Artemis

While the first launch attempt of Artemis 1 was scrubbed due an engine problem, I did make it around the lake shortly before 6 am and then to the university for the first day of classes. Starting the day with my political philosophy class, I had to go looking for extra chairs as the 76 students filled the lecture hall beyond capacity in what felt like a true post-covid moment. Luckily, I have booked larger venues for the rest of the course. The students gave a very ambitious first impression and I really look forward to spending this month together. 

Then, at 1 pm, it was time to kick off the brand-new online course “Ideology and political practice” which currently has 41 students registered. Meeting on Zoom, I was immediately thrown back to what has been my reality for the last couple of years as I was showcasing the learning platform with all its pre-recorded lectures and asynchronous assignments. Given that this is the first time that the course is offered, I do not really know what to expect but at least it felt like the course is off to a good start. Once I had closed Zoom, I was happy to find that I had still had time to make it down to the gym for some strength training. Considering what my schedule looks like for the coming two months, it will take a lot of discipline and temporal creativity if I am to make it to USM three times per week.

Ridges

Exactly one week after Ultravasan 90, it was time for my next ultra adventure. Taking the bus up to Bjurholm with Elin shortly before 7 a.m., the rain reinforced my doubts about the wisdom of running another ultra so soon after my previous one but, after a first hour in the rain, Elin and I were treated to an incredible trail run along Öreälvsleden as we followed its meandering path towards the sea. 

Occasionally, we would run on ridges high above and, other times, we would run just next to river. Sometimes, we were in the middle of dark forests with lots of undergrowth, but here and there, fields would open up as we passed through cute villages. As always, people were incredibly friendly, offering us drinks and fruit as the kilometres kept adding up.  

In Tallberg, we got to see the three railway bridges crossing the Öre River, the oldest one being a steel truss bridge from 1891. Together, the bridges show how bridge construction has evolved over the course of a century as the trains became heavier. At 50k, we decided to call it a day and, within minutes, we were able to hitchhike the last bit down to Nordmaling in a red Volvo from 1966.

Everything

Yesterday was everything. Waking up to mist, I started the day with a couple of hours in front of Zoom. Once the thesis seminar was finished and the students graded, the mist had cleared so I jumped on my bike and met Elias for a lunch ride down to Dragonudden and Stöcksjö. While perhaps not the Mediterranean, we truly enjoyed our swim there before heading back to work where a dozen of exams where waiting for me to be graded, a task I managed to complete the minute before the meeting with the PhD supervisors’ committee started.

All in all, a perfect mix of work and play. And to start off the day today, I was thrilled to find a tin can with Hausbrandt coffee in the wardrobe.

Handbook

Back in November on Malta, I was contacted by my old friend Marcel Wissenburg, asking me if I would like to contribute a chapter to a new handbook on environmental political theory in the Anthropocene. Published by Edward Elgar, the handbook had an extremely generous deadline in December this year but, given how much I dislike putting things off, I started working on it soon after I had accepted Marcel’s offer.

In the end, writing a 5,000-word presentation of “ecomodernism” as a political ideology turned out to be slightly more difficult than I first imagined but, after a lot of iced latte, I was finally ready to submit the chapter to the editors last night. While I will probably be asked to make some revisions to the chapter in order to ensure consistency with the rest of the handbook, it feels great to have this out of the house for now considering how intense this fall semester will be once it starts on Monday. 

Birthday salad

For her birthday, Anna asked for some Thai beef salad, being a true Lyktvägen classic. Taking a photo on the balcony with my medal from Ultravasan, it is strange to think that in 40 days we will already have left the house to the new owners. For now, however, we are enjoying the evening over a glass of sparkling rosé from Austria.

Ultravasan 90

After my humiliating defeat at Fjällmaraton 100k two weeks ago, I knew I could not end the season like that. Looking for possible races, I came to think of Ultravasan 90 which follows the same course as the Swedish ski classic “Vasaloppet” from Sälen to Mora in Dalecarlia. Known for its relatively fast and flat course (although it turned out to have 1,000+ meters of climb in the end), it felt like the ideal choice to make up for my mountain misery.

Taking the train down to Mora with my new running-friend Petra, we were treated to a wonderful evening down at the lake Siljan over a glass of pinot grigio (which we all know is the best way to prepare for an ultra). Barely had we made it back to the youth hostel though before a massive thunderstorm broke out and dozens of millimetres of rain started pouring down. Falling asleep listening to the rain, I knew I was in for a challenge.

