Gambas al Ajillo

A year later, I am back in the lecture hall with a sea of students in front of me. If only brief introductions with most of the teaching remaining online, it was still a sight for sore eyes to witness the students’ enthusiasm and excitement as they were having their first day at university. Only the plastic barrier tape reminded me that something was still not quite right.

Afterwards, I went down to USM to wrap up this month’s 25 km of indoor rowing and do some strength training before returning home to make a classic Spanish starter and crowd-pleaser for dinner. Together with some home-made aioli and a small bottle of Crudo Catarratto Zibibbo from Sicilly for 43 SEK, it would be wrong to complain.

Old recipes

As a long-distance runner, you become quite mindful about how your body feels at different levels of exertion. Having trained with heart rate for a couple of years, I also know fairly well what heart rate I “should” have at a certain pace. However, following the second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, my heart rate has been about 10-20 bpm higher when exercising than before, something that has also been reflected in that my Polar watch running index has dropped from “Elite” to “Very good” on some of my runs.

In light of this, I decided to take an extra rest day yesterday and, voilà, today I was back as “Elite” with an average heart rate of 145 bpm (which is only 5-10 bpm higher than before), so things are clearly going in the right direction. As for other running related things, I should also mention that the Hoka Mach 4 has quickly become my favourite daily trainer with 245 km already logged.  

Back home, I was reminded of a Youtube clip about breakfast in 18th century America, and though not actually much of a “recipe”, I decided to attempt its version of poached egg, collops (smoked bacon) and toast. But then, postmodernity caught up with me, and I could not resist adding some avocado, voiding any historical accuracy.

Northern Exposure

Like with the Transatlantic Kriek four years ago, there are labels that I simply cannot resist even if I should know better by now. In this case, some “Northern Exposure” Imperial Coffee Stout which tasted just as awful as I feared when picking it up at Systembolaget. A strange mix of espresso, burnt yeast and dark rye bread that went straight into the drain after only a few sips.

But the label certainly inspired and made me look forward even more intensely to the Atlantic and the great adventures that await just around the corner. 

Finding calm

Far away from the Land of the Morning Calm, I took the kids out on a forest hike near Grössjön, climbing some rocks and passing through some bogs before magically arriving at our new neighbourhood café “Crosta”. If all goes according to plan, my next hike will be on the west coast of Ireland in ten days from now but, with all the Covid turmoil, I have learned not to take anything for granted.

Stripes

With the kids being back in school, it feels like the autumn is very much here with endless rain and long hours in front of Zoom or the green screen recording new lectures. Thanks to the temporal magic of Adobe Premier, I have luckily been able to reuse some of my old material, only adding a new introduction here and there or changing minor details, such as that a vote of no confidence has actually succeeded in unseating a Swedish government. This trick of course depends on being able to recreate the past, as in forgetting to shave for a couple of days and finding the exact same clothes. While I apparently have a fondness for Bond, my appearance today rather called for some good old stripes :-)

Beyond all the work and the new semester starting on Monday, I could not be more excited about the fall. Unlike last year’s horror on the slippery rocks of Höga Kusten, I can look forward to a string of great non-technical races leading up to the 70 km Trail Kuršių Nerija in October where I will now be joined by Elin! First up however is Trondheim Marathon in nine days from today.

Lighting Up the New Dawn

The last time I attended the WPSA conference was in San Diego back in April 2019. Hoping that the US will finally have opened up for international travel by then, I plan to submit an abstract for next year’s conference which is scheduled to take place in Portland, Oregon, in March 2022. Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the theme of the conference is “Lighting Up the New Dawn: Recover, Reconcile and Rebuild” which feels particularly apt and inspiring.

After running 80 km last week, I am again back to tapering, this time in preparation for Trondheim Marathon on 4 September. With heavy rain expected over the coming days, I made the most of the sunny morning by running up to Anumark once I had dropped the kids off at their school in Innertavle. Throwing in one faster kilometre (3:56 min/km) after 13 km, I am increasingly confident about being able to break 3 hours and 30 minutes in Norway even as I recognize that there will be a lot of pain involved.

Europa

A couple of months before the pandemic hit, I signed up for a 12k race on Kullaberg. Little did I know that the race would be postponed not once but twice and then moved to Vallåsen in Halland. Yesterday, I received my bib but sadly I will not be able to participate since I have already maxed out on races for the autumn.

So, instead of south Sweden, I find myself making another extended morning run around the hills of Stadsliden before returning home to a busy Friday with both kids at home and lots of things to prepare for the upcoming semester. Were it not for Elin, I might even have missed Maxim Grigoriev’s Europa, taking me back to those grand detours of the past, imagined universes, and all-too-real memories. 

