My first ever triathlon was in the Half Ironman Challenge Calella, with my homies Toni & Ferran, back in May 2009 - so many things has happened and I have learned so much and enjoyed every step of it. This day we are all there again, but now with so much more friends - triathlon is really like a nice family and it makes me extremely happy to see friends racing and cheering on the side. And of course racing on home turf is emotional and you want to do good - and so we did!
The morning was sunny and calm - a quick dip and off in the 3rd AG wave in the flat, coldish and salty waters of Costa Brava. Quick found a good pace and cadence. For the first time I was swimming in competition with the Garmin 910XT HRM, which monitors performance in all 3 sports and even times your transitions. First new and very valid data is, that I was swimming at 70 strokes per minute (up from 55 SPM) - which is the fruit of the swim technique work I did with Aleksandar, when he was here in Barcelona a month ago. Now, to me, a higher cadence theoretically makes you faster, but also helps you use stronger muscle groups (shorter stroke) and actually works great in open water. Maybe thats why you always see pros with very high cadence - all the way to 80-90 SPM. The swim was (again) a bit longer - some mentioned 2050m, but made landfall after 31 minutes, which is (again) a personal best - so good to see another good improvement in the swim and I still feel I could push slightly more.
The bike was set to be epic - the main road is N-II which is honestly my favorite training grounds. Except for the bumpy (speed bumps) entry to/from Calella, where people crash and drop bottles, it was to tuck into position and push the agreed 244 watts and enjoy the show. No winds, so flew out at around 39.5 km/m at 244W, turned around and to my surprise now had a slight tail wind, so coming home at speeds above 45 km/h was just amazing. I had a Basque and French guys on my wheel on all flats, who took turns to blow by me on the small hills. I later took over the Basque on the run and I never saw the Frenchie again. Don't push to hard on the hills - it´ll burn your legs and fill them with lactic acid, which you will pay for on the run! Entering T2 after 2h13m on the bike - another PB and 40.4 km/h on average. Turned out to be the 2nd best bike split amongst all age groupers (non-professionals) of the day. Only 16 pros went faster on the bike!
My hope was to go under 1h30m on the run, and felt really good running at the right goal pace of 4:15 min/km until km16. Nutrition worked well and I tried to push as much as I could from km18, but I kept loosing a bit of time, so ended up running 21.6 km in 1h32m, fairly OK after a good effort on the bike. I would still like to run better, as I can see the people I swim and bike with go around 4:00 min/km. Nutrition worked perfect all day and although it got quite warm I never had any stomach issues as I have had in the past on hot days. Finished in 4h20m - new PB on the distance, which I think we can approve, considering very little tapering plus the slightly longer swim and run!
Finished 4th in my age group. And 12th position across all age groupers!
Now 6 weeks to IM Frankfurt - looking forward to evaluating the race with coach and start really preparing for this seasons A-race! Cheers T
Monday, May 28, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Tuning Up - Lighter is better
"You Big Heap of Meat" - was the rude outburst from coach Aleksandar, when he saw me in Speedos before a swim training, some 3 weeks back. No offense taken, of course he was joking, but also opening my eyes, that:
Various calculators on the web can tell you, that dropping weight will make you faster, except maybe during swimming where the extra body fat makes you float a bit better. But on the bike and on especially on the run, low weight converts into faster races.
For a Marathon I have seen predictions that running 4-5 kg lighter will make you (theoretically) 8-10 mintues faster, which is HUGE in a world where we are basically chasing grams on the bike and minutes on an Ironman.
In the next post I will reveal a few little tricks to manage weight and what I apply to drop weight in a healthy way - It´s simply really. Wish me luck
- The heavy sets of strength-swim during the winter had built an above-normal muscle mass on my upper body, arms, shoulders and chest.
- My racing weight would potentially be way lower than the 72-73 kg that I have always been aiming for - the level where my last belly fat seems to disappear.
Various calculators on the web can tell you, that dropping weight will make you faster, except maybe during swimming where the extra body fat makes you float a bit better. But on the bike and on especially on the run, low weight converts into faster races.
