Fimbulwinter

This January, the people behind Stockholm Marathon have been organizing a series of virtual races with the last one being today. Opting for the half marathon distance, I took it slightly slower than two weeks ago as the real feel temperature was -15 degrees and I did not want to overstretch my lungs. Running in my old and trusted VJ Sarve Xante, I did run the same loop though along the river to Lundabron and back in the afternoon sunshine.

While we occasionally have had colder temperatures, sometimes even down to -30 degrees, since moving to Umeå back in 2014, this winter is unprecedented in that it has stayed very cold for weeks on end. Somewhat to my surprise, our exhaust air heat pump from Nibe has kept the house at a cosy 21 degrees throughout with a total electricity consumption for January of just 1,307 kWh, including all warm water and domestic appliances. While the electricity is 100% certified nuclear power, the lack of wind and the political decision to close down two reactors at Ringhals have meant that electricity prices in Sweden have been unusually high this winter so the total cost for those 1,307 kWh has been almost 200 EUR (which is still half of for instance German electricity prices).

Back home, I made pasta with black cabbage, caramelized red onions, goat cheese and fresh thyme, served with a glass of the house pinot noir from N.Z.

Breakfast

Considering how much I like eating breakfast, it is strange that I have not written a post about what I eat on a normal day, especially when I plan a longer run like today. That is not to say that I have not written about breakfasts in the past, be it above the clouds or on the ground in Tel Aviv.

This morning, I had “filmjölk” with müsli, a latte, bread with cheese and a glass of “blue spark” from Innocent with guava, lime, coconut water and spirulina.

As for breakfasts, I realize that I just have to post a photo from Conrad Koh Samui back in 2013 when Eddie was sound asleep and Anna and I were having an incredible breakfast overlooking the Gulf of Thailand.

Cavolo nero

With tabbouleh being a long-term favourite here on the blog, marathon.se had an innovative recipe with kale, tempeh and hummus. Unfortunately, COOP was out of kale so I went for black cabbage instead for a Tuscan twist, something that could not be timelier as the temperature again is expected to drop to -20 degrees tonight.

Sealed my fate

Today, I sealed my fate by registering for Fjällmaraton 100k in the Jämtland mountains in early August. While I have long been pondering different mountain race options, this felt like the most exciting one as it will allow me to explore a whole new part of Sweden while challenging myself to a distance that is far beyond anything I have ever attempted. If successful, I will earn 4 ITRA points.

While at it, I also registered for Malkars 21k in Kalmar on 3 July. After the virtual edition of Göteborgsvarvet with Elin when I was able to run in 1 hour and 35 minutes, I have been looking for a fast course for a half marathon road race. Given my monumental breakdown back in 2019, Kalmar seemed like the obvious choice so, with that, my racing schedule for 2021 is more or less complete.

Polestar St

Last night, I watched a fascinating video about winter biking in Oulu, Finland. By building safe bike paths and quickly clearing them from snow, Oulu has been able to keep its inhabitants biking through the winters. Sadly, Umeå is struggling to keep up with many bike paths still blocked half a week after the last snowstorm.

For me, this means that I have to take a detour through Tavleliden every morning with the Thule carrier, running along “Polstjärnegatan”. Still, I am happy that the municipality has at least cleared the bike path out to Innertavle so that I do not have to run on Tomtebovägen with its heavy traffic like I have been forced to do on some mornings. With 300 km of running in January, we are now halfway through the winter season and, while Eddie has grown a lot as evident in the picture above, I am optimistic that we will make it until spring when he and William can go biking again.

Virtual lake run

While Rawls & Me is no stranger to virtual races, I took the concept a bit further yesterday by running the 8.3 km around the lake on the treadmill at USM. Initially I tried to keep a 3:58 min/km pace but reality caught up with me so I had to slow down, ultimately running around the “lake” in 34 minutes and 38 seconds which is still about a minute faster than the real deal from the summer.

Otherwise, this week is mostly Hollywood for me as I am recording and editing the remaining lectures for my social work students. If someone would have told me in January 2020 that this is what our home would look like in a year’s time, I am not sure if I would have believed it.