Though the pandemic makes everything uncertain, I should also mention that my Norway-trip in early September just took a Celtic turn thanks to Ally so please stay tuned :-)

Trail racing

Though perhaps not that smart considering my recent ankle injury, I am very happy that I did “Rödbäckskneget” last night together with my colleague Elisabeth. Racing 12.5 km on a technical course was precisely the self-confidence booster that I needed after everything that has happened, even if I was extremely careful not to fall or injuring my foot again. With the rain pouring down during the entire race, I had opted for my Salomon Spikecross 3CS with carbide studs as I expected a lot of slippery roots. In retrospect, this was not the best choice as there were more rocks than roots and, as such, a shoe like the Hoka Torrent would have given me a better grip.

Evening swim

After a day in front of the camera, few things make you feel as alive as an evening swim in the lake. Despite that the air temperature is already down to an autumn-like 12 degrees, the water was surprisingly warm once I got in (obviously, the wetsuit helps a bit).

Starting with Skramla in early June, this has really been a summer of water sports and, hopefully, I will be able to repeat tonight’s 2 x 300 meters from Kyrkstugan to Tomtebobadet a few more times before the autumn is here for good.

Truffle

Somewhere I read that truffle oil is the “tomato ketchup of the middle class” and that it gives a “simplified picture, a sort of cartoon version — bright and colourful but ultimately false” of what truffle should taste like. However, since Umeå is not Umbria, my choices are slightly limited, and I felt like attempting another recipe by Gennaro Contaldo based on what I could find at ICA earlier today.

In the real world, Afghanistan is quickly falling under Taliban control with President Ashraf Gani resigning. Though perhaps not that surprising per se, the speed by which it has happened has been shocking, with possibly grave humanitarian implications. As I have argued many times in the past, the 2001 invasion was a fundamental mistake. Even if one believes that the invasion was somehow justified, the half-hearted way that the occupation has been carried out has only prolonged the suffering of the Afghan people and, now, ultimately led to defeat. If one were ever serious about turning Afghanistan around, millions of soldiers would have had to be deployed to pacify the country from the ground up and build a new democratic society based on the universal provision of education and health care. Instead of this, short-termism and the worst tendencies of NGO projectification have been given free roam, creating a kind of New Public Management hellscape of bottomless youth unemployment, lots of drug money and unresolved ethnic strife.

Krabbelurer

Despite my fascination with everything pancake-related, I had never heard of “krabbelurer” until I read about them in SvD Junior last night with Eddie. There I was presented with a number of further unknown names, including “skrabbelucker”, “kaffeplättar” and “hönsafeser” for this mix of pancakes and sponge cake. How all of this could possibly have evaded me for 43 years is simply beyond me.

As for the result? I do not know, maybe not that remarkable but cinnamon is always good :-)

Local mountain

Every year, the Swiss shoe producer “On” has a Strava-challenge called “Run your Local Mountain” by which you should get 200 meters of elevation gain in one run. While not getting 200 meters of climb may be difficult up in Kiruna, down here at the coast it takes more of a conscious effort, in my case a few hill repeats near Klasmyran and then a circle around the hills of Gimonäs. With 4000+ meters of climb in July, I feel really strong on the uphills but going down is much trickier as I am constantly afraid of falling or rolling my ankle again.

Veneto

Though perhaps mostly known for its Pinot Grigio, I found a bottle of Garganega from Veneto with a kind of “white Amarone” style; a perfect summer wine after a day in the rain. Following a misty 10k low heart rate run, I have otherwise spent most of the day taking care of the kids and planning the autumn semester. 

Since last week, Umeå again has one of the highest numbers of new Covid cases in all of Sweden so the situation remains rather “dynamic”. As it stands right now, the plan is to keep almost all teaching online for the first four weeks and then have some kind of gradual return to campus. The big exception to all of this is the unit for police education where I am currently scheduled to have a three-hour lecture with 90+ students already in late August but this may, hopefully, be subject to change given how transmissible the delta variant has proven to be.

For something lighter, I made oven-baked salmon with cabbage (“spetskål”) and almond for dinner, all super easy and very yummy.

Dagens dubbel

Against all reason, I could not resist the temptation of going for a fast trail run in my new Salomon Ultraglide despite having already done 10k with Elin in the morning. I must say that the shoes were simply incredible as I took on some easy trails in the neighbourhood, offering not only stability but also a lot of pop. Though I have read that their durability is not that good, I am very much looking forward to using these shoes for some upcoming races, in particular Gotland Ultra Marathon in early October.