For a Marathon I have seen predictions that running 4-5 kg lighter will make you (theoretically) 8-10 mintues faster, which is HUGE in a world where we are basically chasing grams on the bike and minutes on an Ironman.
In the next post I will reveal a few little tricks to manage weight and what I apply to drop weight in a healthy way - It´s simply really. Wish me luck
 |
| Macca (left) is or was known to be the heaviest ever Ironman Champion at almost 80 kgs. |
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Finally a flawless execution - Banyoles B Distance
Almost recovered with the knee after the crash in Valencia, the last few months has been a bit more race specific. Banyoles is the Catalan championship in the "B-distance" (2200m swim, 80km bike and 20km run) and a local classic, that normally attracts the best age groupers.
The swim was cut a bit short to 1650m due to 14 degree water temperature (as in Valencia) but it actually felt OK. Amazing to have Blanca there and give me warmth before the cold swim. Plunged right into it and bruised my knees on the bottom - I simply don´t understand why they insist on a "jump-start" instead of a water start.
Well - off we go and actually felt really well. No anxiety and for the first time (probably ever) I felt swimming was great. I kept pushing all the way and I could definitely feel that the effect of many strength swims had me stronger now. I think I could have gone bit faster for this distance, but came out in 26 minutes for 1700m, which would be PR - very nice!
Bit slow in T1 as I had issues coming out of the wetsuit being quite cold now. But happily off to the bike and the sun was shining. I must congratulate the organizers in Banyoles. This race is so simple, yet so perfect. There´s a few aid stations and guiding is done very properly. All races should be learning from this. On the downside the race is infamous for drafting and though the Catalan Tri Federation was present as marshalls, they apparently let people draft at will. I had a group of at least 20 bikes in front of me most of the way, riding light roadbikes on the hilly course, and then shaping a nice little group on the flats and downhills - drafting like this is a disgrace and I am happy I am not racing for neither fame or money in this game.
I was racing without watts (the SRM is on 3rd weeks in Germany for repair), but had agreed on a tight HR range from 162-164 and kept myself there, except on the climbs. Again, I feel that I had a bit more in the legs and was some 3-4 minutes from the fastest bikes on the day over the 75km. Not bad, but I am sure I would be able to manage my effort better with watts.
On the run, I set out at 4:25 min/km. I have been injured in the knee since the Valencia crash so haven´t run as much and as fast as I had hoped for. However, legs were good and I moved closer to 4:20 until around 12km, took a gel and another caffein tablet which gave me a boost of energy and I managed to stay at 4:25 until around 17 or 18 km, where I started pushing harder. I ran all the way through and it felt good to have the extra energy to push harder the last 2-3 km, something I never had in the past. Again, getting the pace right is so cruzial. Thanks to coach Aleksandar, who again hit the spot perfectly on planning my race and paces, which made it fairly easy to execute without feeling any real highs or lows during the day. Overall probably the best race I have ever put together. Felt I could go a bit faster on all 3 sports and finishing like 10 minutes from top10 is approved I guess.
Next up is Half Ironman in Challenge Maresme on the 27th of May. Main aim here is to run better (maybe 4:15?) and race below 70 kg, which means I must drop 3.5 kg before then - not impossible at all. Two months to Ironman Frankfurt!
The swim was cut a bit short to 1650m due to 14 degree water temperature (as in Valencia) but it actually felt OK. Amazing to have Blanca there and give me warmth before the cold swim. Plunged right into it and bruised my knees on the bottom - I simply don´t understand why they insist on a "jump-start" instead of a water start.
 |
| Banyoles Swim Start |
Well - off we go and actually felt really well. No anxiety and for the first time (probably ever) I felt swimming was great. I kept pushing all the way and I could definitely feel that the effect of many strength swims had me stronger now. I think I could have gone bit faster for this distance, but came out in 26 minutes for 1700m, which would be PR - very nice!
