In a perfect world

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Malin

I think yesterday turned into a awesome day. As I mentioned before I need to take control back over my own situation. I cannot only do yoga although I love it and could not live without it. But I have to get back on the track, I need to start running and start lifting weights on a regular basis. As most people know it was “Cinco de mayo” yesterday and my 5th grader needed to bring guacamole to school for their celebration so we ended up leaving home super early. This totally work in my favor because I managed to get a 5k in before going into an awesome yoga class with the fabulous Jodi at Lifetime Fitness in Old Orchard…I truly felt like a million bucks and in an amazing mood me and Ms Mira was playing rockstars in the kitchen as we were making dinner.

This morning still on yesterdays high I went to work teaching a private class thinking I would kick some butt lifting a little heavier than I usually do afterwards but on my way into work I get a phone call that I was having a showing of our house in the afternoon. We just put our house on the market, yesterday to be exact and my plans went down the drain and instead of getting a good workout in I ended up going home and spending 3 hours prepping the house. It is almost like making dinner, you spending hours in the kitchen and you calling your family to the dinner table over and over again and when they finally get there the dinner is over in less than 15 minutes. Well, fingers crossed that the effort will pay off

The only workout you regret is the one you did not do

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Malin

I was teaching a fitness class this morning and I was looking at the girls as they were super setting bench presses with pushups until they were shaking and thought to myself; “I wish I could have worked out with them”. The energy that they had was great and in a way the results and more often greater when you do workout in a group. Maybe not everyone will agree with me on this one but the benefits from a wellness, socially and for some the fitness results makes you feel better, you will more likely to feel accountable to work a little harder while you are having a good laugh at the same time.

So here I am now sitting and waiting for the rest of the family to get home from the soccer games the kids had this morning and hopefully I will have time to make a run in the forest before we hitting the streets in Chicago for a good night out with friends.

Dear diary I have a confession to make…

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Malin

This year so far I have met so many new people who have touch me in so many different ways. Some I have lived near by for years, others I got to know better and some I have randomly met because our paths has crossed. What they all have in common is that they are all unique, I think if we are open to the fact we are all different from one another because of our upbringing, experience, religion or what ever it might we have one thing in common. We do all share that we are “peculiar” to one another and if you can embrace that and listen to their stories I think we become a happier person.

So one of my sweet, sweet Swedish friends and her family are moving back to Sweden so last night we had a girls night out and we had a blast. With great food and a lot of laughters the girls was ready for a sleep in this morning so we canceled this morning class which also meant a sleep in for me, yeah right!

Although I had the house to myself (I think for the first time ever) I still woke up bright and early and made it out for a 3 mile run just before the thunder rolled in over us. It was really humid and I had decided in my head not to go all out because I was going to an “invasion” yoga class afterwards but that was not happening. You know when you start and you feel pretty good and you push it, it is hard to stop! It was far from my greatest run but yet I fought all the way and as I walked trough the door the rain started pouring down as did the sweat at the back of my back.

I hurried to change clothes and ran off to the yoga studio for an 1 1/2 prep for handstands. I thought I knew how to get on to my hands but not so much, I guess because when my teacher Jodi Ryan told me what to do it totally made sense. She told me to lift my shoulders through the ribs and engage my core (she probably would describe it in a different way) it was like a “aha” moment and I became an addict. There you go, I am and addict! It is an amazing feeling when you figure out your body and you are able to take it to a new level, you just want more and more. So when I got home I was doing stuff around the house I kept on practicing handstand just so I could get that rush again. I guess this is what yoga does to you…haha. So to sum my day up I have had a great day and I am absolutely knackered and looking forward to get my family back!

Jodi and I playing around after the evening class…like i said I am an addict 😉

That is how a recovery run should go down!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Malin

Oh gosh, this weekend has been really busy with one thing after another. The premier of “The Ghost Pirates” was at seven o’clock friday evening, all the kids had practice really hard and did an amazing job and Mira was really buzzing when she got off stage. She though it was so much fun so the next morning I found her totally dressed up with bright red lipstick and a pair of my highest heels on ready to bring on the world.

But in-between all the birthday parties, hockey and theater I managed to get my 7 miler in and it is amazing how your mind works. I mentioned my 4 mile recovery last Wednesday and it was sooo hard and I was disappointed because half way through it felt like it was never coming to an end.

