JET LAG AND JUNE WEATHER IN NORWAY    30th May 2010

I barely slept at all last night, which is so frustrating. We had our weigh-in later in the morning, and I was sadly pleased to see all my teammates looked just as horribly tired as I feel.

The Norwegian sun came up at 3:00 am and pierced every chink of the hotel curtains. This was worse than annoying, but even worse was yet to come. There was an annoyingly cheerful bird greeting the dawn with song, right outside my window. Kara and Amy might not like this next comment, but I bet I wasn't the only one in the hotel wishing for a BB gun. I was awake from 3:00 am until 06:00 am, but thankfully, did manage to squeeze in a few more hours sleep from 06:00 am until 08:30 am..

The team had a quiet morning, interrupted only by a meeting with the doctor on the schedule. I kept myself busy with seeking some physio treatment and attacking some more maths homework. Most players headed for a nap, but I am determined to be so exhausted tonight that I shall sleep well. I deliberately refrained from going back to my room and the temptations of falling onto the bed.

In the afternoon the whole squad headed out to training. I suppose I should apologize to Norway for making fun of its weather in my last post. Today, it was actually quite warm and sunny. We worked hard in the practice session with strong emphasis on speed and agility. We did some work on our lactic acid thresholds. Then, at the end of practice we played a scrimmage. These mini games are never enough for me. I really enjoy the end of training scrimmages.

Tonight's free time was filled with more math, a coaches' meeting and some NCIS on television. I have almost caught up on the series. I love the show.

Tomorrow, we have the day off for rest and tapering. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to go too far, because recovery days are for recovering and rest. To walk around Oslo would be too much. It is unfortunate that although the facilities are good here at Fart SK, the centre is well off the beaten track. I would have loved the chance for at least the staff, if not the players, to see the city and something of the country. Oh well - next time maybe?