Bit slow in T1 as I had issues coming out of the wetsuit being quite cold now. But happily off to the bike and the sun was shining. I must congratulate the organizers in Banyoles. This race is so simple, yet so perfect. There´s a few aid stations and guiding is done very properly. All races should be learning from this. On the downside the race is infamous for drafting and though the Catalan Tri Federation was present as marshalls, they apparently let people draft at will. I had a group of at least 20 bikes in front of me most of the way, riding light roadbikes on the hilly course, and then shaping a nice little group on the flats and downhills - drafting like this is a disgrace and I am happy I am not racing for neither fame or money in this game.
 |
| Flying on the E118 with a disc, which maybe wasn´t optimal for this hilly course. Thanks TriEnjoy for the photo and to Guillermo for tuning the rig before the race! |
I was racing without watts (the SRM is on 3rd weeks in Germany for repair), but had agreed on a tight HR range from 162-164 and kept myself there, except on the climbs. Again, I feel that I had a bit more in the legs and was some 3-4 minutes from the fastest bikes on the day over the 75km. Not bad, but I am sure I would be able to manage my effort better with watts.
On the run, I set out at 4:25 min/km. I have been injured in the knee since the Valencia crash so haven´t run as much and as fast as I had hoped for. However, legs were good and I moved closer to 4:20 until around 12km, took a gel and another caffein tablet which gave me a boost of energy and I managed to stay at 4:25 until around 17 or 18 km, where I started pushing harder. I ran all the way through and it felt good to have the extra energy to push harder the last 2-3 km, something I never had in the past. Again, getting the pace right is so cruzial. Thanks to coach Aleksandar, who again hit the spot perfectly on planning my race and paces, which made it fairly easy to execute without feeling any real highs or lows during the day. Overall probably the best race I have ever put together. Felt I could go a bit faster on all 3 sports and finishing like 10 minutes from top10 is approved I guess.
Next up is Half Ironman in Challenge Maresme on the 27th of May. Main aim here is to run better (maybe 4:15?) and race below 70 kg, which means I must drop 3.5 kg before then - not impossible at all. Two months to Ironman Frankfurt!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Prepare to be surprised - Half Ironman Valencia
So, finally time for the first real race in 2012. After good quality trainings the last few months I felt well prepared and potentially better & stronger than ever, which now had to stand the test. We were around 20 known friends and foes from Barcelona, so jolly times on the trip 400km south of Barcelona. The course would be flat and the water cold. Coach Aleksandar sent me the plan for the days before the race for race prep and strategy laid out for swim, bike & run. I must say, it felt great to have this one-pager with advice on how to act on race day, the hard part of course, was to execute it right!
Swim:
I guess we were around 200 AGs in my wave in an ice-cold water start. I made a slight mistake of starting a bit close the the ropes and got squeezed in between the (usual) frantic swimmers. Got off well, but quickly realized that the neoprene cap (meant to keep my head warm) strap around my chin, was strangulating me and in the water I could hear and feel that it kept me from breathing unconstrained. So spent maybe some 60 seconds fixing it and eventually gave up and was a bit out of breath, but bearable. I never really found a good pair of legs to draft on and found good rhythm after only 700-800m. Exit in 32:48, which is OK, as I learned that the swim was actually 2200m, so absolutely my best 70.3 swim split ever. Would compare to 28m30s on a 1900m course. I never felt tired, kept a good high and easy cadence and believe I could have pushed a bit more or kept this pace even longer.
Bike:
Coming out of the water my hands and face was so cold I could hardly get my wetsuit off and had to ask my neighbor for help.The bike plan was to stick to the 242 Watts as a goal pace. The circuit was flat but extremely windy. Further we passed what felt as at least 50+ roundabouts and the asphalt in most places was extremely bad. But hey, who cares when you are shooting after watts, right?
