rXK5rz1YSaTx_Rt58DDyzRnCfPpOoh0K_VeS_uvVZjVdkqKvG9oOUYlrT3YehUQXqOgVySICS3XUWrLLoie4EDtFtXpflI/s400/DRAGON_TRAIL.png" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A few days back, I did my first trail-run </span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">of the year </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">in <b><a href="http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/gatineau-park" target="_blank">Gatineau Park</a></b>. Weather was perfect for it. Last year I created a trail of somewhat 21.1km (half-marathon) with a +600 metres elevation gain which I named <b><a href="https://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_8.html">#DragonTrail</a></b>. It's relatively close to the city, and there's only 10km bike-ride to get there. So a bit of cross training as a bonus. Anyways, it was so beautiful and amazing out there. This is why I love trail running so much... <b>See the photos below!</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">See ya all out there...<br />Best M.</b></div>
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<br />Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-23984103862394585352018-02-04T06:25:00.001-05:002018-02-04T09:28:30.487-05:00VIVOBAREFOOT Primus Trail SG<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">This week my new trail shoes arrived: <b>VIVOBAREFOOT Primus Trail SG </b>😎</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Over the past many months I have been changing my running style towards forefoot running. I must admit that reading </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: 14.85px;">Christopher McDougalls "Born To Run" </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: 14.85px;">has much to do with it. You can read more about the book <a href="https://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/born-to-run-in-sueme-tree-trunks.html">here</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIH9P89O_ZrkbyreqBNG9bpcd6DKPSRgoNIXdGFNeClo5C1zUZTYEOgGgF2fIqhxYqXkwGN5bep4AQL0wxJ3h5zHaYMbVrkDgKxxytgvqLNiBrW7KC5dkaPraq0QejVhd0B9wt8k-_QXHv/s1600/P2021742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIH9P89O_ZrkbyreqBNG9bpcd6DKPSRgoNIXdGFNeClo5C1zUZTYEOgGgF2fIqhxYqXkwGN5bep4AQL0wxJ3h5zHaYMbVrkDgKxxytgvqLNiBrW7KC5dkaPraq0QejVhd0B9wt8k-_QXHv/s400/P2021742.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have two other pairs of <b>VIVOBAREFOOT</b> shoes for everyday walking and I love 'em. They are so comfortable - I am forever a changed man regarding shoes. Therefore, I also wanted to get some running shoes and my old trail shoes were getting a bit trashed. I've had my eye on the <b>VIVOBAREFOOT Primus Trail SG</b> for a long time and they simply look awesome! So finally I decided to buy them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I took the <b>Primus Trail SG</b> for their first run in Shotover, Oxford, which is a great place to put them to the test. It was awesome to wear a pair of trail shoes with room enough for my toes to spread out and feel free, as my old trail shoes (<b>Salomon Speedcross 3</b>), which </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">are</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">probably</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> also a size too small, squeezes my toes together leaving virtually no space for movement. Don't get me wrong - they have served my well and have done a great job on the trails! It's simply time to change! </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BnaMa1KegDNwVsdtXIn3ojm3cdjsjrJ-VFkzqkCbr2M_Jq66ZxrxUNo96NexIjnH48jcNmpXYmVcVs_Tona5cFgQE3h2yspKo3kY07Dsewnk1QPoMgp8OP3WTBtAb6w0gZ23VgokOvo_/s1600/P2021712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BnaMa1KegDNwVsdtXIn3ojm3cdjsjrJ-VFkzqkCbr2M_Jq66ZxrxUNo96NexIjnH48jcNmpXYmVcVs_Tona5cFgQE3h2yspKo3kY07Dsewnk1QPoMgp8OP3WTBtAb6w0gZ23VgokOvo_/s400/P2021712.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I logged 20km in the new <b>Primus Trail SG</b> on hilly and muddy trails and they felt awesome all the way. I have got no negative points besides from them being a bit pricey and that the sizing is different (smaller) compared to my other <b>VIVOBAREFOOT</b> shoes - had to go a full size up.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>VIVOBAEFOOT Primus Trail SG:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Their appearance give them away as being real beasts for the trails. They are low (as in no cushioning as they are made for "barefoot" running); Weight is about 285g for my size 9UK(43); They've got large multi-directional lugs on the outsole for improved traction in the mud and on loose ground, and is made from some tough rubber for a sticky grip; They've got a quick-lacing system which works pretty well, however, they do also come with normal laces if you prefer these; The toe-box is as expected large with plenty of room for your toes to spread out and feel free; The upper front-mesh provides great ventilation without letting dirt into the shoe; The structure around the heal/ankle is made as a tight fitted collar keeping dirt from entering the shoe; They are quick draining through the mesh on the sides; And they are relatively quick drying when you have soaked them in your free shoe-wash on your way back home 😎 <br /><b>Bottom line: They are pretty awesome!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I made a small video from my run which can be seen below.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Until we meet again - <b>#HappyRunning</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-86360214842156846472017-12-10T14:36:00.003-05:002017-12-12T02:45:07.908-05:00Born To Run in SueMe Tree Trunks<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Are we born to run?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">That's a very good question! Are we? I usually don't read much non-work related, but my daily hours of commuting has given me time to do so - what else to do on the early morning train? And since my commute leaves me literally no time to run during the week, I thought at least I could be reading about it and get some inspiration for when I once again will have time for some proper running...</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>"Born to run" </b>by<b> Christopher McDougall</b> is not a new book (first published in 2009) and I'm sure many of you have already read it. I don't know if you liked it or not but it definitely puts running into a new light - at least for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Before reading it I was of course aware of some people claiming that forefoot running is a better way to run rather than being heel-striking as most runners do. I've been a heel-striker (or probably more like a mid-foot-runner if that's a term?) However, what-ever the term, I would definitely not be a full-blown fore-foot runner as <i>"that's just weird"...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Or at least I thought so. During reading the book, you are presented with more and more evidence suggesting that the human body <i><b>is</b> </i>in fact <b><i>born to run</i></b> - and in the form of fore-foot running.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I was sceptical about fore-foot running (which I guess is the human nature when presented with something new) and the whole bare-footed idea before I read the book. However, in the book there are simply so many points suggesting that this is how we evolved are how we are meant to be running. Moreover, it is kind of suggested that the modern running shoe designed for heel-striking is an over-engineered solution to a problem that didn't exist before it was invented. <b><i>"Don't fix it if it ain't broke!".</i></b></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm not saying what you as a runner should do, what to believe or how you should run. But if you haven't read the book, read it and think about all the evidence presented on how we evolved back in the days. Of course this book is not a scientific paper, although I'm sure Christopher did some good research on this area, but there might be studies arguing against his theories. Nevertheless it is still a good book to read and I effeminately enjoyed it and worth a read! I haven't properly research the area myself, so I guess the question is still: <b><i>Are we born to run?</i></b></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_to_run" target="_blank">TedTALK</a> </b>by </span>Christopher McDougall - Interesting to watch!</span><br>
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">SueMe Tree Trunks</span></b><br>
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KNetDazrDbBeTXcbZ8xvuq2f2_eOI7LJCeKlnihdvlifgz-D2OFdiS31hvgf8A_yiHrAPmCkEhfNhPx72ozT0Pnh7qNz67k6oLOv_M2sTW0lLUjMUj0F_NbqNJv3smECrNiQNzTlx45u/s1600/2017-12-08+12.06.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KNetDazrDbBeTXcbZ8xvuq2f2_eOI7LJCeKlnihdvlifgz-D2OFdiS31hvgf8A_yiHrAPmCkEhfNhPx72ozT0Pnh7qNz67k6oLOv_M2sTW0lLUjMUj0F_NbqNJv3smECrNiQNzTlx45u/s320/2017-12-08+12.06.02.jpg" width="240"></a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've been so lucky to have been given two pairs of </span><b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.sueme.com/" target="_blank">SueMe </a></b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><a href="http://www.sueme.com/" target="_blank">Tree Trunks</a></b> to test and try. The Tree Trunks are <b>made from 95% beech tree pulp </b>and the manufacturing process is <b>CO2-neutral</b>. It has some of the same qualities as Merino Wool like being <b>anti bacterial</b>. They are <b>super soft</b> and feels great against the skin with <b>seams placed away from chafing points</b>. During my first run in the trunks, there was <b>no chafing </b>and was so <b>comfortable </b>that I didn't noticed them at all. I can highly recommend them if you are on the outlook for some trunks 😃. I like that they are <b>eco-friendly</b> - We need to take care of our planet! </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>[NB: I have been given these pairs for free to test and try, however I try my best to not be biased]</b></span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_F-vbxDvT0VLQ3yDX9tX4guaK0BFadb8IjJHZxHdWSPbhk0EgbGogyUDE6Zp2yBnsiEwgwVjCJlnd5ehDSoZkrnITVYh2pPwLSSK57RrbzAqTs8rz8mvko1XiND8xW_stLn_Oc7thRvY/s1600/2017-12-08+12.08.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_F-vbxDvT0VLQ3yDX9tX4guaK0BFadb8IjJHZxHdWSPbhk0EgbGogyUDE6Zp2yBnsiEwgwVjCJlnd5ehDSoZkrnITVYh2pPwLSSK57RrbzAqTs8rz8mvko1XiND8xW_stLn_Oc7thRvY/s1600/2017-12-08+12.08.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_F-vbxDvT0VLQ3yDX9tX4guaK0BFadb8IjJHZxHdWSPbhk0EgbGogyUDE6Zp2yBnsiEwgwVjCJlnd5ehDSoZkrnITVYh2pPwLSSK57RrbzAqTs8rz8mvko1XiND8xW_stLn_Oc7thRvY/s200/2017-12-08+12.08.26.jpg" width="200"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJU-t-H8-bit9JrpR5eGNyIaTJRXYzaSzBD1zLMjcwi_hwhO4y7reOa-6set2SscVXeEBQNYvU1eYXT5L5oSOJ0ptr0eFF8SYG6C7qLymHKuiJlUOZCwR4SmiaPBgmGDN69bInG_16y5iz/s1600/2017-12-08+12.07.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJU-t-H8-bit9JrpR5eGNyIaTJRXYzaSzBD1zLMjcwi_hwhO4y7reOa-6set2SscVXeEBQNYvU1eYXT5L5oSOJ0ptr0eFF8SYG6C7qLymHKuiJlUOZCwR4SmiaPBgmGDN69bInG_16y5iz/s200/2017-12-08+12.07.31.jpg" width="200"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Christmas Giveaway ⛄:</b>I've been allowed to give away a pair of SueMe Underwear which will be sent directly to the lucky winner from SueMe after Christmas. The details of the giveaway will follow on my Twitter account...</span><br>
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<b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Until we meet again, #HappyRunning 😊</b><br>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><a href="http://www.sueme.com/" target="_blank">SueMe</a>, <span class="fontstyle0">#</span><span class="fontstyle1">WeAreSueMe, </span></b></span><b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span class="fontstyle0">#</span><span class="fontstyle1">WhatGoesAroundComesAround, #BornToRun, <a href="http://www.freestak.com/" target="_blank">FreeStak</a></span></b>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-5704965775531195082017-05-01T15:43:00.002-04:002017-05-01T15:43:49.128-04:00London Marathon 2017<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Had an awesome weekend and marathon in London 😀</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A few months ago (27th January '17) I got an email from The Running Bug team, that I had been selected to be a <b>Reebok #FloatrideLondon ambassador </b>with a free place at the <i>"</i><b><i>otherwise-sold-out-and-very-hard-to-get-a-place-in"</i>-London Marathon</b>. I'm very pleased and humbled for getting this opportunity! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8Sq19pooNUN1oM2bSJQDWCvsteATmgrmOKa3_GQbuCVJZPFFK7gGWJuwWjXrba8Mmnz6YxgpE0U9xQ9ImkyfCcmQKLrhw3zD4vNSyXDPjbLQs_8gP5HaC_JKaOzXpiRJMqrHGfsk-nYM/s1600/P4230034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8Sq19pooNUN1oM2bSJQDWCvsteATmgrmOKa3_GQbuCVJZPFFK7gGWJuwWjXrba8Mmnz6YxgpE0U9xQ9ImkyfCcmQKLrhw3zD4vNSyXDPjbLQs_8gP5HaC_JKaOzXpiRJMqrHGfsk-nYM/s320/P4230034.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The last many years I have entered the ballot for the London Marathon but without luck and had sort of given up the idea of participating. And I tried to fool my brain and convincing myself that it's (the marathon) probably just over-rated anyway hence not worth the effort of trying to get a place at. However, I guess deep down in my heart I knew this wasn't true. Truth is I would love to run it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So I was very very pleased finally standing at the start line with some 40,000 other equally-minded, eager to get going. 😋 Everybody buzzin' and off we went...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikp34yfa8Gq9tEIBIMH5ZI7HkTL4Ro8JYUydrkehpEVHHvOHFKvLlBdTyBMFEGqYaSx9yl6hL3HN7PGvg2Ajq78e9pb20fGFwfiCWPunCc481f_TpqJhyecA6ZjEdrrnvdi95bLa3DcQ3n/s1600/P4230071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikp34yfa8Gq9tEIBIMH5ZI7HkTL4Ro8JYUydrkehpEVHHvOHFKvLlBdTyBMFEGqYaSx9yl6hL3HN7PGvg2Ajq78e9pb20fGFwfiCWPunCc481f_TpqJhyecA6ZjEdrrnvdi95bLa3DcQ3n/s320/P4230071.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A great relief to get going. Crowds of people cheering along from the first few metres and from here only very few places were without huge hordes of <b>enthusiastic and cheerful high-5'ing spectators 😎 </b>What an amazing atmosphere!! <b>Simply AWESOME!!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Of course I brought my camera and took some photos along the route. Who wouldn't! And I also captured some video footage (about 45 minutes in total 😱) which I've compiled into a 5 minute video. </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AV1pLGDEgMo" width="640"></iframe>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__BU0qvFl3JpD-MehOBUwbSGh1B5EbXCM5KpLQ8sbME708UAWNOU1Wf2R1MGZMOeNckvvERCBbgTFZZc3nrNU0gaFTw4QlbitIB0t3Wc4monnybfbLASSN2lVQk7KAmZizvQM79zHovZS/s1600/P4230201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__BU0qvFl3JpD-MehOBUwbSGh1B5EbXCM5KpLQ8sbME708UAWNOU1Wf2R1MGZMOeNckvvERCBbgTFZZc3nrNU0gaFTw4QlbitIB0t3Wc4monnybfbLASSN2lVQk7KAmZizvQM79zHovZS/s320/P4230201.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My training for it (the marathon) has not been optimal. I've mostly been a <b>#WeekendWarrior</b> due to my job allowing only little time during work-days for running, so pretty much all my training has been in the weekends. However, I felt ready for it and managed to get myself a <b><a href="http://results-2017.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/2017/?content=detail&fpid=search&pid=search&idp=9999990F5ECC850000251111&lang=EN_CAP&event=MAS&search%5Bstart_no%5D=56502&search%5Bsex%5D=%25&search%5Bnation%5D=%25&search_sort=name&search_event=MAS" target="_blank">PB in 3:48:55</a>. </b>I really enjoyed it and had an awesome weekend in London! I will definitely recommend anyone to run it.<br /><b>Ballot sign-up for 2018 is this week!!</b> (1st May '17 and till 5th May '17: <a href="https://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/en-gb/how-to-enter/ballot-entry/" target="_blank">LINK</a>).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: courier new, courier, monospace;">My <b>Reebok kit</b> and <a href="https://fitness.reebok.co.uk/floatride/" target="_blank"><b>Reebok Floatride</b> running shoes</a> did a great job and my feet or legs was not sore afterwards. My <b><a href="http://www.suunto.com/en-GB/Products/sports-watches/suunto-spartan-sport-wrist-hr/Suunto-Spartan-Sport-Wrist-HR-All-Black/" target="_blank">Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR</a></b> GPS watch also did a good job.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'm very pleased and thankful that I got the opportunity to participate in the London Marathon 2017, which would not have been possible if it wasn't for <b><a href="https://fitness.reebok.co.uk/floatride/" target="_blank">Reebok UK Team #FloatrideLondon</a></b>, <b><a href="http://www.sweatshop.com/" target="_blank">SweatshopOnline</a></b> and <b><a href="https://therunningbug.com/" target="_blank">The Running Bug</a></b>. <b>Thank you very much!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have been out running once since the marathon - a nice and easy 10km run @ 5:20 min/km avg. pace (somewhat a week after) and my legs, feet and body </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">feel</span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">great. 😉</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm not sure what my next target will be, but I'd love to do some more ultras. I was a bit jealous when I passed some runners as they finished <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/races/thames-path-100-2017" target="_blank"><b>TP100</b></a> this weekend when cycling along the river in Oxford... 😊</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Oh - and remember to give blood if you can! Donated today - my 25th donation in Oxford 😎 <b>#GiveBlood</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Until next time - Keep on running and see ya out there!