Umu Play

Monday morning and the kids are finally back in school so I am kicking off the week by recording a 4 minute movie about dependent and independent variables in research. Next up, an introduction film for the 120+ social work students whose course starts in three weeks from now.

Oxford Landing

With both Oxford and South Australia as far away as the Moon, I made some pan-fried salmon with a creamy lemon parmesan sauce after my weekend long run. While not a #småparti, "Oxford Landing" is a new affordable chardonnay at Systembolaget from Murray River which I am happy to recommend for anyone missing Australian afternoons.

City tour

With Anna back from the hotel, I went for a 28 km loop around Umeå, taking me to the airport and then west along the river over to Sandåkern (where we used to live a long time ago) before heading north up to Ersboda. On my return, I discovered that the eastern shore of Nydalasjön is now single track as the municipality sort of missed the window to clear the path of the snow. As such, it may be a while until I can go for a lake run again.

Seaweed caviar

Let it snow

Last night was crazy. For the second time in a couple of weeks, the highest weather warning was issued, and the wind once again brought in massive amounts of snow from the Gulf of Bothnia. Waking up with pain in my chest from all the snow shovelling yesterday, I was not looking forward to another shovelling workout but obviously I did not have much of a choice.

After some ibuprofen, black coffee and a cantuccini, I think I will skip posting a picture of the snow and instead post this from Phi Phi Islands back in 2011.

First Zoom

After spending 15 minutes shovelling my way out of the house, I was able to find a bus that was still running and head down to USM for some indoor rowing, biking and strength training ahead of my first Zoom class with the political philosophy students.

Having pre-recorded all lectures, I use Zoom mostly for Q&A sessions and tutorials. After e-mailing back and forth for the last week, it was great to finally see my new class and I look forward to having more online interaction in the weeks ahead. Otherwise, campus felt extremely empty today, maybe in light of the sharpened restrictions.

Another week, another storm

Barely a week ago, Umeå experienced an exceptional snowstorm. According to the municipality, it would take two more weeks to remove all the snow that fell. Yet, already today, the wind is again howling around the house with another 30-50 cm of fresh snow expected.

After dressing up for my Zoom salary negotiation, I took the storm head on in my Salomon Snowspike CSWP. While my feet stayed dry, visibility was almost non-existent at times, so it was kind of a challenge to complete those ten km around the lake. With the kids still at home, I will probably not meet my 80 km running goal this week though but maybe I can squeeze in a Sunday long run once Anna gets back from her weekend hotel stay working on her PhD.

Amanda Gorman

While Michael Burnham may be fiction, Amanda Gorman was certainly real at yesterday’s inauguration.

“We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man. And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.”

Unity

After shovelling snow in preparation for the approaching storm, I went inside and made some oven roasted sweet potatoes with spinach and feta while waiting for Biden’s inaugural address. While he may not be an orator of the same calibre as Obama, I found his speech to be moving and balanced. These are dark times that call for unity above all and an end to the Carl Schmittian universe with its sharp divisions between friends and enemies. For now, it seems as if democracy has indeed prevailed.

Frying pan

Fareed Zakaria writes “out of the frying pan” and it is hard to think of a more appropriate metaphor for the day when Trump finally leaves office. I still remember the unease I felt on the night before Trump’s inauguration back in 2017, as those offering “seemingly swift and simple solutions to every world problem” were about to take over (to borrow the posthumous words of John F. Kennedy).

Starting the morning with a morning run around the lake as it was only -9 degrees, the kids will have to be home today as well in accordance with the new rules. As for Fareed, I received his Ten lessons for a post-pandemic world in the mail yesterday and I look forward to reading it shortly. But first, some waffles and that West Coast coffee.

Cape Cod

After little more than a week at school, both kids have been home again today with “minimal cold symptoms”. Hopefully, we will have a quicker turnaround than last time. For dinner tonight I made lime marinated cod with red curry together with a glass of Latitude chardonnay from N.Z., thinking that the Pacific has rarely felt further away.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the world, it seems as if the Biden administration will double-down on the travel restrictions imposed by Trump (who ironically decided to lift some restrictions from the 26th of January, a decision that now will be reversed). With SARS-CoV-2 already circulating widely in the American population, it makes little sense to take such a harsh stance with regard to international travel. Considering that vaccine uptake is likely to remain limited for a long time, and that there are uncertainties about how infectious those immunized will be, this means that the US may remain inaccessible for European travellers for the foreseeable future, even for those vaccinated.

