Bike shopping

Sadly, Eddie’s bike that we bought in the summer 2023 got stolen the other week in Mölndal when he was visiting some friends there. Even if the insurance company is fully covering the loss, we have been a bit hesitant to buy him an all-new one as it might quickly end up being stolen as well. As such, I found him a temporary replacement bike on Blocket for 750 SEK to be picked up today on Ringön which naturally turned into a lunch run opportunity along both sides of the river with a ferry ride in between.

After being away from 5 am to 8 pm yesterday, it feels good to stay in Gothenburg today and prepare my upcoming lectures. For some reason, I came to think of New York and discovered that the iconic Millennium Hilton on Church St where I always used to stay ditched the Hilton brand three years ago. With hotel prices through the roof in New York, I doubt I would return regardless but staying for points at least makes it somewhat less painful. In any case, the dream of one day running the NYC Marathon still beckons.

Internationalization of curriculum

This morning, I took the elevator up to the 22nd floor of our main university building for a kick-off breakfast meeting about “internationalization at home”. With beautiful views of Laholmsbukten and the sunrise outside, we got to talk about how to make better use of the experiences that our international students bring with them to the classroom and other ways of internationalizing the curriculum, such as a “Blended Intensive Programme” or BIP.

This week has otherwise been all about grading and final seminars. With Sandsjöbacka Trail 60k coming up on Saturday, I have done one 10k tempo run yesterday and only plan to do one more run tomorrow in order to cap my total volume at 80k this week and avoid any injuries. However, with both kids feeling unwell and being home from school, I might need a bit of luck if I am to make it to the starting line in Kungsbacka.

Training for the uphill

A year ago, I was on the west coast of Denmark, running along stormy seas as I completed my first 100k race. After my fastest ever 50k in about five hours, I struggled with the remaining 50k against the cold northerly winds, ultimately finishing in 14 hours and 26 minutes.

As I head down to Spain in six weeks’ time, I will trade the flat sand dunes of the North Sea coast for the Sierra de Grazalema which is famous for its unique fir trees, limestone caverns, and snowy peaks up to 1,650 meters. After a few weeks with lower running volumes, my morning run brought me above 80 km this week, a volume that I hope to sustain until the end of February. Still, I am uncertain if I am really prepared for what awaits me in Andalusia. With the race starting at 10 am, and the elites finishing in around ten hours, I can expect to spend many hours running in the dark so I have invested in a backup Smini Fly headlamp from Silva and also a new textbook on mountain running.

Lake morning run

The Himalayas

This morning, Anna and I joined a hundred other runners for the Himalaya jog, taking us on a 15k-loop over the hills over central Gothenburg, featuring a ski jumping ramp that I had no idea it existed and the water tower in Guldheden (below).

Organized by the people behind Retrovarvet as a fundraising event for local charities, it was a nice break from the increasingly commercial world of running with no registration fees etc. Though off to a cold start with a real feel temperature of -11 degrees, everyone quickly got warm as we started ascending Hvitfeldsgatan and then up to Masthuggskyrkan. Returning via Slottskogen for a total of 300 meters of elevation gain, the run felt very democratic and welcoming to runners of all abilities. As for the more crazy version of local hill running, I just signed up for the 53k edition of the Alpaca Race on the 8th of June with 3,100 meters of elevation gain. And already next Saturday, I will take part in the 60k Sandsjöbacka Trail. 

No quitting

Today is Quitter’s Day, the day when people are most likely to give up on their New Year’s resolutions. And to be honest, it has been a lot more difficult than I thought to stay away from sweets with temptations truly everywhere. However, nine days in, I have yet to succumb even as I realize that much comes down to definitions, for instance, does breakfast granola count as “sweets”?

After grading all morning, I at least had no problems getting motivated for the gym where I did 5k of indoor rowing, 10k tempo on the treadmill, and some strength training – a classic 1200+ kcal triple that I will try to repeat at least once a week to complement my easy pace running in Skatås.

Office medals and Indian food

I do not know how it happened but apparently it is already Thursday night, and I really should be grading student work rather than updating Rawls & Me. But, yes, I made it back to Gothenburg through the storm Floriane on Tuesday, passing some rough seas at Fria Bad in Helsingborg which I unfortunately failed to capture from the train window. Stopping in Halmstad for a couple of hours, I also got to add the Polar Night Half Marathon medal to my office collection and pick up another batch of exams.

Once here, I have had busy days in front of Zoom but at least I have been able to go for two runs in Skatås and have Indian lunch with William (his favourite food). After all my trips to Los Angeles over the years, it feels sad to think of the fires going on there right now. Even on a good day, LA has this feeling of death lurking in paradise, and I wonder what will be left after this is over.

Barmarksspring

After spending almost three weeks in the Arctic, it is a true luxury to be able to take my red Hoka Rincons out for a harbour run with no ice or snow, even it means foregoing a much-needed extra hour of sleep. Last night, there was a long queue for de-icing at Gardermoen and the luggage handling at Kastrup lived up to its reputation but around midnight I finally made it to Savoy Hotel where I immediately fell asleep, happy to be back in Skåne if only for a night.

Now on the high-speed train to work, I have lots of things to do so I will leave you with this glimpse of Malmö Central.

Åsta Viking

Having schlepped my suitcase through the snow and spent the day working at Evenes Airport, I finally got to board my first flight of the day about an hour after the scheduled departure time. Now flying south through the cold Arctic night, I hope to still make my connection at Oslo Gardermoen so that I can finish the day at Hotel Savoy in Malmö as planned.

