Fancy cover

This time around, I did not forget my copy of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on the kitchen table. Instead, while enjoying the compulsory businessclass.se-diet of a "polarrule” with pitch black coffee, I am taking a short break in my article writing so I can finish the chapter called “Gauloises and garlic” (which btw is pronunced [ɡo.lwaz] and nothing like what I thought).

Outside, the blue sky is a lovely as ever against the red and white SAS engine. After three months of biking around in snow, it feels very good to finally be on my way, although I have to admit that I am a bit nervous about Saturday. My race plan is to take it really slow and be careful not to repeat my close encounter with death in California. With 1,700 meters of climb, I guess much will be about speed hiking rather than running anyhow. As such, I plan to save the racing for Göteborgsvarvet in May.

Sleep

Living in North Sweden, there is something with brown bears and the idea of sleeping through the long dark winter. As I struggle with the German trailer through a decimetre of snow, my hard-core project of all-year biking has definitely lost whatever fikarum coolness it once may have had.

In Ottessa Mosfegh’s book, a young woman in New York decides to spend a whole year sleeping. Here in Umeå, I finally remembered to buy some pomegranate so I could replicate the tabbouleh that Ally and I had in Beirut.

#seoulsunday

This spring, six years will have passed since I moved back from Korea. Under the hashtag #seoulsunday, I thought I would offer some random flashbacks over the coming weeks, starting with this very Korean backstreet in Dongdaemun just behind my university HUFS.

Locally sourced

Yesterday at COOP, I was approached by someone who was giving out free samples of chili-lime salmon with aioli and iceberg lettuce while telling me, in a slightly evangelic voice, that the salmon was smoked right here on an island in the Umeå archipelago.

After the research seminar on Thursday when I could not refrain from pointing out some of the reasons why overall resource use and environmental impact would be vastly higher in a localized economy (i.e. the opposite of what most people seem to think), I decided to just go with the flow this time and buy some locally sourced salmon for dinner. With Bolla from Triveneto making a surprise return, I am again reminded of how important it is to be kind above all and not always seek confrontation. At the same time, I do want to push the envelope of our collective thinking. The other day, when marking take-home exams, I was thrilled to see that one student had quoted Robert Kennedy’s words: “Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not”.

Wasaline

Last weekend, I had planned to finally run down to the Baltic but a cold held me back. Early this morning, I at last made it all the way to the port in Holmsund in what turned into a 30 km long run with a nice vertical climb of 372 meters. With South Devon Ultra exactly a week from today, it was perhaps a bit on the far end but, inspired by some people on Strava who seem to casually run 50-70 km every other day, I thought that it could be worth a try. Besides, it gave me a chance to test the new Maurten “Caf 100” gel that I plan to use when racing next weekend.

Rendezvousing with the Baltic right where the ferry leaves for Vaasa in Finland, I realized that I had forgotten to share the news that my new article on climate didactics has been accepted for presentation at the "Nordic Conference in Social Studies Didactics" which will take place in late-March in, you guessed it, Vaasa. Though I have been to Helsinki and Åbo a few times in the past, this will be my first visit to Österbotten and I am very much looking forward to finally checking out what is on the other side of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Quitters’ Day

We are now five days past Quitters’ Day and the gym is already significantly less crowded. After teaching methodology for three hours, I felt that I needed a break so I took the bike down to USM for 5k of indoor rowing, 5k of running and some strength training which made me feel like I had been hit by a steam locomotive.

Yesterday, I signed up for Urskogsloppet which is a 19 km trail race through old-growth forests about two hours south of Umeå. The race is on 13 June which is excellent as it means that I will not be able to run Ecotrail Stockholm which, at 80 km, would probably have been a bridge too far given where I am in terms of my general fitness level.

Good start

Unsurprisingly, lecturing for five hours in one day leaves you kind of exhausted and tired of your own voice. At least, I feel that both my classes are now off to a good start.

Despite a lingering sore throat and ridiculous amounts of ice, I have also been running 10k every morning which, even if it helps keeping me sane, perhaps adds a bit to the exhaustion as I have to get up at 5 a.m. in order to find the time. So, right now, I feel that the last glass of Craggy Range is well deserved as I dream away about writing retreats in the Swiss Alps.