As for cancelled trips, I was not surprised to learn that my marathon on Cyprus in March has been moved to early December. By then, I think there is a good chance that the event will indeed go ahead as planned and I am already looking forward to escaping the winter cold in Umeå. Now, I am just waiting to hear that Kullamannen on the same weekend is also cancelled.

Libak

Today, Svenska Dagbladet had a piece about the Danish journalist Anna Libak and her new book about value conflicts in the 21st century. In the piece, Libak’s description of the Left caught my interest, linking it to Rousseau and his view of human nature as noble but ruined by “civilization”, suggesting that everyone at the top of the social hierarchy is “guilty” of taking unfair advantage of others whereas those at the bottom are “victims” worthy of compensation. This static non-Marxist view is fascinating since I, being no fan of Rousseau, have always emphasized the opposite transformative view, that the Left is about social investments, about expanding opportunities for everyone and overcoming domination. Yet, as the Left has grown increasingly fond of “degrowth” and zero-sum thinking, the caricature offered by Libak may in fact be close to how many people on the Left actually see the world.

Midst of winter

It is mid-January and, setting off at 8 a.m., I got to see the sun slowly rise above the misty and frosty lake. Wrapping up another 80+ km week, I felt strong and excited about the year that lies ahead and where my running will take me. Out on the road, I also had the privilege of meeting two Giant Schnauzer who were happily playing in the snow, seemingly unaffected by the fact that it was -14 degrees.

Over in Naples, Florida, Seth James DeMoor just finished his half marathon race in 1 hour and 5 minutes, a truly incredible time and a testimony to his hard work and perseverance. Seeing this, I am reminded of Elin's and my 1:35 half marathon in May, maybe I should register for Göteborgsvarvet this year after all? 

Fell dreams

Last summer, I got a taste for the Swedish version of fell running. Dreaming of more, I have been researching different mountain races for the summer as I have written about before here on Rawls & Me. This weekend, one of those races is organizing a free virtual event where you run 21 km. The race is called “Vintern” and will be followed by a similar event in February called “Halvan” where you run 42 km. Both races have several prizes and, based on my previous track record with virtual races, I thought it was worth signing up.

With Stadsliden turned into skiing tracks for the season, I had to forego any real elevation gain. Instead, after topping up with a croissant and some black coffe, I went for a classic river run down to Lundabron and back. Unfortunately, not all roads had been cleared from snow so I lost quite a bit of valuable time in snowdrifts, finishing just at the 5 min/km mark, i.e. 1 hour and 45 minutes for the half marathon distance.

DMZ

The last week few days have been exceedingly busy with three new courses starting on Monday, a Zoom thesis seminar yesterday and Anna having 100+ IR exams on the Korean Peninsula to mark. In addition, running back and forth to Innertavle with the Thule Carrier has been somewhat of an extreme challenge with the temperature hovering around -20 degrees. As such, it feels appropriate to finish the week with a warming saffron fish soup and a South African chardonnay called “DMZ” (which of course is an obvious throwback to Korea). 

Just in time for dinner, I also received the Lonely Planet guide for Malta, making my adventure in four months’ time seem a bit more real. While the Covid situation is as unpredictable as ever, I remain optimistic that both the trip and the race will go ahead as vaccines are rapidly being rolled out throughout the European Union.

With only five days of the Trump presidency remaining, the world remains on edge. Politico had an interesting piece on the politics of victimhood and how hard it has been to hold Trump to account in the past. Hopefully, this time is really different and will at last put an end to his “grievance machine”.

Frostier

Yesterday was the first day of running to the school with the Thule Cougar this semester. Though rough, I made it out and back twice through snow and chilly winds. This morning however was a different animal with a real feel temperature of -24 degrees which, if nothing else, made me feel very grateful for my Airtrim mask. Luckily, the municipality had cleared the bike path out to Innertavle overnight so I did not have to run on the road like yesterday. Returning home, I decided to take a wild "shortcut" on a road that had not been cleared which turned into quite an adventure with half a metre of fluffy snow.