I quickly shot up to an average on 240w, but honestly had a hard time maintaining it due to many breaks in roundabouts and other riders going left and right in the now even tougher wind. At times I was going completely sideways to keep balance with the disc wheel. Eventually, I was hitting around 50 km/h and rode into a small chicane with dirt ditches on each side, lost the grip in some sand on the road and hurled into the road side, only to see a dried-out river coming up 10-15m below. I literally jumped or tried to and in the air I recall thinking "man, I hope I land before that riera (river bed)", which I did. Bruises on shoulders, legs and cut on left knee. Some 5-6 contestants stopped and looked horrified as I picked my self up, dusted of blood and dirt and got back in the saddle to check that the bike could at least still run. Not a tea party, right? Scratches on the helmet proves that I got away from the crash with some luck. From here it was just hard headwind, shitty asphalt and quite some pains, but made it home in 2 hours 32 minutes, which was the 4th best bike split among almost 1000 age groupers on the day. Not bad, after the crash and coming wrong out of at least 2 roundabouts. Normalized power for the best part of the ride was 239w, but I have to learn to push harder in headwind, since the opposite tailwind makes in hard to keep the effort. Further the many unnatural breaks meant that it was a somewhat interval effort, stopping and starting a lot. Very happy with the overall bike result (thanks Aleksandar), my position on the bike (thanks Guillermo & Pedro) and that I kept it going with cuts and bruises everywhere (thanks 30 years of skateboarding). Guillermo did the 2nd best bike split of the day only 52 seconds in front of me, and eventually went on to win his age group. Good start on his road back to Kona this year!
Run:
The plan here was to stick to a 4:25 min/km pace, which I initially (pre-race) felt was to slow, an opinion I was fast to change. Biking at 242w is right at the limit of my current physical abilities and has been established as a 85% of my FTP tests (285w), and leaves only right enough juice to make it through 21 km run with some grinding and deep digging. Hitting the run course I spent the first km "finding my legs", which worked OK and I quickly hit 4:25 with no big effort. Left knee hurt a lot, but it definitely felt as if I could keep this pace home. I had a difficult time bending the knee, which meant I have to stray away from a good (new pose-based) running technique, around km10 the pain was almost unbearable but kept the pace almost until km15 (2 laps) where I was somewhat forced to stop. Considering that this was after all only a "training", I did not really feel like pushing it much harder. A bit bummed out walking until Alfonsina picked me up and I ran with her home in 1h53m.
All in all many new things learned. Nutrition plan worked as planned I felt fairly good throughout the best part of the race, except for the pain. Thanks to all for cheering and congrats to all finishers and again to Guillermo for his amazing win and to Alex for 2nd in his age group and a powerful run!
Swim:
I guess we were around 200 AGs in my wave in an ice-cold water start. I made a slight mistake of starting a bit close the the ropes and got squeezed in between the (usual) frantic swimmers. Got off well, but quickly realized that the neoprene cap (meant to keep my head warm) strap around my chin, was strangulating me and in the water I could hear and feel that it kept me from breathing unconstrained. So spent maybe some 60 seconds fixing it and eventually gave up and was a bit out of breath, but bearable. I never really found a good pair of legs to draft on and found good rhythm after only 700-800m. Exit in 32:48, which is OK, as I learned that the swim was actually 2200m, so absolutely my best 70.3 swim split ever. Would compare to 28m30s on a 1900m course. I never felt tired, kept a good high and easy cadence and believe I could have pushed a bit more or kept this pace even longer.
Bike:
Coming out of the water my hands and face was so cold I could hardly get my wetsuit off and had to ask my neighbor for help.The bike plan was to stick to the 242 Watts as a goal pace. The circuit was flat but extremely windy. Further we passed what felt as at least 50+ roundabouts and the asphalt in most places was extremely bad. But hey, who cares when you are shooting after watts, right?