This time around, I knew I was “turning” around at 3.5 mile and was running “home”. The only thing that gets me is the “sprint session” in the middle of the run, they are truly killers for the legs so for the rest of the afternoon it looked like I had **** in my pants…haha.

So when Sunday morning came around I had a choice to make…the 3 optional miles. The thing is optional is not really optional unless you hanging on by thread so I decided I was not going crazy. I took it nice and easy and I really enjoyed the brisk sunny morning not meeting a single soul on my first run of the season through the forest preserve! My legs were a bit stiff as expected but I went straight to a well deserved hot yoga session and what can be better for both the soul and the muscles to reach for your fullest potential to complete the workout week…this is truly how a recovery run should be like!

A recovery run should be easy, right?!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Malin

This morning the alarm went off at 4.45, I was taking Knut to his early morning skate and although I was tired I knew what I had to do. I went down in the kitchen brewed my coffee, that is a must for me in the mornings and boiled my eggs. I was running around the house getting everything together and before I knew it I grabbed my coffee and it was time to leave. So I thought I have my eggs when I got home, no big deal.

But for all the parents out there you know how it goes when you are about to send the kids off to school. They need to get dressed, you have to pack their lunch, homework and so on, once again time slipped between my fingers and it was time to go to the bus. I had a busy morning in front of me so I put my head down and got to my business and it was not until my way to the gym I realized how hungry I was. It was just so odd because my egg breakfast normally last me until lunch and I remembered I had not yet eaten, the eggs was still in the pot on the stove…haha, what can you do?

I had to run and I was so excited knowing it was my 4 mile recovery run, I told Megan (my trainer) that this was going to be a walk in the park! I knew it was my own fault being so forgetful and I could blame no one. Also I have my pride to protect, right? So all I could do was to make the best out of it and pretend it was a recovery run knowing I had an amazing yoga session in front of me to stretch me out!

This is how it was supposed to feel like…

…but this is how it really felt…haha

It will be what you want it to be!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Malin

This week has been a little slow and it seems like a lot of people is sick or feeling sluggish and I would guess it’s the weather change. This will only give excuse to the unwell but for the rust of us, we don’t have one!

As you probably have figures out by now I am training for 1/2 a marathon but this doesn’t mean I given up on weight lifting. I like to “feel” that I worked out the day before, yes I sort of thrive on being sore. The thing is, trying to get all the miles in we have planned for every week and being tight and sore is not necessarily a good combination. But to every problem there is a solution, right? And mine is called YOGA!

This hour gives me the opportunity to center myself, release all the tension in my muscles but also focus on the goals I have ahead of me. So yesterday when I was doing my first run of the week, 6 miles. 2 miles warm up then 20 sprints a 30 seconds then running normal pace and legging it the last 1/2 mile and it was tough. The wind was gusting in my face and my heart pounding at 185-190 beats/minute and I’m not lying, it felt like I was running in syrup. That is when I came back to that place I go to when I’m doing yoga. Again it doesn’t mean it stopped hurting but I knew that I could do it and so I did!

This is why I’m running the Chicago 1/2 marathon!

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Malin

I will never forget when my friend told me that she was suffering from Lam or its real name “Lymphangioleiomyomatosis”

We stood on the shore of Lake Michigan a warm summer evening of 2010. I was about to travel back to Sweden for 4 weeks when she explained she suffered from LAM, a rare type of lung cancer that destroys the lungs and makes it harder for the oxygen to enter into the blood stream. Oxygen therapy will help stabilizing the oxygen-blood levels although eventually a lung transplant is evident.

I was heartbroken, confused and angry and there was nothing I could do so this is why I am running the 1/2 marathon…I’m running for my friend and her life!

This is her story!

The year was 2004 and she just had her first son and had decide to get back to exercising. This was nothing new to her as she had always played soccer and always been living a healthy lifestyle. You know, that comes with being an athlete.

So when she started working-out she noticed a strange cough during exertion, she dismissed it as being out of shape after the pregnancy and went along with her normal life. Shortly after, she was excited to learn that she was pregnant again. When she tried to return to normal activity after the birth of her second son, she developed shortness of breath, coughing that produced blood, and severe abdominal pain just like a knife was stabbing her over and over again. One of these episodes landed her in the Emergency Room six months after her second son was born.

