Spring has sprung

The Great Grey Period of 2014 is finally over, and sunlight has returned to Oslo. With it, the snow is melting and spring is here.

Sunset in the forest last night

To quote Emily Dickinson:

A Light exists in Spring

Not present on the Year

At any other period —

When March is scarcely here

A Color stands abroad

On Solitary Fields

That Science cannot overtake

But Human Nature feels.

I've been enjoying the newfound sunlight in Oslo, from the bright, cheerful sun on my office window to blissful sunrises and sunsets. I'm running a lot now, and I have to grab for training time at the edges of the day. Every kilometer I run feels like another penny put into a savings bank - a small step towards a large goal.

The sun peaks through the trees on near Lofthus this morning

I've run 126 km so far in March. All at a slow, plodding pace, just the way I like it. I try to run my favorite trails. Some of them are still covered in ice and snow, and I have to walk. Still, somehow my pennies have added up, and I feel like a runner again. 

Flattering snowy trail selfy

But as I run dryer and dryer trails, the mountain biker in me asks to come out and play. Yesterday I got Casper (my mountain bike) out for the first time since Madeira, and had a nice ride exploring the mess of trails near Sognsvann with Audun.

Audun has been suffering from some knee trouble since last summer, which kept him from biking. Now, after physiotherapy and hours at the gym doing boring exercises to stabilize his knees, he can ride pain free. Letting him back out on to the trails is kind of like letting a hyperactive dog out after spending all day indoors. Every rock and root looks like a plaything to him. I wish I could ride like that - effortlessly and playfully.

Audun in action

Tomorrow we're leaving spring in Oslo to fly north to Tromsø. We'll be ski touring northern Norway for the next week. And since it's been snowing there, there could possibly be more pow in my future!

- The Wild Bazilchuk