Snowstorm

The wind has been howling all night with massive amounts of snow accumulating around the house. After shovelling my way out, I was surprised to find that the buses were still going, so instead of trying my luck around the lake, I took a bus down to USM for some indoor rowing and 5 km on the treadmill. The electric busses really struggled though and were running 20-30 minutes late. Still, the real challenge will probably be in the coming days when the cold front has passed and the temperature is expected to drop down to -21 degrees. I am thinking that if I manage to do that with the Thule Cougar, then I am truly ready for any ultra...

Stark-Condé

As South Africa struggles to contain another wave of the pandemic, chances are slim that the Comrades Ultra Marathon will take place as planed in mid-June. But looking ahead to next year, I think the odds are vastly better, and I would love to give it a shot. While dreaming of running those 89 kilometres between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, I found a new #småparti sauvignon blanc from Jonkershoek Valley to go with a vegetarian dinner made up by oven-roasted potatoes, baked shiitake mushrooms and mayo salad.

With another half meter of snow expected over the coming days, returning to the school running routine on Wednesday will be a challenge, especially as the temperature may fall down to -20 degrees. Luckily, I have my Darth Vader mask ready so, one way or the other, we are going to get the boys to school.

Orienteering

Apart from the odd day in school when you were sent out in the forest with a compass and a map, I have never practiced Sweden’s signature sport of orienteering. Last night however, I had the opportunity to run another “reflex trail” in wild terrain northeast of the lake together with an elite orienteer. It was great fun with a lot of snow and undergrowth but I kept falling behind as it was clearly not my home turf.

With stricter Covid-restrictions being introduced tomorrow, I thought it was best to swing by the gym this morning for a full 5 km of indoor rowing and another 3 km on the treadmill. Rowing for that long with high-intensity definitely calls for some imagination and dreams of future adventures. For the coming two days though, I guess it will be a lot of boardgames with the boys as Anna is away again finalizing her PhD.

North

Through snowfall, I returned to the frozen dirt roads of Anumark in order to complete the first hundred kilometres of 2021. To put that somewhat into perspective, in Scott Jurek’s “North” he runs 80 km per day for nearly seven weeks straight in his record attempt along the Appalachian Trail.

Last night, I was watching the violence on Capitol Hill, asking myself if this may be the end of the Trump nightmare or, in fact, the beginning of a new and even more dangerous phase in the cold civil war that America finds itself in. At least, Biden is finally certified as president.

Sometimes

Sometimes, I just have to speak out. Seeing a conference call for a panel on “Racial capitalism and climate (in)justice in the 21st century: unsettling colonial entanglements and green New Deals”, I decided to speak my mind and submit the abstract below. I have no illusions whatsoever about being accepted but sometimes there is a cost to remaining silent.

Title: Perpetual global apartheid or songs of a world reshaped?

Short abstract:

Rather than accelerating the transition to a world of free global movement and material equality, talks of a Green New Deal have remained centred on the domestic deployment of non-scalable renewable energy sources, precluding an honest conversation about global energy needs.

Long abstract:

The worsening climate crisis has renewed Western elite concerns for “over-population” in the Global South and entrenched Malthusian worldviews that hold that the rest of the world can never attain living standards comparable to those in the West. Projects like the Green New Deal, that remain centred on the domestic deployment of non-scalable low-energy sources, have prevented an honest conversation about the energy needs consistent with universal human development. In contrast, a few ecomodernist voices have argued that rather than perpetuating a world of deep energy disparities, the rich countries have a moral obligation to innovate high-energy technologies capable of rapidly reducing carbon emissions while, at the same time, making possible global economic convergence. The aim of this contribution is to examine how present calls for “green” technology transfer and the financialization of sustained rural poverty through different “conservation” projects, frustrate comprehensive forms of socio-economic transformation and reflect colonial patterns of domination.

