Mørketidsløpet, or How I train for a winter halfmarathon

I haven't used my blog in ages, mainly due to lack of time and motivation. That doesn't mean that there hasn't been lots going on. My time in Norway so far has been a blast. I've met so many great people, made a ton of new friends. I've had interesting lectures, boring lectures, and stressful exams. I've gone on a crazy road trip from hell which I could write more about but I don't think I will. There's been wild parties as well as calm social gatherings. So many good times and fond memories.

But for now I am back home on the tiny little island located in the Finnish archipelago. One month of Christmas break, fantastic! No more cramming for exams, no more scraping by on a tiny little student food budget. I get to spend time with my dad, my adorable kitty cats as well as my horse. I get to sleep as late as I like and read whatever strikes my fancy. Oh, but I won't just be lazing about on the sofa with a good book, so don't worry about that.

No, I am determined to start polishing my running form for the upcoming Polar Night Halfmarathon or Mørketidsløpet in Norwegian. This is a halfmarathon that is run in Tromsø in the dead of winter during the darkest part of the year. The race takes place on the 9th of January at 3 PM and I am now officially signed up and paid for. Exciting!

So I figured to keep my dedication high and my training organized I would try to use this blog as my training log for the time being. I am notoriously bad at keeping up with a normal journal or even a blog, but for some reason I am very good at jotting down my training notes. So I figured maybe this would be the best of both worlds.

So this is what I have done so far, running as well as any kind of exercise with further updates coming daily (I hope):

5.12: Riding 50 min + 30 min (8km) biking to and from barn
6.12: Biking 30 min (8k) + 5 k run (27m30s)
7.12: 5k run (27min)
8.12: Riding 1 h + biking 30 min (8k)
9.12: 7k run (38min) + 15 min chopping wood

I'm also keeping track of my diet for the sake of logging calorie consumption as well as vitamin and nutrient intake. I won't backtrack in time on that one since I'm bad at remembering, but here's what I've had today at least.

Breakfast: Musli with soy granules, banana, and oat milk
Lunch: Salmon with shrimp sauce, rice, and vegetables
Snack: Sandwich, apple, tomato, some dark chocolate
Dinner: Rye bread sandwich, blackcurrant juice

Links/Resources: Polar Night Half Marathon