La menthe marocaine

Before all this running madness started, I remember that I could feel a physical resistance to heading out, how my default orientation was to not run. Sometime after Tavelsjö, it was as if that flipped and that I instead got frustrated from not running.

After running 58 km last week, I want nothing else than doing another run tonight. But with lakes of melting ice everywhere, I am afraid that is simply not possible so instead I make a water melon, feta cheese and mint salad and have a glass of the N.Z. house wine. Today I had my first class with 120 new social work students and in three weeks I will get 120 more. I remember back in Lund when we were three or four teachers sharing such a course so clearly the times have changed. At least, I can look forward to WPSA and San Diego once it is all over.

Semla

In keeping with tradition, I am having a semla to my afternoon Americano. Outside, it is suddenly +6 rather than -25 so I decide to immediately offset the 500 kcal above with a run across the white bridge to the airport. Tomorrow another winter storm is expected to come blowing in from Norway so I really need to take whatever opportunities I have if I am going to be able to keep my weekly mileage above 50 km...

Leth

Before there was Rawls & Me, I used to go biking between vineyards in Austria. All that feels very remote as the temperature again falls to -17 degrees and I have to use my new Airtrim breathing mask when I go for a morning run around the lake. But to my great joy, I discovered that Systembolaget is now selling half-bottle teleporters with Grüner Veltliner from Niederösterreich. Twisting time and space, I was thus reminded of what non-Airtrim winter in Austria looks like...

Windmill & Airport

Sometimes a name or a label is simply irresistible. As such, it should not come as a surprise to any frequent reader of this blog that I could not resist buying a red wine barrel aged ale called "Windmill & Airport". Still, like with the "Transatlantique Kriek" two years ago, appearance is not everything and I am afraid that this Belgian strong ale was simply undrinkable (at least for someone with such an unsophisticated taste as myself).

Fortunately, my vegan Portobello project with extra everything (including the improvised version of Pimiento de padron) was more than enough to make up for the liquid misery.  Otherwise, I am mostly marking exams these days but I was nevertheless able to go for a diabolic 6.66 km treadmill run just before lunch. Even as we are eight weeks away from the New Year, I was surprised by how crowded USM still gets around that time of the day.

Castle run

While I probably should be marking exams, I indulge myself with a cinnamon bun and a flat white as I look back on an intensive morning at Linnaeus University in Växjö. Sometimes, one needs to take a deep breath and reflect on where the road is leading. Later in the afternoon, I joined my mother for her favourite seaside run as the sun was setting through misty clouds.

Gallery walk

Two months after I submitted the corrected proofs, the Journal of Political Science Education finally published my gallery walk article this morning. In it, I describe a seminar activity that I have been using for the last four semesters with my undergraduate classes in political philosophy. Based on so called “magic charts”, it is a group-based activity that challenges all students to take active responsibility for their learning and gives voice to students who would otherwise remain quite when surrounded by more assertive peers. Thanks to a university-wide agreement with Taylor & Francis, the article has been published as open access which means that anyone can freely access it through this link.

Stensö x 2

SK27

Leaving on a jet plane just before dawn on a Sunday. This time, no far-flung global adventures await but rather a couple of days in Kalmar and Växjö. With my computer already overflowing with exams to mark, it will be mostly work but I look forward to taking Strava with me on a run through time to Stensö and the mid-90s.

Special effects

With a hurricane blowing in from the west, I make a warming mushroom soup with Italian crostini. At our new COOP store, I also found an alcohol free “Special effects” hoppy lager that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Long Slow Distance

According to a widely used running philosophy, long slow distance or “LSD”, is essential for aerobic base building and, thus, for improving marathon performance. While I obviously do not have a counterfactual non-LSD Rasmus to compare with, I am still impressed by the progress that I have seen over the last year. As such, I have been eager to find as much time as I can for these kinds of long runs but understandably neither my professional nor family life looks kindly on running for three hours straight...

As the skies cleared this Friday morning, I was finally able to squeeze in my first half marathon since Marrakech, running 23 km along the river to Älvtåets Gröna and back. 

Between worlds

Rarely have I felt so between worlds as I have over the last days with seemingly life altering decisions around every corner. Yet, tonight, I finally found some calm after finishing my last lecture with the political philosophy class. Still, already on Sunday, I will be down in Kalmar and, shortly after, the real teaching race will begin.

Meanwhile in Swedish media, the ideological battle over climate change rages on with undiminished strength. Sometimes I am thinking that I should try to be more active in these debates. While I am obviously more optimistic about democracy than Jason Brennan, there is a certain truth to that in a world of “hobbits” and “hooligans”, it is not easy to get a complicated message across. Nevertheless, even if reduced to stupid soundbites, there would perhaps be some value in finally hearing that the emperor is naked and that renewable energy does not displace but rather locks in fossil fuels?

