Göteborgsvarvet

Often as a runner, you become blind to your own improvements over time. As such, it was an incredible feeling to run Göteborgsvarvet yesterday with Anna, to feel so light and strong. With an average heart rate around 130 and a perceived exertion of maybe two out of ten, it felt completely unfair as everyone around me seemed to be struggling in the sun and the heat.

Starting next to the finishing line in Slottsskogsvallen just as the winner, Moses Koech from Kenya, was finishing his race in an incredible one hour and two minutes, Anna was off to a tough start with a headache and a side stitch but, with her enthusiasm never failing, she took on her first running race in a way that deeply impressed me. After all, racing is really about overcoming, about accepting that conditions on race day may be very different from your training and that so much comes down to your own mindset.

Passing Älvsborgsbron, which always reminds me of past River Runs across Kolbäcksbron, the wind gave some relief from the afternoon heat, but it was evident from the beginning that my decision not to run any faster was the right one. Later in the race, I could see runners collapsing and being transported away in ambulances so, even if conditions were less extreme than I was doing Malkars 21k back in 2019, racing in the summer heat will always be a high-stakes game.

Having run next to each other for almost 18 kilometres, I lost track of Anna as we entered Vasaplatsen. Not knowing if she was ahead of me or behind me, I started running intervals, stopping and searching for her. Looking at my watch, I was suddenly pacing 2:55 min/km as I flew by the other runners before stopping for a long time near the 20-kilometre marker, yet, Anna was not to be found which was kind of stressful as I knew about her headache. Ultimately, I decided to finish in 2 hours and 17 minutes, only to discover that Anna had finished her first half marathon race six minutes ahead of me.

On the vintage tram back home, I could see the white salt lines on my Devold running shirt, making me slightly fearful for next weekend when I am running the 91k Borås Ultra Marathon, but for now, there was just happiness and relief that everything had gone well and that macro-level endurance development is really a thing.