Kongsberg - Drammen

I decided to run home from a political convention last weekend. People would call me crazy, stupid or liberal, but apart from not understanding why anybody would endure a whole weekend of political, well, stuff(I'm not sure if we actually accomplished anything worthwhile), I got some surprised reactions. It really isn't as far as what people think, and my god, after being inside a stuffed conference room the the entire weekend running 38 K is a welcome relief.

But it was a great run and I couldn't help myself smiling at times.

The start wasn't all that great though, I felt heavy and slow in the climb out of Kongsberg, but it passed after a few K's when I was more preoccupied with the icy roads on the descents. I should probably have worn the trail shoes instead of the road ones. Or microspikes. Or waited until spring.

I really started to enjoy myself when the terrain levelled out and I could see the snowcapped mountains far away. I lucked out with the weather as well, especially with the sunset that painted everything in a bright pink. The Eikern lake was a treat and the area looked like a terrific hiking/fishing area. I guess I got an new place to explore this summer.

The temperature was good, though I could really feel the change when I ran in to some woods while the sun dipped beneath the horizone. Though I had been smart and packed a soft shell for that, I hadn't packed smart - a banana had desintegrated and left a mess in the back pack. I smelled of ripe banana the rest of the way. Thankfully I didn't get molested by hungry and vicious monkeys who are known to roam theese parts.

I had planned a slightly shorter route, but when the darkness fell and me being self-aware enough to not trust my direction finding skills I played it safe and followed the roads straight north to Hokksund. Where I kind of got lost so I had to ask some of the locals as to where the shortest way to Drammen was. I think he thought I was some snobby asshole or something, because it wasn't the straightest route, but I wasn't about to argue with someone in this notorious lawless hellhole so I kept pressing on along the river.

The rest of way home was rather uneventful, I scared the bejesus of a known eccentric of Mjøndalen just by running past him and I managed to splash through a puddle that had disguised itself as an ice sheet. But apart from feeling a bit tired and sore I maintained a decent pace almost all the way to my doorstep.



In the end I ran 38,21 kilometres in 4:26 with an average moving pace of 6:47 min/km. It seems crazy, and guess people try to expose the irrationality of this by asking the simple "why?", but I counter with the really cheesy and sooo Nike slogan-ish "Because I can," then I turn around and limp away majestically [cue dramatic music and fade out].