Do Swedes like to move?

In one of my post I promised to describe if this reach sport infrastructure is used by Swedes or not, if they enjoy sport or not?

....simple answer is....

 yes, they do !!! 

so I can stop my post here :-) ...joking, of course.

I am wondering how to describe it, but my general feeling is that motion is part of Swedish culture, it is some kind of awareness that you should do it for your own good, for your health and happiness.

It is so easy to discuss with them about sport, everyone has something to add, most of them are very active, in worst case it is golf :-) I discussed with many who finished at least once (but usually many times) half marathons or even marathons. It seems that fact that you can run 10 km is not very impressive here :-). I met persons who finished full Iron Man Competition or they are preparing for it.

Every time when I go running I meet others runners and bikers or power-walkers or roller skiers, seriously every time!!! even when it was -4 C and full of snow I met runners. During my last Sunday jogging I counted around 10 other runners and at least the same number of bikers. It's impressive because it isn't Stockholm or Malmo- it is really small city, similar to which I live in Poland, where sometimes I met other runner...sometimes.

And is not like that everyone is training so hard every day, but many take light motion activities, here power-walk is very popular - I met many people in sport cloths just marching in a little faster pace - it's not very aggravating but it is very good for your health and comfort.

Sport is really part of they life, so I fell that I will write about it many more times :-)

yeah... I did it :-)

Helooooo :-)

yeah I did it..!!! I reached my goal and yesterday I run 16 km :-)
I'm very happy and proud of my self, it was one of the best trainings in my life, ever !! :-)

Ok, it was very slow running almost jogging, but full of endorphins :-)
Weather was marvellous, sunny, a little above zero celcius degree, and only this strong, cold wind was trying to stop me, but yestaerday nothing could stop me :D

I took opportunity and run to the Hovdala castle located around 8 km from city centre, below you can see my training, I made also around 20 pictures so you can check how looks area in which I training now. Just click into picture below




I've almost forgotten to write my experience with new shoes Nike Lunarglide+ 3.
...so it was not love from the first sight, but when I got used to it, it was nice feeling of good amortization but still nothing special.
Difference I noticed after 10 km when I started to feel that these shoes are trying to help run my tired legs :-) strange... but it was feeling :-) what is even more important after training I didn't get any scratches or blistres like in my other shoes.

So we will see later what will be happening.

Thanks for reading !!!

Hej då :-)

I am still alive :-)

...wow, it was long break from this blogg, but now I will try to be more persistent in regular writing :-) Hopefully it will go better then with my regular running :-)

However, I am in Sweden again so I will have time for a little more training, especially that I'm going to run my half marathon quite soon in middle of May, so it's high time for getting some shape :-) It would be wonderful if I will run it under 2 hours - that is second goal, the first one is just to run it !!

Today is great weather here, sunny and +1 Celcius degree, so I'm going to have long and slow running sightseeing trip after midday. Of course I will add some pictures from it. I think it will be around 16 km so it will be my new record if I manage this haha, I must.

It will be also a big test for my new running shoes Nike Lunarglide 3.

So, hopefully I will add something here during evening :-) Keep your finger crossed for me !!

Running trails

Hallå !!!

Running trails - yes this something what I really envy the most :-)

OK, what is big deal about some trails if they are also some for nordic walking in my city so no problem to use it for running.

But here they have some extra advantages as:

• you can mix different versions - this is not one single trail, it's few and it is easy to mix them, so no way to be bored wit running all the time the same route
• signing is perfect, no way to lost yourself in forest :-)
• signs are not destroyed !!
• this is not just a path in forrest, it is a little paved, quite even and wide 
• and the biggest surprise: they are illuminated !!! in forest :-) every 30 meter there is a lamp :-) on 5 km trail maybe only two was broken !!!

so infrastructure is just great, brilliant - it's heaven for runners :-)

in Sweden you can't say that you don't have conditions for running :-)

... but do Swedes use it? or maybe they are too lazy? was I only one who used it during dark evening or in cold weather?? do you want to know it? come back in few days :-))

so if no running on sport stadium, so where?

Hej !! :-)

In last post I described situation with big sport infrastructure, important from runners point of view.