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: courier new, courier, monospace;"><b>#VLM2017, #LondonMarathon, Team #FloatrideLondon, SweatshopOnline, The Running Bug, Suunto #Spartan Sport Wrist HR, #GiveBlood</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-48365240727140730312017-04-18T17:28:00.004-04:002017-04-18T17:29:37.264-04:00Next stop: London Marathon<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">London Marathon this coming Sunday - Yeah 😀</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">With less than a week to go, I'm feeling ready for it - Still slightly surreal that I've got the chance to run it though, but I'm looking very much forward to it indeed! <b>Thankful and excited!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnS66JMjXxAJsKM4z5lVm2QiuobQSuwB8INak7CFWQSToefAHEv1olBwZOKKKaDhDkP5CCRdB39XZQSbTW7PSdzTPjLcW2koTconxIwn6atrJ2s9-zodIHljKGKLn4ZfNtCjCRjyq0Sawp/s1600/P3051981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnS66JMjXxAJsKM4z5lVm2QiuobQSuwB8INak7CFWQSToefAHEv1olBwZOKKKaDhDkP5CCRdB39XZQSbTW7PSdzTPjLcW2koTconxIwn6atrJ2s9-zodIHljKGKLn4ZfNtCjCRjyq0Sawp/s320/P3051981.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A couple of weeks ago I was at a <b>Reebok/<a href="http://www.sweatshop.com/" target="_blank">Sweatshop</a></b> training session as a part of the preparation for London Marathon with some great talks by various people including my coach Shaun Dixon (from <b><a href="http://www.letsgetrunning.co.uk/" target="_blank">Let's get Running</a></b>), a nutritionist and former Marathon World Record holder <b>Steve Jones</b> who won Chicago, London Marathon and New York in the mid-80's and who is also a <b>Reebok Ambassador</b>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">All in all a great day with a bit of exercise at the end round the streets of London. Most of the information given is very much in thread with what I have been trying practising over the past years. Here's a few points:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Training:</b><br /> - Listen to your body!<br /> - Don't do to much too soon.<br /> - Don't play catch-up with your training plan if you miss a session - Let it go!<br /> - Session over 3-ish hours if probably not doing you any good.<br /> - Rest after a race.<br /> - Stretch those legs once in a while.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Carbs:</b><br /> - Don't be carb-phobic! You need carbs to fuel your run.<br /> - Start carb-loading for a race a maximum of 48h prior to the race. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Proteins:<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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</b> - I eat varied and relatively healthy, so I probably already get enough protein, hence no need to top-up with (expensive) protein shakes that does not taste that well after all.<br /> - Milk/Cocoa flavoured milk is (still) great as a post-run-drink for re-hydration and has a good mixture of proteins and electrolytes that helps the recovering process. Top that up with a banana for some fast carbs. The body can only process so and so much protein at a time, so no need to over-do it.</span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRr3X01NOWneflpSeDVSDp_4eF02-5YGhOZtk83pNxqL3JYVhSLYozWMn1UHnJEFga1FKcNZj2TYy6rqc-yT9PDUavZiCaPXjIgtT0JKf5ZU-uPzl4u3YHgG5V5pyaxIQ3i6YdmgRvH7-/s1600/P3031916a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRr3X01NOWneflpSeDVSDp_4eF02-5YGhOZtk83pNxqL3JYVhSLYozWMn1UHnJEFga1FKcNZj2TYy6rqc-yT9PDUavZiCaPXjIgtT0JKf5ZU-uPzl4u3YHgG5V5pyaxIQ3i6YdmgRvH7-/s320/P3031916a.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxohMLsSL5HJwOfoKsoreyFdgt4-4MgiPri5tU933eXmrSBYgq2K9_bS6BMajxXsA1XZLTOFI-_EAyl_Bhfj8JzkVyFMxvmgh6lbVpExlVdzkBWHZe-YKUx3oQgjBwyG_i9EKzui42HbMQ/s1600/P4012073a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxohMLsSL5HJwOfoKsoreyFdgt4-4MgiPri5tU933eXmrSBYgq2K9_bS6BMajxXsA1XZLTOFI-_EAyl_Bhfj8JzkVyFMxvmgh6lbVpExlVdzkBWHZe-YKUx3oQgjBwyG_i9EKzui42HbMQ/s320/P4012073a.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Almost ready for <b>London Marathon</b>. My new <b>Reebok </b>running kit has been washed and dried. The new <b><a href="https://fitness.reebok.co.uk/floatride/" target="_blank">Reebok Floatride</a></b> running shoes has arrived and have been tested. Accommodation has been sorted. My camera is being charged "as we speak" and the memory card emptied to make room for my photo coverage of the streets of London. The new <b><a href="http://www.suunto.com/en-GB/Products/sports-watches/suunto-spartan-sport-wrist-hr/Suunto-Spartan-Sport-Wrist-HR-All-Black/" target="_blank">Suunto Spartan Sport WHR</a> </b>multi sport GPS watch has arrived and I thought London Marathon would be a great place to test it and compare it to my old GPS watch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And for those who have too much time on their hands can follow me via this link:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="http://results-2017.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/2017/" target="_blank">FOLLOW ME ONLINE @ LONDON MARATHON</a>: #56502</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See ya at #LondonMarathon 😃</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Team #FloatrideLondon, ReebokUK, <a href="http://www.sweatshop.com/" target="_blank">SweatshopOnline</a>, The Running Bug<br />Suunto Spartan Sport WHR<br /> </b></span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-73466754131526408422017-04-01T06:05:00.001-04:002017-04-01T08:30:04.182-04:00Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A new watch - the <a href="http://www.suunto.com/en-GB/News/Suunto-unveils-the-Spartan-Sport-Wrist-HR/" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR</a><b> - </b>has arrived just in time for a bit of testing before taking it to <b>London Marathon</b> 😀 </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsm5kT_QoUs2cR34CxT5nIr058rsP8N9I-RA_gaExFKSUQBr9h8WPi2drxA3LkbXIWejTWfxNUxIIGgByTIgJEktt3BnKgS956OsnsrJjJUN4Ix0gGsvPguUZkSkhNm4K_HbBCAQMr5bZC/s1600/P4012073a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsm5kT_QoUs2cR34CxT5nIr058rsP8N9I-RA_gaExFKSUQBr9h8WPi2drxA3LkbXIWejTWfxNUxIIGgByTIgJEktt3BnKgS956OsnsrJjJUN4Ix0gGsvPguUZkSkhNm4K_HbBCAQMr5bZC/s320/P4012073a.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The new watch says <b>1 </b><b>April 2017!</b> A little more than 3 weeks till <b>London Marathon</b> and I have just received a new gadget + some other cool stuff from <b>Suunto Team </b>for testing. Thank you very much Sarina for this opportunity to be among the very first to get to use this cool watch with optical wrist-based heart-rate monitoring based on technology from industry leader <b>Valencell</b>. It looks very promising and I'll be spending some time testing it and comparing it to the <b>Suunto Spartan Ultra</b> among others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As mentioned there's just about <b>3 weeks till</b> <b>London Marathon</b>, and despite getting less runs done than intended due to my daily commuting during the week, I feel ready. I've had some good long runs in the past couple of weekends with amazing weather with lots of sunshine and plenty of time to enjoy the slowly increasing levels of green in the visual spectrum - Simply love spring time!😁</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've had a cold most of this past week, which, in companionship with late hours at work, lead to no running during work days this week. However, as my cold is bettering - yet not gone - I'll be heading out both today and tomorrow. I cannot not-run with this new gadget sitting perfectly on my wrist measuring my HR in the high fifties writing this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've decided to skip my long run this weekend and hope my cold will approve and leave me alone - at least till after London. I've managed to get 31km in as my longest run in my training so far. And as I have been aiming for about 32km as my longest (as then there's only 10km left to the full marathon 😋) so I feel I'm pretty much there distance-wise. Speed-wise I'm not really sure where I stand. I have had some really good patches over the past couple of week(end)s, which could get me near the time I discussed with <b>Coach Shaun Dixon</b> (from <a href="http://www.letsgetrunning.co.uk/about-us/#arrival" target="_blank"><b>Let's Get Running</b></a>) before I got a new job requiring a bit of commute leaving less time to run. So I have to see on the day (23 April) how things are and go with my instinct pace-wise. I know I can run the distance - I've got not doubt about that - but I just don't know how fast. But I'm gonna bring my camera and my new <b>Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR</b> watch and my <b>Reebok Floatride</b> running shoes and simply enjoy whatever London has to offer me on the day 😎. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Accommodation for London Marathon has been book relatively central to the event and I'm looking very much forward to the event and to experience the atmosphere along the course round London. It can only be a great day! Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet some of my fellow members of <b>Team #FloatrideLondon,</b> but I guess chances are slim with some <b>40,000 other runners!</b> 😮</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>I'm heading out there now to run while the sun is still shining...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See ya all out there and have a great 1 April 😄</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#SuuntoSpartan Sport Wrist HR, </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Team #FloatrideLondon, #VLM2017 #LondonMarathon </span></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#SweatshopOnline </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#ReebokUK</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: 14.85px;">PS: Views are my own! The watch has kindly been provided by Suunto Team.</span></div>
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-68323597981004342182017-03-11T13:12:00.002-05:002017-03-12T06:25:23.482-04:00Restructuring my training plan<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Great news - I've got a new job! YAY! 😊 Very happy about that after some months without... However, due to necessary commuting I'll have to rethink and restructure my training plan for 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As I mentioned in my last post, I've been selected to be a part of the <b>Reebok Floatride Team </b>for this year’s <b>London Marathon </b>and becoming an ambassador for Reebok. I'm very honoured to have been selected for this and I'm looking very much forward to it indeed. It also included some new kit to be used for the marathon and a great <b>Reebok marathon-training-day</b> in London last weekend. A great day indeed! 😁 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">However, as my new job requires daily commuting, which then leaves less time for me to run, I've been forced to rethink or restructure my usual weekly training schedule. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">That being said, I'm not complaining! I'm very pleased with what I've got! I have a job to get to every day - many haven't; I've been selected to be a <b>Reebok Ambassador</b> and to participate in an otherwise completely <i>"sold out"</i> and <i>"hard-to-get-to"</i> <b>London Marathon 2017; </b>I just might have some new gadget coming my way for testing which should be the best on the market for HR monitoring on the wrist 😄; I have a house to shelter me; Great family and friends, and I've got the very best partner in life! I couldn't be happier and after all: It is only running, and as running still doesn't pay my bills yet, I'll manage with less, although I'll have to postpone dreams of doing some looong runs for the time being (100 miles and 24h run) and stop my weekly club-runs. However, </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm going to do the best I can with whatever time I've got. <b>Hopefully #LessIsMore </b>😀</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As a part of my daily commute, I'm gonna ride my bike for some of the distance - both because it helps me being less dependent on co-workers having to pick me up at the train station, but also because it gives me a bit of daily exercise (25km a day). 😉 </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOMvpzrjayRN6wJtUpUJsgbSH9rExW3QFYumoKoH8MbVQgnNPgDl4sxS02zeZn35ABDrhBIb3A_-oJ5o6_N7_zLdtfch5zm06VMhUdEJwRWoZ_UoBFE1qBPrNYsI5FX6XiFAMwrcQqYS4/s1600/P3051981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOMvpzrjayRN6wJtUpUJsgbSH9rExW3QFYumoKoH8MbVQgnNPgDl4sxS02zeZn35ABDrhBIb3A_-oJ5o6_N7_zLdtfch5zm06VMhUdEJwRWoZ_UoBFE1qBPrNYsI5FX6XiFAMwrcQqYS4/s320/P3051981.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Reebok Floatride! <a href="https://fitness.reebok.co.uk/floatride/" target="_blank">LINK</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have to get up quite early in the mornings for my daily commute. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">After chatting to my coach, <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/letsgetrunning/" target="_blank">Shaun Dixon</a></b> from <b><a href="http://www.letsgetrunning.co.uk/" target="_blank">Let's Get Running</a></b>, I hoped to get to run two times of 1 hour during workdays plus weekends. However, it's now been several weeks and I've failed to do this. I've only been out for 5km one or two times a week during the last couple of weeks. However, it's better than nothing. 😃</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXNUrIwpX7A2ASzceDapmKGeHIykX4vG9caUHdoigm62PyrGK1hKnpk3NbCV8PoDeEZgiQ9Sap3tro_lXvpcpuif1aQaqi1HXAGoXfNIs04qVdz5r2d6CtwK6GMAihGguCYvSxnWoMB9b/s1600/P2261905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXNUrIwpX7A2ASzceDapmKGeHIykX4vG9caUHdoigm62PyrGK1hKnpk3NbCV8PoDeEZgiQ9Sap3tro_lXvpcpuif1aQaqi1HXAGoXfNIs04qVdz5r2d6CtwK6GMAihGguCYvSxnWoMB9b/s320/P2261905.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So, in retrospect of the past couple of weeks, I'm changing my training plans to aim for simply having a jolly time at <b>London Marathon</b>, bringing my camera and setting out to capture my </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">(float)ride through the course in my new gear among thousands of spectators. </span>😉 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Oh - And spring seems to be approaching fast by the way 😋</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Team #FloatrideLondon</b><span class="m_7234648291135252254apple-converted-space"><b> </b><a href="http://www.reebok.co.uk/" target="_blank">#</a></span></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.reebok.co.uk/" target="_blank">ReebokUK</a> #LondonMarathon #VLM2017</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;">See you all out there!! </span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;">Best M.<br /> </span></b></span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-62499539113217368432017-02-03T06:33:00.000-05:002017-02-03T08:00:52.391-05:00On-the-juice: Beetroot<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The beetroot has been subject to many investigations and claims as a performance enhancing vegetable. I've been digging a bit and found the following:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>The beetroot:</b> (copied from this </span><a href="http://www.diethealthclub.com/juice/beet-juice.html" style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;" target="_blank">source</a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">)</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Vitamins</b>: Beet juice is an excellent source of vitamin C and folic acid. It also contains vitamins B1, B2, B3 in small amounts. It also contains vitamin A (beta-carotene).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Minerals</b>: Beet juice is rich in magnesium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, and potassium. <span style="background-color: white;">It also contains small amounts of zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and manganese</span>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Amino acids</b>: Small amounts of amino acids are also found in raw beet juice.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Calories</b>: A 5 cm piece of beetroot contains about 35 calories.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Antioxidants</b>: The flavonoids and carotenoids in beet juice help slow down LDL cholesterol’s oxidation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Anti-carcinogenic color</b>: Beet has a deep red color that comes from the betacyanin in it, which is a powerful anti-carcinogenic agent.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Silica</b>: Beet is rich in silica. This silica makes perfect use of the calcium in the body and is also needed for healthy hair, skin, nails and bones.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The beetroot clearly contains many good things our body needs as listed above (as do most other vegetables). On the performance-enhancing perspective, this recent scientific paper by <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/1/43/htm" target="_blank"><b>Domínguez <i>et al</i>. (published Jan. </b><b>2017)</b></a> conclude the following:</span><br />
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<ul><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
<li><i>"Acute supplementation with beetroot juice may have an ergogenic effect on reducing VO2 at less than or equal to VO2max intensity, while improving the relationship between watts required and VO2 level, mechanisms that make it possible to enable increase time-to-exhaustion at less than or equal to VO2max intensity."</i><br /> </li>
<li><i>"In addition to improving efficiency and performance in various time trials or increasing time-to-exhaustion at sub-maximal intensities, chronic supplementation with beetroot juice may improve cardio-respiratory performance at the anaerobic threshold and VO2max intensities."<br /> </i></li>
<li><i>"Apparently, the effects of supplementation with beetroot juice might not have a positive interaction with caffeine supplementation, mitigating the effects of beetroot juice intake on cardiorespiratory performance, however, more work is needed to confirm the results of these investigations because the number of studies analyzing the effects of the combination of beetroot juice with other supplements, such as caffeine, is limited."<br /> </i></li>