Marrakech Road Runners

Exactly two years ago, I was out training for the Marrakech Marathon. Looking back on Strava, it was actually the first time that I ran out to Anumark and Innertavle which is kind of cute considering how often I have returned since (especially after the boys started going to school in Innertavle). A few weeks later, down in Marrakech, I managed to break the magical four-hour barrier with three minutes to spare, something I remember being really happy about at the time.

This afternoon, I extended the same loop further to the west, going up to Ersboda and Circle-K for some coffee and a cinnamon bun (Emelie-style), before heading back to Tomtebo. In total, I ran 22 slow km in my Salomon Spikecross 3 CS that are now almost at 700 km.

With potentially very good news coming out of Georgia, it looks like the Biden presidency has a chance to finally break with years of congressional gridlock and deliver on some of its bolder ambitions. In the best of worlds, this may also bring back idealism to Washington and people who are willing to take a broader view of history.

Distance record

With Anna back home from her writing retreat, I took on a face mask and went down to USM for 12 km on the treadmill. Considering that it is -15 degrees outside right now, I thought it was better to save my lungs and instead run further than I ever have on a treadmill. I have written before about the psychology of treadmill running but I cannot help pondering the absurdity of there being such a thing as a world record for 48 hours on a treadmill. Fortunately, the USM treadmills are capped at 60 minutes per activity so that is one record that I will not be able to contest.

Yesterday, I watched a video about the difference between setting outcome goals and process goals for your running. Considering how difficult outcomes (like running a sub three-hour marathon) are to plan, especially during a pandemic, it makes more sense to set a process (like running x km every week) goal. However, after Tjörnarparen 100k was cancelled, all my other planned races are races that I already know I will be able to finish (unless something completely out of the ordinary happens). With that in mind, I have been thinking of signing up for either Ultravasan 90 or Fjällmaraton 100k, both taking place in August. Either race would represent a truly formidable challenge, much like when I registered for my first marathon back in 2018. This year, Bergslagsleden Ultra in September also has an 82 km version which could be an alternative to the other two races since it is cheaper and would also give me a chance to hang out a bit with Sofi and her husband in Örebro. As always, any input is greatly appreciated!

Sudden stratospheric warming

After an unusually mild November and December, the new year has finally brought real winter temperatures and ice to the lake. Right now it is -13 degrees outside and, unlike last winter, the temperature is expected to remain below freezing for the entire 14 day forecast window. Thanks to our nuclear-powered heat pump, it is still warm and comfy inside as I read up on how the polar jet streams work and how their sudden breakdown in the winter may lead to colder surface temperatures as the ones we are experiencing right now. Though the phenomenon as such is natural, anthropogenic climate change is likely to have complex interaction effects that may lead to more extreme weathers, including prolonged cold spells.

Rowing

Before Anna took off for two more nights away working on her PhD, I was able to swing by USM for 3k indoor rowing and 5k on the treadmill. As much as I dislike indoor rowing, it is really paying off, so I am thinking of maybe increasing my monthly distance to 15 km.

With the disappointment of Tallinn Marathon not happening last year, I decided to try my luck and instead registering for the Trondheim Marathon in the beginning of September. In addition, I have found a 60k ultra trail race along “Österlen” in the south of Sweden in mid-April so my racing schedule for 2021 is now almost complete. The only thing still missing is a real mountain ultra, with the dream being to run the 100 kilometres between Nikkaluokta and Abisko, even if I realize that it may still be beyond my ability.

Environmental progress

Four years ago, I made donation to Environmental Progress, a new pro-nuclear environmental NGO led by Michael Shellenberger. While Michael may have taken a few unnecessarily polarizing positions since, I think EP has really succeeded in shifting the “overton window” on nuclear, proudly standing up for a future in which nuclear is not a reluctant second thought but rather the key technology that makes it possible to slash carbon emissions and provide affordable electricity for all while restoring the natural world. As such, I started the new year by once again donating to Environmental Progress.

Waking up to Strava telling me that I was 10.9 km behind plan on my goal to run 4,000 km this year, I realized that there is no time like the present. Thus, after running down to the sea in Holmsund, I am again 20+ km ahead of pace and ready to take on the new year.