Week 4: Brunost & Nordlys

You know that you've become acclimated to life in Norway when even the Brunost starts to taste really good...

This has been a hectic week in every way. It all started with the newspaper meeting on Monday where I claimed one article and offered to take photos for it. Things started to snowball from there and soon enough I was writing not one but two articles and taking photos at 5 different occasions. Now I love this newspaper work, and I appreciate the fact that I'm building up an impressive portfolio, but this week was a bit much. On Thursday I put in a 17 hour day, beginning with a lecture at 10 AM and finally collapsing in bed at 2AM.

Things probably would have been easier if I hadn't been sniffling all week. My cold never really developed into anything serious but it was enough to drain me and make concentrating on the work at hand harder than usual. Everyone seems to be getting sick right now, it must be the sudden arrival of the cold weather. A winter storm by the name of "Ask" blew in on Tuesday and since then the temperatures have dropped to -12C and colder. Not that I mind the cold, but some more snow would be nice also.

The kitchen in my house has been changing around a bit lately. My housemate Mike received a bunch of stuff from a friend who is moving to Oslo. Mike got a shelf, another refrigerator, a bunch of spices, tea, an electric kettle, and a food processor among other things. He is very generous with his things and allows us all to use the kitchen appliances. I'm really liking the food processor and electric kettle. So far I've made some tasty homemade peanut butter (why didn't I think of that before?) and breakfast smoothies.

Following that do-it-yourself-healthful-living theme, I planted the seeds that I bought last week. Basil, Thyme, and Chives. I've been watering carefully and providing them with plenty of light, and so far both the Thyme and the Basil have sprouted! I'm so excited, it's going to be nice to have some greenery in my room, and useful greenery at that, which is the best kind.

So I've been working busily for the paper this week. Interviewing people, and taking lots and lots of photos. I got in for free to a Chopin concert on Thursday and also went to see the Mariinsky Ballet on Friday. It's so cool to have the opportunity to do these things that I would never be able to afford normally. Both of these events were part of the ongoing Nordlys music festival which will be continuing for most of next week. After that follows the Saami week, and I hope I get to cover that one as well for the paper. One of the highlights is reindeer racing down mainstreet!

There was a laundry party on Friday also, this time hosted by the Spanish and with a Hawaiian theme. I went and hung out there for a while, there were a lot of people I knew in attendance and the party was pretty ok as far as laundry parties go.

Saturday I attended a Mormon baptism, some missionaries talked to me at campus and invited me to go. I am in no way thinking of converting, I went mostly out of curiosity since I have never witnessed a baptism by immersion before. The Mormons were all really nice people and I enjoyed their company, even if I am not in agreement with the rules and dogmas of their faith.

After that I spent a wonderful evening with my boyfriend, concocting a delicious meal out of leftovers and watching Practical Magic on TV. This morning we had a nice lazy start to the day and made waffles for breakfast. What a great way to wrap up a hectic week.

Week 3: Welcome Back Mr. Sun

I'm supposing that the sun is a Mr. since the moon is frequently considered female? Although I guess that depends on what culture you are from. Ah well, the sun has returned to us now in any case. Thursday the 21st was the official first day although we've been able to notice a definite brightening trend here since the 15th. On the actual "sun day" we couldn't see the sun because of thick fog. It's apparently a tradition here in Tromsø to eat something called solboller when the sun comes back, roughly translated it would be "sun buns", and they are basically a Berliner pastry that's been renamed for the occasion. I didn't buy any this week since the ISU will be organizing a party to welcome back the sun this coming Wednesday and then I get to eat one (or maybe even two?) for free. Yay for free baked goods!

The Tromsø International Film Festival has been going on all week. It's really a very big deal here, more so than I expected, and all of the buses have been packed all week. I went and saw one film with my friend Josh on Tuesday. Since I didn't end up volunteering I couldn't afford more than one 80 NOK film ticket. We went to a film called Helsinki Forever. It was a historical film about Helsinki made with a bunch of archival footage of the city, clips from Finnish movies, paintings and such. I actually really liked it even if it wasn't quite what I had expected, and Josh said that it really gave him a good background on the story behind Helsinki. The cinema that we saw it in was also really cool. The oldest cinema of the north called Verdensteatret, a lovely location in general.