To run or not to run

Waking up to the most beautiful winter day with white snow and crisp blue skies, I am back with Hamlet. While I had to cancel my original plans for a long run down to the Baltic in Holmsund, the lake was simply irresistible even if running with a sore throat is probably not that advisable after all. Powered by a double shot Americano, I nevertheless ran 10 km in my Salomon Spikecross 3 CS which are perfect when there is a lot of fresh snow on the ground.

A Ship Full of IPA

After my triathlon at Navet, I came down with a sore throat so for the last couple of days there has not been any running for Rasmus. Taking it slow at home instead, I have mostly been grading and cleaning the house but tonight I made a nice cabbage salad with honey roasted nuts, lime and pan-fried salmon together with one of the best alcohol-free beers that I have tasted in a long time. Made by Brutal Brewing, a Ship Full of IPA exists in two versions, one with a 5.8% alcohol content (which can be found aboard the restaurants cars of the Swedish Railways btw) and this one without alcohol.

Sadly, I just received news that Steve Rayner, who for decades has been one of the most sensible voices in the climate policy universe, has passed away. Steve, who had just been awarded the 2020 Breakthrough Paradigm Award, understood early on that the Montreal protocol, which had proven so successful in addressing the depletion of the ozone layer, was a bad template for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and that the solution had to rather be based on technological innovation.

Craggy Range

Sipping on a glass of sauvignon blanc from the North Island, just a bit inland from Cape Kidnappers to be exact, as I look forward to a long evening of marking.

Sometimes, I fear that I am simply living a parody of my own life. But seeing a video about the Tarawera Ultramarathon the other night I definitely felt that I have to go back to N.Z. one day. Before that however, I discovered a 50k race in Böda Sand on Öland in mid-June which I am very tempted to sign up for. I am not sure if ultramarathons are really included in Monocle's definition of "gentler life" though?

Triathlon Thursday

After forgetting my beloved dark blue Björn Borg swimming trunks in a Beirut hotel room, it was not easy to find a replacement. In a weak moment, I briefly considered ordering a pair of Orlebar Brown’s “Skyfall Setter” but, luckily, I still have some sanity left so I went for something more affordable.

Knowing how busy I will be over the coming two weeks until I leave for South Devon, I thought I would take this Thursday morning off and do a mini-triathlon with 10+ km of biking, 1,000 meters of swimming and then a final 5 km on the treadmill. Technique-wise, my swimming still leaves much to desire. Maybe I should even try to find a class at some point so I can learn how it should be done?

Spreewaldgurken

Our local COOP may have kimchi but I guess Spreewald gherkins are still further ahead on the globalization index. Nevertheless, I made a Sauerkraut soup with smetana and gherkins as toppings for dinner while reading the January issue of Monocle that features the mascot Kumamon. Luckily, I had a spare glass of Irony from dreamy Monterey lest anyone would dare to take any of this seriously.

After coming up with the Somewheres/Anywheres distinction, David Goodhart is now busy telling people that they do not belong at university. This misanthropic and elitist view of human nature is as wrong today as it was two centuries ago. That is not the same as saying that everyone has to have a doctorate or even a graduate degree, but our priority should be on opening, rather than closing, doors. Besides, being a university professor myself, I can tell that much in the academic world is just surface and pretence, so some cognitive humility would definitely not be misplaced.

New Bridge

After working most of the weekend, I decided to go for a little longer run down to the river this morning. Just a few weeks ago, a new walking and cycling bridge opened a bit upstream and I have been eager to check it out ever since I returned from Kiruna. With a bright Moon and purple skies, it definitely made me feel welcome back to Umeå.

Grand Central

Talking about childhood memories, few places can compete with Malmö Central where so many adventures have begun and ended. This time however, I am not on my way to Montenegro or returning from Berlin but rather about to take the train back home to Umeå for a week of thesis seminars and preparations for the new semester. It is worth reflecting on the fact that the distance from Malmö to Umeå is 1,255 km which happens to be almost the exact same distance as from Malmö to Paris. As such, it is not that surprising that it will take another 14 hours until I can jump on my bike and head out to Innertavle with Eddie.

Malmö

A year later and I was back running against the wind. Before sunrise, the harbour alleyways were sprinkled with purple diode lights as I flew above the ground in my Nike Odyssey. After months of running on ice and frozen trails, there was something almost euphoric with suddenly racing across wooden decks.

Yesterday at Vibliotek, I had some tapas with a childhood friend. Again, I was reminded of how selective my memory is and how little I remember of what was obviously painful. Not being reflexive from an early age is definitely both a curse and a blessing.

