Decision made

Last weekend I signed up for the Copenhagen marathon. I have been thinking of doing a marathon for the last three years, but something always came up (injury, lack of training, not in Ireland for the bank holiday weekend). Since I started taking running more seriously (and trained for a half-marathon), I have always wanted to complete at least one marathon. Just one of those things on my list of things I want to do in my lifetime. I don't think the Dublin marathon is a possibility in the near future, given that the bank holiday Monday in October is not a public holiday in Denmark, and it is unlikely that I would be able to get home to run the race. So instead of making more excuses (I'm good at that), I noticed that the Copenhagen marathon is on in May - I now live in Denmark. Easy decision. Well, yes and no. Even though I really want to run a marathon, I sometimes think that I wouldn't be able to. But negative thinking isn't going to get me anywhere. So instead of just talking about my ambition to run a marathon, I'm actually going to do one. And in doing so I hope to raise funds for cancer research in Ireland. Last year, Amber, a very good friend of my sister's, whom I had gotten to know very well over the years, was diagnosed with cancer in January. Sadly, she passed away in September. I had always admired Amber's outlook on life - she was so bubbly, fun, very positive, and embraced life to the full. It definitely made me realise that life is too short to put things on hold and that we shouldn't let anything hold us back from being truly happy. I don't mind if I don't run the race in a really good time; at least I'll have achieved one more of my goals!

Free botox sessions

Winter arrived pretty late in Aarhus this year, but there was no mistaking its arrival. I don't say these words too often: it was cold (-8 degrees on average). However, as Billy Connolly famously said "there's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing" made me realise that I could still go to work on my bike. I had no excuse - the bike lanes were cleared every morning, and if I wore the right clothes, I would be fine. The one thing I couldn't really prevent was my face freezing up every morning and every evening. When I arrived at the bike-parking area in work, I always hoped that I didn't meet anyone I knew, as I couldn't actually move my face. This situation would make it very difficult for any kind of  friendly-morning-greeting that might be expected. And then I realised: this is what it must feel like to get botox. So why exactly do people get botox injections? I suppose looking younger is an advantage, but then it eventually wears off after a while. To be honest, I would have swapped my face-freezing sessions for a fleece-lined balaclava in a flash - apart from the fact that it might connect me in some way to a) terrorism, or b) armed robbery. Still a possible thought for next year ;o). For now I don't have to worry any longer. The weather is remarkably spring-like and a steady +4.

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm a hopeless romantic, and therefore mark Valentine's Day each year. I don't go over the top in any way or fall prey to marketing gimmicks that make you spend a lot of money on something you don't actually want. But I do mark it with a card, at the very least. Valentine's Day (practically) doesn't exist in Denmark and when I mentioned it to my students the other day, there were staring blankly at me. My liking of romance and romantic gestures must have rubbed off on Esben - I came home from work yesterday to find fresh flowers on the table, a card and a small gift. And because he is super thoughtful, he cooked a totally yummy dinner too :o) Happy Valentine's Day!

Je ne comprends pas....

So it looks like Ireland haven't gotten off to the best start. We lost against Wales last weekend by 2 points in the final seconds of the game and then the game against France is postponed. Such a pity for all the Irish fans who traveled to Paris for the weekend and for those who traveled into the city centre on a cold evening to watch the game :o) I had even recruited two new Irish fans (who are German). They found a great table in the Irish pub in front of the big screen, I was in the middle of explaining the basic rules of rugby (don't ask me any difficult questions!), and all of a sudden a lady is making an announcement on the pitch in the Stade de France, and everyone is going home, including the RTÉ panel. Hmmm...it doesn't look *that* cold. -4 you say. How come the Irish players are standing around in t-shirts then? I read today that the TV channel offered to broadcast the game at 3pm yesterday, instead of the planned time of 9pm. But the six nations organisation turned down the offer. Hindsight is a great thing! And I read this morning that England narrowly escaped a loss to Italy - wait a second, does that photo show them playing in the snow? Hmmm...makes me wonder :o) Roll on the next game in the tournament.

Six Nations begins

I look forward to this time every year: a genuine excuse to watch sports all weekend! Ireland kick off the tournament tomorrow against Wales. I see we're missing a few key players, but I'm also confident that the new, younger players will do well too. A good opportunity to see how the future of Irish rugby will perform on the day. Since I used to drag Esben to the games (beginning in 2008), he actually quite likes watching this tournament too. And it doesn't hurt to drink a Guinness or two while watching. C'mon Ireland!!