She was told she had LAM and leaving the doctor’s office, the first thing she did was google LAM. She learned that her “new disease – LAM” had a life expectancy of 8-10 years with no treatment or cure and she had a new born and a toddler at home! It was then that she was faced with the fact that she had a rare disease and that it would be a rough road ahead.

I’ve seen my friend doing really well but I have also seen her really sick and this is nothing I would wish upon anyone. The LAM foundation has done an amazing job researching and have come a long way since I met my her. They have found a drug that stabilizes LAM but it is not a treatment.

As scientists continue to find similarities between unconnected diseases, we know that successful research in LAM has led to discoveries that impact diabetes, heart disease and other cancers. I am raising money to increase awareness for LAM and to support the successful and tireless efforts of the LAM Foundation. I am running this marathon for my friend and for the over 3,000 women worldwide who have LAM and can’t run their own race.

Here is the link to support the cause every penny, krona, pesos counts, thank you!

http://thelamfoundation.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1103979

Sometimes you think you will die…

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Malin

Slowly but surly I’m preparing for the 1/2 marathon that is coming up in May and I have the best coach one can wish for. Not only is she great to hang with but she also won the iron man and has run a numerous marathons and I am all about learning from the best. Every monday at the bus stop we plan my week ahead and now it is starting to get intense or I am more out of shape than what I like to admit!

Anyhow I made into the gym not realizing it was actually still nice outside but I had my mind-set on running my first 4 miles of the week on the treadmill and had already planned on increasing the speed by 0.1 every minute for 6 minutes then to bring it back down to 7.0.

Sometimes when I wake up I just know that the body is not how I would like it to be and today was that day. My legs were heavy almost like I had added extra weight to my wrists and it was a 33.41 agonizing minutes of pounding but I knew I was not going to die so I pushed and I pushed and you know what…I was right, I did not die this time either!

Suck it up and keep on pushing!

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Malin

How crazy can life be, really…

…so what is going on? Well let me tell you, one of my dearest friends are moving to Switzerland. This is a family that came to the States at the same time as us and our kids are like sibling so it is with a sad heart I see them leave but we will send them off with a party to be remembered . So with this coming up this weekend there is a lot of things that need to be organized and this is at the same weekend as i have my mid-term exam for my NASM PT-Certification. I am not doing this by myself as we (everyone that is coming) all chipping in and I am also asking for help from the professionals. So last night me and Freddie had a wine/sushi tasting with some fabulous wines that my good friend picked for us…I know life is hard, right?!

So while this is happening life is flying by my window, just like it does when having kids as well as keeping up with my own fitness, classes and studying. So this morning I went for my run before teaching my 10am class and yes I am finally back to running after months of a knee issue but l will confess it is not a walk in the park. As I am was coming into my final leg of my 3 mile run this morning everything is hurting and that is when I am thinking of Knut (my son) who got up at 5.20 this morning to go skating before school. I was thinking about the girls I train every day and when they leave the gym you can tell they haven’t participated in a fashion show. So how am I suppose to justify to anyone to keep on going if I would give up? So there I am, at my final leg and I am thinking to myself “suck it up and keep on pushing” and as I am coming up on my driveway I not feeling so great. I have done it before and learned from my mistake and this time I went to the side of the house where I almost barfed….but just almost 🙂

…but all this it’s a “good” crazy and even though it stresses me out I would not want to change a single thing because the people that surrounds me are truly amazing and keep on inspiring me every day.

This is Anna and Ellie who kicked ass earlier on this week…way to go girls!

A decent hill!

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Malin

I am not used to these bright nights as I had a terrible time trying to sleep last night and when I woke up I after h few hours sleep I think every single muscle was aching in my body. I was not looking forward to my morning run but I took the bull by horns and I hit the 2k’s just to get down the lake I’ve run around so many times before.

There is a stunning track around the lake.

Every step was a pain and my legs where heavy like rocks. It was not a fast run and I had to walk the last kilometer coming back to my moms apartment as the hills can be a nightmare. I had not much left in the legs but I decided to do sprint intervals up the hill and although this was not a great performance I did complete almost 8.5 k with two very tired legs and that is ok 😉