The morning run made me think of Bob Seger’s line, “I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then”. As unresolved as the past may be, I still appreciate everything that lends perspective, especially as I am now a parent myself. On the other hand, being here almost always brings back more than I can chew on.

Train window

Truth

Overnight, Iran admitted that it was in fact responsible for the downing of the Ukrainian 737, although by mistake. In a post-truth world, this offered some basic reassurance that reality still somehow matters, that at one point, it becomes impossible to deny the facts. As I work with my new paper on climate didactics that I hope to present in Vaasa later this spring, I am again reminded of how far we are from a similar “reality check” when it comes to climate change as every online thread on Greta is still filled by people contesting the basic science. Yet, sadly, the other side of the ideological spectrum is just as much in denial, not only about how radical their suggested “behavioural changes” would actually have to be in order to be effective in a world of almost eight billion people, but also about the fact that nuclear energy, unlike wind and solar, does have a proven record of displacing fossil fuels and dramatically cutting emissions. There is something slightly tragicomical when you think about the fact that Sweden, being one of the few countries in the world that has successfully cleaned up its electricity grid, has an energy agency that, more or less by mandate, is prohibited from financing research into this history or its implications with regard to the climate crisis.

Forest time

Tomorrow I will spend all day on a high-speed train to Malmö so I took this morning off to soak up some forest time and complete this week’s long run. Under clear skies with the temperature just below the freezing point, I ran 18 km in my VJ Sarva Xante which currently are at 742 km but still look like new. That is some serious Finnish build quality and the grip remains unsurpassed.

Campofiorin

On a Thursday in January, few things beat a simple pasta dish, in this case with kale, bacon and lots of parmigiano to go with a glass of classic red wine from Valpolicella. Today, the kids are finally back in school and I had a chance to check in with my new PhD student at work. Hopefully, the coming week will give me time to wrap up a few manuscripts that I have been working on but, wise from past experience, I will not count on that the kids make it through the start of the semester without picking something up. Meanwhile, I am also trying my best to stay on track with the running leading up to South Devon. This morning I did both a classic lake run and a virtual treadmill version for a total of 18 km so currently I am 50 km ahead of pace with regard to my slightly insane goal for 2020.

On the world stage, Trump is for once showing some judgment and restraint as he tries to deescalate the current crisis (a crisis that he himself has created one should remember). Hopefully, there is a chance that diplomacy will still work.

Another soup

Following up on the chanterelle soup, I made a spicy red lentil soup with coconut and shrimp for dinner. Also like yesterday, running on the ice proved to be really tricky so I decided to play it safe and keep a 6 min/km pace for my 11k morning run.

As for the real world soup of Trump putting “Iran into a box without any endgame” (to use the words of Fareed Zakaria), the night has been grim. I learnt that a Ukrainian Airlines 737 had crashed outside Teheran just as I came back from my morning run. And that a few hours before that, Iran had attacked US military bases in Iraq with ballistic missiles in what now appears to be a highly choreographed case of war theatre as the Americans were given plenty of advanced notice. Hopefully, this attack will be enough to satisfy demands of revenge over Suleimani’s death from Iranian hardliners without further escalating the conflict. As for the tragic crash of the 737, the investigation will probably be difficult, not only has Iran already stated that it will not hand over the black boxes to Boeing for analysis, the international sanctions are also likely to make it hard to get the right experts on the ground in Iran. Given the high reliability of the 737-800 (not to be mistaken for the Max-version), I guess nothing can be taken off the table at this point.

Chanterelle soup

Back in Umeå, I was greeted by ridiculous amounts of ice on my lake morning run. For every step, it felt that I was going as much backwards as forwards so for my afternoon run I decided to stay inside at USM for a total of 16 km today. In less than two weeks the spring semester will start and, with this in mind, I am trying to have some kilometres saved in the “bank” so that I will not fall too far behind once the teaching ramps up. Right now, I am 41 kilometres ahead of pace according to Strava.

For dinner, I made a soup with Polish chanterelles with fresh parsley to go with the leftover Chilean red wine from yesterday’s long train ride. Meanwhile, for the Drake Equation, things are going from bad to worse as Nasa just confirmed the existence of a habitable planet a mere 100 lightyears away. This again strengthens the likelihood that something is seriously “wrong” with the universe as we know it. At least I am happy I stayed with a plant-based dinner this time around...