With the alarm set for 02.20, and the bus leaving at 03.00, race day was off to an early start. Once in Sälen together with hundreds and hundreds of other runners, everyone quickly forgot how early it was as there was a fantastic party mood at the starting line. Almost immediately after the gun went off, three kilometres of climb began, making me grateful for not having skis but running shoes on my feet. Completing the first 10k in under 60 minutes, I had a good feeling as the gravel road turned into surprisingly technical trails with many boards having become submerged due to all the rain that had fallen overnight. While sufficiently rainy during the first hours to leave me completely soaked, the sky soon cleared up and, halfway through the race, the sun was shining. After the mid-way point in Evertsberg, the course also turned significantly more runnable with some runners even switching to road running shoes. Sticking to my Salomon S/Lab Ultra 2, I was gradually coming up against my limits though, forcing me to mix walking and running for the last 30 km of the race.  After 90 km and 11 hours, I finally arrived at the finishing line in Mora, where it, to tell the truth, was hard to keep the tears in check as I was handed my medal and finisher t-shirt. All in all, it was an incredible ultra experience and a really well-organized race that I can highly recommend. With this behind me, I will now take a break with the racing as we have many other things coming up, not the least moving houses in about a month from now. In fact, my next scheduled race is North Cornwall Ultra in mid-January 2023.

The night before

Nailed it

Two days ago, Anna "nailed" her PhD thesis to the library wall in Växjö, marking the last step before her final defence on 12 September. As a tradition, it is often thought to hark back to Martin Luther and his famous posting of his ninety-five theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in 1517. While the tradition does not exist in Lund, it is quite widespread in Sweden, including in Umeå, and I think it has a nice symbolism to it, as a way of making your work public in the weeks leading up to the defence.

Science centre

As the clouds gathered and the sky turned ominously dark, I delievered the kids to their new school in the very last minute before the heavens opened. Finding myself in the middle of a thunderstorm, running back up to Tomtebo turned into quite the ordeal with some of the lightning strikes being uncomfortable close. Once back home, I was of course completely soaked and more than happy to jump into a warm shower, making me wonder how I will feel on Saturday after those 90 km if all the rain that is in the forecast does materialize...

Anyhow, after publishing the website for the new online course and doing some more admin, it was soon time to head down to town again as I had promised the kids a shorter day today and a visit to the university science centre “Curiosum”. Luckily, it had stopped raining by then so much less drama. At Curiosum we got to watch the movie “Stort – en kosmisk resa” in the dome theatre which was really impressive and also do a few experiments. Without any doubt, we will return to Curiosum later in the fall as it is super close to the kids’ new school.

Staff day

Today, the autumn semester got off to a flying start as the whole department gathered down at the river at P5. On my way there, I was able to pick up Monocle’s special “Mediterraneo” edition which is somewhat of a summer classic here at Rawls & Me and the perfect distraction for any escapist.

Otherwise, today was surprisingly hot with 26 humid degrees, reminding me of how extreme this summer has been for much of continental Europe, with many rivers drying up and parts of Germany turning into a savannah of sorts. Coming full circle, the coal shipments are now unable to make it up the Rhine to the power stations as the water level is at a historical low. With Sweden’s emergency oil-fired power station in Karlshamn starting up due to the lack of firm capacity, I am back wondering what kind of feedback that it would actually take to make the 100% renewable crowd reconsider their views? Sadly, I fear, as with other wicked problems, that learning will remain extremely difficult and that neither record high electricity prices nor outright blackouts will be sufficient to make people question the received dogma.

3x Thai

Rain and ragu

With the Friday sunshine turning into rain all Saturday, we have taken it slow this weekend as our original plans for a family Zipline adventure were dashed. Instead, Anna has been working at the office while I have been doing the usual household chores and hanging out with the kids. On the food front, after making the “ragu to end all other ragus” on Friday (picture above), ratatouille felt like the obvious vegetarian counterpole for Saturday. 

Reading the news about more and more countries calling for a ban on short-term Schengen tourist visas for Russians, I can see where the argument is coming from (and the frustration with possible pro-war Russians partying in Europe while Ukraine burns), yet, as evident from North Korea, isolation is no recipe for regime change. As I have written before, I think that sanctions in general are not the way forward, even as I realize that removing them now may be interpreted as a sign of weakness. Still, the more isolated that Russia becomes, the easier it will be for Putin to sell his antagonistic worldview.

Certification

Friday morning and I find myself in front of video tutorials explaining "Inspera" which is our new system for digital exams. As always, it is useful to be a student now and then. With a bit of luck, I will be able to take the test and get the user certification later today. As for digital trophies, my morning run took me around Stadsliden and the legendary SM-trail where I was able set a new PR at 55 minutes and 59 minutes which I am fairly happy with considering the 300+ meters of elevation gain. 