<li><i>"Intake of beetroot juice should be initiated within 90 min before athletic effort, since the peak value of NO3− occurs within 2–3 h after ingestion. At least 6–8 mmol of NO3− intake is required, which can be increased in athletes with a high level of training."</i></li>
</span></ul>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>So what to make of this?</b> Beetroot does have some great qualities, and is a great of source of various good stuff for our bodies regardless if we are athletes or not. Also, according to the summary of the study by <b style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/1/43/htm" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Domínguez <i>et al</i>.</a>, </b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">it also</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;"> has some performance improving characteristics as claimed by many over the past years.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">However, this is still no miracle-potion </span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">giving you wings or </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">solving all your problems as a runner (or athlete) - You still need to put in some effort if you want to get a fast time! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;">A quick question: So, say we drink e.g. beetroot juice/shot to become faster, then what do we do when we want to beat that time from while we were <b><i>"on-the-juice"</i></b>? Do we drink some more? Drink twice the amount? Or triple it? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;">Instead one could be focusing on a genuine healthy diet, the amount and way of training, plus getting some proper rest/sleep, as partly suggested in <b><a href="http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/healthy-drinks/why-endurance-athletes-all-swear-beet-juice" target="_blank">this article</a> </b>where they state: </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;"><b><i>"<span style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-size: 16px;">We tend to look at easy fixes, and there are a lot of other things that will be more beneficial for amateur athletes than just beet juice</span>".</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;">Aiming for a healthy nutritious diet (beetroot could add to this) and getting your rest/sleep, is probably a better way to supercharge your run, unless you are a professional runner living off your running and need that extra speed to win a race <i>(and already have ticked off the obvious boxes: a very healthy and controlled nutritious diet; getting all the sleep you need; and getting the right kind of training at the right time)</i>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKE2tXG0aPug7kVkXDakrCqQifvY5rpB_5itfTjw8DqSLgqlzBNShcidb9TmLr-UHMfiR4TEorayrCIVxCMAuOCfXbLFSobevYNOgAIBMRe8VKP2xasYegPAoM0rXEpbs_jxGCw0wAIvOl/s1600/P8080827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKE2tXG0aPug7kVkXDakrCqQifvY5rpB_5itfTjw8DqSLgqlzBNShcidb9TmLr-UHMfiR4TEorayrCIVxCMAuOCfXbLFSobevYNOgAIBMRe8VKP2xasYegPAoM0rXEpbs_jxGCw0wAIvOl/s320/P8080827.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm not a professional athlete but I do have beetroot as a part of my everyday breakfast. I don't consume it because I want a performance boost as described above, and as I often run before I consume it, hence it doesn't have much effect - plus I'm not sure the quantities I consume are large enough to actually have an effect. Instead I drink it as part of a smoothie because it taste good in that way. <span style="background-color: white;">I started consuming it regularly, because it is healthy in many ways and it is a source of iron as </span>I'm 99% vegetarian (<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/superfoods/Pages/is-beetroot-a-superfood.aspx" target="_blank">Source</a>). 😃</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"><b>Morten's beetroot smoothie:</b> makes approx 3 glasses<br />(This probably does not have the beetroot quantities required for the boosting describe above)</span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">100g of beetroot</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;">1 banana (great if frozen in bits)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;">1 apple</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;">0.5 cm slice of lemon - organic, without stones</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;">5-10g fresh ginger (to taste - or can be left out)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">3-5g fresh turmeric (to taste - or can be left out)<br /><b>WARNING! This will colour your whole kitchen orange if you are not careful!!</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">100g of mixed frozen berries (to taste)<br />These give a great taste so that you cannot taste the "funny" taste of beetroot</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">2 teaspoons of linseed </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Add water till it almost covers the rest</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Blend all till smooth</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Try it 😋</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Enough said about beetroot - See ya all out there ;-)</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#Beetroot </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M. </b></span></div>
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-83921571801846909162017-01-30T05:12:00.001-05:002017-01-30T07:34:50.705-05:00Donating blood and running<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A few people have asked me, how donating blood affects my running, so I thought I'd share a few facts on the topic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've been donating blood for many years in </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">both</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Denmark and in the UK. I've also been involved in an interval-study over a couple of years to find out more about, how often one can donate safely. You can read more about the study and how my body reacted </span><a href="http://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/blood-runner.html" style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>here</b></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EJD30fzNlKgshtqxc1eh6P-awSX1RfM5-FlTQE6zRVLwwZoKtsX7xSmFmrE2A8grCo_kaFBeGZHsHnKWU25DFnZolV__ogcPqefxSgIdQOVxZuGu-DdiR-6FOarEgx2KfmTX7l-5q6lU/s1600/2017-01-20+09.12.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EJD30fzNlKgshtqxc1eh6P-awSX1RfM5-FlTQE6zRVLwwZoKtsX7xSmFmrE2A8grCo_kaFBeGZHsHnKWU25DFnZolV__ogcPqefxSgIdQOVxZuGu-DdiR-6FOarEgx2KfmTX7l-5q6lU/s320/2017-01-20+09.12.06.jpg" width="179" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I like donating blood and as long as I'm not a professional runner, I'm more than happy to share a pint of blood once in a while to those in need! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have found a few links describing how long time a body normally would take to recover from donating a pint of blood. A website<b> </b>from <a href="https://www.blood.co.uk/the-donation-process/after-your-donation/how-your-body-replaces-blood/" target="_blank"><b>NHS</b> [<b>N</b>ational <b>H</b>ealth <b>S</b>ervice, UK]</a> state that </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>"most people's haemoglobin levels are back to normal after 6 to 12 weeks".</b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i> </i>So if you have a race coming up, and you are aiming for a PB, then you should probably wait until after the race to donate, as it affects the transport of oxygen in your body, which affects your performance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><a href="http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/donation-faqs" target="_blank">American Red Cross</a></b> states:<br /><b><i>"How long will it take to replenish the pint of blood I donate? The plasma from your donation is replaced within about 24 hours. Red cells need about four to six weeks for complete replacement..."</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Another site from <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/ask-the-sports-doc/say-i-donate-blood-how-long-till-im-back-to-normal" target="_blank"><b>RunnersWorld.com</b></a> state that it takes about 60 days for a full recovery from donating blood (only about a day or two if you donate platelets):</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><i>"About one-third of that volume is red blood cells and the rest is mostly water. The water is replaced within the day as long as you get plenty of fluids, but the red blood cell mass replacement can take about two months. If you are well trained, you will not notice the drop in hemoglobin level at rest, or even with light to moderate exercise. When you push toward your training or race threshold, the lower red cell mass will become apparent."</i></b></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And it also states:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><i>"recommend giving yourself a couple of days off after donating to regain your fluid volume before resuming your training. Wait at least a month before running a serious race, meaning a marathon or fast-paced shorter race. Two months would be safest, especially if you plan to run at an altitude that is higher than where you usually live and train."</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So all in all, don't expect to be able to perform your right after donating and give your body time to recover. Every body reacts and recovers differently from donating. <b>Listen to your body - what does is say?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Based on my previous experience of being low in iron levels and the fact that I'm 99% vegetarian, I have started taking iron supplements to ensure that my levels doesn't drop too much and that I have a source of iron to recover after donating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Some sources of Iron-rich foods include</b> (Source: <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anaemia-iron-deficiency-/Pages/Treatment.aspx" target="_blank">NHS</a>):</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
<li>dark-green leafy vegetables, such as watercress and curly kale</li>
<li>iron-fortified cereals or bread</li>
<li>brown rice </li>
<li><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/pulses.aspx">pulses and beans</a> </li>
<li>nuts and seeds</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/meat.aspx">white and red meat</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/fish-shellfish.aspx">fish</a> </li>
<li>tofu</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/eggs-nutrition.aspx">eggs</a> </li>
<li>dried fruit, such as dried apricots, prunes and raisins</li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Some foods/drinks make it harder for you body to absorb iron </b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">(Source: </span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anaemia-iron-deficiency-/Pages/Treatment.aspx" style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;" target="_blank">NHS</a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">)</span><b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">:</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
<li>tea and coffee</li>
<li>calcium – found in <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/milk-dairy-foods.aspx">dairy products</a>, such as milk </li>
<li><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/antacid-medicines/Pages/Definition.aspx">antacids</a> and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) – medications used to relieve <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Indigestion/Pages/Introduction.aspx">indigestion</a></li>
<li>wholegrain cereals – although wholegrains are a good source of iron themselves, they contain phytic acid, which can stop your body absorbing iron from other foods and pills</li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm not saying you should avoid coffee/tea or milk/dairy products completely, but maybe not drink them right before, or as a part of your meal, or right after. Maybe wait an hour or two...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I hope this gave you a bit of insight to how your body reacts to donating blood. I can definitely tell that running after donating is harder, and my heart rate definitely increases as the heart will have to work harder to transport </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">the same amount of oxygen round the body as before donating</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">. Hence I try to keep the first couple of sessions at low intensity to give my body a break and a change to recover, and then pick up speed and/or intensity as it gets back to towards normal levels. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Until next time - see ya all out there :-)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#GiveBlood </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-75855496105383228582017-01-27T15:27:00.000-05:002017-01-30T04:02:12.974-05:00Reebok Ambassador + London Marathon 2017<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It seems like I'll be running <b>London Marathon 2017</b> after all 😀</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Friday afternoon (27/1 2017) I got an email saying <b style="font-style: italic;">"You're in!". </b><br />A week prior to receiving this great email, I had filled in an application to become a <b>Reebok Ambassador</b>. This also includes a place at London Marathon in April 2017. How awesome is that! 😎</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/en-gb/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PT5PUIR91foWyrycF5ZWXEysMR74A5r7Q3_G-qWxPuLkCC-xUbVK-a4A986TrLXcliqOVAqj9Y1gqhpYUfonIsQsCJ_IxtXBIySifY9jtGYFzDSwVDnQWfm_2uA7omE_oKd1IVc8yTH9/s320/149.png" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PT5PUIR91foWyrycF5ZWXEysMR74A5r7Q3_G-qWxPuLkCC-xUbVK-a4A986TrLXcliqOVAqj9Y1gqhpYUfonIsQsCJ_IxtXBIySifY9jtGYFzDSwVDnQWfm_2uA7omE_oKd1IVc8yTH9/s1600/149.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Now, receiving an email like that is a kind of weird - you don't really believe it at first. However, I replied saying my thanks to the person sending me the message, and got a reply back that more information will follow next week. I'm very pleased and honoured that I've been selected with 3 other runners for this. From the email, it is also mentioned that I get a coach - cool! 😁</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So far so good - so unless somebody made a (huge) mistake of sending me that email, <b>I'll be running at London Marathon</b> this year on 23rd April! </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'd better get on those trainers and get moving...!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So from a "running" perspective, 2017 doesn't seem so bad after all. However, there are many other things that could be a lot better: The Trump Incident; the several refugee-crises around the world; The Trump Incident; Oh - and Trump has become President of the United States of America! 😱</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Right - I guess this means that my focus for 2017 have changed a bit - a least until after London. I'll be focusing my training on that the next 3 months, so maybe <b>interval-training</b> is back on the weekly running menu? I'll get back to that, when I know a bit more on what is going to happen... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>So until then - See ya all out there 😊</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#Reebok #LondonMarathon</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-33109388336794239242017-01-17T07:44:00.001-05:002017-01-24T07:56:48.171-05:00 New Year's resolutions<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">At this time of year many already have or are in the making of their </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">New Year's resolutions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">First things first - I hope you all have a had a lovely Christmas and a great New Years eve, and that you have had a great start on 2017. As mentioned at the start of this post, many - or at least some - make New Year's resolutions. It can be about anything: be better your job, do more sports, make more friends, travel more often, etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Many people make resolutions about wanting to loose weight, do more exercise, or be more fit in the new year, and use the switching between the old and the new year to bind themselves to that challenge or commitment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I think it's a great way to commit yourself to do changes in your life and possibly team up with friends or family to stick to the plan. I guess many are waiting for some kind of break or event to commit to do changes in their lives. There's probably a logical reason for this hidden within the human brain, why we tend to wait till </span><b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Monday</b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">, or after the </span><b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">vacation</b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">, or after </span><b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Christmas</b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> or </span><b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">New Years</b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> to commit ourselves to start doing it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Personally, I usually don't make New Year's resolutions myself. Instead I try to make the changes and commitments along the way. I find this easier and I don't have to wait until New Year to get started. However, I may wait until Monday though... 😉</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've had a great year of running in 2016 and I'm very pleased with what I've done (See previous post <a href="http://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/a-great-year-of-running-2016.html">here</a>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">These are my goals for 2017:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Attend more club runs:</b><br />Last year I started joining some Thursday-runs with <b><a href="http://www.hrr.org.uk/" target="_blank">Headington Road Runners</a></b>, based not far from where I live. I've had some thoughts on joining the club from some time, and I went there 10th of November last year for the first time. It was great fun and I got to run in places I've never been in Oxford with some kind and friendly people 😄<br />This year I want to <b>join the club</b> as a member and be attending <b>more of these club-runs</b> to spice up my training a bit.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Run more kilometers than in 2016:</b><br />I've had some progressive years regarding my yearly-mileage of running, and I simply want to <b>beat last years mileage-PB of 3722km</b> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgXypOvFl7zmOZJIf7C0pAUcFNxt1XWH-CZ0Otp85FKdypIsBfZyD1b2hAit4ZG2XwXEPSmVaIoqjxYwPu0FJDkH5RczoBx8D71ymB_yv4TgcqIQPd03BZEX-LyTTopDZhHay47U-WZ31/s1600/YearlyMileage2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgXypOvFl7zmOZJIf7C0pAUcFNxt1XWH-CZ0Otp85FKdypIsBfZyD1b2hAit4ZG2XwXEPSmVaIoqjxYwPu0FJDkH5RczoBx8D71ymB_yv4TgcqIQPd03BZEX-LyTTopDZhHay47U-WZ31/s320/YearlyMileage2016.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>100 mile race:</b><br />I want to do a 100 mile race at some point. I haven't found the right one just yet, but I've got some in my mind, which I could do. I'll get back to that when I've decided. Hopefully I'll get to do a few other races as well.<br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>24h race:</b><br />I also want to try a 24 hour race. Again I have some that I would like to do, and I'll get back to it, when I've decided.<br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Improve core strength:</b><br />I want to improve my core strength this year, so I have already started doing some exercises during the week to hopefully improve my overall fitness and strength but also my overall endurance in both running and kayaking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Whether you do use New Years as an excuse to make changes in your life or you just make the changes when needed, I hope you get to do the changes you want. Just <b>remember to have fun while doing it</b> 😊</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Here's to great new year!! 😎</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See you all out there!!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M. </b></span></div>
