Nightmares

I woke up from a nightmare at 4.30 this morning. I suppose it isn't so strange that my brain is still trying to process this crazy week, nor the anxiety that the next one is bringing. With tons to do at work (what else is new), the Skövde 6-hour race at the end of it plus some personal stuff, my mind is finding outlets for its worry any way it can.

In my dream I was in Skövde. I had taken the train there and I was now waiting for the race to start. My friends from the group were also there, and we were sitting there, chatting and taking it easy. Then, suddenly, I look at my watch and realise that the race has already started. An hour has already gone by. I jump up and tell my friends, while at the same time I frantically try to get ready. Their response is to sit back even more. ”There's no hurry”, they say. ”We're still going to make the 50 km”. Easy for them to say. They're fast, they can cover that distance in 5 hours, but I can't. I am going to miss my race.

I manage to fall back asleep. Another dream. I am on a cruise ship with lots of people I know. Family members, colleagues, others I know through work making guest appearances. The sea is stormy but the ship is big and sturdy. Still, it is worrisome, the way it sways, rises and falls on the mountainous waves. Inexplicably, the way it can only happen in a dream, buses drive past, but right before they pass us, it looks like we're on a collision course. I sit down to eat at an empty table, when suddenly this creepy stranger comes and sits right next to me, despite the fact that he could have chosen any other chair. And then he leans over and rests his back against me. I feel very uncomfortable, but I also get very angry and ask him what the hell he thinks he's doing. He leaves.

I call that dream ”Cruisin' for a bruisin'”.

My usual bout of pre-race hypochondria has already started, and I am closely monitoring any hiccups in my body. Does my throat feel sore? Is my thigh tense? Stomach feeling a bit weird? I've never wanted to run a race more than I want to run Skövde next week. My ultra début.