I quickly shot up to an average on 240w, but honestly had a hard time maintaining it due to many breaks in roundabouts and other riders going left and right in the now even tougher wind. At times I was going completely sideways to keep balance with the disc wheel. Eventually, I was hitting around 50 km/h and rode into a small chicane with dirt ditches on each side, lost the grip in some sand on the road and hurled into the road side, only to see a dried-out river coming up 10-15m below. I literally jumped or tried to and in the air I recall thinking "man, I hope I land before that riera (river bed)", which I did. Bruises on shoulders, legs and cut on left knee. Some 5-6 contestants stopped and looked horrified as I picked my self up, dusted of blood and dirt and got back in the saddle to check that the bike could at least still run. Not a tea party, right? Scratches on the helmet proves that I got away from the crash with some luck. From here it was just hard headwind, shitty asphalt and quite some pains, but made it home in 2 hours 32 minutes, which was the 4th best bike split among almost 1000 age groupers on the day. Not bad, after the crash and coming wrong out of at least 2 roundabouts. Normalized power for the best part of the ride was 239w, but I have to learn to push harder in headwind, since the opposite tailwind makes in hard to keep the effort. Further the many unnatural breaks meant that it was a somewhat interval effort, stopping and starting a lot. Very happy with the overall bike result (thanks Aleksandar), my position on the bike (thanks Guillermo & Pedro) and that I kept it going with cuts and bruises everywhere (thanks 30 years of skateboarding). Guillermo did the 2nd best bike split of the day only 52 seconds in front of me, and eventually went on to win his age group. Good start on his road back to Kona this year!
Run:
The plan here was to stick to a 4:25 min/km pace, which I initially (pre-race) felt was to slow, an opinion I was fast to change. Biking at 242w is right at the limit of my current physical abilities and has been established as a 85% of my FTP tests (285w), and leaves only right enough juice to make it through 21 km run with some grinding and deep digging. Hitting the run course I spent the first km "finding my legs", which worked OK and I quickly hit 4:25 with no big effort. Left knee hurt a lot, but it definitely felt as if I could keep this pace home. I had a difficult time bending the knee, which meant I have to stray away from a good (new pose-based) running technique, around km10 the pain was almost unbearable but kept the pace almost until km15 (2 laps) where I was somewhat forced to stop. Considering that this was after all only a "training", I did not really feel like pushing it much harder. A bit bummed out walking until Alfonsina picked me up and I ran with her home in 1h53m.
All in all many new things learned. Nutrition plan worked as planned I felt fairly good throughout the best part of the race, except for the pain. Thanks to all for cheering and congrats to all finishers and again to Guillermo for his amazing win and to Alex for 2nd in his age group and a powerful run!
“Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.”
Hugs - Thomas
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Training on the road?
The next few weeks are gonna be hectic in terms of traveling for work. I will be visiting Milan a few times, then London and finally Istanbul. Business travel is definitely not easy to combine with Ironman training. Apart from being away from your bike and your pool, the hours working while away always seems to be more intensive and combined with massive company dinners (or even night life), these weeks are challenging, though not impossible.
First, I always look for hotel options with a decent fitness center, a pool or grounds to run (thanks Google Maps) - right now Milan is at hard subzero degrees, so I´m ruling out running outdoor. Basically all you need is a treadmill and potentially a static bike.
Use your global network to get info on good pools or trails. Maybe you have a friend in Italy, who can guide you to a good pool or awesome runs, around or out of town.
Lately I have picked up a jump rope - you would be amazed how fast this challenging little thing can tire you down, especially the calves. Further it teaches you coordination and balance. Hey, it worked for Ali - it´ll work for you too. And it´s easier and lighter to bring than your 20 kg Kettlebell.
Sticking to a good diet is difficult while on the road. For some reason, business dinners always tend to be mighty big, full of processed calories and loads of wine. In the business world it is (for some odd reason) still looked a bit down upon, if you order a Cesar salad, while your colleagues feast on Foie Gras and Creme Brule! There are no excuses, and the food will be amazing - but I will do my best to stick to less intake and still enjoy!
First, I always look for hotel options with a decent fitness center, a pool or grounds to run (thanks Google Maps) - right now Milan is at hard subzero degrees, so I´m ruling out running outdoor. Basically all you need is a treadmill and potentially a static bike.