Wheelie cool

Five days

Kicking off the autumn river run season with Elin, I was thrilled to discover that the pain in my left foot had fully vanished after five days of no running. As such, once back at USM, I decided to test my luck by signing up for a 12 km trail race called “Röbäckskneget” on Wednesday.

Otherwise, reading the new IPCC report, it is noteworthy how little attention the media has paid to the fact that the “business-as-usual” scenario for the end of the century has been downgraded from 4-5 degrees of warming to around 3 degrees which, even if still short of the goals of the Paris Agreement, represents a significant improvement. Overall, I think the “code red” language may become increasingly counterproductive, in particular when considering that those who use the most apocalyptic language also tend to be the ones who are most vocal about a priori excluding the only energy technology (nuclear) that has ever delivered emissions reductions commensurate with the goals of the Paris Agreement…

Local radio

Yesterday, I was interviewed by P4 Västerbotten about my trail adventure between Ammarnäs and Hemavan. Apparently, the reporter has been following me on Strava for some time and we had a great talk about ultra running.

Eating some red grapefruit, I am taking a break with the running after yesterday’s second Pfizer shot but also to give my left foot a chance to fully heal. With a bit of luck, I may be able to do a river run with Elin on Friday but, for the moment, I am keeping myself busy with preparations for the upcoming semester.

Like it never was before

As an echo of the mid-90s, I was reminded of the movie Pensionat Oskar by Jonas Gardell; “the water is so warm when it rains”. 

Back ashore, I heated a börek with feta and spinach, thinking that of all the things that people will do to “save the world”, I really hope that they do not stop travelling. More than ever, we need to cultivate a global outlook and experience first-hand our shared humanity. 

DNF

Sometimes things do not work out according to plan. Today was such a day. After running the first 30 km and climbing up Ottfjället with no problems whatsoever, it was time for the downhill. It did not take many steps until I knew that the injury that I got on my solo trail run between Ammarnäs and Hemavan was back with a vengeance. As dozens and dozens of runners overtook me, I began to realize that I would simply not be able to make it in time for the cut-offs if I were to walk on all descents. As such, I decided to break the race once I made it to the second aid station at 39 km.

Driving back to Umeå, I felt utterly defeated. After all, I have been training for this race since January and I was so much looking forward to finishing my first ever 100k. Still, with the sharp pain I felt in my left foot, I could very well end up with a more serious injury that could take months to recover from, possibly dashing my plans for Trondheim Marathon, Trail Kuršių Nerija and all the other races that I have lined up for the fall. With this in mind, the decision to DNF was fairly straightforward. And, thinking back on everything now, I really should stop whining and just be happy about the fact that I am able to run almost a marathon in the mountains and not feel particularly tired.

Indalsleden

Today, I drove 496 km along the most beautiful winding roads, first to Åre and then down to Ottsjö where I am staying for the night. Having picked up my bib (number 4038) in the centre of Åre, the reality of all of this finally dawned on me as I found myself surrounded by super athletic people with UTMB t-shirts :-)

As many times before, I was also struck by how little of Sweden that I have actually seen despite all my travels. Passing Sollefteå and then following Indalsälven upstream with its 26 hydropower plants, it is like a vast interior of colours that I would have placed anywhere but in Sweden.

With the transfer bus leaving already at 04.20 tomorrow morning, I will soon call it an early evening but at least I was able to swing by the local pub for a craft beer and some last-minute carb loading.

Ultra Glide

With three days left until Fjällmaraton 100k, I received a pair of Salomon Ultra Glide. This shoe was just released and promises a lot more cushion than Salomon has been known for in the past. The big question now is if I dare to switch to these brand-new shoes for Saturday or if I should stick to my trusted Salomon S/Lab Ultra 2? If I had more time, I would go for a longer test run but that is not really an option since I urgently need to taper for Saturday...

Rovögern

Once back in Umeå, I went for a 40+ km long bike ride with my parents to “Kvarkenfisk” in Rovögern’s fishing village. Riding on my blue Stålhästen, I had an obvious advantage, but my parents certainly did not disappoint, and neither did the sea food once we got to Kvarkenfisk.

Today is Wednesday and my parents are already on the train back to Kalmar. Though short, it was great to have them here for a few days and to give them a sense of summer in Västerbotten.

Back to Hemavan

Two weeks after my great mountain adventure, Anna and I returned to Vindelfjällen, this time with a white rental car and hiking gear. Even taking the gondola up from Hemavan, we set off on a 17 km hike to Syterskalet under the rainbow. As such, it was the perfect exposure therapy after my slightly traumatic run last time around.

Driving 360 km each way in a Peugeot 208, I also got to drink more than my fair share of pitch black Starbucks americano, reminding me of cliff-hugging Pacific drives and shimmering straightaways through the Mojave Desert.