Stranda

After a packing operation worthy the Normandy landing, we are finally on train 95 heading south towards Umeå. With regard to the running, I decided to take a rest day after the last few 20+ km days, and instead spend my time searching the web for my next big challenge. Even if I am signed up for two half marathon races in May, I am looking for something bigger that can inspire me to go that extra mile throughout the year. While I am still having some faint hope of running Barcelona Marathon in mid-March, I think I should realistically aim for a fall marathon or a mountain ultra. One race that I have been looking into is the 48k Stranda Fjord Trail Race with 3,850 meters of climb which takes place in early August in Norway. Another is of course the Berlin Marathon in September but also the Valencia Marathon in December is on my radar. Since I have so little vertical experience, I think I will hold off any final decision until after South Devon as that will give me a good indicator of what is realistic and what is not.

The road to 100k

Until today, I had only had five weeks in my life when I have been able to run more than 100 kilometres. With a real feel temperature of -20 degrees outside, I felt that another half marathon out to the airport in order to repeat this feat would be playing with hypothermia so I ended up cutting my morning run short. This however left me with a nagging 11 more kilometres to run to reach the 100 km milestone. Luckily, I was able to get into the nicest gym in Kiruna for an afternoon treadmill run and some strength training so now I can with good conscience put a sixth 100k week behind me.

Listening to the BBC on my run, I was thinking that while we cannot say anything definite about the drone killing of Qassem Suleimani as we do not have all the intelligence, the basic trajectory of US policy in the Middle East under Trump remains as counter-productive as ever. Instead of integrating Iran into the world economy and building on the progress of the 2015 nuclear deal, America is again creating more chaos and instability. Even if there would be regime change in Teheran (which I find even less likely now when the country finds itself pushed against the wall), the last decade in the Middle East and Africa should have made it clear that the real question is not whether authoritarian leaders can be toppled as what will follow in the ensuing power vacuum.

Polar Nights

Three days ago, some uncertain daylight returned to Kiruna after two weeks of consecutive polar night. Still, it is a bit like in the middle of the summer, that you are pretty much free to set your own times anyway so, after going to bed shortly after 8 pm, I went for an early morning airport run. Temperature-wise it is back to -10 again after the last days with mild Atlantic winds. Seeing Alex on Strava running with the November Project New Orleans (soft much?), I think the locals here in Kiruna may be excused for not starting their own chapter.

With a yellow warning for high winds from the north in effect, I have to admit that today’s 21 kilometres were on the cold side even for me. Despite this, I must say that I am very happy with the training that I have been able do in Kiruna and that I will surely miss these hills when I return to Umeå.

Silent Hill

Fog and things that happen in fog. When working as a teacher in Korea, I was careful to avoid using pop culture references as they would almost always fall flat with the audience. While there were a few exceptions, such as the Matrix, anything related to European literature (be it “Animal Farm” by Orwell or “Don Quixote” by Cervantes) would be like talking to a wall. The other day, it was my time to be lost in translation as I had never heard of Keiichiro Toyama and his universe of psychological horror.

After descending seemingly endless kilometres on a winding road I made it down to the sauna in Kurravaara shortly before 8 am. However, unlike in Lillsjödal a decade ago, all I could do was to turn around and climb back up to Kiruna through the lifting morning fog. With an accumulated climb of 458 meters over 30 km, this will probably be my last really long run before South Devon Ultra on 1 February.

Yesterday, I watched another documentary on the Western States, this one about four women setting out to complete those 100 miles from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California. No matter how much I try to put it away, I feel that I am being inexorably drawn in. Compared to qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which even if it remains a long-term goal would mean sustaining high speeds for 3+ hours, I have to say that running something like the North Face 50 mile race seems much more realistic.

A new decade

Waking up with a sore throat, I found my original plans of a wild morning run out to Kurravaara dashed. Instead I curled up in the sofa with some black coffee and a few favourite Youtube clips by Seth James DeMoor from the Western States 100 this summer. After all my travels to California, it almost felt as if I was there myself on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Seeing the self-inflicted suffering also had some kind of weird therapeutic function as I am trying to mentally prepare for what awaits me in South Devon.

Later in the day, I felt better in my throat and decided to go for ten easy kilometres in the fresh snow that had fallen overnight. If I am fully recovered, I will try to make those 30 km to Kurravaara tomorrow morning. For now, it is back to constructing IR exam questions.