Use your global network to get info on good pools or trails. Maybe you have a friend in Italy, who can guide you to a good pool or awesome runs, around or out of town.
Lately I have picked up a jump rope - you would be amazed how fast this challenging little thing can tire you down, especially the calves. Further it teaches you coordination and balance. Hey, it worked for Ali - it´ll work for you too. And it´s easier and lighter to bring than your 20 kg Kettlebell.
Sticking to a good diet is difficult while on the road. For some reason, business dinners always tend to be mighty big, full of processed calories and loads of wine. In the business world it is (for some odd reason) still looked a bit down upon, if you order a Cesar salad, while your colleagues feast on Foie Gras and Creme Brule! There are no excuses, and the food will be amazing - but I will do my best to stick to less intake and still enjoy!
Friday, January 20, 2012
What? Teach an old dog new tricks?
Oh yeah - so I promised to talk a bit on improving running technique. Actually, around 2 years ago I did an effort, watched some YouTube and figured that land forefoot was more efficient than landing on the heel, which indeed is very true - and to some extend that got me slightly faster.
However, filming a bit with coach Aleksandar, made him burst into stuff like "Your technique really stinks - I mean, that is really bad". I was absolutely still hitting the ground somewhat in front of my center of gravity, I pushed my chest forward as if I tried to get to some imaginary finish line first - but worst of all was that my lagging leg (the one behind) was really hanging way behind me, which got me completely our of balance.
With a good, or at least better, running technique your point of impact should be right below or slightly behind your center of gravity. Which means that you basically needs to move less mass (yes your body weight) over the point of impact and hence, forward movement will be need less effort, which again means that you move faster - I guess that´s what we are all looking for.
You seek to eliminate all movements or activity in each running step, that does not support forward propulsion.
So - Aleksandar has developed these 9 steps to better running technique, somewhat inspired (though he will probably refuse) by the Pose Running Techniques. The idea is to get from one pose to the next pose, as fast as possible, which means you need to pick up your lagging leg faster or earlier.
After a few weeks of implementing this, the results have been astonishing. I am surpsied how these 9 steps actually starts being a natural part of my run. And I frankly feel I run much easier, slightly faster (this of course takes a bit more than a few weeks) - my legs are not so "banged-out" after longer runs. It´s well worth the effort- trust me on that!
If you are in Denmark, Aleksandar offers these free Shoot Out sessions, where he takes people through the techniques. In most other mayor cities you can find Pose Running coaches who can teach you the techniques. And of course, are you in Barcelona - let´s just go running :D
Thanks Aleksandar for the great advice here - this will sure have a big impact on how I will run further on, avoiding injuries and hopefully keep me running for many more years! Cheers
However, filming a bit with coach Aleksandar, made him burst into stuff like "Your technique really stinks - I mean, that is really bad". I was absolutely still hitting the ground somewhat in front of my center of gravity, I pushed my chest forward as if I tried to get to some imaginary finish line first - but worst of all was that my lagging leg (the one behind) was really hanging way behind me, which got me completely our of balance.
 |
| Not how my lagging leg (right) is hanging way behind me at impact |
With a good, or at least better, running technique your point of impact should be right below or slightly behind your center of gravity. Which means that you basically needs to move less mass (yes your body weight) over the point of impact and hence, forward movement will be need less effort, which again means that you move faster - I guess that´s what we are all looking for.
You seek to eliminate all movements or activity in each running step, that does not support forward propulsion.
So - Aleksandar has developed these 9 steps to better running technique, somewhat inspired (though he will probably refuse) by the Pose Running Techniques. The idea is to get from one pose to the next pose, as fast as possible, which means you need to pick up your lagging leg faster or earlier.
 | ||
| Here - at impact (right foot), my lagging leg (left) is in a much better position to fire again and already moving forward |
After a few weeks of implementing this, the results have been astonishing. I am surpsied how these 9 steps actually starts being a natural part of my run. And I frankly feel I run much easier, slightly faster (this of course takes a bit more than a few weeks) - my legs are not so "banged-out" after longer runs. It´s well worth the effort- trust me on that!