Though I published my own version of the Gold List back in November, Condé Nast just published their, featuring Fogo Island in Canada, Gangtey Lodge in Bhutan, and Chablé Yucatan in Mexico among other dreamy destinations, not to forget a fresh take on traditional Kazakh cuisine ;-) All more than enough to keep Tyler happy for another year. For my own part, I will remain in Sweden until early March when I am off to Andalusia for the Bandolerita Ultra Marathon.

The (other) empty quarter

After a great dinner and a few alcohol-free drinks (in keeping with my White January-promise) with our long-time friend Clare at the Moxy, Anna and I went to bed early only to get up six hours later and hit the road in our Toyota Rav4.

First, we drove 118 kilometres to the east and Skibotten before turning south onto the E8 and into the great uninhabited area known as the “Finish Arm”. Though a world away from the desert dunes of the Rub' al-Khali (or the ”Empty Quarter”), entering Finland and being greeted by big warning signs for extreme cold, we certainly got an adventure as the temperature dropped down to -33 degrees and the white expanse seemed endless with no people anywhere to be seen.

Luckily, our car did not break down and, a few hours later, we entered Sweden and stopped in Vittangi for coffee, gasoline, and a sandwich. After dropping Anna off in Kiruna, I turned west again, and drove the remaining 216 kilometres back to Evenes Airport, stopping only in Björkliden for an incredible photo-op just as the mist was lifting with "Lapporten" (Čuonjávággi) in the background. All in all, we got to drive 1,149 kilometres over two days and it is a journey I would love to do again in the summer at some point.

Polarnight Half Marathon

Having registered in the midst of summer, it felt kind of surreal to finally stand there at the starting line in Tromsø, surrounded by thousands of other runners, and ready to race those 21 kilometres next to my stunning wife. Being her third half marathon, and the first in winter conditions, Anna gradually picked up the pace as we took in the beautiful course along the waterfront with pitch torches burning every fifty or hundred meters.

Passing the airport just as an Austrian Airlines flight was about to depart for Vienna, the cosmopolitan vibe of Tromsø felt even more pronounced. With the temperature around -10 degrees, I was happy for taking things slow, yet deeply impressed by the few runners who were racing flat out in shorts and Vaporflys.

Coming back into town, there were even more lights and so many people cheering. Finishing with a chip time of 2 hours and 12 minutes, we were treated to warm drinks and a medal that definitely deserves its place in my Halmstad office.

Nordlysveien

Little did we know exactly how adventurous our Arctic adventure was about to get when I posted the last blog entry. Though the train made it in time for me to catch the Lofoten Express Bus and pick up our rental car at Evenes Airport, the Swedish Railways suddenly decided to cancel all our tickets home to Gothenburg (out of fear that a train would break down in the extreme cold that were forecasted). With all flights already more or less full, and Anna and me on our way up Tromsø, we had to think fast. Ultimately, we decided that we would get up super early on the day of the race and drive down to Kiruna through Finland, then drop Anna off so she could fly to Gothenburg with the kids while I would return the rental car to Evenes and fly from there to Copenhagen. With the Swedish Railways covering all our expenses, it was at least a silver lining to know that we would end up saving money this way compared to our original plans.

First however, we still had some beautiful driving to do along The Northern Light route into Tromsø, a race to run, and an old friend to meet for dinner. Though my expectations were high to begin with, I was not quite prepared for how much I would end up loving this new corner of the map which happens to be the northernmost I ever been (at least, outside of an aircraft).

Arctic adventures

Over the morning hours, the delay grew to 130+ minutes but eventually the train rolled into the railway station in Kiruna and, moments later, Anna and I were on our way towards Narvik. However, having booked our rental car at Evenes Airport (as the downtown location was sold out), we need to catch the last bus of the day that leaves Narvik Bus Station at 3.45 pm or we will have to pay plenty for a taxi.

Departing Abisko just as the sun is setting, I am reminded of all the magic moments we had over the summer in these mountains. Though we do plan to return for Easter to Kiruna, we have nevertheless decided to skip the High North this summer and focus on exploring more of the West Coast of Sweden instead.

Flashback Friday

As Anna and I are waiting for a delayed train to take us out to the Atlantic in Narvik, Google Photos reminded me of another trip taken ten years ago today. Travelling alone with Eddie to see my parents in Sundsvall, I remember that we had a great trip together and that, barely two months later, we would all be on our way to South-East Asia.

Another cold start

Just like a year ago, the first day of January brought down freezing polar winds. Setting off for a half marathon shortly after 7 am, the temperature dropped to -23 as I was approaching the airport, making me forever grateful that the terminal building was opened so that I could escape the cold for a few minutes. Returning via Lombolo, I made it to Gymmet with sensations of numbness and beginning hypothermia so, instead of running the remaining five kilometres in the bitter cold, I met up with Anna and her brother for some quality gym time together. And on our way home, the sun returned to Kiruna after staying below the horizon for 25 days.

While listening to Riccardo Muti directing the Vienna Philharmonic in the background, I have otherwise made a long-awaited investment in a new gaming computer for the kids and read up on the practicalities of our upcoming half marathon in Tromsø. Right now, the forecast suggests that it will be around -10 degrees when the gun goes off at 3 p.m. on Saturday