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-87886273253631291682016-12-31T10:18:00.001-05:002016-12-31T10:21:32.197-05:00A great year of running - 2016<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The year has come to an end and it's time to reflect :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It has been a crazy year</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">for me</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> regarding running! I've come much further than I've ever dreamt of, and I'm very pleased with my achievements. The craziness started last year (2015) when I finally decided to sign up for </span><b style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">my first ultra</b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> run in January '16 - A 35 mile course with somewhat +1300m of elevation gain. What an awesome day and great scenic course along the white cliffs of Dover in perfect weather! Loved it!! 😊</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Then in somewhat early January, I entered a ballot to become an <b>#EpsonRunner</b> for Epson to test one of their newly launched GPS watches. And guess what - I got chosen alongside with 99 others. Yay! I was very pleased with that. I had to <a href="http://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/p/epsonrunner.html"><b>test and review</b></a> the watch and make 5 videos on different topics through out February and March, and then I was allowed to keep the watch afterwards. 😀</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYl3J6ouCMwNGs8BCrUsGy8qMURUqpbV4jNgDQDsUuCkrAWlhJ8b5bNei8HU-B8wnbQKwket9N0IcKiTR5fXE3pLdALpgDp5zTuEKH23i1v5kXBbTEer0LvJ7yWpi4Np1gqeOiPWcBkagC/s1600/youvstheyear_wide_ambassador_ver1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYl3J6ouCMwNGs8BCrUsGy8qMURUqpbV4jNgDQDsUuCkrAWlhJ8b5bNei8HU-B8wnbQKwket9N0IcKiTR5fXE3pLdALpgDp5zTuEKH23i1v5kXBbTEer0LvJ7yWpi4Np1gqeOiPWcBkagC/s320/youvstheyear_wide_ambassador_ver1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Then also during January I got approached by a guy from <b><a href="http://www.endomondo.com/" target="_blank">Endomondo</a> </b>if I'd like to be part of an ambassador-team of 7 people for the <b><a href="http://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb/you-vs-year/" target="_blank">#YouVsTheYear</a></b> initiative for <b><a href="http://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb" target="_blank">Under Armour UK</a> - </b>A challenge to run 1000km in 2016. I've really enjoyed being a part of this great initiative. It's been great fun indeed! 😉 <br /><b>Remember to sign up for the 2017-version!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacLWC59bVi_AXkKKv8HH1M1uNvHYYpZkJpUrjc8rtKgg7sjgbYPouuBdehAFfxqcoBE1XvpYQerKgnpmK8sXVpVr6VAcKW8GwW8b8-qNThBBdh7eHiJwpyJAViZ9b4KfQf1zfwDOlazUp/s1600/TrailRunningMag_PictureRaceToTheStones2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacLWC59bVi_AXkKKv8HH1M1uNvHYYpZkJpUrjc8rtKgg7sjgbYPouuBdehAFfxqcoBE1XvpYQerKgnpmK8sXVpVr6VAcKW8GwW8b8-qNThBBdh7eHiJwpyJAViZ9b4KfQf1zfwDOlazUp/s200/TrailRunningMag_PictureRaceToTheStones2016.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">On 16th July I set out to run <b>100km</b> in a single day - <b><a href="http://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/race-to-stones-2016_18.html">Race To The Stones</a></b>. A great event - very well organised. I came 84 of 956 in total spending 12h33m52s. A great experience, and it will not be my last of this kind. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Also in July I was </span><i style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">"interviewed"</i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> for the </span><b style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blog.endomondo.com/you-the-vs-year-2-runners-experience/" target="_blank">Endomondo Blog</a> </b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">about my running and training. And by coincidence got my "picture" in <b>Trail Running Magazine </b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">- sort of... 😋 Look carefully behind the woman in front...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHNW_GmYMGSnhuPkIcExXrH_8aIe2qoWjhGTgvMacn3IQjzrf7fd8p5XiRsg93jnyE2ifVFZsRTPGY7aaxT3f-hrgZNdRZzw_z0iKNq3V9L89QgMPgdT663CLtaHmZPod0p06ml8D0UMi/s1600/P9020593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHNW_GmYMGSnhuPkIcExXrH_8aIe2qoWjhGTgvMacn3IQjzrf7fd8p5XiRsg93jnyE2ifVFZsRTPGY7aaxT3f-hrgZNdRZzw_z0iKNq3V9L89QgMPgdT663CLtaHmZPod0p06ml8D0UMi/s200/P9020593.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In August I was <i>"hand-picked" </i>by the <b>Suunto Team</b> to test and review the new <b><a href="http://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/p/review-and-test.html" target="">Suunto Spartan Ultra Multi Sport GPS</a></b> watch. I was selected based on my <a href="https://youtu.be/bohLJ7Qzjwc" target="_blank">footage</a> from my 100km run earlier in the year. Here I was one of 14 to test and review the watch. I later got to keep it. There are still many <a href="http://www.suunto.com/en-GB/Worlds/Training-World/Software-updates/Spartan-gets-stronger/" target="_blank"><b>software updates</b></a> planned for the watch. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I like the watch very much and </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm looking very much forward to use it with all it's functionalities fully working. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">At the <b><a href="http://oxfordhalf.co.uk/" target="_blank">Oxford Half-marathon</a></b> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">in October </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">the goal was to beat my PB from last year (2015). I had focused my training to gain more speed though the last few months leading up to the race. I </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">managed to beat my PB from '15 with over 4 minutes - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b>1h25m44s</b>. 😁 A great day with family vising and running from Denmark and perfect weather. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>The year in numbers:</b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Distance: 3722km - almost twice of 2015 (1888km)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Elevation gain: 28760m</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Calories burned (running): 148052</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Races: 2 ultras + 1 half-marathon</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Running shoes added to the collection: 5</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">All in all a great year of running for me - I hope it's been a good one for you as well! Let's see what 2017 brings!<br /><b>Happy New Year all</b>😊</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#YouVsTheYear #RunWithFight </b></span><b style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">#</b><b style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">HappyNewYear</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See you out there in the new year!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span></div>
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-64447951170579445102016-11-30T11:58:00.002-05:002016-11-30T11:58:52.033-05:00November 2016<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A great month of running - Logged 401km 😀<br /><br />November has come to an end and winter is upon us, which mean freezing temperatures, slippery roads and more or less permanent forehead markings from the head-torch...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiNA_wsE04B8SWBcBd7LrYo9UV7TtvGwG7xBrQmNcST8MgvOCiGlOwmEgfhSiDCrHDuPHQevOxscdTNFcLt-n3frN2e9y_IZEaGyPyvRM3XmwJU7jsNUbHwBfnmo48wwq_75BCbrNdPvS/s1600/TotalDistance2016_29th_Nov.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiNA_wsE04B8SWBcBd7LrYo9UV7TtvGwG7xBrQmNcST8MgvOCiGlOwmEgfhSiDCrHDuPHQevOxscdTNFcLt-n3frN2e9y_IZEaGyPyvRM3XmwJU7jsNUbHwBfnmo48wwq_75BCbrNdPvS/s400/TotalDistance2016_29th_Nov.png" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">For me it's been a great month of running. I've logged 401km according to <a href="http://www.endomondo.com/" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Endomondo</a>, which is near the monthly distance as of when I trained for <a href="http://www.racetothestones.com/" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Race To The Stones</a> (100km) earlier this year. I'm pleased to yet again having reached this level. 😀</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOKfZs3WSucwBKZjz4lO3pa4Z13o03KrNECRS3HMN-SipS0gibzuhTtXGTGglhUGM0QjgQ2DKZ099SYiRLvVb9L_JU7Qh4I-rjm1_F3hhaY_qyooj5oZkUhrneOKmg-vzhhDUURXlOiYD/s1600/PB301070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOKfZs3WSucwBKZjz4lO3pa4Z13o03KrNECRS3HMN-SipS0gibzuhTtXGTGglhUGM0QjgQ2DKZ099SYiRLvVb9L_JU7Qh4I-rjm1_F3hhaY_qyooj5oZkUhrneOKmg-vzhhDUURXlOiYD/s320/PB301070.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I love this time of year. When I go for my early morning runs (wake up at 5:30am), it is still dark and quiet outside. Only a few souls are up at this early hour - mostly for work it seems. And when leaving the city centre of Oxford to run along the river, I pretty much got it all to myself. Engulfed in the cold darkness I can almost only hear my own breathing and my foot steps. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Then, somewhere along the route, the sun starts rising very slowly and the world around me slowly becomes more and more visible in the dim light from the sun still hiding behind the horizon...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A special time of day indeed 😊</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br />I've been to a few evening sessions with <a href="http://www.hrr.org.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Headington Road Runners</b></a> - a running club in Oxford not far from where I live. So far I've been to a couple of Thursday sessions, which is the main weekly session <i>'suitable for all abilities'</i>. Although I as good as always have been running by myself, except for races, it was fun to be running with equal-minded. It was also great to be running in places I've never been before - </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">different</span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"> to </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">where I usually run. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've also been attending a Saturday cross-country session in South Park. A great but tough session - loved it 😎</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxS9A6AWyoaJ3pvtnqo9qu0nlJXC_kRk40dZmbShs-ReH1ZVLsRtnV4GIktBhTwYz_nV6mpCnhjsJWxs52bBQMEZpeT4UexPkhk-uKTqvti16vurXecCxoPCazXxgO_cEajkC3br3LDQx/s1600/PB200957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxS9A6AWyoaJ3pvtnqo9qu0nlJXC_kRk40dZmbShs-ReH1ZVLsRtnV4GIktBhTwYz_nV6mpCnhjsJWxs52bBQMEZpeT4UexPkhk-uKTqvti16vurXecCxoPCazXxgO_cEajkC3br3LDQx/s320/PB200957.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">During my own training runs I've been on a few long ones in November. On one of them, I followed the Oxford Canal out of Oxford, turned around at some point and the same way back. A decent run of some 42km - or a Marathon if you like 😃 On this run I found some great street-art under a bridge over the Oxford Canal 😃</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#OxfordsHiddenGems</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Another run was about 35km following the River Thames upstream from Oxford, round the back side of Farmoor Reservoir, and over Boars Hill back to Oxford. A great run which claimed its prize in terms of blood. I thought I'd found the right path (via my pre-loaded bread-crumb-trail on the <b>Suunto Spartan Ultra</b>) but I found myself running through knee-high nettles and thorn-bushes for some hundred metres before actually finding the path I was supposed to be on. However, a lovely run nevertheless. 😄</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">All in all, a great month of running 😉</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#YouVsTheYear #RunWithFight #IWILL</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See ya out there...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-59702387091750767882016-11-18T04:14:00.001-05:002016-11-25T05:23:06.589-05:00Review Under Armour Charged Bandit 2 Night<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A small review of the <b><a href="https://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb/mens-ua-charged-bandit-2-night-running-shoes/190078390377.html?Quantity=1&uuid=ef7c23b6db3671c40f5cd5172f" target="_blank">Under Armour Charged Bandit 2 Night</a></b> 😃</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdho4OJUfmugvdFZVmFy0gqBHTKXFJ3ewQkDsASN12l6H2y5R-_hMEVuyhKPW7eDfVms-hY4E5c7Zh_LT248ZpayFa-eRkYwZiBMTcV-f2dIuHvOiXS1VSqBBnV1y7stWoVCdKwDtyElQm/s1600/PB160878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdho4OJUfmugvdFZVmFy0gqBHTKXFJ3ewQkDsASN12l6H2y5R-_hMEVuyhKPW7eDfVms-hY4E5c7Zh_LT248ZpayFa-eRkYwZiBMTcV-f2dIuHvOiXS1VSqBBnV1y7stWoVCdKwDtyElQm/s320/PB160878.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've got my hands on a pair of <b>Under Armour Charged Bandit 2 Night </b>and have decided to write a small review on them. Under Armour is relatively new in the running-shoe-business, and some are not aware that they actually make shoes as well besides sports clothes. However, they are playing around with many different models and makes, and I have got to try a few including the <b><a href="http://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/under-armour-fat-tire-low-trail-running.html">Under Armour Fat Tire Low</a></b> trail shoes, which I wrote about some months ago and like very very much!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitN5RU0Wjr_9Ff7Amn9YSWrwYPRfgmbLo9BuH-kJjo28i-dYGgP_sgft6aUw7c1vB2ibYt3QKpB9_5368rKiYIYzc4rLdHlQgcRjllpujoTNh1_fdL9c7LGug3m3tPzZgQAaZkVpnc60VX/s1600/PB160874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitN5RU0Wjr_9Ff7Amn9YSWrwYPRfgmbLo9BuH-kJjo28i-dYGgP_sgft6aUw7c1vB2ibYt3QKpB9_5368rKiYIYzc4rLdHlQgcRjllpujoTNh1_fdL9c7LGug3m3tPzZgQAaZkVpnc60VX/s320/PB160874.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm not gonna write about all the technical details which you can find here on the <a href="https://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb/mens-ua-charged-bandit-2-night-running-shoes/190078390377.html?Quantity=1&uuid=ef7c23b6db3671c40f5cd5172f" target="_blank"><b>Under Armour website</b></a>. Instead I'm gonna write about how if find them and what I like about them and what I like not-so-much.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">To start with, the looks of them is great in my opinion. I like the black/orange colours. The top and sides are reflective which helps to be seen in the dark. The top-front of the shoe is fairly soft and forgiving when touched/poked, but not really stretchy, which I find good, as you want your toes/forefoot to stay in place during a run, and not "floating" around in the toe-box. If compared to the <b><a href="https://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb/mens-ua-speedform-gemini-2-running-shoes/1266212.html?dwvar_1266212_color=363#q=gemini+2" target="_blank">Under Armour SpeedForm Gemini 2</a></b> or the <b><a href="http://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb/mens-ua-speedform-slingshot-running-shoes/1266202.html?dwvar_1266202_color=669" target="_blank">Under Armour SpeedForm Slingshot</a>, </b>the foot is more fixated in the <b>Bandit 2 Night </b>shoe. Not that the Gemini and Slingshot are not comfortable, they are very much indeed, but I feel my forefoot are moving a bit around in them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Many Under Amour running shoes have no cushioning on the inside of the heel-cap, which may seem strange when comparing to many other brands, but once I put them on, I don't feel it at all - nice and comfy :-) The heel-support in the <b>Bandit 2 Night</b> is better then in the <b>Gemini 2</b> and the <b>Slingshot</b>, which I see as a major improvement. I found it bit too loose in the other two for running and I have the feeling of being able to <i>slide out of</i> the shoes at times. I don't have that feeling with the <b>Bandit 2 Night. </b>In my opinion they have a fairly tight grip around my feet while still being comfortable and having space for the toes as well. