3rd of June – Returning home sore

When waking up I got my stuff in order and checked out before going down to a local café where I had breakfast (because, let’s be honest, the breakfast at the hotel was quite unimpressive). Unfortunately the café didn’t sell their famous sandwiches until after my airport pickup arrived, so I settled with a bun, hot chocolate and a cake. And another cake (that rhubarb cheesecake was as delicious as it looked). 

Walking among the buildings of Tinganes in Tórshavn.

Common eider found in the harbour.

Tern.

Leaving I returned to the hotel, waited a few minutes before getting picked up and drove the short way to the airport. A quick process of handing off my bag and getting through security, and I found myself in a small waiting area with a café on one side and tax free on the other, and a seating area that had been filled up. When arriving you could barely see the runway due to mist, but the weather improved slowly. Getting closer to departure I started getting nervous as it didn’t look promising to me, but suddenly the plane popped up during landing and with only half an hour’s delay we pulled away from the gate and were off without any more hiccups.

And that was that: a lot of exercise and the chance to see puffins and gannets up close made this trip pretty damn great. And it helps ignoring the not very optimal weather when I was there – but then again; the Faroe Islands isn’t really known for being a destination with amazing weather being as exposed as it is. But I’d love to be able to return some day to see more of Mykines but also see more parts of the islands.

Full album can be found here.

2nd of June – On the run

The run didn’t start until 1300 (I am assuming that it’s because the morning weather here tends to be questionable) so I decided to sleep in and relax until leaving the hotel to go to the starting area. I had a few short walks around to keep an eye on the weather, but the forecast seemed more and more clear: 6-8°C, 6-10 m/s winds and constant light rain. So quite dull weather with clouds at 200-300 meters wouldn’t give great views one could have hoped for in such a beautiful place. 

In total 600 people had signed up for the event, but that was in total for all the 5,5km, 10km, half-marathon and marathon distances. Only 121 people joined the marathon run so it would be a small nice run. We got sent off on time, and after circling the town once we took the main road out northbound, following the coast around into an inlet before continuing back out on the other side reaching Kaldbak where the turnaround point was, and then the same way back to Torshavn again, though just the direct way and no circling around.

I was a bit worried about how things would go as I had just run my first marathon ever two weeks previously, so I expected my legs to still be slightly wobbly. Luckily I felt none of that, and I could instead spend my energy overcoming the resistance of running into the wind and rain for most of the run. There was 538m of total altitude gain along the way, so that went straight to my legs, too. And to add to the challenge the highest hills to conquer were on the last 7km coming back into Torshavn – against the wind. But to my surprise I ended up completing in 4:12:54, a fair bit faster than expected, so I was very happy when I crossed the finish line.

This meant that I was 17/32 in my class (men 18-39), 56/89 among men and 70/121 overall. The winner came in at 2:36:30 (a small improvement from last year and a new track record), the second came in 20 minutes later. First woman across the finish line was at 3:18:8. And the last runner came in at 5:36:03, a big improvement from last year's 6:59:07.

And we are off! And it is as wet as it looks.

Photo taken by faroephoto.com.

A gentle wet hill on the way out of Tórshavn. Coming back it felt less gentle.

Photo taken by faroephoto.com.

Feeling better than expected when crossing the line!

Photo taken by Jens Kristian Vang.

On completion you got served fish soup with chunks of delicious salmon and plenty of home-made cake to grab. It was a great end to a fun run. Hobbling back to the hotel which luckily was only a few hundred meters away, had a nice long warm shower before getting dressed and went out to have a quick and easy dinner. Staying on second floor I definitely used the elevator up and down.

1st of June – Rest day

Today was a do-nothing-day. So I slept in, relaxed and went to the runner’s expo at noon to pick up my number and t-shirt. The intensity there was a fair bit different than the one for Copenhagen marathon a few weeks ago: here in total on all distances there are around 600 signed up, whereas in Copenhagen around 13.000 had signed up for the race. Being more laid back it only took me a few minutes to be done and after having returned to the hotel with my newly acquired stuff I grabbed my camera and went for a walk in town.

After already having had a walk around there wasn’t much new to see – let’s be honest: if you have spent a few hours walking around here you have pretty much seen it all. I did find a small park, though, that quite effectively blocked out the (limited) noise from the streets going by. It was quite serene with a small pond filled with ducks.

For dinner I went to a very nice Italian restaurant for which I had read reviews that had stated that the pasta portion sizes were huge. This I thought would be perfect for my upcoming run, but I realized that they were pretty normal sizes. That was a slight disappointment, but it was still very tasty.

31st – Windy birding

Waking up I noticed that trying to adjust the temperature was successful. The temperature was now down to 23°C.

At around 0915 I took the bus from Tórshavn to go and catch the ferry to get to Mykines. The bus system here outside the towns is pretty great – there might not be many departures, but whenever the lines cross, they wait for each other so even if your current bus is delayed you won’t miss your connection. The traffic here isn’t very dense so the risk for any significant delays seem close to nil.

So when we arrived at the ferry 10 minutes late – not due to traffic – technically after the ferry would have departed, it was still there waiting for us.

The crossing was easier than I had expected considering the exposed nature of the Faroe Islands. The water was calm but being in a relatively small boat we still had some chopping on the way out. Reaching Mykines and circling around to the small port some of us were lucky enough to spot a couple of seals popping their heads up to have a quick look around before disappearing again.

Sailing along the coastline heading towards Mykines.

Mykines is probably best known for its puffin colonies and the lighthouse on the western-most point on the island and also the western-most point of the Faroe Islands. The weather kept dry and depending on where you were standing either nice and calm or very windy.

Looking west on Mykines.

A puffin.

Another puffin.

