D-day is close!

Ok, so I am packing since I am leaving town for Stockholm a day before the race to get my number and check out the area for the start. Yes, it is a mix of lessening the stress in the morning on Saturday but some degree of nervousness too of course.

But all in all, I am prepared in the best way I think during the circumstances and I am looking forward to the race. In the end I think I have realised (hopefully) that it is mainly about completing it and I can do that with running as usual half the way and walking quickly for the other half and still make descent time. Anyway, the most inportant is in place!

I start in the first group on saturday the 2'd of June at 12.00am! Sned me some happy, energized thoughts! =o)

Asics Stockholm Marathon

It is really getting close to the Asics Stockholm Marathon now and I can really feel it in my body! I took all the instructions etc to bed to read up once again and there came a flutter to my heart. I think it is a good thing to be a little nervous, it makes you focus that little extra. I think also I finally found out how to mentally prepare for Saturday in light of my not having been able to run for three weeks now (being four on Saturday) and that takes a little of the pressure off.

Some people have asked me if I shouldn't just skip the race due to the tendon but I have been preparing for this for almost two years of sorts and it is hard to step down, nigh impossible. So I keep preparing and figured I run until it breaks or I complete the run... But that is naturally not the entire truth since that would be bad for the future but I will however start the race as if to make it on my goal time of 3h330min and then adjust as I go, but still keep pressing myself to the utmost of my ability. It will be hard but nothing is impossible! I have talked about keeping focused before and this is how I do it. Keep focus and push yourself hard but sensible. That being said I begin my carbohydrate loading tomorrow... I guess it will not be very funny stepping up on the scale on Friday morning, or evening for that matter. But I did prepare some before and after pictures (after coming up ofc) since I was asked by friends to do so, and who am I to refuse, hehe. Carbohydrate loading means that you fill up, try to maximize, your depots of glycogen. It is rather common to do for endurance athletes. It will be the first time I do it and it is quite exciting to see the results.

The carbohydrate loading will consist of regular eating plus Vitargo carboloader (twice a day) and on Friday I swap one for Vitargo Electrolyte which has a lot of minerals in it plus carbs and it is supposed to be pro active towards cramp in the race. On the day of the race I will eat a regular breakfast and another electrolyte. I will bring some energy gel for the race to add on top of what I get time to drink on track and also a bar of energy just a short time before the race. I tried a gel from Maxim (the brand they use on track for energy drinks) this weekend to try my stomach, and it worked well. All in all, I should be prepared in terms of energy now I just hope my tendon will hold up and allow me to race for a great time!

Here is a picture of my extra diet for the rest of the week. Oh, I should probably tell you why I will drink this... It is equivalent to eating about three kilograms of pasta or rice... This is more simple albeit more expensive.

Sunglasses

Today I got a big, albeit nice, surprise when I logged onto my account at Oakley to check on my order I placed just two evening back, they had arrived already! I knew I was kind of late in getting around to ordering a pair of sunglasses for the Stockholm Marathon (due on 2'd june). Ok, so I sit down and made the final decision on design on the colours. Going to the shopping cart I realize it may be seriously too late since it is stated on their website that it may take 5-10 bussines days to ship. In other words, I can strongly recommend shopping online from Oakley. And just having tried them on from picking them up I can tell you they fit very well and the shading is excellent.

The lens tint I ordered is 'Positive Red Iridium' which offer 15% light transmission and is suitable for medium to bright light, they also enhances contrast. The frame, Radar, is team yellow, the icons team red and the ear socks red (now seeing them I think my other option on cardinal red would have been even better even though this is not at all bad).

They are a nice addition to the cyckling gear (mentioned in the blog post A day out) but I will also use them, as mentioned, for running and they should be perfect for mountaineering too. The good thing with this brand is that it is so easy to get new lenses for whichever purpose you have. Finally I give you a picture of course!

Maserati pictures

I recently told you about a photo session I agreed to take on. It was an event that Nymans Ur in Västerås hosted for the Maserati club in Sweden. There was supposed to be quite a few cars showing up but due to bad weather (not in Västerås) only three could participate. Anyhow, the mission was to take pictures of the cars and of the indoor happening. You can view the result following this link: Nymans Ur - Events

Well, enjoy!

A day out

Today I got to try my new cycling outfit (my first as well) eventhough the helmet was actually too small so I will need to swap it. A shame, since it fits really well and of course it goes well with the rest of the outfit (red and black). But safety first!