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDDdhUxI9T4jr8v3GaaEf0veFJw1RKMvdteRiW5sDM5HlKlMHOsskw1Cmp84owhqCVbIzUyt9Ktq-HQLmcRme4SqJFv7iJ8azWn9cSZV2tURGmyRpQXf4gc7XqUAVcCmP5hzNMyd00vjD/s1600/PB170891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDDdhUxI9T4jr8v3GaaEf0veFJw1RKMvdteRiW5sDM5HlKlMHOsskw1Cmp84owhqCVbIzUyt9Ktq-HQLmcRme4SqJFv7iJ8azWn9cSZV2tURGmyRpQXf4gc7XqUAVcCmP5hzNMyd00vjD/s320/PB170891.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The tongue (the loose flapping part under the laces) is fairly wide and goes along way down on the side of my feet. However, it is not noticed when I tie the laces, and they tie up nicely around my feet. I've left out the top lace-hole as the laces otherwise will go too high up in my opinion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My first few runs in them has been great. They feel good and the cushioning is a bit better than in the <b>Gemini 2 </b>in my opinion. I've read that some find it a bit too hard, and that the sole changes character after a while of running. I have not noticed any of this yet, as I've only been out in them a few times. I'll take them for a long run later to feel them with my own feet 😀 </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fFrZmEaTnAdHXZbIqTOW1L3Enx8bs0COu8I9jsINsGQHyCZ4CGGAFOeBUVe3xukUFh9GbPm-Dc_o9KQP7ab8nbUhYOuBd3zP5k3vxINy0WkdCt3WmmPWOT7z6dJC_iq4wSuV8LA09418/s1600/PB160875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fFrZmEaTnAdHXZbIqTOW1L3Enx8bs0COu8I9jsINsGQHyCZ4CGGAFOeBUVe3xukUFh9GbPm-Dc_o9KQP7ab8nbUhYOuBd3zP5k3vxINy0WkdCt3WmmPWOT7z6dJC_iq4wSuV8LA09418/s320/PB160875.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The sole has a good grip on the ground, though in places it felt a bit slippery due to the many fallen leaves on the ground and wet weather, which is doomed to be slippery... So pretty much any shoe would feel slippery in these conditions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I like the direction <b>Under Armour</b> is taking and s</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">o far, I like these <b>Bandits</b> quite a bit and compared to other models I've tried from the Under Armour range, these <b>Bandits </b>are the best I've tried so far for road-running 😊</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Oh - and I've now passed the 2016-mile-mark(~3244km) for the year 😉💪</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">See ya out there and stay safe 😉</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#UnderArmour #YouVsTheYear #RunWithFight #IWILL</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Best M.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">PS: The running shoes have been kindly provided by Under Armour UK, however, the views are my own!</span></b><br />
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-76243930512736720812016-11-08T12:16:00.000-05:002016-11-11T07:16:54.331-05:00Autumn running<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Last week I hit 3000km for 2016 - Way longer than last year! :-)</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmw0xWAR6q616R8i-lJDl3Cqg-VADH5eiVmsBIZwtD6a76Dv9woMqWlZ680wbE6Ylt7EUd71oYWN9RfoONzawCVPTKdZ1XfaRIng5cb9hYQjk7C0uoUCvEarLvyIUjx6DIFZcFF2J4l8G/s320/TotalDistance2016_8th_Nov.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Totals of 8th November 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">This year I've been running a lot more than I did last year. Last year I managed to conquer 1888km, and with almost two months left I might even almost double that number. So far I've passed 3000km which I'm very pleased about. I set a target some months back to hit 2016 miles (approx. 3244 km) in 2016. I'll pass that target in a few weeks time. It will be tough to cover twice the distance of last year (3776) - it's 666km from today - a nice "round" number ;-) </span></span><br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmw0xWAR6q616R8i-lJDl3Cqg-VADH5eiVmsBIZwtD6a76Dv9woMqWlZ680wbE6Ylt7EUd71oYWN9RfoONzawCVPTKdZ1XfaRIng5cb9hYQjk7C0uoUCvEarLvyIUjx6DIFZcFF2J4l8G/s1600/TotalDistance2016_8th_Nov.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In previous years I've been running a lot less. I've been running for a long time on and off, but throughout the previous years I've kept at it to push further to test my abilities. One question arises from that: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>How do I know where the limit is? </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I honestly don't know - and I think most people don't know their limits when it comes to running - even at anything in life... And what does it take for me to say: "This is it - this far but no further!"? - Yet again, I cannot answer that...<br />For now, however, I definitely don't feel like I've hit the wall just yet, so I'll continue to explore my capabilities as a runner. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0zpmJYmQopZUXv1QwcWIZQA4ZhkS6d9JaqkfXlP0A3xxCiITiYEmJyRZioqte88B7wi9raYOkWr41NVWcjRot2wCKaBm8lPNdUxngl0zzoX7sys2nyrmZC1vp0Qea5-iqKhKLsb9E7DB/s1600/PA280482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0zpmJYmQopZUXv1QwcWIZQA4ZhkS6d9JaqkfXlP0A3xxCiITiYEmJyRZioqte88B7wi9raYOkWr41NVWcjRot2wCKaBm8lPNdUxngl0zzoX7sys2nyrmZC1vp0Qea5-iqKhKLsb9E7DB/s320/PA280482.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Regarding the Suunto Spartan Ultra, I've been so fortunate that I can keep the watch. I'll continue to test it as new software updates are released. The last update was for supporting Android phones for the Movescount interface. I've now managed to upload my exercise data via the phone (a bit slow though), and can now receive notifications from various phone apps on the watch display using Bluetooth. This works fine, though I'd love to be able to deactivate the sound when a notification is received! </span>I now use some gel for solving the HR issues. Works just fine, though it should not be necessary, but apparently it is for me! <br /><b>UPDATE: I'm now back to not using any gel - only water to wet the HR electrodes before an exercise, and it now works fairly reliable! I'm not sure if I'm doing anything differently or a software update has done the trick!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've got some updates I'd like to see in future updates for the </span>Suunto Spartan Ultra:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Display your daily steps/calories in Movescount</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Use different colours in Movescount: when more than two data-inputs are selected, all data curves are white, except the last one chosen, which makes it hard to distinguishes them!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The possibility to set HR range-alarms, pace-alarms, etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sounds/vibrations on/off for notifications</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Include avg. paddle rate/stroke rate for kayaking in the Movescount overview.</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJembSl8i0f5KtR116k4hM-OMcfY96v8B46Sx5Z2dJtu6JpEcbm5RkB_UaiF2Y56Kd6zkhI5G5DZNxNRCYsHjteAZxm7uXNsmOkaUbbQTOo2-ReTVJw59AYkx1epej9ETGVP8IEJJHNF-b/s1600/PB010572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJembSl8i0f5KtR116k4hM-OMcfY96v8B46Sx5Z2dJtu6JpEcbm5RkB_UaiF2Y56Kd6zkhI5G5DZNxNRCYsHjteAZxm7uXNsmOkaUbbQTOo2-ReTVJw59AYkx1epej9ETGVP8IEJJHNF-b/s320/PB010572.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It's it definitely getting colder out there, and this morning we had sub-zero degrees in Oxford. I still chose to run in shorts though, which was just fine :-) And with the colder weather, comes darkness as well. I bring my Petzl Tikka XP head-torch for these mornings along with my high-vis vest - Both to be able to see but also to bee seen!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've included some photos from this autumn, which can be found at the very bottom of this post. Please view them in full-screen :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Safe running out there :-)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#YouVsTheYear #RunWithFight #IWILL #SuuntoSpartan</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="436" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S6YB_lpfBqLpXDexwEWhpwzbpBCgfn8tmFV2CK4HGDs/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=4000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="650"></iframe>
</center>
Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-873366797297383842016-10-21T05:14:00.002-04:002016-10-21T05:54:50.346-04:00Oxford Half Marathon 2016 - New PB<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbGBIjjNmGXSGOyoWNZIaZ1cCdiwFJMae67kvQrHg9Aw1CUbhmQLndk6moFBWdE_BtBvtmWJ-HrhnSdG2gKqoxhJeyW-xEIVl2PWMNleHIfYNr3Pjy6r-vEf7S978Nuy1wR69zKOdmIL1/s1600/14542369_10157460315155304_6369683996088944088_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbGBIjjNmGXSGOyoWNZIaZ1cCdiwFJMae67kvQrHg9Aw1CUbhmQLndk6moFBWdE_BtBvtmWJ-HrhnSdG2gKqoxhJeyW-xEIVl2PWMNleHIfYNr3Pjy6r-vEf7S978Nuy1wR69zKOdmIL1/s320/14542369_10157460315155304_6369683996088944088_o.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Some of the awesome people from Falcon :-)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Yeah - New PB at Oxford Half Marathon - <b>1h25m44s</b> :-D Pleased!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In the last few months after finishing <b>Race To The Stones (100km) </b>I've been focusing on my upcoming half-marathon in Oxford (9th. Oct. 2016). It's local to me as I live in Oxford, so one I have to do. I wanted to beat my PB from 2015, which was 1h29m47s. To do that I've been slagging on my long runs and including a bit more speed-work as intervals, hill sprints and shorter tempo-runs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The Oxford Half-marathon was a great event, and the weather was perfect for running! As said I managed to improve my time from last year with just over 4 minutes! I came 170th of 7686 finishers in total, 160th of men of 4263 and 166th in my age category (2464). Some stats from the event can be seen <a href="http://results.sporthive.com/events/6182503241045465856/races/392137/bib/3510" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I haven't been doing any full-distance test-runs. I find it really difficult to compare a training/test-run with a race-run, as I wont have the same conditions as in a race anyway, so I simply trusted that my training would be sufficient to carry me through. For me, training is for improving and increasing my level of fitness, strength and speed in all it's aspects - And races are for testing if my training has been sufficient for that particular race and for achieving PBs :-)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_UdlJed4Kr1cRDEQDl-puPEY-PleXVUCh2hVTpe_KIm-1qCjyECabiKEuLTflsUYfg2UZ0oCknuQzg0QHu7B85Cy2aqg5VqKg3Edn9tZ4hCkAi-xklSfTNOlEdLc7Xf5v2xc7VdWNCE-/s1600/P9180105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_UdlJed4Kr1cRDEQDl-puPEY-PleXVUCh2hVTpe_KIm-1qCjyECabiKEuLTflsUYfg2UZ0oCknuQzg0QHu7B85Cy2aqg5VqKg3Edn9tZ4hCkAi-xklSfTNOlEdLc7Xf5v2xc7VdWNCE-/s200/P9180105.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">3rd place at <br />Henley Hasler K2 Kayaking</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I haven't been running as much as I could have in the last month, as I've had many kayaking races on my programme and wanted </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">save a bit of energy and </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">focus a bit on this as well, which did pay off by getting a 3rd place at Henley Hasler in a K2 :-) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">For now, I'm once again gonna focus more on distance/time on my feet instead of speed. I worked on increasing my speed for the Oxford Half-marathon, and did less long runs. However, I missed the longer slower runs where time doesn't matter and simply enjoying the scenery. So now it's time to slowly increase my week mileage again in preparation for next years long runs :-) </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgho84nCPF4qzmJyH1nzaaprV7S16XVntV9HO_EmQ66wPEXg5w2IXOrxjfpRHO-HGp3xdPbxn5bZ7jY1T5_qBIOHlIp7AgvXiHygT8SJUQOFlhN_MUWF0ddNGVLqLWwIuqPJH6vTI7miZ1D/s1600/PA190330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgho84nCPF4qzmJyH1nzaaprV7S16XVntV9HO_EmQ66wPEXg5w2IXOrxjfpRHO-HGp3xdPbxn5bZ7jY1T5_qBIOHlIp7AgvXiHygT8SJUQOFlhN_MUWF0ddNGVLqLWwIuqPJH6vTI7miZ1D/s200/PA190330.JPG" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmASnsuzaRuS5H0jLVNv5WaoABZB-o-0ULI09P-87T7ddercypYGPooefnJByAANxz_evR2c396uXTHHbduZzfSj0R_Ui-qf1jVbapFIWbQxhbv_c2QQzbq2C1jU8GCoJsprxZD-0OCRJ/s1600/PA190326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmASnsuzaRuS5H0jLVNv5WaoABZB-o-0ULI09P-87T7ddercypYGPooefnJByAANxz_evR2c396uXTHHbduZzfSj0R_Ui-qf1jVbapFIWbQxhbv_c2QQzbq2C1jU8GCoJsprxZD-0OCRJ/s200/PA190326.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As many others I was unsuccessful in the ballot for London Marathon 2017. But it's okay - I'll find some trail race instead :-) </span>For next year I've got my eyes on some longer races/runs which I'll hopefully be able to find both time and money for :-) More on these later...!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It's getting dark out there in the mornings and evenings, so bring out your <b>Hi-Vis vest</b> and <b>lights </b>both to be able to see but also to be seen! Stay safe! :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See you out there! :-)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#YouVsTheYear #RunWithFight</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best. M.</b></span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-23784839680214317932016-09-29T07:44:00.003-04:002016-09-29T07:44:30.681-04:00Suunto Spartan Ultra for a month: Week 4<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Yet another update has arrived for the <b>Suunto Spartan Ultra</b>!! :-)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUztmhb2lkdacqGe1Agpyqfp1Q8rn8gr4DtoEV5xl4Ka_2bPMlGrpu6Ycj8qTZNEypLmEqaqbbnJLgLGF9CvXBoLryHVP1U7yEKsnZD-Oxm8WNbzSdtyi646yQzig2QGojQltYJA5L4ri/s1600/update_nr2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUztmhb2lkdacqGe1Agpyqfp1Q8rn8gr4DtoEV5xl4Ka_2bPMlGrpu6Ycj8qTZNEypLmEqaqbbnJLgLGF9CvXBoLryHVP1U7yEKsnZD-Oxm8WNbzSdtyi646yQzig2QGojQltYJA5L4ri/s320/update_nr2.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm pleased that <b>Suunto </b>keeps generating updates for the watch, and I'd very much like to follow their progress of updating the functionalities of this highly specked watch in the future. However, this might be my last week having the watch available for testing, so I will probably not get to test a fully optimised version of the watch and all the new functionalities such as interval planning and customised displays. :-( </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">However, I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity to try it out and test it throughout September and I am very honoured that <b>Suunto </b>chose to include me in this with the customised packing of the watch and description for why I was chose and all. <br /><b><br /></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Thank you very much Suunto</b>!! :-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Right - I've updated the watch to <b>software version 1.2.0 </b>and the response time in the watch menu is now quite good. I believe the delay between pushing the start-button and actually start of the timer when starting an exercise session has been eliminated. :-) </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspARf3Jpv_pUUYPXAtlJj7pHJ8coBPm-_0B8_fQu9X_cgcYcbR2xjUEWtWhLfOQtcz2u10vKO3TVRsX9Kpwego-N3emHDRDou6hALnHIkPAI5MHRZtyd3y0beUO0DuaZKbXHl59SANQca/s1600/SuuntoSparatn_howWasIt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspARf3Jpv_pUUYPXAtlJj7pHJ8coBPm-_0B8_fQu9X_cgcYcbR2xjUEWtWhLfOQtcz2u10vKO3TVRsX9Kpwego-N3emHDRDou6hALnHIkPAI5MHRZtyd3y0beUO0DuaZKbXHl59SANQca/s320/SuuntoSparatn_howWasIt.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">An alarm has been added for the everyday clock usage. However, </span>it would be great if it was easier to access, e.g. together with the stopwatch instead of being located in the settings menu. You can also change colour of the clock-face. Moreover, you now get asked how your exercise was after a session. Sadly the support for Android phones have been delayed a bit and was not a part of this update as first planned.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It is now possible to see battery levels during an exercise session by tapping the display. I would very much like the battery level to be displayed when charging it as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've tested the 3 GPS modes again after the software update, and it seems to be performing similar to my findings of last time. In <b>OK</b>-mode, where the update rate is 60 seconds, I'd expect a crude course. I do get a very crude estimated route, but not until several minutes into the run shown by the <span style="color: red;"><b>RED</b> </span>arrows below. The first part in <b>OK</b>-mode is actually very similar the <b>GOOD</b> and <b>BEST </b>modes (displayed by the <span style="color: lime;"><b>GREEN </b></span>arrows). The watch should be able to hold for <b>65</b> <b>hours</b> in <b>OK</b>-mode, but I think it's too crude for many purposes. The battery should last for <b>26 hours</b> in <b>GOOD</b>-mode and <b>16 hours </b>in <b>BEST</b>-mode.