I also went to the release party of the University paper Utropia on Wednesday. They always have a release party for every issue of the paper but I have never been to one before. This time I went but wasn't too terribly impressed. We met at Driv and hung out, but things were kind of disorganized and there weren't that many people there. I'm hoping that things calm down at the paper when the new editor takes over. Both my articles look good, and I got a prize for best contributor to the culture section. They didn't include my photos however because the "quality wasn't good enough". I'm able to accept that, but the photos that they chose instead of mine are pretty crappy and to be honest I don't see how mine could possibly be worse. Ah well, I'm working hard not to be bitter about it.

Other than that, my course on Microscopical Imaging Techniques started up this week. It seems like it's going to be a fascinating (and useful) course. I also got a book to borrow for my Toxicology course, which is good because I didn't have the spare money to buy it.

Oh, and I might be running for the position of ISU Webmaster, I don't really have the time or the energy, but they need a website badly and I could whip up a simple one for them in very little time. There might be someone else interested in the position also, so if the other person gets it I certainly won't be heartbroken.

On Friday I went out and bought myself some potting soil, pots, and seeds so I'm going to start growing some herbs in my room to liven up the place. I bought basil, thyme, chives, and arugula seeds. Hoping to get those started this week.

I also went running both Thursday and Saturday, trying to get back into the rhythm even with the ice that seems to refuse to go away. You just have to be a little extra careful is all. I ran 13km on Saturday just for the fun of it. I'm also going to start visiting the student gym twice a week for some strength training.

And that pretty much wraps up my week. Oh, I introduced Lyonel to the strange delicacy which is Lutefisk yesterday. He had bought some frozen Lutefisk around Christmas but hadn't dared to cook it yet. I served it with boiled potatoes, mixed frozen veggies (peas, carrots, corn, etc), and Bechamel sauce. He seemed to like it, so I think I've recruited yet another person to the Lutefisk Appreciators Club. ;-)

But now I'm going to go study a bit and relax as well, trying to fight off this darn cold which I so don't have time for right now!

Week 2: from Utropia to Urørt

This week has been long and exhausting, as the first week back after the holidays always is. I'll try to run through some of the highlights quickly to give and idea of what's been going on.

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I had morning lectures in my course on Marine Ecology. It seems like an interesting course, and we even get to go on a week long research cruise in April, very neat! The only downside is that the course is supposed to carry on until the 16th of June. I know that I just can't stay here that long, I need to be home in the end of May to help with the garden and the market and everything. Hopefully I can make some sort of arrangements so I don't have to drop the course.

On Monday we also had the first meeting of the new semester for the university paper Utropia. Deadline was on Friday as per usual, and there were plenty of articles to write. I claimed 2 and a half articles for myself. The first was a race report on the Mørketidsløp which the culture section editor asked me to do. The second was an article about a photo exhibition on whales called Øye Til Øye or "Eye to Eye" which is currently being displayed at the Polar Museum in Tromsø. It's basically an exhibition which has been designed to be shown in countries where whale hunting is still practiced since the global ban in 1982. The idea is to try and revitalize the movement to protect whales and hopefully stop the hunt for good. I also helped write a short bit for an article on the upcoming TIFF film festival.

On Monday my friends Josh and Miranda also returned back to Tromsø after the holidays. It was great to see them again, I went out to the airport to meet them and help them carry their bags. Miranda has now moved into the same house as Josh so it's even easier to go hang out with my friends than it was before. My own house filled up slowly during the week and now all 6 of us are back, feels like the place is properly lived in again. This also means that it's hard to find place for stuff in the fridge again, but that's ok.

On Tuesday I went out for my first run since the race. Did 6km and took it easy since it's still icy. I haven't run since then because it continues to be slippery and my right knee has been a little sore off and on, I'm hoping that it passes quickly.

On Thursday I had my first lecture in General Toxicology and Pharmacology. The lecture was interesting and not too difficult, but I was upset to discover that there were no textbooks in the library and that a new book costs 798 NOK = 140 USD = 97 € to buy! I'm hoping that the professor can get me a copy of an older edition to borrow because that's just too much to pay for a book that I will only need for one class.

I've been feeling the economic pressure in general lately. After buying an expensive plane ticket to get home for Christmas and various other unexpected bills I have ended up with a 500€ hole in my budget. I tried to get by this week by buying almost nothing but after 4 days of going to bed hungry I got tired of it. I've updated my CV and am now actively looking for part-time employment. I'm also going to put up some fliers at school offering to do English tutoring and correction of term papers. That would give me some quick and easy cash, and I'm sure it's something that people could need as well.