I spent most of my time on the island going west and enjoying the high concentration of puffins. They might be chubby and look clumsy but when airborne they are fast and nimble. Because of this it was quite difficult to get good shots of them flying, but as soon as they were just sitting around in the grass in groups there was plenty chances of getting good shots.

More puffins!

A gannet.

Apart from the puffins there were quite a few beautiful gannets, too, and kittiwakes had taken over small crevices on the rockfaces on the edges of the island. I believe I also spotted a few arctic terns, guillemots and fulmars.

Flying gannet.

Yes. More puffins.

Returning to the small village Mykines (on the island Mykines – a pattern emerges…) I had a small walk around while waiting for the return boat. It arrived on schedule and a bit past 1700 we departed the island and returned to the main land (or rather; the slightly larger island) where the bus going to Tórshavn was waiting for us.

Returning to Tórshavn I went back to the hotel to get rid of my bag and then went out for dinner. At the restaurant I randomly bumped into someone I don’t think I’ve seen since my time in uni. Apparently she’s here with her husband as he is also participating in the run on Sunday. She had been looking at the topographical maps and concluded it was a dumb idea. Today’s bus took us along part of the track and I got to see first hand the hills outside Tórshavn. I am starting to think it’s a dumb idea, too.

Mykines was a great experience. I could see myself returning when there are chick and then spending a few nights on the island to get the full experience And maybe remembering to bring slightly warmer clothes – when the wind picks up and you are standing still because you have found the perfect photo spot it does get quite chilly. And west of the town is only a small fraction of the entire island, so there is plenty of places to walk around.

30th of May – Northbound

My parents were nice enough to pick me up and bring me to the airport. I ended up spending close to an hour in the lounge having breakfast before going to the gate and experiencing probably the fastest boarding I have ever been part of: it took less than 10 minutes which meant we had to stay and wait for almost 15 minutes before we were allowed to leave the gate.

The flight was uneventful and on schedule.

I was picked up by my booked taxi with two others, the driver being an old jovial guy who seemed to know a bit about everyone on the way to Tórshavn. The main road went through a 5km long tunnel not far from the airport and half way our driver said “Half way now, time to go back up. By the way – we are 105 meters below sea level.”. No wonder it felt like he had been braking most of the time until then while maintaining the speed. Coming out on the other side he informed us that he would skip the next few tunnels and instead take us over the mountains instead so we would have a chance to enjoy the views. And I am glad he did – it’s gorgeous here. Similar to Svalbard but less brown, greener and less wild.

When checking in the hotel receptionist had to admit, despite having my booking confirmation, I was nowhere to be found in the system. After some typing he let me know that he did still have room for me if I’d be willing to change rooms after 2 nights and spend the remaining two nights in the suite. I informed him I was willing to make the sacrifice. After spending some time on the phone he gets back to me and lets me know that I won’t have to change rooms anyway, unfortunately it turned out it wasn’t the suite I’d end up in. I received confirmation for room 25, he ran around a bit and gave me the keys for room 24. Apparently he couldn’t find the keys for room 25 so I got the identical room next door instead.

Check-in was a bit more confusing than I am used to. But at least it worked out in the end.

I went for a short walk for a few hours trying to find my way around Tórshavn. It was quite confusing as most roads are small and twisting and it didn’t take long before my sense of direction was confused. And there is barely a flat piece of road anywhere unless you are near the harbour. And being pretty windy and temps down around 8-ish degrees there was a bit to get used to.

View of Tórshavn and port.

Dinner was had at a sushi restaurant that had some absolutely amazing salmon. A mild taste and the pieces almost melted in the mouth. Probably the best salmon I’ve ever had. I just had to have a bit extra.

Coming back to the hotel I realized the thermostat in the room doesn’t seem to be really working as it has been stuck on 25°C despite trying to lower it as it was a bit too much for me. I tried setting it to 18°C but it kept jumping back to 25. Getting hold of the receptionist I was informed that as long as it is given the new temperature it will be set correctly, it’s just really slow at getting to the desired value. Like, really, really slow.

The walls are a bit thin – I can hear my neighbour snore.

Going back north - but not so far

I have for a while wanted to go to the Faroe Islands, mostly because it looks like a beautiful place but also due to it being a great location for birding. Of course, the weather is... variable. "There is a lot of it", as a Faroese friend says. So that will be an interesting aspect of the trip.

It will just be a short trip this time - and extended weekend over the Ascension Day holiday. But a short trip is better than no trip, so there is no reason to not go when you have the chance.

30^th of May – 1^st of June

Flying up directly from Copenhagen puts my in Torshavn midday, giving me plenty of time of getting to know the ups and downs of the town before I the following day (Friday) plan to take a bus to Mykines island for birding. There is apparently a lot going on around the time I’m there so I am looking forward to it. The following day I might do something similar, or just relax and hanging about near Torshavn.

2^nd of June

The main reason I’ve come here: Torshavn marathon. Yes. No, I don’t know what is wrong with me, either. I have been running regularly for years, now, and up to November last year I considered 13km as a long run. Then one day, close to finishing, I felt good so I continued, and before I knew it I had run near 22km. Not long after I ran comfortably 22-25km 3 times a week, so I realized I had to put that into good use. Hence – a marathon. It wasn’t until I had booked tickets and hotel it sunk in that this is only 2 weeks after the Copenhagen marathon – my first run of the kind. I might not be a clever man.

3^rd of June

Flight home, hopefully not too sore.

I’m looking forward to this – primarily due to the wildlife watching I am planning to do, but also to find out how I’ll do with only 2 weeks since the last run. This is also not an as easy track as the one in Copenhagen; there it’s flat with wide turns, here it’s undulating and exposed. In any case it’ll be interesting!