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoX3d16sJiNYYqDZaLSgysW6ITpcvsvObQOoemR-5iJgoknFIow-bIgZS40YcTtF17CT4NA4Y1cH4IcAHgbxht-xtbtEKPGLouP2_zQY7JDNYd9OUmGZJ-qI1oQ1UcrZSypZpHEBpaZz-F/s1600/COMP2_GPS_BEST_GOOD_OK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoX3d16sJiNYYqDZaLSgysW6ITpcvsvObQOoemR-5iJgoknFIow-bIgZS40YcTtF17CT4NA4Y1cH4IcAHgbxht-xtbtEKPGLouP2_zQY7JDNYd9OUmGZJ-qI1oQ1UcrZSypZpHEBpaZz-F/s640/COMP2_GPS_BEST_GOOD_OK.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">I've been having some issues related to the heart-rate monitor ranging from disconnection to odd flat values to unrealistically high values while running at slow pace throughout the whole period of time I've been using the watch. And the run above was no exception... :-( </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">There are still a few things I'd like to have added to the next updates:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Make the auto-start of a session after approx. 30 sec. optional. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'd like to have customised interchangeable icons/data areas on the main watch-face like battery levels, steps, calories, time of alarm, time to next planned session, temperature, etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Customising the number of steps and calorie levels for the daily activity tracking</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Show all data in the overview of a session in Movescount. For example is "cadence" (stroke rate) not displayed for kayaking.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Auto-estimate activity levels to be used in Movescount, instead of me having to set my levels manually - the watch is after all monitoring my activity 24/7 anyway... Why not exploit this?!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Make it possible to track different types of kayaks and canoes (e.g. K1, K2 and K4) to be able to track PBs in each discipline.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Show battery levels on the watch when charging </span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_Xl-JXtGOaLFQ2Aln33NF8FsvIwNn_xVNuXUrMITF-N8HPMVbJxtyhXUKCA38IkC-U0_lg78_JVGWXwvxrrUTLgk5nc9tR0TUPJf-y1S0u3VAt2ar0y6NV8Q2GKFbe0OmnpZuaor3PMs/s1600/P9180105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_Xl-JXtGOaLFQ2Aln33NF8FsvIwNn_xVNuXUrMITF-N8HPMVbJxtyhXUKCA38IkC-U0_lg78_JVGWXwvxrrUTLgk5nc9tR0TUPJf-y1S0u3VAt2ar0y6NV8Q2GKFbe0OmnpZuaor3PMs/s320/P9180105.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">3rd place at Henley Hasler - K2 Kayaking</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It's a bit sad that I'll most likely have to return the watch now that things have started to come together and the basic usage is in place. I'd very much like to follow the progress though the next many months of updates to experience the continuous improvement of this highly specked multi-sport watch!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>The Suunto Team </b>seems to be listening to user-feedback and adjust the functionalities of the watch accordingly to give the users the best experience. <b>I can only speculate</b>, but my guess is, that this is the reason why they have put a not-fully-updated watch on the market - to get user feedback for optimising it for what ever the users want and desire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br />However - It's been fun testing it, and although I've experienced a few issues, I still believe this watch has a great potential when fully updated! :-)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>The next scheduled updates are: (From <a href="http://www.suunto.com/en-gb/worlds/training-world/software-updates/spartan-gets-stronger" target="_blank">Suunto.com</a>)</i></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><b>28.9.</b> (Released on time) Improvements to daily use (such as alarm clock) and training functions, peer-to-peer coaching on Suunto Movescount.com. The Android compatibility is unfortunately delayed. We expect to release this within the first 3 weeks of October.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><b>12.10.</b> Ability to adjust default sport mode settings</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><b>19.10.</b> Progress Tool, Personal Bests and Community Training Insights on Suunto Movescount.com </i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><b>26.10.</b> Sport mode customisation, training plans to your watch and more </i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><b>11/2016</b> Altitude and Barometric trends, POI Navigation & heart rate zones graph for training</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><b>12/2016</b> Rest & recovery </i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><b>Q1/2017</b> Route altitude profile, interval training support, performance and recovery analysis on the watch</i></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#SuuntoSpartan Ultra</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">See you out there :-)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Best M.</span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">PS: Views are my own! The watch has been provided by Suunto for me to test for a month, after which it has to be returned.</span></span><br />
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</span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-69121500761566771492016-09-19T09:50:00.002-04:002016-09-19T09:55:17.990-04:00Suunto Spartan Ultra for a month: Week 3<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have had the <b>Suunto Spartan Ultra</b> for about 3 weeks now, and I'm still looking forward to the latest software update (should arrive later in September).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have compared the GPS modes when kayaking and running. There are three different settings: <b>BEST</b> which allows for 16 hours of usage, <b>GOOD</b> which allows for 26 hours of usage and <b>OK </b>which allows for 65 hours of usage according to <b>Suunto </b>(These times have not been tested by me). With the longer battery life comes less accuracy for the GPS. For kayaking I find the OK mode too crude in the accuracy as can be seen on the figure below where the estimated course cuts corners in <b>OK</b>-mode compared to the <b>BEST</b>-mode. <br /><br />A thing I'd like to see, is the possibility to switch between K1, K2 and K4 in kayaking mode, to be able to keep track of PBs in the different kayak-types. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7auLagz36S9y0xcZlbp6izLHFENOG_SFPpqo2-8lm_GEguDmjgZXaY_fRKOpxAS20bMYNQy9J5iqNq8WZMKP4iBXt70jGgVysbTxbR3eRR-xF7ATYL096W6S_xfVxg92f_FgmvtBuORZB/s1600/GPSmode_BESTvsOK_kayaking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7auLagz36S9y0xcZlbp6izLHFENOG_SFPpqo2-8lm_GEguDmjgZXaY_fRKOpxAS20bMYNQy9J5iqNq8WZMKP4iBXt70jGgVysbTxbR3eRR-xF7ATYL096W6S_xfVxg92f_FgmvtBuORZB/s640/GPSmode_BESTvsOK_kayaking.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've also tested the three GPS modes when running. Did a loop in the local University Parks, one in each mode: <b><a href="http://www.movescount.com/moves/move123281111" target="_blank">BEST</a>, <a href="http://www.movescount.com/moves/move123281119" target="_blank">GOOD</a> </b>and <a href="http://www.movescount.com/moves/move123281135" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">OK</a> (click for more details in <b>Movescount</b>). The accuracy in <b>BEST </b>and <b>GOOD </b>was fine, but something strange happened in OK-mode. It started with good accuracy following the path quite accurately, which then turned into a crude zig-zag course at the end, as seen in the figure below. The update frequency is 60 sec. hence I'd expect the estimated course to be somewhat crude. But I'm not sure why I get the output I do in this mode. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ImetsFUEs-JQOkiBxTMbVSyGbjgJLZhwfHcPXyUqiEla3A1Im7aBRb1FWAXApfbAMXejtdEfv0DxjxB0eu_in2G8fr3NHlLnkVESJ6mXcmRZl7ryDNPIB_irzY0PsTeQCwIxFHA_KLke/s1600/COMP_GPS_BEST_GOOD_OK_TEXT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ImetsFUEs-JQOkiBxTMbVSyGbjgJLZhwfHcPXyUqiEla3A1Im7aBRb1FWAXApfbAMXejtdEfv0DxjxB0eu_in2G8fr3NHlLnkVESJ6mXcmRZl7ryDNPIB_irzY0PsTeQCwIxFHA_KLke/s640/COMP_GPS_BEST_GOOD_OK_TEXT.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sadly I also have to report that the heart-rate monitor was acting strangely (again). In the <b>BEST</b>-mode (top figure below), the HR was way off for the first half at levels I've never been to before and never will go to - and certainly not at that relatively slow pace (avg. 5:18 min/km). For the second loop in <b>GOOD</b>-mode, HR levels were strangely low at first (82 bpm), then it was at okay levels, followed by some slow in creasing to way too high levels for that pace (avg. pace 5:23 min/km). And for the <b>OK</b>-mode, HR-data was completely missing. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY6zve73gN-Px-z-KhVP96EdQcG7o3l61620RXVqQ2bg3i8z_W5q_q-Tn-3xOmaoGEz-W0hmoJ-132Uo-pwLf5mcH52DhRIoFJ7468rCToTrxtMFwQZWrsbJiEdKU94K1cYefFrkzXYbEl/s1600/COMP_GPS_BEST_GOOD_HR___OK_MISSING_TEXT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY6zve73gN-Px-z-KhVP96EdQcG7o3l61620RXVqQ2bg3i8z_W5q_q-Tn-3xOmaoGEz-W0hmoJ-132Uo-pwLf5mcH52DhRIoFJ7468rCToTrxtMFwQZWrsbJiEdKU94K1cYefFrkzXYbEl/s640/COMP_GPS_BEST_GOOD_HR___OK_MISSING_TEXT.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've experienced multiple times where the HR-data is either faulty or the monitor has lost connection to the watch. It might be my watch/HR monitor that has a fault somewhere. I haven't heard about anyone else having these problems yet. I decided to change the battery in the <b>Movesense</b> HR-monitor, to see if this would have any effect. Sadly this had no effect as seen on the figure below.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjj4VomVr1rZZV6D2Fe9ulTn7aNgOIjfji8PUIJ4gT-qdeGKtkM6ZvUiOgnskf83ECjLMkCeCX-vQahpjoKQ3iMhyyH09jeu_WQ0CFgtq84ucgHMqFXiQ4zuDT1cMvddXIhGj_R8YEXqM4/s1600/Faulty_HR_afterBatteryChange.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjj4VomVr1rZZV6D2Fe9ulTn7aNgOIjfji8PUIJ4gT-qdeGKtkM6ZvUiOgnskf83ECjLMkCeCX-vQahpjoKQ3iMhyyH09jeu_WQ0CFgtq84ucgHMqFXiQ4zuDT1cMvddXIhGj_R8YEXqM4/s640/Faulty_HR_afterBatteryChange.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Tempo run 19th September 2016 - See more in <b>Movescount </b><b><a href="http://www.movescount.com/moves/move123711676" target="_blank">here</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I also have doubts that my pace towards the end of my run was really that "flat" - a straight line! and that my HR would be that high! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I still hope that the next software eliminates these issues I've been experiencing. I keep my fingers crossed!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#SuuntoSpartan </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See you out there... :-)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">PS: Views are my own! The watch has been provided by Suunto for me to test for a month, after which it has to be returned.</span></span></div>
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-18644169719925967762016-09-14T03:14:00.001-04:002016-09-14T04:51:10.745-04:00Suunto Spartan Ultra for a month: Week 2 <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have now had the <b>Suunto Spartan Ultra </b>multi sport GPS watch for about two weeks, and the first software update has been released and has been installed (now using software release 1.1.30). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QiYSWruN3l_hX_vtvDwAKtKV89daHljxgsYxUc4GWUsF2BZVdycluNlwAeu5JfI-PNAOY2GVsWaDhQ9NkqPsnaL3E70XSH6_YbKP4OP9X25HWaSAcknY3f2TljK1Pl1FUXgTLUivCTZ5/s1600/HR-Disconnect_running_and_kayaking.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QiYSWruN3l_hX_vtvDwAKtKV89daHljxgsYxUc4GWUsF2BZVdycluNlwAeu5JfI-PNAOY2GVsWaDhQ9NkqPsnaL3E70XSH6_YbKP4OP9X25HWaSAcknY3f2TljK1Pl1FUXgTLUivCTZ5/s320/HR-Disconnect_running_and_kayaking.bmp" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Top: HR loss running (1.1.24)<br />Bottom: HR loss kayaking (1.1.30)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've come to experience a few heart-rate drop-outs during my exercises - both when kayaking and running. Apparently the first software update to 1.1.30 didn't fix my problems. I'm hoping the next update will!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've experiences 3 dropouts in total.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've also experienced touch screen activation by rain drops/sweat droplets e.g. displays the clock during a session. However, you can lock the screen by pressing and holding the lower button during a session, so this wont be happening. </span><br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ItIo2Pun9d8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ItIo2Pun9d8?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"></iframe><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A thing I'm finding a bit irritating, is that when "start" is pressed for a session, the timer doesn't start immediately, but it displays "Starting..." for a moment and then, after a few moments, starts the timer. I want the timer immediately and not a few moments later...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The watch is a bit slow to wake up when the </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">main clock-face is displayed is a button is </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">pressed. It takes about 2 seconds, which may not seem much, but I find it a bit annoying. I also find the inconsistency in methods used for going back in the watch menu less than optimal, which can either be back-swipe or having to scroll all the way up to "back" (or double tapping in some cases to get back to the main watch face - a short cut I think).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Right - enough moaning...</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMkIQSNOfIpJ9jcHO3_z1SOaThFrcRSKGDnWSGAE6AaZ8-f5ucFfdSjmMW9xO3lL13AMPpLEiQeFl1VHfh7nw9HEcFanJq3z-AvEj_xIg_T480rZuDS7SaN2SzP53v2I6v8uMqU1Vt2WG/s1600/P9070129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMkIQSNOfIpJ9jcHO3_z1SOaThFrcRSKGDnWSGAE6AaZ8-f5ucFfdSjmMW9xO3lL13AMPpLEiQeFl1VHfh7nw9HEcFanJq3z-AvEj_xIg_T480rZuDS7SaN2SzP53v2I6v8uMqU1Vt2WG/s320/P9070129.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The watch has a good colour display which is easy to read. It is fast to obtain GPS signals (less than 5 seconds so far), and the same is true for detecting the HR monitor. It has great battery life, which is rated to 16h, 26h and 65h in GPS-modes BEST, GOOD and OK. I haven't testes these modes yet though. I'm pleased that it supports many different sports, which for me is running, mountain biking, kayaking plus some strength/circuit workouts till now. In kayaking the stroke rate (cadence) is recorded, however, for some reason the average cadence is not displayed in the top overview in Movescount for kayaking mode. The cadence data </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">in kayaking mode</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">also seems a bit noisy when displayed in Movescount. The chest strap for HR monitoring is still not causing any problems. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm still awaiting the second software update for September to unlock further functionalities including </span></span>customised data fields, Android compatibility, an alarm clock and more. I'm uncertain if interval settings will be included also, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">These are things I would like to see updated:</span></span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Customised interval settings if not included in the next update</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Battery indicator on main screen - possibly as one of the small interchangeable icons</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Customised step count/calorie targets</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Possibility to delete workouts on the watch</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">List all data in Movescount: it does not show avg. cadence (paddle strokes) in kayaking</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A timer integrated with the clock/stopwatch</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Customised data fields on the main clock screen to toggle though</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Different colours for Movescount (web version) for different data fields selected</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">An optical HR monitor for extended tracking of daily activities (I believe this is planned for the next version)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Estimation of resting heart rate</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Automatically estimation of activity levels instead of having to set this manually in Movescount</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Possibly wifi</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Faster response times when interacting with the watch menu </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Lap-representation displayed as bars</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> in Movescount </span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJmvWKiiuxj1wDF20LTnzTBQVu0HTjE8y7LT4M7riMh3UYk4Xw40o9wsfI-pMM8v1yVUDeUCrBO-z5vpWMK_8eZO_hM8GiF1CtCin7iBJdgNWiKBDSQ0a-HB21lCrJFSpGmYUkixSK5HH/s1600/P9050102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJmvWKiiuxj1wDF20LTnzTBQVu0HTjE8y7LT4M7riMh3UYk4Xw40o9wsfI-pMM8v1yVUDeUCrBO-z5vpWMK_8eZO_hM8GiF1CtCin7iBJdgNWiKBDSQ0a-HB21lCrJFSpGmYUkixSK5HH/s320/P9050102.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As mentioned before - The watch has the potential to be awesome, when all updates are installed, but a bit expensive...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'll keep you updated on my findings!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /><b>See you out there... :-)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#SuuntoSpartan</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Best M.<br /></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">PS: Views are my own! The watch has been provided by Suunto for me to test for a month, after which it has to be returned.</span><br />
Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-69703998517898291282016-09-07T03:42:00.002-04:002016-09-09T10:21:42.180-04:00First week with the Suunto Spartan Ultra<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUZyU5_OKX3jf6YsRwJp90392PkflOQS0GRnALcwCTggvi55FuvCsD6Mt75q_DG1S6ThNaJMli4zVc07_hNzY2jkk8ufL0r13woazYYnzx2ia8YW6PKZuUvx7v0ClbAOPbh3Crkiq97kg/s1600/P9020593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUZyU5_OKX3jf6YsRwJp90392PkflOQS0GRnALcwCTggvi55FuvCsD6Mt75q_DG1S6ThNaJMli4zVc07_hNzY2jkk8ufL0r13woazYYnzx2ia8YW6PKZuUvx7v0ClbAOPbh3Crkiq97kg/s320/P9020593.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've had the <b>Suunto Spartan Ultra</b> for about week, and I've used it for my training as much as possible. I'm feeling very lucky to have been chosen by <b>Suunto </b>to use this brand new multi sport GPS watch, all wrapped up in personalised packing for me specifically. :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">First of all, let me point out that two software updates have been planned for September, hence what I write about may be different for the fully updated version of the watch. <br />(Based on software release 1.1.24)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So - what's been happening? </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42qOdOQyM7lWkfCPtQmdi2pTYwqgS-gXfBggWZZAYeZHSMt1gYwgiJCtAvixWdBLUEuDL3FdjvR6fHztLQBHt2M2JJxEvOaFBw6It2JG9Xt0w9WTrS3STLStHD48muqLcnb4Gg3eatKIo/s320/P9040058.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Stroke rate when kayaking</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42qOdOQyM7lWkfCPtQmdi2pTYwqgS-gXfBggWZZAYeZHSMt1gYwgiJCtAvixWdBLUEuDL3FdjvR6fHztLQBHt2M2JJxEvOaFBw6It2JG9Xt0w9WTrS3STLStHD48muqLcnb4Gg3eatKIo/s1600/P9040058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Till now I've been using the watch for running, kayaking and a bit of circuit training/strength training, casual biking and walking. In general the watch seems quite robustly build - this version has <b>Sapphire glass and grade 5 Titanium</b>. The wrist strap is very soft and flexible and the watch feels great on my arm. It weighs a little less than my Garmin Forerunner 310XT - 72 grams - and is similar in size, though a bit thinner. Hence, the watch feels quite normal to wear for me. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Overview of my activities</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The <b>colour touch-screen</b> is great though you can experience a tiny delay in the response. Great resolution and good viewing angles. The watch menu seem fairly intuitive to use, though there are places where the "back-stroke" (to go back in the menu) on the touch screen has not been chosen to be implemented, hence one need to use the buttons or scroll your way back to the top. But this is no big deal - it's probably just me not understanding, how the menu should work. But consistency would have been nice...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Back-tracking is possible</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqtriNc2s4ZszB-Rxzvp_Z-t53QD3gt1PMISAed1KF8Egrb_RkfheAf1x3-pQ2Xcr62JqBaRUGHoxSg35JUJt170ZWMVa0SA6_gBIlMzhIISWzwYYDn5EdHbKKYmLfcO70VfkKCsGwe9J/s1600/P9030024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I wanted to use it for my long run in the weekend, but had some glitches. Firstly the watch froze displaying "Starting..." after I had started the session. For some reason the timer does not start immediately when the button is pressed, but displays "Starting..." for a brief moment and then starts the timer and logging. I find that a bit annoying - I want it to start when I press the button, and not a few moments after... Anyways, I had to reinstall the software on the watch via my laptop to get it going again. These issues will hopefully be solved with the software updates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Later on my long run same day, I noticed that the watch had lost the connection to the heart rate monitor. I had to stop the session and start a new one to reconnect. Here after no problems were found. I also hope this is solved with the updates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The chest strap is great - nice and soft, and so far, I haven't had any issues with chafing. It is barely noticeable. Of course an optical HR monitor would be great, but I have not had the best experiences with this technology while testing the <b><a href="http://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/p/epsonrunner.html">Epson Runsense SF-810</a></b>, where the HR at times could not be detected in cold weather or were faulty due to movement - especially in interval-sessions and hill-repeats. I believe <b>Suunto </b>is planning on launching an optical version around Christmas 2016. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDllB5TH0eoNw-NWHvKwjJAZa4RwAkwCPE-UoKSpuZzOndmK7jO-vQfg_Dbmwp2U7-R7fLGW0Yf0RmxdARh16Iwk05jW_QlG6TLXEvGeLvBLfuoBjf0mMfRQCkuuimQaUy-Re6MyRzpj-/s1600/P9030044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDllB5TH0eoNw-NWHvKwjJAZa4RwAkwCPE-UoKSpuZzOndmK7jO-vQfg_Dbmwp2U7-R7fLGW0Yf0RmxdARh16Iwk05jW_QlG6TLXEvGeLvBLfuoBjf0mMfRQCkuuimQaUy-Re6MyRzpj-/s320/P9030044.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Clock shown in the white field.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I was about to bitch about the lack of displaying a clock when using the watch in a session. But I found out that I only needed to tap the screen, and a temporary clock appears for a few seconds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In the web app, you need to specify your level of activity. This I would have preferred to be estimated automatically - after all, the watch is measuring my activities 24/7, so why is this not automatically estimated?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJbPQ4QXoS7vdFMOenG3aw82zyK8VgN9-0iMK5R_W1XKHGl1rE4IbXFX9KiQ7Xl5aIzGfdRGMgZak8aXUZqJEhYFXFy5ZTRGdPkQyIXQLePubiasX_s52irprylmkXNNSCm3oF8oMpYBd/s1600/Heatmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJbPQ4QXoS7vdFMOenG3aw82zyK8VgN9-0iMK5R_W1XKHGl1rE4IbXFX9KiQ7Xl5aIzGfdRGMgZak8aXUZqJEhYFXFy5ZTRGdPkQyIXQLePubiasX_s52irprylmkXNNSCm3oF8oMpYBd/s320/Heatmap.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Heat map</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The web app can show maps of your exercise coloured relatively to how tough your workout were. It can also show a heat map displaying where most people in your area (or in other places) exercise the most, coloured in dark orange for running, and hereby discover new places to workout.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It would be great if I could transfer the watch data to my laptop without having to connect it via the charging cable e.g. via Bluetooth, which is already in the watch for connecting to your smart phone. However, the Android version </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">for this</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">is not yet ready. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I love that the watch can be used for many different sports, especially kayaking where it estimates my stroke rate, but it is hard to test it's full potential when there are two updates waiting to be released. I'm looking very much forward to play around with the watch after the updates have been installed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So far I'd say it's a great piece of gear, solid build, great display, support for multi-sport activities, though expensive, and it has the potential to be awesome once the updates are released :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See you out there...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#Suunto #SuuntoSpartan #SpartanUltra</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">PS: Views are my own! The watch has been provided by Suunto for me to test for a month, after which it has to be returned.</span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-26674819009896909642016-09-02T07:18:00.001-04:002016-09-07T03:50:32.871-04:00Suunto Spartan Ultra for a month<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-kEnujUm8aNsTo_uwy72OYG9OvpIJWxmMg3mlhuiqUvhxSnYjpFQUYN5r0WaT4KI7OnJfhFbtIQ2fDWASCoyCDDcQHxMVlPz0IvFlTFpjdlOahkRzhaptPBfi9nz49QjUNuFUdFveRRO/s1600/P8310554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Got a great message a few weeks </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJRUUYccjEfyRLeq7Jzfel5zZzU0Sn8wRk1sMLChAtXih1FNzSV3a7F5I7WN-kphT9b0Pi-it6ssv8QpzyWRIIWw5rBsX0wbwEB9-C1Qqe4TuhF2xXPqhBCx6Iwpw-zybhCiugtC8vDycE/s1600/P9020593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJRUUYccjEfyRLeq7Jzfel5zZzU0Sn8wRk1sMLChAtXih1FNzSV3a7F5I7WN-kphT9b0Pi-it6ssv8QpzyWRIIWw5rBsX0wbwEB9-C1Qqe4TuhF2xXPqhBCx6Iwpw-zybhCiugtC8vDycE/s400/P9020593.JPG" width="266" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">ago, that I had been selected along with 13 others, to test the new <b><a href="http://www.suunto.com/en-GB/Products/sports-watches/Suunto-Spartan-Ultra/Suunto-Spartan-Ultra-All-Black-Titanium-HR/" target="_blank">Suunto Spartan Ultra All Black Titanium HR</a> </b>multi sport GPS watch - all because of my <b>Race To The Stones</b> video footage ;-) I like this!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#SuuntoSpartan <br />Thank you Suunto! :-)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'll have the watch in my possession for a month (September 2016), and will do my best to test it as much as possible in both running, kayaking and when mountain biking - and what other crazy things I can come up with... There are some challenges related to the testing, which in the end may lead to that I can keep the watch if I win. Let's see if I'm prepared to do what it takes...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflbHIggrjNkvk9HfF0l4fZ1AxcBL_OrUYF2csgbiYxPnHVk-O1HfbshocqovJ1gCN1vN2JZWAd84zGJ3HAQdT8fxpIMZqbQzxh0V1BK-QoEnt5CLLFNA_r3vnadqx8EvVYUgleuh_JJk-/s1600/P8310567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflbHIggrjNkvk9HfF0l4fZ1AxcBL_OrUYF2csgbiYxPnHVk-O1HfbshocqovJ1gCN1vN2JZWAd84zGJ3HAQdT8fxpIMZqbQzxh0V1BK-QoEnt5CLLFNA_r3vnadqx8EvVYUgleuh_JJk-/s320/P8310567.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The first impressions of the device is that it's robust and seems to be able to handle some tough conditions <b>(made from titanium and sapphire glass)</b>, though it is fairly light and the wrist band is soft and flexible. The chest strap for heart-rate monitoring is also very soft, and I'm keen to find out if any chafing will occur on my longer runs (like with the original strap for my Garmin Forerunner 310XT! Now using the strap from my old Garmin Forerunner 305)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The touch screen works great, and the menu seems easy and relatively intuitive to use. There are some things which I'm missing a bit. A simple alarm when worn as a normal watch - this will be part of a software update (hopefully soon). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHHMOBcvsP0oXKA3_BTBnPqIvGGSvfXw_ihLqfCjHOb5G58H23FII8xuqPmh34RRInCWceCMzu9n443PdBMdd5352-yzlQ_5Jam2quJ197772Gw5LNynnCNcGkHX5G690mrca1uuI9PD7/s1600/P8310576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHHMOBcvsP0oXKA3_BTBnPqIvGGSvfXw_ihLqfCjHOb5G58H23FII8xuqPmh34RRInCWceCMzu9n443PdBMdd5352-yzlQ_5Jam2quJ197772Gw5LNynnCNcGkHX5G690mrca1uuI9PD7/s320/P8310576.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">There are some other functionalities, which hopefully will also be included in a soon-to-arrive software update. I wanted to use the watch for an interval session, but there are no settings for this (yet) even tough there's a sports-mode for it, which only change the screen layout. Therefore I had to use my <b>Epson Runsense SF-810</b>, which actually does great on that point (but is also lacking the normal "alarm"-thing).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It has 80 different pre-programmed sports-modes, and I'm pleased that it can be used for kayaking as well where it estimates the stroke-rate among other things. And should I capsize, the watch is waterproof down to 100m. It also tracks daily activity in terms of steps and calories burned. It estimates your recovery time and I miss some customisation of screens and activities (like intervals), but that will be coming with a software update (hopefully soon!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Anyway - I'm gonna take it for some long runs this weekend and some more kayaking. I'll include mountain biking at some point as well, but lets see when I can find the time for it. So far I like the device very much, but the promised update of the software will make it even better! :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See you out there!! :-) </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#Suunto #SuuntoSpartan #SpartanUltra #RTTS2016</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Best M.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">PS: </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Views are my own!</span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">The watch has been provided by Suunto for me to test for a month, after which it has to be returned.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /><b>UPDATE: A list of planned updates for September can be found <a href="http://www.suunto.com/en-GB/Worlds/Training-World/Software-updates/Spartan-gets-stronger/" target="_blank">here</a>!<br /> </b></span>
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Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-36708965910833048592016-08-19T15:08:00.000-04:002016-09-05T02:04:25.583-04:00Complicated running<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">What has happened to the simplicity of running? </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TPxwyAWixST1LPJTz6JugWTQlOjfqJUb1GSt0X1JMiu9w7J30RQMmFLhnxBM8E1Yzb1wAmzDbtevd0LN8fJQ8t31VIxOIayTwPGAf0HdYUnw0aWh5RToI1or-k8mhhsrHSLqYFSMDyuF/s1600/P7160113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TPxwyAWixST1LPJTz6JugWTQlOjfqJUb1GSt0X1JMiu9w7J30RQMmFLhnxBM8E1Yzb1wAmzDbtevd0LN8fJQ8t31VIxOIayTwPGAf0HdYUnw0aWh5RToI1or-k8mhhsrHSLqYFSMDyuF/s320/P7160113.JPG" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">When did it become so complicated to go for a run, where we have to consume (horrible?) beetroot juice at the right time before we even start running; put on technical outfit that will increase our performance and increase blood-flow; put on anti-chafing creme in strategic places; wear GPS watches that can log everything and even tell you if you still alive; consume gels and electrolytes in the right quantities to not get a runners tummy; </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">use "walking-poles" to help climb those hills; </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">make sure we get that perfect running-selfie to "prove" we've actually been out running; and when finished we have to consume the perfect amount of protein in the right time-slot to optimise recovery and increase </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">muscle </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">growth; do foam-rolling and stretching</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> when we are sore afterwards and if that doesn't help, make an appointment to get a </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">sports massage or at </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">the physio, before putting on compression socks for a fast recovery; And </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">finally, posting our achievements + selfies online for the world to see</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjum0dbLN9OOAl2VeIjcDlSoduSCIXOwRYmuwvwQq2Ut_XIyk918gBjQoU8fTRRbK7Df8YwTJ2XNjd0hcssqImilwP8TtOQKSHj0FXUCzgNmSp5ZlvIPKubow4LAjAoHPvz7OsoxSfxR0iK/s1600/Kit_RTTS2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjum0dbLN9OOAl2VeIjcDlSoduSCIXOwRYmuwvwQq2Ut_XIyk918gBjQoU8fTRRbK7Df8YwTJ2XNjd0hcssqImilwP8TtOQKSHj0FXUCzgNmSp5ZlvIPKubow4LAjAoHPvz7OsoxSfxR0iK/s200/Kit_RTTS2016.png" width="171" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Before I go on, I should probably say that I'm <b>not judging anybody</b> or trying to determine what is the right or wrong way to run, but merely trying to take a step back and reflect while observing myself...<br /><b>Has it become overly complicated to go running...?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In the past 6-8 months I've come across many runners online and made many new friends. Some are beginners to running while others do multi-day ultras. It's great to connect and share the daily runs, tips for racing, info on shoes, discuss models of GPS watches, be inspired for our next races, etc. Helping out where possible and share knowledge if needed... I love it and thanks for letting me be a part of it :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">You also get to see glimpse of peoples routines and habits when running or racing, and it's probably inevitable that these habits, good or bad, spread to other runners when sharing our experiences. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5g61oHrg1n2xJkAFL5twB5JC0kSC8Bm2VMr5EC1nx9VH1qaJvZ_cugnLA8HarChPnOQTeoBzj1nd-CeBGnlYrHJ6HgZaSgHP_mIhS1WAW5JJr0tizPE7BmwXIOwP5OXrFsfgrGkQ9x6GQ/s1600/P6250645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5g61oHrg1n2xJkAFL5twB5JC0kSC8Bm2VMr5EC1nx9VH1qaJvZ_cugnLA8HarChPnOQTeoBzj1nd-CeBGnlYrHJ6HgZaSgHP_mIhS1WAW5JJr0tizPE7BmwXIOwP5OXrFsfgrGkQ9x6GQ/s200/P6250645.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm no exception! I too get inspired by others. I don't do all of the above-mentioned "rituals", but I have some. I try to stay hydrated before a run and not drink too much coffee. I either run on an empty stomach (early mornings) or approx. two hours after eating to let the food settle. I bring electrolytes on long runs or if it's hot as I sweat a lot and electrolytes are needed along side with water. I have recently started using gels in races as I find them very convenient, tough expensive. I wear compression calf-sleeves even though I'm unsure of the effect - I guess I simply like the feeling of them ;-) I wear a GPS watch with a heart-rate monitor so I know I'm alive. I most often bring my camera to take that perfect selfie to "prove" I've been out there conquering those miles. I stretch immediately after my run but no foam-rolling. I usually have a glass of milk to re-hydrate before hitting the showers but no added protein :-) And yes - I do post selfies and my results online!! ;-) </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWeQc7tUX8TyX0mxWCkfLmKQ-iP_x43kGdwIpl_EyuwAC5p8cuGMj2nIfbfMUS3KXyTshw2uxpSXRhk_d6-vDFXGFlsxzBVbhdWiYFIpmXSNpDYXaAWx125M0nWyK7agazwphbss1pJOC/s1600/P8160062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWeQc7tUX8TyX0mxWCkfLmKQ-iP_x43kGdwIpl_EyuwAC5p8cuGMj2nIfbfMUS3KXyTshw2uxpSXRhk_d6-vDFXGFlsxzBVbhdWiYFIpmXSNpDYXaAWx125M0nWyK7agazwphbss1pJOC/s320/P8160062.JPG" width="212" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Now, taking that step back while observing myself; have I made it more complicated than necessary to go running? Is it worth the extra effort? And do we actually gain any performance from it? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The answer is probably Yes and No! I could run without a camera, GPS watch, HR monitor, calf-sleeves, etc. But will I loose these things to make it less complicated to run? Not likely! I might loose the calf-sleeves at some point to get a more even tan on my legs ;-) and I may leave the camera at home once in a while. However, I like to share my runs, and the beautiful sunrises in those cold winter mornings, the clear blue skies along the river on a perfect summer day :-) So I'll continue to carry my camera around on my slow/longer runs :-) And do the things I like about running - regardless of what other people may think :-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See you out there... happy running!! :-)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.<br /> </b></span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-36672098616487328912016-07-27T09:10:00.000-04:002016-07-27T09:26:07.921-04:00RTTS2016 - Aftermath<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In retrospect of <b>Race To The Stones 2016</b> I want to check up on what I had chosen to bring/wear for the race compared to what I actually used and found useful... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Kit review:</b></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWthGK8v6zG75up_AB9w5aCnCjU4cx1GQ_neeBJgF98Ox1N7Jum0SbFVyxgPGfmn0f-XvIWmLSoWgzicsb5UwvqrP7jgsKbhILgKOHMyvFUrbFrt7U-r1swsvX4HGfzXa214LBL_YNpeF/s1600/P6250624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWthGK8v6zG75up_AB9w5aCnCjU4cx1GQ_neeBJgF98Ox1N7Jum0SbFVyxgPGfmn0f-XvIWmLSoWgzicsb5UwvqrP7jgsKbhILgKOHMyvFUrbFrt7U-r1swsvX4HGfzXa214LBL_YNpeF/s200/P6250624.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">For <b>shoes</b> I had chosen to wear <b>Under Armour Fat Tire Low </b>(<a href="http://mortenlidegaard.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/under-armour-fat-tire-low-trail-running.html">see review here</a>)<b> </b>trail shoes, which was an awesome choice! My feet was good for the whole run and they survived with only two not-too-bad blisters on my big toes. The cushioning was awesome!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I used my <b>Salomon Advanced Skin 12 Set Trail Running Backpack</b> for water (1.5L), a 0.5L bottle for electrolytes, camera, gels, etc. I like this vest very much and didn't find any problems as such, except one zipper "broke" </span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">about 70km into the race </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">as I probably </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">had</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">overfilled the zipped pocket a bit. I did manage to fix it after the race though.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MxqryKTbY3rq2DBt4Tj8hD5bZwjkn13Ph9wL3pZKufrC6CxvagChaa-CSP1nvJu5bsbIKn4v0ciz6tyj7PxZeOuVeY1LyF5tFrdw0QaiTTA0Elx3awho4xy6RsNLt2KeULqYGaYtXedY/s1600/Kit_RTTS2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MxqryKTbY3rq2DBt4Tj8hD5bZwjkn13Ph9wL3pZKufrC6CxvagChaa-CSP1nvJu5bsbIKn4v0ciz6tyj7PxZeOuVeY1LyF5tFrdw0QaiTTA0Elx3awho4xy6RsNLt2KeULqYGaYtXedY/s320/Kit_RTTS2016.png" width="273" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MxqryKTbY3rq2DBt4Tj8hD5bZwjkn13Ph9wL3pZKufrC6CxvagChaa-CSP1nvJu5bsbIKn4v0ciz6tyj7PxZeOuVeY1LyF5tFrdw0QaiTTA0Elx3awho4xy6RsNLt2KeULqYGaYtXedY/s1600/Kit_RTTS2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I had chosen to bring my <b>Black Diamond Distance FL Z poles </b>as well, as the inclines seems quite steep when looking at the race data. I did use them and they gave me a great walking pace uphill compared to when not using them! I will definitely used them again when possible (and allowed!). They were strapped to my running vest, but somehow they got to touch my back causing a bit of chafing. Nothing too serious though! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I <i>"redesigned"</i> how I use the Salomon 4D pole carrying system to make it easier to strap them on and get them off, by using a carabiner clip to attach/release the top bungee-cord. I found this much easier and less likely for the bungee-cord to be entangled into the poles/pole-straps when trying to wrap/unwrap them from your back.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I wore my <b>Under Armour CoolSwitch calf sleeves</b>. There are many theories about if they work or not. I like the feeling of them and my calfs didn't ache at any time during or after the race. If it's due to the guards or something else I cannot tell! But fact is, I haven't had a single sore muscle in my legs from the run, however my hips and ankles were a bit sore from the uneven terrain and the downhill running.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcR1R51ojLqM8_AKRGpjo7ydo8noL6Qa25rPZZh49FtxKlL1YoSWIpF5spFKlp-5IImONoOhg4d92A0Eb6hiBlt8a89ouG1HV1ibZGndDpfAocoNQOwUI0sK80mfH5LRwS178LhxBC5kym/s1600/P7160053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcR1R51ojLqM8_AKRGpjo7ydo8noL6Qa25rPZZh49FtxKlL1YoSWIpF5spFKlp-5IImONoOhg4d92A0Eb6hiBlt8a89ouG1HV1ibZGndDpfAocoNQOwUI0sK80mfH5LRwS178LhxBC5kym/s320/P7160053.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My <b>Under Armour Shadow Run Cap</b> protected my head from the sun and redirected sweat from running into my eyes. At some pit-stops I soaked it in cool water to cool me down. Awesome! My <b>Under Armour Launch 2-IN-1 shorts</b> and <b>LP Embioz compression top</b> also did very well along side my <b>Falke running socks</b> :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My <b>Garmin Forerunner 310XT</b> didn't complain and recorded the whole run. The HR chest-strap (which is actually from my old Garmin Forerunner 305) was unnoticeable and didn't leave any marks from chafing, as the original HR chest-strap have given me on much shorter run (~20km).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I did bring extra clothes like a waterproof jacket, a thin long-sleeved top and extra socks just in case, but didn't use any of it. However - you never know with the British weather ;-)<br /><br />All in all the clothes I wore worked well for the hot weather and I could have left the extras at home, but 100km is a long way if you need it at some point, hence I'm happy with the choices I made :-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Food review:</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I had chosen to <b>bring my own gels</b> (Science In Sport/SiS) as I have used these through out my training, and didn't want to find out if I could/could not use other gels mid-race! I used 15 gels on the course. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3BBg5QebhSD1_rHfCdHGq4D09ShWrrZkWtoQsmNdQx9mGj-H_M4wrMM1UpvWq0IPUdBDzl2SeDwLW9aDiCss4l4T3Ixu0m1Q57g9CTDX6EJLaitWprn4zSd3Fy5T-qRAqQtWD11te1iYi/s320/P7160082.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Flat coke is a winner!! :-)</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3BBg5QebhSD1_rHfCdHGq4D09ShWrrZkWtoQsmNdQx9mGj-H_M4wrMM1UpvWq0IPUdBDzl2SeDwLW9aDiCss4l4T3Ixu0m1Q57g9CTDX6EJLaitWprn4zSd3Fy5T-qRAqQtWD11te1iYi/s1600/P7160082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I also brought my own electrolyte tablets (SiS) for the same reason as the gels. I refilled my 0.5L bottle with a new tablet/water at every pit-stop except the first one (one for approx every 10km) and even though it was extremely hot and sunny, I didn't at any time feel I was lacking fluid or the like, so I think I got it right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I refilled my 1.5L bladder once. In addition to this I drank a lot of flat coke and some squash/water on the side. In total I must have consumed at least 8 Litres of fluid - and only one stop at the loo! ;-)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7xz9UrL1-8pmdYUmhmzpK3iroIC3SdiqSk4rbakQbcUUZffgix-FmsQpILB7lrnpa-u_YShuYSedlTWupOjv3XXZCUkYmczTQ_m9CtBzD6PQS_w53MeEZQIa6ojhAzWYu0bGtEnHYGGX/s1600/P7160113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7xz9UrL1-8pmdYUmhmzpK3iroIC3SdiqSk4rbakQbcUUZffgix-FmsQpILB7lrnpa-u_YShuYSedlTWupOjv3XXZCUkYmczTQ_m9CtBzD6PQS_w53MeEZQIa6ojhAzWYu0bGtEnHYGGX/s320/P7160113.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I didn't eat many of my homemade muesli bites. I think it was due to the hot weather. I also didn't eat any chocolate bars as they were way too sweet during the run! Instead <b>I devoured a lot of oranges</b> at the pit-stops where possible and grabbed some apples for the road + a few bananas on some of the early stops. I also found bananas too sweat to eat at the last half of the race.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I ate crisps in some of the pit-stops, which was a very welcome snack and a great source of salt :-) Standard food from now on!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The pit-stops were well stocked on all sorts of things, and if I were more brave using those "unfamiliar" things, I wouldn't have to carry much myself. At some point I might start using what's available instead of bringing my own :-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Bottom-line for food and liquids is that I didn't have any stomach aches as I did in CTS Dover in January, so I must have done something right this time ;-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Every thing worked out for the better and I had a fantastic and awesome day!! Loved everything about it :-D </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">#RTTS2016</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See ya out there... :-)</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Best M.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">PS: I'm on <a href="https://blog.endomondo.com/you-the-vs-year-2-runners-experience/" target="_blank">Endomondo Blog</a> about the #YouVsTheYear challenge!! ;-)</span></b><br />
<br />Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930496542082491592.post-6684293305273885772016-07-18T15:13:00.000-04:002016-07-20T11:27:29.724-04:00Race To The Stones 2016<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Yeah!!! I did it :-D </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtY2-fZDFLa4M9j4y-03MFxR0kPJJWaHv_hY4ARndVzgeGCIpp-Iaa_1X1C0FoIGP3ZSiZlyH7coHGM-R-RLqtindTcPk_QvBZ0v3APIGYspgws3GldFTaLHsTFBDpkHbWCvfzqEj0Cjlm/s1600/P7160013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtY2-fZDFLa4M9j4y-03MFxR0kPJJWaHv_hY4ARndVzgeGCIpp-Iaa_1X1C0FoIGP3ZSiZlyH7coHGM-R-RLqtindTcPk_QvBZ0v3APIGYspgws3GldFTaLHsTFBDpkHbWCvfzqEj0Cjlm/s200/P7160013.JPG" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">On Saturday morning on the 16th July 2016 the alarm clock was set for</span> 4:00am - <b>Race day! </b>I got my race kit on and ate my breakfast. Almost everything I needed for the race had been packed and prepared the evening before.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiNj5Y6cvWDFgPZo6A__TM0uk_vJYhN9QggXfNz8N3Gw51DxOjv_Lk_4VLlREmsTWxREZTwcZ9SD7iHISjkbHAaS6hIeevdOqyZV2YLYbXB1opeD2gx63XjKLWMynARxjiRY09LcVxcet/s1600/P7160022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiNj5Y6cvWDFgPZo6A__TM0uk_vJYhN9QggXfNz8N3Gw51DxOjv_Lk_4VLlREmsTWxREZTwcZ9SD7iHISjkbHAaS6hIeevdOqyZV2YLYbXB1opeD2gx63XjKLWMynARxjiRY09LcVxcet/s320/P7160022.JPG" width="212" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I hadn't even left Oxford before I met the first others, who were also running/walking <b>Race To The Stones</b>. The registration went smoothly and after a eating banana and a visit or two to the loo, I was ready to run... <b>a 100km awaits! </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Just before we started the sun showed itself, so I took off my red top as it quickly got warm. At first I thought that was awesome with some sunshine for the race, as it until this point had been grey-ish and looked like it was going to rain anytime soon. However, the sun came and stayed for most of the day! That, of course, also means it gets really hot when running...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Halfway!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I skipped the first pit-stop as I had plenty of fluid and stuff to eat. However, I soon got to realise that I would have to refill my 0.5L bottle, which I use for electrolytes (I brought my own tablets), at very-pit stop from now on, as the heat had risen severely! It was very warm and I was sweating like a pig! I've estimated that I have drunk <b>at</b> <b>least </b><b>8 Litres of fluids </b>if not more: I refilled my 1.5L bladder + 8 x refill of 0.5L electrolytes + a huge amount of flat coca cola on the last 50km, say 2-3 cups on every station + a some cups of water/squash at my "lunch break" and in other places.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSejlUh6GK0JIr0Z8uzu13tVLBP8MC04r706XQ3ZpT7kqYkYSnRrwuPtG75keEZC6Unwq8oesHOqxLiV9uTpTEH4Q-ypZ4XGVw6A8LW1n0AO7hxildQnYwdx7bSzaZaiPVPs8cGVj9Xyw1/s1600/P7160095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSejlUh6GK0JIr0Z8uzu13tVLBP8MC04r706XQ3ZpT7kqYkYSnRrwuPtG75keEZC6Unwq8oesHOqxLiV9uTpTEH4Q-ypZ4XGVw6A8LW1n0AO7hxildQnYwdx7bSzaZaiPVPs8cGVj9Xyw1/s200/P7160095.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">At the halfway point, a hot meal (included in the race package) awaited me. I chose a tiny portion of pasta with mushrooms and piece of bread, as I didn't wanna be too full as I had 50km to go still! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Me and Terry (I think?)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">After my lunch break, things got a (tiny) bit easier until about 90km. I had chatted with various people along the way. One had done <a href="http://marathondessables.co.uk/" target="_blank">Marathon Des Sables</a> (tough multi day desert race) previously. Somehow she didn't finish this one though. I though I would "give something back" to the few spectators cheering and encouraging us, so I started taking photos of them as well, and they seemed to like it :-)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUqLKuZEs-m04D6Rx1hyphenhyphenZBbKTx0bH05ue3THdkFcZ96asq-exjsbmf8I0xzMMtmG8NbzwPIcTSx_ulCIC0PmWzSmeEZ2CxtqU1gtrMvv8TsNVanPz1tuy5JzMaOSD4TFEUdWX9O-F0ssc/s1600/P7160127a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUqLKuZEs-m04D6Rx1hyphenhyphenZBbKTx0bH05ue3THdkFcZ96asq-exjsbmf8I0xzMMtmG8NbzwPIcTSx_ulCIC0PmWzSmeEZ2CxtqU1gtrMvv8TsNVanPz1tuy5JzMaOSD4TFEUdWX9O-F0ssc/s320/P7160127a.JPG" width="213" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I often found myself running pretty much alone, which suits me fine, as in most (all) of my training I'm by myself. And running with a huge group on narrow trails makes it hard to find your own pace, which is quite important when doing 100km.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The last 10-12km was tremendously tough. The ground was very uneven and it felt like it was all downhill, which is why I think my hips and ankles are a bit sore - way harder than running uphill! And finally I was doing the last loop round The Stones and through to the finish line! A very cheerful lot welcomed me as I crossed the finish line... <b>I've done it - 100km!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>12h33m52s - </b>I'm very pleased with that result! I finished <b>84 of 956</b>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3X5GUWIE4flbulbfpJJJ29fz7oozhEZL8Gowx103nrScmFcjr51R9Xv9TiF6djn5QTau194KSMenWuIc5SFGkv7MmaYhpoCpaORyE9QyqqJReqWiPIfGmoQtISemdhDd36-vqdDJsczHF/s1600/P7160053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3X5GUWIE4flbulbfpJJJ29fz7oozhEZL8Gowx103nrScmFcjr51R9Xv9TiF6djn5QTau194KSMenWuIc5SFGkv7MmaYhpoCpaORyE9QyqqJReqWiPIfGmoQtISemdhDd36-vqdDJsczHF/s320/P7160053.JPG" width="213" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Even though my time was great, I wasn't fast enough to catch the public bus back to Swindon. But luckily, we (me and my partner, who had come down to pick up the pieces left of me) managed to hijack two seats on the last event-bus to Swindon, and later the train back to Oxford, only to find my bike punctured, hence a nice walk home :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>What an awesome experience that was!</b> If I wasn't hooked before - I definitely am now! The event was very well organised. Everything went smoothly from my perspective. I only got one "complaint": There should be fresh oranges at every pit stop!! GOD, they were good!!! ;-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /><br />The route itself is very scenic and varied, though that last bit was really tough. In total: <b>It was AWESOME!! :-)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In the few days after the race, I've expected to be sore all over my body. However, only my ankles and hips are sore. I've got no muscle aches and only two not-too-serious blisters, one on each big-toe. I've lost about 2.5 kg of body weight so it's time to eat and drink a lot ;-) <b>YEAH!!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The Race To The Stones is an amazing event. Everything went smoothly. Well stocked pit-stops and friendly cheerful crew. The route was very well signposted all the way! Great race!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Will I do it again? - Hell yeah!! ;-)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>#RTTS2016 #MoreIsInYou <br />#RunWithFight #IWILL #YouVsTheYear #FuelledByScience</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>See ya out there... ;-)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Best M.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>Lidegaardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108052430683754034noreply@blogger.com3