3x Hönö

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Le Lapérouse

Taking the ferry over to Lindholmen with Eddie, we got to see “Le Lapérouse” moored at Amerikaskjulet. Being the lead ship in a series of French ultra-luxury expedition cruises that tend to ply the waters of South Georgia, the Islands of the Kimberley and French Polynesia, a stop in Gothenburg must feel rather underwhelming – especially considering it is just as accessible with a €25 Ryanair flight.

Once on the other side of the river, we checked out one of the biggest Nordic Wellness clubs I have been to, spanning three floors and packed with equipment, including a leg press I dared to use for the first time since my dramatic fall onto that hammock frame back in May. To be safe, I limited myself to 80 kg, with Halland Ultra-Beach just ten days away. But after that, I plan to work my way back to 3×10 with 120 kg. All in all, it was a great gym session with all my favourite machines: torso rotation, total abdominal, and hip abductor. Now I just need consistency – and maybe one less banana bread at Alkemisten afterwards ;-)

Tomorrow, my parents are coming for a two-day visit, and with the forecast suddenly turning sunny, I am thinking of taking them and the kids out to Hönö Klåva for some proper island time.

Château Bonnet

Sometimes, a wine can be just uncomplicatedly good. Retailing at 69 SEK at Systembolaget, a half bottle of Château Bonnet Blanc was exactly what I needed for dinner tonight.

After creating the quiz below using ChatGPT, I asked for dinner suggestions based on an xml-file that contains every blog post I have written since 2006. Among the many tantalizing ideas, I went for red pepper bulgur with pomegranate and mint (next time, I will go all in with the Turkish Airlines classic: bulgur pilaf). Sadly, we were out of Greek yoghurt, so I had to brutalize the dish somewhat with the last of the bearnaise that I had bought for Anna’s brother.

In just over a month, my dad and I will take the train to Hamburg, where we will board the Queen Mary 2.  I have already read up on the sample menus to get a sense of what awaits us – if nothing else, to keep me motivated through those long kilometres at night during Halland Ultra-Beach. As we get closer, I will share more about the trip and what to expect aboard, as that may depend a bit on whether my shameless £60 bid for a Queen’s Grill upgrade goes through.

Blog quiz

1. What does the acronym “LSD” stand for in the author’s running philosophy?

A. Low Speed Dashes

B. Long Steady Development

C. Long Slow Distance ✅

D. Lung Stretch Drills

2. What was the title of the art exhibition for which the author gave a talk on nuclear and climate in 2017?

A. Atomic Futures

B. Risk and Resilience

C. Perpetual Uncertainty ✅

D. Shadows of Progress

3. What kind of cross-training did the author include on the same day as running and swimming during “superhero training” in 2023?

A. Weightlifting

B. Cross-country skiing ✅

C. Indoor cycling

D. Rock climbing

4. What poetic vision was shared by Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare in the London Underground back in 2007?

A. A utopia ruled by benevolent monarchs

B. A global return to natural simplicity

C. A world without warlords, prisons, or borders ✅

D. A nostalgic celebration of Athens’ golden age

5. What kind of milk product confused German friends in Sweden, according to the blog back in 2008?

A. Kefir

B. Skim milk

C. Filmjölk ✅

D. Havremjölk (Oat milk)

Neuromuscular Adaptation

The other week in Kalmar, my mother had a book about running form, which reminded me to keep my upper body relaxed and my shoulders down while running. All good advice. In general, though, I am a strong believer in natural optimization rather than conscious correction. In my view, thinking too much about your form can disrupt your natural biomechanics and actually increase the risk of injury.

From a motor learning perspective, external cues or task-based challenges, like terrain or speed, are often more effective than internal cues when it comes to improving complex movements like running. One way of working with, rather than against, your body is to run fast intervals, for instance on a treadmill. High-speed running tends to automatically reinforce proper mechanics: shorter ground contact time, higher cadence, improved posture, and reduced overstriding – all hallmarks of efficient form and, ultimately, better running economy.

More than form, however, being able to run faster is obviously mostly about aerobic base building, and for that, nothing beats some good old LSD. Still, to shake things up, I sometimes do a few tempo runs, probably more to improve mental toughness than anything else, but hopefully also to boost speed and endurance. This morning, I did just that in my Salomon Pulsar Trail Pro 2s, passing a deer with a couple of her babies (who hesitated before daring the jump across a stream), and returning home completely drenched, as the summer heat still holds its grip on Gothenburg.

Ocean Tonic

Waking up at five, as per usual, I found some reprieve from the summer heat with an iced latte on the balcony before heading up to Delsjön for what Strava would later call “a strong morning run” with Elin, rounded off with a refreshing swim in the lake, the first of many today.

