Summer in Sweden, Marathon report

 I love goats, not sure why though.

Four months have passed since I last published anything. I must agree I am all but prolific. So from now on I'll try to make up for the sparsity of past updates by sharing feelings in a more daily to weekly fashion, and by going deeper through the jumble of memories, one post at a time.

I did it again, I went back to Sweden. For this third time, three months: May to July -official motive: design/programming internship at ANAB Östersund. Between work and endurance training, there was not much time left, only enough to be spent with Frida, living in the now and the spirit of Swedish summer.

Well, it was actually spring when I landed, and with the chilly wind – low temperature combo it could as well have been a soft winter. And then the lakes started to thaw, the ice forming strips of mist as it melted in the sharp light of the sun.

There is something purely magic about light and time in mid and northern Sweden, more so around the eventful winter and summer solstices (See previous post).

Preparing for Östersund's marathon, I came to meet a fair deal of experienced athletes, most of whom Ironmen, who all have been great people to train with or be around. On race day, the sun was shining high, the icy wind has for once died down to a light breeeze, and I was feeling great, apart from a latent tightness in the calves (don't try new things the days prior to a race).

It was judgement day regarding unconditional  commitment I had made myself a year before, day to day, and which I had honored every day. Despite the solemn thought, a feeling of pure joy took hold of me as I crossed the bridge, looking over the dark body of still water that surrounds Frösön. I was running the marathon, my longest enterprise, and it was all that mattered.

But part of the promise I had made myself was to complete the race in or under 3:30, so I was trying to be consistent with my stride and keep my pace under 4:50 / km. I reached the half-way turn in 1:40 and felt even better then, so I sped up a bit. A mere 10k further, when I thought I was maintaining an equal physical effort, my pace was in fact gradually dropping!

I took a carb gel and squeezed the thick paste into my mouth. I knew a slight yet critical change had taken place deep in the midst of my limbs: only a few minutes later, inspite of the gel I had just gulped, I witnessed my legs turning to stone. During all those long runs at race pages, sometimes as long as 36k, it seemed very unlikely to me that I would hit the wall. Yet I certainly did, somewhere around kilometer 32, and from that moment the race really begun.

Up till then I was pretty much cruising, and the sustained pace seemed rather comfortable. Now it was a whole different story, as my mind took to reasoning my body. I decided to review the work and dedication I had put in over the past year, and was able to focus again. Friends from the club biked along a few times and helped me get some nutrition for the last 5k. It may not seem much, but when you're deep down with a fight against your own mind, the tiniest bit of support coming from a familiar hand means everything to you. Now it was just about accepting pain and powering through it to conclude with a strong finish. Which I did, when my buddies Hans and Crister gathered around, and galvanized me into sprinting the last 400m. I didn't see the finish line, only a blurred crowd, and that girl greeting me with a medal. Then the irresistible lake. Dive. A bottle of coke from the skies. 3:26 on the Garmin. Endorphins shooting up.

I can go faster.

Pursuing multiple goals with the same intensity can be challenging, and momentum makes it hardly possible to slow down and take a look at your progress. Or at other things. Or live things, like people.

I haven't shot the streets for too long.

Luckily, the neighborhood I just moved is quite lively and instantly brought up my curiosity and the unquenchable thirst of capture that used to animate me. So it shouldn't be too long before I answer the call and making the shutter click.

I now leave you with a few selected photos from this summer.

Some woods are truly imprinting, as if there was an entity, some intangible being in every root and leaf. Nor, Ammerön.

Moose probably know about it. Erick observing their footprints.

They sometimes come very close to the house, at dawn mostly. Erick running in the field, while Frida and Amanda walk home.

No idea what was so funny, but we were all laughing. Great memories.

More photos to come.