Finlandia

Regardless of who you might vote for in the election in Finland (full disclosure: this particular flashmob was in support of Haavisto, though one might not be able to tell unless one waits until the veeery end...), this song and the feelings it evokes are pretty powerful. I often get goosebumps when I hear this song whether it is the orchestral version, the church hymn version or this one. A little more history on the song can be found here.





The year of running/endurance continues... I ran a test today (5x1000m with each 1000m progressively harder and the final lap at "maximal" effort - yes, I know I just skied 65km a few days ago). I hit my maximum heart rate, but my lactate levels stayed relatively low which is quite interesting for two reasons 1) I feel recovered from the weekend of skiing, but it is possible that my muscles were still "empty" 2) I have a skiing background and am used to producing lactate by using more of my muscle mass.

It will be easier to get some rest this week as temps are currently around -24C (-11F) and projected to hit -30C (-22F). It is BEAUTIFUL outside, but definitely cold. I think I will try to workout inside all week!

"ski hangover"

A friend of mine suggested taking part in a pretty crazy event this weekend.... and I said "sure!".  The end result was a satisfied, but rediculously tired skier... and a "ski hangover".

Kurun 24 Tunnin Hiihto (Kuru's 24 Hour Ski) started at noon on Saturday and ended at noon on Sunday. The team I skied with had 8 people... 5 of us skied the "whole" time while the other 3 skiers participated for a few hours each. The idea was to have one person from the team skiing on the 2.1km lighted ski trail for the entire 24 hours. The team goal was to ski 200 laps (a new record for them). In the beginning, and in the end, we skied in turns tagging off after each lap. During the night, we skied 2 laps tagging off with a partner so we could get a little more "rest" (i.e. put on something dry/warmer, crawl into sleeping bag, pass out for about 30min, wake up, get ready to ski again). The team skied a grand total of 200 laps (we reached the goal!! for a total of 420km) and I skied 30 of them (63km) plus one lap to "check the course" (grand total 65.1km).

The conditions were pretty rough for skiing. The warmest temperature was about -15C (5F) and got down to -22C (-8F) which means that the snow was cold and abrasive and the body never really got warm, but it sure got cold! The course was more or less a 1km gradual uphill followed by a 1km gradual downhill, so one can imagine how that felt! Nonetheless, we had a skier skiing for 24 hours and were all adequately tired (but still smiling and satisfied) by the end.

Apparently fueling one's body for a 24 hour event is not so easy... thus the "ski hangover". I have no idea how one is supposed to fuel and sleep/rest at the same time, so I just tried to eat complex and simple carbs in combination (and of course there was some protein too) while drinking fluids the whole time, but I am not sure I did it right since I had a headache by the end and fell asleep as soon as we hit the road for the 2 hour drive home. At home I grabbed dinner, plopped on the couch, and fell asleep for another 2 hours or so... and then I went to bed early. Huh.... what an experience! Definitely challenging and fun, but not something that I would do again right away. =)

Tonight I am content to sit on the couch, watch some TV and go to bed early again! (besides that, it is -20C (-4F)) so it is nice to be curled up on the couch under a fleece blanket anyway!

"paralysis through analysis"

Ever heard of "paralysis through analysis"? It is good to think about what you do, but thinking too much can be... paralyzing. I am guilty of it (I am a researcher... go figure) but I am also realizing the importance of "just doing it". Going out and trying without thinking too much. It's the throwing yourself into an unsuspecting snow bank or lake, jumping in puddles in the springtime. It is grabbing a new spice and throwing it into the pot.... Sometimes doing things "by the book" works, sometimes it doesn't. Creativity and spontaneity have value (and you might learn something new)!

  

I have watched coaches, teachers, professors, etc explain, analyze and tweak things practice after practice with and without success. Some of them are trying to prevent problems, some of them are trying to correct problems, some of them are just veeery analytical people. I get it. That is what we do. I am, however, reminded of some of my coaches from high school. We (athletes) used to be sent out for a workout with the words "Go ski." or "Go run." or maybe even  "See you in an hour.". 