A few hours later, I was back again, this time on bikes with Anna. The water, holding steady above 23 degrees, invited us in for a few hundred more meters. If I can keep this up, my annual goal of swimming 36,000 meters is suddenly within reach.

In the afternoon, we met up with Anna’s brother and his girlfriend for some true West Coast swimming at Särö – cliff jumps into the salty sea, too much sun, and a few Lion’s mane jellyfish, all just as it should be.

Taking the tram back into town we indulged in the best Indian food there is at Daawat near Masthugget. Now, as another day of summer vacation winds down, I am once again on the balcony, this time with an Ocean Tonic Espresso in hand, thinking that in ten or so hours, the sun will rise, and I will hopefully be lacing up my Salomon Ultra Glides for yet another run in Skatås...

Rainstorm

The whole day today has been in anticipation of the severe weather warning this evening, with thunderstorms and up to 40 mm of rain expected within one hour (which, by Hong Kong measures, is probably more of a light drizzle). When the front eventually rolled in, Anna and I were sitting on the balcony eating tabouleh and sipping the house Sauvignon Blanc from N.Z.

A few hours earlier, I had suffered through ten kilometres of indoor rowing in Kållered, convincing me that extreme rowing, in one form or the other, has to be part of my upcoming Winter Arc. Hopefully, I will be able to jump back up to 100 kilometres (which is my other goal for the Winter Arc) already this week as I desperately need a few solid weeks of volume before tapering begins for Halland Ultra-Beach.

Abstract

This morning, I got to run to the hills with Elin for an hour before returning home to submit an abstract to a new edited volume on the interplay of ideologies and environmental politics. Writing together with my long-time Australian co-author Jonathan Symons, we will hopefully hear back soon about whether we have been accepted.

Otherwise, the plan for today is to take the kids down to Kållered to see a friend while I check out the local Nordic Wellness gym. Having unlimited access to all clubs across Sweden really is such a perk – especially handy during the rain in Ystad the other week.

The title of our chapter is “Ecomodernism, Equality, and Surprisingly Green Outcomes”, and the abstract reads as follows:

Ecomodernism is frequently criticized for its anthropocentrism, uncritical techno-optimism, and rejection of nature’s intrinsic rights. Yet emerging empirical evidence suggests a paradox: societies that prioritize human equality and democratic governance – values central to ecomodernist thought – consistently achieve better environmental outcomes. For instance, income inequality is consistently associated with increased biodiversity loss, underinvestment in conservation, and disproportionate pollution exposure for marginalized communities. This chapter interrogates the tension between rights-of-nature frameworks and human-centred ideologies, arguing that prioritizing universal human flourishing may, counterintuitively, support more robust ecological preservation. Drawing on cross-national data and analysis of the likely pathways through which political ideologies influence both inequality and ecological outcomes, we explore how social equality can mediate environmental protection by empowering communities, strengthening governance, and reducing elite resistance to regulation. In doing so, we suggest that ecomodernism, far from being indifferent to nature, may offer a more plausible path to a "good Anthropocene", not in spite of its humanism, but because of it. Ultimately, we challenge the conventional green/non-green binary and show how ideologies that foreground human dignity and progress may yield surprisingly green outcomes.

Pôpa

Last night, having submitted the proofs for my co-authored article on hybrid learning to the Journal of Social Work Education, I lit up the grill and opened a bottle of Pôpa from Portugal’s Douro Valley. A blend of six different grapes, I think Systembolaget nailed the description: “fresh taste with hints of green apples, mineral, white peach, grilled lemon and herbs".

Grilling chicken and halloumi in the company of Anna’s mother, we enjoyed a lovely evening on the balcony, looking ahead to three quiet weeks at home – just before Halland Ultra-Beach and with both Eddie’s and my birthday on the horizon.

After a good night’s sleep, William joined me for 30k around the harbour this morning, just in time to see the Stena Scandinavica return from Kiel. We stopped twice for ice-cold beverages, and as always, these Mitochondria Mondays remind me how I should be training if I had the time – low-intensity volume, long runs over two hours, and simply more time on my feet.

Rubber boating

After 905 kilometres on the roads of southern and western Sweden, we returned our rental car to OKQ8 – but not before picking up a new wetsuit for Eddie and a rubber boat, much to the delight of both kids.

Today, we took the boat up to Härlanda Tjärn, where I managed a short swim while the kids practiced their cooperation and coordination skills as the wind quickly caught their vessel and carried them away from the bridge. After thirty minutes and little progress, I figured I would better intervene. So, I entered the lake from the far end, making my way through the reeds and collecting a respectable number of scratches in the process. Once through, I looked up, only to find the kids gone. A few hundred meters of swimming later, I saw them back at the bridge, calmly waiting. Clearly, I had underestimated them. In retrospect, I should have just stayed on the bridge, sipping my coffee.