In 2019, 2020 and 2021 I had the same mål/goal; to exercise 150 times during the year. I only lyckades/succeeded with this in 2021, and that was after doing double pass/sessions in the last tio/ten days of December. The problem with that set-up was that a 2K (kilometer) run counted the same as a 10K run. It didn’t push me to go the distance.

That’s varför/why I decided to put a distans/distance as the goal in 2022. I skrev ned/wrote down the even number 1000K, which would mean ungefär/roughly about 3K per day. If I run a 10K, I would have two dagar/days off. You do the math. I had a good run until sometime in March when after being sjuk/sick, I lost some motivation, and then ännu mer/even more when I realised that I was trailing a lot from where I needed to be at the time. But, an encouraging DM from Tom got me back up and genom/throughout the election campaign summer, I would hitta tid/find time to run. In the autumn, the runs got längre/longer. I did at total of 44 runs over 10K, inklusive/including two races in December. I did an additional 6 halv marathons and I also did a 25K and a 26K run late in the year. Add a bunch of kortare/shorter distances and that’s how I nådde/reached 1000K on New Year’s Eve.

So what are my goals for 2023?
Well, problemet/the problem with the 2021 set-up was that I spent all of the moments of träning/exercising out running. I lacked the elements of building the body, for example going to the gym, simma/swimming, cykla/cycling, doing intervall runs and hill training. In order to reach greater distances, and at bättre/better pace, I need to incorporate this in my goals. So, I have a lista/list of tasks for the year to come.

40 x 10K
I will run no shorter distances than 10K. The first one was made on New Year’s Day. This is four färre/less than last year, but wait for it.

23 x 21K
Yes, 23 half-marathons during the year. Several of these will be lopp/races. I already have three ones booked, with the first one already next weekend. With roughly two of these per månad/month, I am building up a tolerance for even longer distances i framtiden/in the future.

4 x 30K
The längsta/longest I have run before in my life is 26K, and that was done in early December about a month ago. It was also the day efter/after the indoor 10K Arena Run which makes it even more peculiar. I believe with the build-up I’m planerar/planning, I will be able to push mig själv/myself to 30 and do it once every kvartal/quarter.

52 x gym
I have to give my body better förutsättningar/preconditions for these many long runs, so that is why I will go to the gym at least once a week, to build my legs, my core and slim down a bit.

30 x intervalls
To get some intensity in, I will start doing intervalls, when the weather allows for it. Just nu/Right now, the streets are very isiga/icy and not the best for this activity. Some of these will also be hill intervalls, to get me in better shape for the ups and downs during courses.

25 x cycling
When the weather allows for it, I will get on the cykel/bike, even though it’s not my favorite type of exercise, and give my mjölksyra/lactic acid a run for the money. It also allows me to exercise my running muscles in a different way.

20 x swimming
Aside from the gym, swimming is a great way to exercise the hela/entire body. I have access to a pool in the summer and there’s always skärgården/the archipelago of course.

I get that this sounds like a lot. But in 2021 I was out running 102 gånger/times. If you add this year’s 10K, half-marathons and the intervall sessions, you get 97. The gym parts are easy to fit in either at work or nära/close to where I live. I’m confident that I can reach my goals, through discipline and personal accountability.

I nämnde/mentioned that I will be doing several races this year. Actually, I’ve only done two in my life, and both were last month; the indoor Arena Run obstacle course (see video here), and Vallentunaloppet, both 10K. I’m running three half-marathons as races this first quarter. One close to Stockholm stadium nästa helg/next weekend, another one in February which is partly on a frozen lake and then a very utmanande/challenging one between two kuststäder/coastal towns in south of Sweden, along the water and up and down rocks. I am then looking forward to a whole bunch of utmaningar/challenges, even some outside of Sweden, but we’ll get to that.

So far, I have down one 10K, one besök/visit to the gym and one half marathon in western Stockholm. If you wanna keep up with me, I will post most of my updates on theswedishlad instagram.

But why?
So why am I doing this? Well, I loved running in my late tonår/teens, I know it does wonders for my mental health, it is a challenge and I want to give the framtida/future me better chances of a salubrious life. I went to the doctor for my biannual check-up and due to my konsekventa/consistent running these past six months, my levervärde/liver value had gone from 1,35 down to 0,73. Amazing results and a very good thing for my kropp/body. Some results are in your mind, some are visual and some are hidden within.

…or as Forrest Gump put it: “I just felt like running”.

Thank you for being part of my journey.