Someone may think that is the sign of a lazy coach, but sometimes "just doing" yields the most productive of workouts. When you "go ski" with your buddies, you end up playing with technique balance, speed... you learn from skiing behind them, in front of them, beside them... If you are skiing alone using the "go ski" idea, you go out and feel the gliding over the snow and cold air on your face, hear your breath and the crunching from your poles, see the woods/trail and maybe even smell the wood smoke (if we get real poetic). If you "go run", you are given the freedom of picking your own trail. Flat, hilly, hard surface, soft surface...we used to play follow the leader and find ourselves climbing fences, hopping across train tracks, running obstacle courses through playgrounds. There were times we would run through streams and mud, across corn fields, through downtown, by the zoo, up stairs, along the river, over bridges, under bridges.... It was excellent training. We were learning the whole time while developing neruomuscular and cardiovscular systems... and the "bizarre" thing is that we were not actually "being coached". We were feeling where to put our feet , feeling how to breathe.... magic.

As much as I like analyzing technique and coaching... sometimes it is just better to throw yourself into a ski or run and simply listen to the way your body "feels". Don't think about forward, backward, toes, heels, hips.... Just let yourself ski. Just let yourself run. Think "primal", natural, free. Technique is valuable to learn and can help with preventing overuse injuries and making an individual more economical, but even the best don't JUST do drills analyze every step of a workout. I am all about learning technique and periodically going back to the basics, but I believe that the finesse and beauty of endurance sport may be achieved and understood better through sometimes just going out and doing it.

hit the ground running

I am beginning to think that 2012 is going to be the year of running or the year of endurance... or some variation on those themes. I am back at work.. which maybe should be written: I am BACK at work. I have previously written that motivation ebs and flows, about stress being high or low, about how staring at excel and PASW (or sitting at a computer all day) might not really be "my thing".... all of which is true, but something about 2012 feels different....

Last week was solid:
* I re-submitted an article that was rejected (unfairly in my opinion, but I will not get into that....let's just say that politics are part of science too). My boss and I did some minor editing of the article and it is even better than before, so maybe the rejection was a blessing in disguise.
* With that article going off into the wide world of peer-review, I'm on to the next set of articles. I have lots of data that I am analyzing and looking at from a number of angles and I hope to be back to the writing (rather than pondering excel and PASW) within a few weeks.
* The beginning of the year means it is time to write more applications for funding. I got a handful of applications prepared for a quick review and signatures. Here's hoping that at least one of them will yield something... I've been fishing a lot and would like to see some fish!
* I am starting something new. It is not entirely new in that it comes from a hobby/hobbies that I have previously had, but it will bring me in a new direction and I am excited.
*Skied on Wednesday and Saturday, have gotten in some strength and light running... I hope my body can tolerate more activity this year!

* I voted! Today was another example of how every vote counts, so whether you are in Finland or in the USA, be informed and vote if you can!!!

jet-lag...

Ufff. The jet-lag from this trip goes into the books as some of the weirdest ever. Typically I arrive pretty late (10pm- 1am) home after traveling eastward over the Atlantic, I take a shower, eat something and crash for the next 10-12 hours, get up and go, go, GO! This time, I got home at around 4pm, took a shower, ate something, curled up on the couch to watch some TV (good plan for staying awake..? No, not really...) and promptly fell asleep. I even had the Finnish presidential debate on (which should be interesting)! I woke up around 10pm, and decided it was time to go to bed. Then I woke up a 4am... 6am... 8am... and finally was conscious enough to DO something at about 9. My Friday was relatively productive considering the brain-body-time disconnect. Had a good chat with my boss and got the ball rolling on 2012. This weekend includes unpacking and re-arranging, reading 3 student reports (2 of which are re-dos and 1 of which is just ridiculously late...), editing an article for a northern colleague AND revising an article of my own for submission. I thought a Thursday night arrival was a strategic move! I planned to check in on Friday, adjust over the weekend and hit the ground running on Monday. I should have known...

Here's to coffee!

Oh, and did I mention we have SNOOOOOOW here? =)

2012 (a few days late)

Happy New Year!

This has got to be one of the strangest "winters" ever. Since when are temperatures topping 45F (7C) "acceptable" in Minnesota in JANUARY?! No snow, very dry air, and sunshine every day... I'll take the sun, but having only skied a handful of times during my visit (on man made stuff) and having not picked up a shovel once (there is simply nothing to shovel).... my brain and my body are admittedly confused. What's up mother nature? Why the anomaly? My immune system seems to be more confused than ever with this "climate change". Going from dark, damp and snow (kinda) to bright, dry and no snow mixed with with the time change and exposure to a million germs through airport travel... as well as the typical dietary differences between eating out more often (when visiting with friends here in MN) makes for an interesting combo. I love visiting. I love travel.... but having a routine and weather that you are accustomed to helps to keep things in balance. I guess shaking things up a little bit is ok though, gotta do it some time!