The weather we have in the middle of Sweden today is awesome and there is nothing like enjoying the countryside on a racer. I am gratfeful to my friend Johan who is actively 'dragging' me into this cycling thing. And who knows, after the Marathon I might look into triathlon to stay in shape and have new interesting goals to work towards apart from the seven summits then. And then there is ... Haha... Always something new challenging around the corner. But anyway, it is always good to have short term goals en route to the bigger goal. Helps with motivation to have a celebration now and then!

And I give you a picture from todays ride. Take care out there!

Updated font in posts

Yay! I finally got around to dig into the 'problem' with the font in the posts. Since the design I wanted on the subtitle was actually making the font in the posts to be the same. But, some digging into the source code fixed that! So here you are, the look I wanted from the start really. I have not yet discovered how to change the 'About me' font without changing the subtitle, but is it really needed? What do you think?

Have a great weekend!

On climbing...

Practicing climbing is an upcomming event for me this summer, amongst other things, and I can tell you I really long to it after having just hung up the phone with my personal trainer in the subject. =o)
He just finished packing gear for guiding 18 people over the next four days at a really nice site with difficulties (climbing skills) spanning from beginner to pro.

Of course he just _had_ to tell me that he will remain on location a couple of days after the guiding to just enjoy some more climbing on his own (well, with friends not working). Do I want to be there??? Heh, but of course. But I'll remain at home working and also pack the weeks schedule with work out in various forms as I keep resting my heel to hopefully be able to run intervals soon.

More on climbing later on and I will show you the gear I got a week or so back and share some thoughts on why I bought just this or that.

Have a great week!

Inspiration

Today the Gothenburg half marathon (the worlds largest) took place and quite a few friends participated. It seems all of them really pushed themselves really hard and broke their personal records and reached their individual goals. Congratulations to you all! It is so inspiring to get these reports and strenghtening when my heel tendon is still not well.

I got a call this morning and was asked to come take some pictures. It was Nymans Ur having an event with the Maserati club in Sweden. Did I take the gig? Yeah! How could I resist? So after some research and thoughts in preparation for the job the afternoon was spent watching some nice cars... Err, taking pictures of nice Maserati cars and of people. I managed to get a few glimpses of some really nice time pieces in the end too. That's right, I am quite into haute horlogerie! Perhaps some more on that later on.

All in all, a really good day in spite of not being able to run any intervals.

Once again, a warm congratualtion to all my running friends on your achievements today!

Pushing forward.

When I planned my first real hiking trip I sort of knew I would always take it another step, to try and become even more advanced and always learn more about things regarding hiking and of myself. Now, two quite advanced hikings later (of the latest I even took on the role of a guide for two friends), I have come quite far and aim for the seven... It is not a small step but one I know I can manage. It is about planning, about commitment, about focus and a drive to always push yourself one step further.

It is a great adventure and I prepare for it in some small way every day, be it through mental preparations in various ways (keeping focus, staying commited) or physical preparations. It is rather elating to learn about yourself and how far you can push your body. My next step towards my first top of the seven is running the Asics Stockholm Marathon 2012, and I aim to do it under 3h30min (if my left heel tendon will allow it).

A new beginning, a new frontier or simply genesis if you like...

Hi there and welcome to my blog!
My name is Toby and I am a photographer and an adventurer, simple as that.

I set it up a couple of days back and have been pondering how to begin since then, it's not easy. But just now I came to the conclusion to just write what come to mind when I sit down. One thing is for certain, waiting for a writers inspiration will get you none the closer to begin. I should know, since I have actually been considering staring a blog a while back but I thought "Why should I?  Who would be interested?". But lately people have mentioned they have been inspired by reading about my adventures and workouts on the social media fb. Thank you! And here goes!

So, what can you excpect from this blog? Pretty much quite a lot about workout and wellness as I think these things are important to be able to launch a successful expedition to anyone of the seven summits. The first one me and my good friend H will visit is mount Elbruz. Yes, I will not do it alone since that would most certainly partain paths to disaster. Also, nature is a wonder and I am certain I will experience so many powerful moments (and already have hiking in Sweden) and what better than to share it with a good friend?

Well, how's that for a start?

More to come and I will think of stories of past expeditions and also talk about the planning so far for the mount Elbruz expedition. Oh, there will be photos too of course.

Have a great weekend!

Love, Toby