On Friday some of us exchange students congregated to pack up some second hand blankets, clothes, dishes, etc. to send off to the people in need in Haiti. After three hours of sorting, folding, boxing, bagging, labeling, and stacking we were all pretty exhausted. Luckily the ISU coordinator was kind and ordered us all pizza to thank us for our efforts. So I went away that day well-fed and I also brought a couple of shirts, a jacket, and a nice cast-iron wok home with me.

Later that day Utropia also sent me to cover a concert at the student club Driv called Zoom: Urørt. It was a kind of competition between up-and-coming bands from Norway. This was the northern Norwegian semi-finals. There were 5 bands playing, Swankmajer, Acid Garden, Trendsettarklubben, Jackie Moonshine, and Cyaneed. They were all very good and I got some excellent photos, had fun, and saw a few friends. Check out my flickr gallery for some photos from the concert.

After that I've had a relaxing weekend. I finally got sick and tired of my poor students diet of bland and tasteless carbs (aka rice & pasta) and went out and splurged 111 NOK on just fruit and vegetables. It feels so nice to have tasty veggies to eat again, they really are my life force in so many ways.

So there you go, a (relatively) quick recap of week #2.

9.1.2010 Race Report

2010 Polar Night Halfmarathon in Tromsø Norway

Well I did it, I ran Mørketidsløpet and survived! It was an intense experience, like nothing I've ever done before, and I won't forget it any time soon.

10.30: Race morning I got up after having a decent 9 hours sleep. I felt rested, albeit a bit jittery. I ate my traditional breakfast of bran müsli fortified with soy crumbles, sunflower seeds, raisins, a sliced banana, and oat milk, with a glass of juice on the side. I had been following the weather reports religiously for the last couple of days and just as predicted the temperature rose to +4 and it started to rain around 11AM. I began to pack my things and prepare mentally for the challenge ahead.

12.34: I took the number 20 bus in to town. I noticed that the roads were quickly turning into a mixture of treacherous ice and ankle-deep slush. The snow plows were out and they were sanding as well but it didn't seem to make much difference.

13.00: I reached the SAS Radission hotel downtown where we were supposed to go to pick up our race numbers. There weren't too many people in line and I got my envelope without a hitch. Inside was my race number (176), four safety pins, and a map and info sheet on the race. I noticed that they didn't include a time chip for my shoe like in Helsinki City Run. I was curious as to how they would keep track of our individual times without it.

13.30: After skating around downtown on the slick sidewalks and streets I decided to buy some last-minute spikes for my shoes. I visited first a sports shop and then a shoe store and bought myself a pair of something called Duenorth traction aides. I have to say I'm really glad I did this, they really saved me a lot of worry about footing during the race and gave me a lot more confidence in my stride. I saw runners falling and sliding all over the place, but I didn't slip once myself!

13.45: After a quick trip to a grocery store for three bananas I headed to Kulturhuset where the bag check area was located. I met up with Jerome, a French exchange student at UiT who had told me that he was also going to run the race. It was his first real halfmarathon, and in winter conditions no less! We talked runners stuff, shoes, clothes, mp3 or no mp3 etc. while we changed and headed out to do our warm-up.

14.00: Headed out to test out the footing with Jerome. I noticed that about half of the runners had chosen to wear spikes on their shoes. I enjoyed the grip that mine gave me and walked and jogged up and down Storgata for about 15 minutes or so. I felt a slight twinge in my right knee that concerned me but it seemed to go away as I walked.

14.21: Walked over to the library to meet Lyonel and hand over my camera bag to him. I snapped some shots before the race, and he got some during and after. He also managed to cheer me on at two places during the race, once downtown and once out at the airport.

14.35: I went back to the bag check area and decided to grab a banana to take with me during the race. It's been my habit during training to eat some fruit at the 5km and 10km mark. It seems to work for me. One thing I also learned during this race is that you shouldn't allow yourself to be distracted by other people's race day rituals and ignore your own. We all have different needs and styles and what works for one person doesn't always work for someone else. So if you have a weird quirk, like my tendency to either leave the start or cross the finish clutching a banana in hand, go for it!

14.40: I met up with Megan and her friend Evan from the US who were also running the race. We did some warming up together with some people from a local gym Friskis & Svettis and then settled by the starting line in a big group to await the signal. There we met up with another American named Randolph who was also running. All in all I think I knew at least 6 people who ran that day. It's kind of cool having familiar faces to start with, even if you aren't sure if you'll finish together or not.