So here we are, it is 2012. The question of the year appears to be "when do you graduate?" with a side of "will you be moving back to the US?". I have one answer for both questions: I don't know. If I have not alluded to it before, the idea is to graduate by the end of this year. It is possible and maybe even probable with a little hard work (and some luck). One never knows what the review process for articles will bring though... it can take a month or a year! Either way, I'll be heading back to Finland tomorrow and will hit the ground running. There are a number of grant applications due at the end of the month, some article revision and new article writing to start. The "to do" list is waiting :) I am thankful that when buying tickets I thought ahead and will only have one work day followed by a weekend to get things organized and to adjust to the time-change rather than trying to take on a full work week right away. Previously I have flown out on Saturday, arrived Sunday evening and hauled myself off to work on Monday morning... but I think I am getting "too old" for that (or maybe now I just know that it is inefficient).
As for what happens after graduation... we'll have to wait and see. The options are plentiful, but I have quite a bit of trail ahead of me before I really start examining that... so don't ask me until November or something.

Plan for 2012:
* acquire new/different coaching perspectives
* learn more about food, flavors and cooking (trying to eat more local and less processed foods)
* run more (ski more if there is snow)
* keep up with kettle bells
* practice yoga more
* go somewhere

size and distance

The other day I was walking across campus, I passed the playground where there is a pile of snow that would attract any winter-loving child for climbing, sliding and/or fort building purposes. There were three little boys playing on said pile. One of them climbed up beside a large boulder-sized "chunk" of snow and shouted to his friends "I'm going to push this chunk down on top of you!!". One of the two boys hacking at the base of the pile with a plastic shovel (trying to make a fort?) replied "You can't push that chunk... it is AT LEAST 100 KILOS!!! That's HEAVY!" I glanced at the boys to see if there was actually any danger of "100 kilo" chunks of snow falling on anyone and satisfied that the "chunk" in question was quite large and very much attached to the rest of the pile, I continued on my way. Not more than two seconds later, I thought to myself that little boys in Minnesota play the same way.. but they would have yelled "You can't push that chunk... it is ATLEAST 100 POUNDS!!! That's HEAVY!". This "naturally" made me think 'I would rather take on a 100 pound (45.4kg) chunk of snow than a 100kilo (220.5lb) chunk of snow.... which then made me think about the possible difference in perception of size that people might have based on where they grow up and what unit of measure they have learned to use....

In terms of recording running or skiing distance, 'I ran 20km today' sounds somewhat more impressive than "I ran 12.4 miles today".... but in terms of weight, 'my maximal bench press is 121.3lbs' sounds somewhat more impressive than 'my max bench press is 55kgs'... of course most people would probably rather report their weight in kilos because it "sounds" smaller. Does use of different units of measure in Europe and the US affect the perception that we have about e.g. size, weight, distance??

I guess that thought was another stop on the bilingual/bicultural (or third culture) journey...

aaaand?

Down to 5 hours and 16 min of daylight... AND WE GOT SNOW! It is pretty mushy and I don't have rock skis like I do in the US, so I am still hanging out with my running shoes and kettlebell (though the last two weeks of kettlebells has passed me by because of a board meeting and getting taken out by another nasty but short-lived, cold). 

Busy times the next week....
- article submission (maybe, I hope!! but oh, so unlikely...)
- being a subject in two studies - one is validating a piece of equipment for a local (but very international) company by running, the other is one for a biomechanics project on walking (they just want me for my pretty muscles)
- coaching
- faculty Christmas party
- schmeetings...
- staring at excel and trying to write a sensible syntax that will take care of all my needs
- packing for Minnesota! (I hate packing...)

rain, rain, go away!

