Simhallsbadet

While Kiruna waits for its new shiny 100-million EUR aquatic centre to open (a story almost on par with the infamous Berlin Brandenburg Airport), all of the family is making full use of the old “Simhallsbadet”. After some cross-country skiing in the morning, I was able to tick off my annual goal of swimming 36,000 meters for the third year in a row and I am now looking forward to the coming week of crawl practice with Anna’s dad.

Even if my Suunto watch keeps telling me that my fitness is rapidly deteriorating and that I need to run more, I think that two weeks with almost no running but lots of cross-country skiing and swimming will be just perfect as I prepare for 2025 and all the great races that await, starting with the Polar Night Half Marathon in Tromsø on the 4th of January. Difficult as it may be, one really has to look beyond the apps and adopt a more holistic approach to one’s training, taking into account the accumulated stress of  running 7-8 hours per week for a whole year.