Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things that are there.Richard Feynman

7/5 – 6km: Not fast. Felt like running on tree-stumps. Lovely weather though and it feels like my ability to do climbs is slowly getting better. Actually, I get bored if it is too flat… Although I probably going to regret having said that.

10/5 – 15km: Since I was about to go to Berlin in the weekend, and my legs were stiff I changed plans and rested one more day to hit a long run on the Friday. It felt rather good, the legs stayed with me for approx. 10km after which they were well and truly stiff. Not surprising since I haven’t hit this length for a while. I walked two session of about 300m each. Still not bad and clocking in under 6 m/km.

12/5 – 8.5km: First ever run in Berlin! I hit Tiergarten via the river. Cold rain to start and fairly windy made the first 4km painful. But I kept up and the return was nice with the wind in my back. Still stiff though. Still holding back on the pace.

So a 29.5km week. More than I had planned while on fewer runs than I had planned. I was a bit worried over the stiffness: It felt like I didn’t recover enough between the runs. As I write this that has changed, but you’ll hear about that next week.

1/5 – 8km: A double tap in Årsta woods. With 225m climb it showed exactly how bad my leg muscles are at the moment. But still rather nice. Although, my new Merrel Trail Gloves are to tight on a spot right under the arch. We’ll see if they get settled in a few miles, otherwise I’ll have to shift shoes.

4/5 – 12km – Walking: I got myself a pair of Merrel Mix Master Tuff to try in the mountains come summer and trekking. So a quick walk at Hellasgården served up the initial impression: neat, I think I’ll like them. Also this walk was a preparation for…

5/5 – 5km: … back to back training. I need this in order to get the mileage up. I probably also need to start running in the morning in order to find the time I need. Legs a bit stiff, so I kept it a 6 mins/km and capped to 5 km. Lovely weather!

So in total a 25km week. Not bad. Legs are a bit stiff, and I really, really should spend some time in the gym – the left leg/knee is feeling a bit wobbly again. But it is hard to substitute a real run for a boring gym session. Ah, well… Next week we’ll see if I can hit 4 runs.

Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that’s all you get, that’s not so bad.Caballo Blanco

You can write it off as “political correctness” if you wish, but the truth is that privilege always lies with the majority. They’re so used to being catered to that they see the lack of catering as an imbalance. David Gaider

The magnificent divided choirs of something like Komm, Jesu, komm are the clincher for me in this recording, turning Bach’s motets into something more like a guilty pleasure than a hair-shirt religious duty. If you give this box as a present make sure you double wrap it with an inner lining of silver foil, such are the deliciously rich and chocolaty rewards inside.

How about that eh? And yes, you can find it on Spotify as well, Bach: Motets. My god, I think I’m blushing…

Do not make unnecessary comparisons, never judge without reflection, and accept the limits of your own understanding.Lars J. Nilsson

This year though, I do understand. It started in late October when I got called away on a business trip to Armenia. (And yes, I had to look it up on Wikipedia as well, but if you do, pay attention, it’s a really nice little country). I was there 10 days but didn’t really feel comfortable out running for various reasons. And when I came home I was hit with the longest, toughest cold of my life. 2 months in the drain popping pain killers and generally just trying to stay upright. And after that? Swedish winter. Go figure. Cold, dark and snowy.

Getting home from work I just couldn’t get myself out of the door. I’d be cold and hungry and grumpy and feeling fat and lonely. So yes, I do understand: sometimes it damn hard just to get started.

What to do?

Well first of all, remember the fun. Remember to smile. Also, remember that the only real failure is to not try. If you try and fail that’s alright because you might learn something from it. But if you don’t try at all? Nope, can’t do. So I decided to start moving my ass, but do it little by little. Start walking back from work. Spend 20 minute in the gym now and again. Bring out the bike and start using it. With the goal of trying a little every day.

And the damnedest thing is that it seems to work. Yesterday I popped 8 km after work in a leisurely  5.30 min/km and I found myself enjoying it immensely. And every time I met someone I’d start smiling again. Which is, let me tell you, a strange thing to do for a Swedish runner: you’d be amazed how good people you meet on the trail here are at no-quite meeting your eyes, and looking grim with the headphones firmly attached and beach 2013 fixed in their minds.

But if it’s a reboot, let’s do it properly! So yesterday I ordered a new pair of Merrel Trail Gloves for better bootin’, and also signed up for Lidingöloppet in September. Tagged as “the largest cross-country race in the world” it’s not quite what you’d think of as “trail” but neither is it “street”. And it’s a huge classic in Sweden: last year 44,000 people toed the starting line for 30 km of no-quite-trail fun. It’ll be my longest race by far and I’m giddy with excitement already.

Oh, and what team did I sign up under? Why, team Run Smiley Collective of course!

• The state of the music industry – The Oatmeal http://theoatmeal.com/comics/music_industry … via @Oatmeal
• Laugh out loud: Meta-patenting! Go IBM! Go! http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/08/01/157743897/can-you-get-a-patent-on-being-a-patent-troll …
• 10 practices of highly ineffective software developers http://shar.es/vyiw3  via @computerworld
• Marcus Birro säger hej från år 1252: “Politik borde handla om Gud, skuld, synd, bot, frälsning, bättring.” http://bit.ly/OVp9XZ
• Let Mount Sharp blow your mind: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/680953main_pia16100-full_full.jpg … #Curiosity
• Open Source Ecology. Let’s start a new civilization! http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/TED_Talk_Video …
• Cool and or disturbing images found on google street view. http://9-eyes.com/ 
• “This weekend I wrote 2,369 lines of code. Apparently that’s 5.94 man months and worth approx $66,824. I must be awesome.”
• No, I don’t drink coke very often. Thankfully. Sugar contents visualized: http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm  #sugar @sugarstacker
• “Ska sjunga för idioterna från Helgeandsholmen nu. Politikerförakt och musikalisk plikt i frontalkrock.”
• Revealing the Universe: the Hubble Extreme Deep Field http://shar.es/uNJaO
• Is Alzheimer’s Type 3 Diabetes? http://nyti.ms/TykL5o
• “When IP maximalists argue that intellectual property should be treated like physical property, they mean for the ‘owner’, not the licensee. ” @ralpost
• “Emelie Forsberg wins Skyrunner 2012 World Series! Damn, but that’s cool! (But you won’t hear about it in Swedish media). “
• 15 misconception on natural running and minimalist shoes: http://naturalrunningcenter.com/2012/10/29/10-misconceptions-minimalist-shoes-natural-running/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-misconceptions-minimalist-shoes-natural-running …
• I medkänslans skymningsland http://bit.ly/YkqkEi
• Triumph of the Nerds: Nate Silver Wins in 50 States http://on.mash.to/YWpxZr
• XKCD: To the surprise of pundits: http://xkcd.com/1131/
• Scaling Agile @ Spotify with Tribes, Squads, Chapters & Guilds. http://ow.ly/fhmZg
• Start your day w/ something amazing: A guy builds a fully functioning V12 engine that … fits in his hand! http://bit.ly/sjOd3n
• Meet the professional liars: http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/11/28/meet-the-climate-denial-machine/191545 … #medimatters #climatechange
• Tell my again, slowly, why aren’t there any bankers in jail? http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/outrageous-hsbc-settlement-proves-the-drug-war-is-a-joke-20121213 … #drugs #hsbc
• “Dad just told me he was Santa. This ruins everything. ” – Jesus

Enjoy!