Losing more daylight... getting more rain. We are down to 6 hours and 14 min of daylight... not that one would notice when thick clouds fill the sky and it rains... and rains... and rains. The sun has made some all too brief appearances which usually commence in me finding the nearest window and staring out at the brightness. I feel a bit like Frederick the mouse (in the book Frederick by Leo Lionni). All the other mice in the mouse colony thought Frederick was lazy, but he gathered the sun and the colors to share with the other mice when winter was at its worst. Not that I have been particularly lazy... but remembering the sun, or the light, when the daylight disappears is a good idea. Light helps to keep people less grumpy (no scientific citation for that one... this is just based on anecdotal evidence... less light = more fatigue = more grumpiness). I invested in a "happy lamp" (full spectrum light) during the spring sales last year to help combat the seasonal "blahs". I never sit and gaze into its light (not recommended in the instructions), rather I use it when reading/knitting/writing and try to reap its reported benefits.It certainly helps me to stay more alert when reading... I guess I should get cozy with the lamp and read for the exams that I should take at the beginning of next year....


About not being particularly lazy... my next manuscript has caused quite a bit of discussion. I guess that is what happens when you examine combined strength and endurance training with "strength people" and "endurance people". One's background influences one's point of view and results can be examined in so many different ways regardless of the statistics that you use. I'm pleased that there has been a lot of discussion, but I am getting to the point where I think it needs to go to a reviewer or two for comments rather than being passed back and forth between colleagues (we could debate forever!). The goal is to submit before I hop on the plane(s) to Minnesota.

Enjoying kettlebells.
Trying to get things together for Chirstmas in Minnesota.
Taking a course on (bio)ethics.
Got a "special" task to translate Finnish "legaleeze" into English for some project.
Was recruited to run a maximal test next week.
Attending an international symposium next week.
Have a tonttu sitting on my TV and will put electric candles in the window on Sunday (that is the extent of my Christmas decorations as I am not actually here on Chirstmas).
Trying to think of a costume for our department's Christmas party...
Still coaching.
Praying for snow.
Missing the Nordic Opening at Ruka.
Thinking about making banana bread tomorrow.
Missing Thanksgiving pies and the people that go with them.

Heading to bed!

No snow...

We are down to about 6 hours and 30 min of daylight now, there is no snow, and at least the next 10 days of the forecast do not look promising despite a weekend of colder temps. (rain and +5 next week). There were rumors that the snowguns would be turned on last night up up where the October skiing took place, but I am a bit skeptical.... even if snow is made this weekend, the chances of it surviving warm temps is not great. Good thing I am chummy with my running shoes, ski poles and kettlebell.

Here's something that would go into the "ski lessons" or coaching category:
Here is a coaching question for the ages: How does one train "right"? There are a million and one answers to this question and none of them are necessarily "right" or "wrong". Individuals respond to different kinds of training in different ways. This provides challenges for group coaches, but in many cases, if the group coach(es) plan diverse enough training (i.e. not doing the same thing at every. single. practice.) they can teach something to all of their athletes while also exposing their athletes to different methods of training that they may have not previously been familiar with. I think it is particularly important to plan diverse training when coaching a group of young athletes because their motor systems are still developing and they are still trying to make sense of how their bodies work (I guess we all are trying to make sense of how our bodies work though...).

As someone who researches training adaptations, I get frustrated watching subjects who are not benefiting from the training protocol we are working with. The researcher in me says 'keep working, it is natural to have responders and non-responders... and besides I need to keep as many subjects as possible in my data set'. The coach in me gets flustered and thinks 'I should try something else so this subject can improve!!'. I guess that is why my studies involve science and coaching.

In terms of learning technique, I think there are some basics that should be remembered whatever and whenever you are teaching. The basics of technique do not change overnight. Each athlete has their own personal technique or style that works for their own body type, size and strength, but the basics are the foundation. The basics are what we should work on with young athletes... and every coach teaching the basics should actually know the basics and be able to explain why they are the foundation for the ultimate goal of good technique (and hopefully injury-free and economical performance). I get frustrated working with or observing other coaches when they think of a "new" exercise or drill but cannot explain the exercise/drill and cannot explain what the exercise/drill is developing... especially when the drill "breaks" the basic "rules" of technique. I like innovation and new ideas but if one does not understand what one is doing, cannot explain it to one's athletes and cannot explain it to one's fellow coaches... is there really any value in the exercise?

As a coach, I ask questions to understand, to develop into a more knowledgeable individual. I have my own ideas for workouts/drills/exercises, but I am still developing new ideas and greater understanding and I hope that the coaches I work with now and in the future can help me develop that understanding by explaining that which is not familiar to me...