Rat race

My head feels like a storm at sea. Big waves crash against my temples, tons of murky ocean water press against my eyes, there's a constant buzzing in my ears and I'm struggling to keep my balance like a drunken sailor. To think that an extra hour of work can turn your brain into mush.

As you can imagine, there will be no running today. The weather is simply perfect, especially for an evening run, but now that my head is having a tantrum and after 5 consecutive days of running, I think I need a day's rest. There will be other beautiful evenings to spend outdoors.

On Saturday I am running this year's first race. Kungsbackaloppet is the world's oldest half marathon, this year's edition being number 114 in a row. I see this as a training session, with no other goal than to complete it and get a shiny medal, but it would be nice to do it under 2 hours. I'm meeting up with some people from the group beforehand, which should up the fun factor quite considerably.

Midnattsloppet 2008

I have very mixed feelings when it comes to races. I know some people feed on the pre-race excitement, but I just feel stressed and start too fast. I don't enjoy races until I actually cross the finish line. The only race I have ever enjoyed was Prinsens Minne in Halmstad. I had such a great time running in an unfamiliar environment, one that was so beautiful with its sandy dunes and pine forest. I was able to shut out everything that was race-related and focus on exploring my surroundings. That's why I might run it again this year.

Then again, I somehow find myself entering at least a couple of races each year. I don't need the motivation that they are supposed to provide, I don't like running with thousands of other participants and I certainly don't like getting carried away by the crowd and running faster than I'm used to. But afterwards, with a medal around my neck and perhaps a new personal record, you bet I'm smiling.