5-56

Once back in Umeå, we had a few tonnes of snow to shovel before we could get into the house and, this morning, both bikes had frozen locks. But thanks to the magic of 5-56, we were soon on our way to the university through Winter Wonderland.

A new chapter

Given that four years have passed since we last took the kids outside the Nordics, this weekend represented somewhat of a new chapter. Despite a broken de-icing truck in Umeå and strong cross winds at Heathrow, we made it in one piece to our London hotel room just before midnight. As often as I have travelled to London over the last couple of years, it is hard to beat the immediate joy that a red double-decker bus brings when you are six or comprehend how overwhelmingly big Paddington Station actually is unless you sit down on the ground next to a four year old. As the sky cleared up, we were even treated to some sunshine as we walked through St James' Park and along the Thames before checking out London Transport Museum.

After a whole day exploring the British capital, we took the Eurostar direct service to Paris Gare Du Nord. The last time I travelled with train under the Channel was back in 2007 with my dad. At the time, HS1 and St Pancras had not yet become operational so I remember that we had to take the train from “Waterloo International”. Thus, this trip also marked my first ride along Britain’s finest piece of high-speed railway.

In Paris, the February weather finally caught up with us and with the elevators of the Eiffel Tour out of service, the boys made an epic climb the 57 metres up to the first floor as the rain poured down from above. Nevertheless, it was with a rather heavy heart that Paul Andreu’s avant-garde terminal at CDG said its goodbyes.

Bad ass

A couple of days ago, my bike decided that it was not sufficiently badass to just bike around in -30 degrees with a trailer. And indeed, riding without a saddle represented an additional challenge. Luckily, I was able to get a new saddle in time for today’s snowmageddon...

Around the bend

It is only February but already the days are becoming longer and the sun is slowly returning to the north. Looking around the bend, I could not be more excited for the spring that lies ahead. Having spent endless hours on the treadmill, it will be so good to be able to run unconstrained again and discover new trails.

After registering for Stockholm Marathon, I was able to find a half-marathon event on Angel Island on the day after Breakthrough Dialogue finishes. For someone as emotionally invested in the Bay Area as I am, the thought of doing a trail half-marathon through a state park with the San Francisco skyline in the background is of course irresistible so it should not come as a surprise that I have already registered :-) Now all that remains is finding a race for when I am in San Diego in April...

One hundred runs

Today I passed one hundred runs with the Strava app and decided to mark the occasion with a new PR by running 10 km in 45 minutes and 49 seconds on the treadmill. Earlier in the lecture hall, I spent the break looking at new trail running shoes, as if spring would come faster by such magical thinking.

On Friday, all of the family is off to London and Paris which is the first time we try something like this. Planned stops include the London Transport Museum, Science Museum and of course the Eiffel Tower. With Jack Frost having Umeå in the firmest grip possible, I cannot say how much I look forward to rain and 13 degrees :-)

Blizzard

A week ago, I was running through the palm grove in Marrakech, promising myself never to do this again. Yet, this morning, I registered for Stockholm Marathon on the 1st of June, proving that I am truly a goldfish. Unfortunately, there will be no immediate marathon training as another 20 cm of snow has fallen overnight along the shores of Nydalasjön.

If I had the time, I would have gone to the movies to see the newly released Aniara movie. While I should still give the movie the benefit of the doubt, the nuclear war of the original play has apparently been replaced by climate change as the rationale for interplanetary migration. Considering that the destination Mars (sic!) has an atmosphere consisting of 96% carbon dioxide and no breathable oxygen, the magnitude of that climate change must have been severe indeed (and far beyond what even the most pessimistic calculations suggest would happen if all fossil reserves are burnt) to make Mars relatively more habitable...

Virtual 5k

While I am still debating the pros and cons of different locations for my next real world race, Strava has been prompting me to run 5k “wherever you want, as fast as you can”. Obviously, treadmill runs do not count and with decimetres of fresh snow falling and a wind chill temperature of -23 degrees, I realized that I was in for a challenge. Changing into my winter running clothes, I did the perfect warm-up for any parent, i.e. picking up Duplo and vacuum cleaning the living room, before heading out for five insane kilometres.

Bolla

On the treadmill, I again close my eyes and imagine that it is morning and I am racing down Avenida Atlântica in Rio de Janeiro, a city I still have to visit. Pacing 4:23 min per km without exhausting myself, I realize that I am too deep into this to simply give up now. The question is more when and where rather than if.

Biking home from town, the coriander dies despite double plastic bags. North Sweden may have its charms but fresh herbs is not one of them. At least, I make some pecorino polenta with mushrooms and lots of thyme for dinner. Over the last month, Bolla from Triveneto has become somewhat of a favourite, it is truly “försvinnande gott” with a taste of green apples, honeydew melon and elder. Retailing for €10 at Systembolaget, there is little to fault.