If you are in Denmark, Aleksandar offers these free Shoot Out sessions, where he takes people through the techniques. In most other mayor cities you can find Pose Running coaches who can teach you the techniques. And of course, are you in Barcelona - let´s just go running :D
Thanks Aleksandar for the great advice here - this will sure have a big impact on how I will run further on, avoiding injuries and hopefully keep me running for many more years! Cheers
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Hey Ho - Let´s Go!
OK - so 2012 has finally kicked in, which feels great. Spent a few weeks over New Years on Lanzarote working volume and having fun times in a warmer, though tougher climate - I still can´t figure how you can do a 5-hour round trip on the bike and have that darn hard wind in your face all the time.
Anyhow, here´s an update on 2012 for me - read and weep:
2012 Dreams, Goals & Plans
So - starting from the top, Hawaii is still the biggest dream. It´s hard for me to put that down in words, but I want that so, so bad - enough said! I learned so much last year, that I want to put into action, improve and just have fun. In the end, that´s what it all is about, right? Further I feel that I have a huge amount of support surrounding me, which is amazing!
My key IM-race this year is Ironman Frankfurt the 8th of July, which offered 100 entry tickets or slots to Hawaii, but cut it down to 75 now. This potentially (or actually literally) means that I need to race in 9h20m or faster to get even close to qualify, at least top 15 in my age group in European Championship. So overall the plan is to train better and race harder. I will be doing 3-4 Half Ironman during spring time. Expect to see me in Banyoles, Terres d´Ebro and Half Maresme, with a strong preference for the great races here in Catalunya and to avoid travelling too much!
New Team - Where is the Limit?
The WITL-boys invited me to their team, which is just fantastic - nothing less. These folks are the people who originally got me hooked on triathlon (Thanks again, Josef), has a pure and strong passion in everything they do, and I share their philosophy on non-profit and just happy-go-lucky-attitude around building this club. Already after 2-3 months we are almost 400 members, amongst which many are good friends; Pep, Toni, Josef, Ferran & Ferran & Ferran and I daily meet new inspiring training partners! I think this can go really far and the team has my full support - we will not take any prisoners!
New Philosophy, Concepts & Sensations
So - I already posted around my collaboration with Out Of Bubblegum and coach Aleksandar. We have now had around 8 weeks in the field and I feel quite some changes in my whole set-up and physical and mental well being:
- I swim stronger: Instead of doing longer, boring sets, I now work more drills and much more intervals - its insane how tired I am after 2500m sets, burning feelings in the shoulders, and physically I can see that I have put on some swim-muscle, without moving much weights this year. My legs are much better, which means I move smoother in the water and helped by a higher cadence, I just move faster from wall to wall.
- I bike on fresh legs: Last year I was so exhausted at this time of the year, after long hauls on Lanzarote and trying to keep up with the tough crew in the Argon 18 Mafia, which eventually spiraled into over-trained legs and exhaust. Now I do shorter stuff (1-2 hours), loads of intervals enabled by the SRM watts and I can track that my improvements since September have been dramatic. I will be fun to actually start competing again to see if the legs can hold through 90 or 180 km, but battling the Finnish National Team on Lanzarote gave some good signs that this is actually working.
- I run easy: During Christmas I spent some days working with Aleksandar in freezing Copenhagen to improve my running technique. Aleksander talks about 9 steps to better running, somewhat inspired by the Pose Running Techniques. I will post a bit more on this shortly, but I already now feel that I am moving faster and easier forward. It´s honestly amazing that you can teach an old dog new tricks with quite few pointers which indeed makes loads of sense.
- I feel much better: Obviously all of above makes me feel in better shape, which is a very fine feeling. But apart from that I sleep like a champion (less stress in the body from long trainings maybe?), I have more time to do other stuff, things are great at work and I am madly in love <3.
Tune in soon - there´s some interesting news on gear, that I can´t wait to share! Hugs T
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