Otherwise, my watch has been angry at me for training so hard after Fjällmaraton, suggesting that I take a few more rest days which I guess I should, especially leading up to Ultravasan next Saturday.

Signing

The last days have been busy indeed with the kids starting their new school downtown and everything starting up again after the summer. For the moment, I am reviewing 16 applications for a PhD position at the new Arctic research school but, after working for a couple of hours this morning, I decided to take some time off and go for a longer run with Elin. As always, it was great talking to her and learn more about her wild race back in July on Ulvön where she scored a podium finish. And now I am taking another break as I am having shrimp salad for lunch at our local café Crosta.

Yesterday, Anna and I had the privilege of meeting the new owners of the house, or rather their parents, as we met to sign the contract. With the housing market in a tailspin, and interest rates spiking, it feels good to be out of the market even as I think that the house could still be a sound investment, not the least thanks to its extremely low maintenance costs. Hopefully we will soon know where our next home will be but, for the moment, there is something thrilling with the open horizons!

Aperitivo Spritz

Though hundred years old, Aperol Spritz has surely been one of the most popular drinks this summer throughout Europe. Hailing from Northeast Italy, I was surprised to find it everywhere in Åre, which after all feels kind of remote from the sun-drenched terraces of the Adriatic. Having bought a bottle of Aperol for the house viewings, I decided to mix up a classic version according to the codified formula with three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol and one part soda.

Meanwhile, the race keeps posting new pictures, including the one above which shows that I even missed the dress code memo...

Milchkaffee

Eight hours on the train later and I was back in Umeå, feeling surprisingly refreshed, something that clearly would not have been the case had I continued all the way into the night. Though obviously disappointing, I knew that I did the right thing when respecting that my body needed more time to fully recover from Covid.

Waking up to rainy skies, Anna and I went for a run around Grössjön this morning followed by some Hausbrandt coffee. Feeling strong out on the trails, I started thinking that maybe I should try to find another race soon in order to restore my self-confidence. Despite being sick so much, I have still been able to rack up 1,600 km this year with no injuries so perhaps I should indeed strike while the iron is hot so to speak.

Second attempt

One year after I had to DNF due to a rolled ankle, I found myself back on the same bus to the starting line in Fångamon. Having left my hotel room in Åre at 3 a.m., the mountains looked more and more imposing as we got closer with the first major climb of the day, Ottfjället with its 1265 meters, just barely visible between the clouds.

Following the same strategy as last year, I decided to go out hard, knowing that the trails following Vålån would be some of the most runnable during the day. After 18.5 km, at the first checkpoint in Nulltjärn, I was number 41 of 94 runners. Once the climbing began, I started falling behind a bunch of people who were all using poles, making me uncertain if skipping the poles was really the right decision. Anyhow, once I reached the top, I was treated to incredible views including a most stunning alpine lake. 

Passing the checkpoint in Nordbottnen, 39.5 km into the run and the place where I had been forced to throw in the towel last year, I felt strong even as I was now down to number 55. Almost directly after the checkpoint however, a really demanding and muddy climb up Hållfjället started. Once on the top, I somehow got distracted and missed the turn down to Ottsjö. As the signage was the same, I did not immediately recognize my error as I kept following the orange 100k markers down into Tobaksdalen. 

Surprised to find a checkpoint where there should not be any, I began talking to the wonderful support crew who explained what had gone wrong, showing me on their map that I had to run up the same muddy mountain again before coming back to the checkpoint about 20 km later after passing the checkpoint in Ottsjö.

Learning that I had accidentally added 6 km and one additional mountain to my 100k, I felt like a deflated balloon. With only two weeks having passed since I tested positive for Covid, my energy levels were not the best to begin with, and suffering from cramps in my stomach, I could tell that the race was over for me. After climbing back up Hållfjället and struggling through ten kilometres of mud, I ultimately made it to the checkpoint in Ottsjö where my watch was showing 59 km rather than the intended 53 km.

Having been out on the mountain for almost ten hours, I was coming up hard against the cut-off time in Edsåsdalen, but even if I would somehow make it there in time, I just could not see myself continuing for another ten or twelve hours. So, for the second time in my life, I made the decision to DNF. 

Being greeted by Petra who had just finished her 8k race, we got to spend an hour in the sun watching the top four men finishing before we were fortunate enough to be whisked away in an electric SUV to Åre by the race organizers. A couple of hours later, when Petra and I were having dinner in downtown Åre while following the live updates from the poor souls who were still out the mountain, I felt even more certain that I had made the right decision. Of all the ultra races that I have taken part in, Fjällmaraton 100k is clearly the most extreme. Even on a good day, I think it is right at the limit of my ability so I will have to think hard before registering for a third attempt.