But in fact this what made me impress is let's call it a small sport infrastructure :-)

So if no running on sport stadium, so where?.. ha, almost everywhere else !!!

If you prefer to run on asphalt:
Almost next to all roads are made bike/pedestrian path, they are in really good condition, well signed and when they are crossing with roads, the magic is starting :-) If you are going to go through road on pedestrian or bike crossing... cars are stopping !!! For me it's huge surprise :-) no matter if it is small car, bus or truck - if driver see that I'm heading to cross the road he starts to break and let me cross without stopping or changing the pace. It's so cool, it makes the life much easier and much, much more safer - culture of driving is really high, is almost a role model for other countries.

Belive me it is so nice to run here :-) First of all a huge number of pedestrian / bike paths on which you can run. The second thing: unbelievable culture of driving and stopping car when pedestrian or even bike wants to cross the road !!!


In Poland I often have to run on the edge of road, pedestrian paths sometimes are too narrow, too uneven or just don't exists about bike paths maybe I wouldn't be writing because it is literally almost nothing too add ;-) the same about culture of driving.

Running on asphalt made me impress so much that I was not prepare that something can me impress even more :-) what is that? I will write next time :-)

Pictures on which you can spot a pedestrian/bike path:

Sweden - Hell or Heaven for runners? Part 2

Hej allihopa !! :-)

So now a little about sport infrastructure important for runners.

I consider that athletic stadium with professional tartan running tracks is very desired object, it's perfect when everyone can use it, no matter if it's summer or winter, day or night.
So, now let's look if we can find in polish city (in which I live) with around 40 000 inhabitants such facility and compare to two times smaller city in Sweden with around 20 000 residents.

Polish city has one - just new built athletic stadium on which was taken place events like: National Polish Championships in distance 10 000 km, so it's really nice just look:



Swedish city has even two athletics stadiums !! It's really surprising, but... yes there is "but" - on the first there is not running tracks (there was as I heard, but was removed), on the second are :-) and its option with six lanes. In polish city on curves are 4 tracks, on straight line 6 tracks.

So it looks that Sweden won again... but ;-) there is on entrance for everyone on swedish stadium ! It's closed, when there is no sport event and you can't train there - it's sad, because it looks really encouraging for running there.

In polish city stadium is open for everyone :-) even during winter, what's more snow from tracks is removed !! In night lights are on, so you can run even when it's dark !!! :-)

In this comparison in numbers Swedish city looks better: it's smaller but more sport facilities but in Polish city everyone can use it, so in my opinion one point goes to Poland :-)

Hmm, but is athletic stadium really  the best for runners if we want to just take care of your health and form? When you run for fun, for pleasure - running all around is really boring so it's nice to run in forest, parks, inside city centre or on running paths and here Sweden makes absolutely knock-out in first round....

So next time I will write about possibility of running for everyone in Sweden just for fun :-)

Sweden - Hell or Heaven for runners?

Hello,

Hur mår du? How are you? :-)

Today I would like answer for a question: Is Sweden Hell or Heaven for runners?

Before I visited Sweden for the first time I never heard about Swedish runners, I knew some names of cross-country skiers, I remembered ski jumper Jan Boklöv, hockey or handball team was also known as one of the best in world, I saw as Swedes plays curling... and of course Zlatan !!!

My imagination about Sweden was full of images of small towns, burrowed in deep snow, windy and plunged in darkness, lightened by small lights in windows. Maybe good for winter activities but for running, so it was rather runners Hell in my head ;-)

Being on place in southern Sweden it's turned out that winters here are usually much warmer then in Poland !!! How it is possible? Scania  has shape of peninsula so from three sides is surrounded by sea which in winter has temperature below zero, so it heat up the air plus warm Gulf Stream cause very nice climate in summer and also during winter.

Here is nice a chart which shows that summers in south Sweden are not so hot and winters are warmer then in Poland !! This second fact was for me a small shock :-)

Ok, so temperature and climate are more comfortably for runners then in Poland. But is it enough to be called runners' Heaven?

About another factors like culture, popularity, access to sport infrastructure, awareness of a health lifestyle, sports events and so on I will write soon :-) So welcome back here again in a day or two :-)

Vi ses snart !!! See you soon !!!