15.00: And the race is off! We all stormed out of the gate and ran a quick loop through town before heading out towards the airport. First along the main street, and then on footpaths and bicycle paths. I quickly lost Megan but tried to concentrate on keeping my own pace reasonable and not burning out in the very beginning.



5km-7km: I reached the 5km water station in about 28 mins, which is a decent pace for the first 5km. I made an effort to hold about the same pace, not much quicker and certainly not slower until I reached the half-point marker out by the airport. I know from the past that I feel horrible the first 5km, it starts to feel ok at 6km, and at 11km I'm flying. So I was holding out for that burst of speed that I knew would come. The run to the airport was fine but wet, I was getting soaked from below by running through puddles and huge piles of slush, or "snow bogs" as Grace would call them. From above the rain was pouring down and my jacket and hair were both soaked quickly. At around 7.5km a driver totally drenched me with water and I remember swearing in Swedish at the driver which seemed to greatly amuse my Norwegian running mates.

10km-15km: I reached the airport turnaround in 55 mins. I waved to Lyonel, grabbed some water at the aid station, and then prepared to put on a burst of speed. I was feeling really good until I made the turn back in to town and was hit head-on by a wall of water. The wind was brutal and the rain came bucketing down. There was so much water on my face that I could barely keep my eyes open and I could hardly see. I passed a couple of guys and then just fought to keep going. This was very much a mental race, and I was happy that I had decided to take my mp3 player after all. Some of the stretches of the race were pretty desolate, and the music really helped keep me going.

15km: It was at the 15km water station that I started to realize that I might be able to finish in a good time. I grabbed a cup quickly and kept running, not wanting to stop and walk like I usually do for fear of getting cold. I gulped down my drink and was surprised when it turned out to be apple juice and not water. It was a little too sweet but then it probably helped give me a little extra boost as well.

18km: There was this fantastic cheering squad at the crest of this hill just as we were coming back in to town. They had been there to cheer us as we left but I was surprised to see that they were all still there when we came back, despite the horrible weather and everything. They screamed and yelled as each one of us exhausted runners came battling up the hill. I remember beaming at them before flying down the hill again on numb legs. In general I want to applaud all of the organizers and the volunteers for staying so chipper throughout the whole wet and miserable race.

20km: We hit the main street for the final kilometer and just then my iPod started to play Rammstein's Führe mich. It was perfect timing, to finish with my favorite band's music playing in my ears. We went zipping down the sidewalk, running around startled pedestrians as they came walking out of shops. I neared the finish and looked up at the clock and could barely believe it. It said 01.47, could that really be true? I heard them yell out Megan's name and her time just as I crossed the finish. I tore off my soggy race number and held it up for the volunteer to scan the bar code. And then I was done, they wrapped me up in a thick wool blanket, gave me my medal, and sent me off to the Saami tent that was set up in the main square to get some complimentary juice and a donut.

I met up with Megan and Randolph afterwards and we all agreed that it had been a pretty brutal race, especially coming back from the airport. They had both seen a lot of people slipping and falling also but had managed to keep their own footing. We headed in and quickly changed to warm dry clothes. I had my post-race banana, water, and peanut butter sandwich, called my dad, and then took the bus back home, floating around in an adrenaline-induced high.



When I got home I went online to check the results. Turns out I finished in 01:47:35, and 3rd in my age group of women 18-29! I can't believe it, this totally blew away my 1/2 marathon time from last May, and in these conditions no less! I had such a hard time sleeping last night, my mind was just buzzing away. Now I really feel like my dream to run a full marathon, and then hopefully qualify and run Boston in the future, might not be so impossible after all.

Today I'm sore but nothing unmanageable. I iced my right knee this morning and after that it's been fine. My lovely boyfriend has been doting on me and I rewarded myself by baking some blueberry muffins. I think I'll brave the ice (with spikes on my shoes of course!) and head out for a quick walk just to loosen up my muscles. All in all, a hellish experience during, but a wonderful feeling of pride and accomplishment afterwards! And that's really what running is all about.




Photo Credits:
1) And we're off! - Lionel Perabo
2) Smiling at the end, and looking like a drowned rat - Lionel Perabo
3) Start number and medal - Linnea Nordström