Triathlon at Retirement

Cykelvasan (Vasa race on bicycle) is the largest MTB race in the Nordic countries, and it approximately follows the famous Vasaloppet cross country ski track with checkpoints at all the classical controls. Almost 20,000 participants were registered over several races and distances. I was in the main and the longest race called Cykelvasan 90 (it is actually 96km long) with over 5000 participants. Three days before this year's Cykelvasa August 10, I felt I was free from my cold and that I could participate. Five weeks with very little training had gone by. For this reason, I knew I had to take it easy to endure 96km (almost 60 miles) on an MTB. Fortunately, the weather was good on racing day. I noticed very few women in my start group. I have done this race and distance once before, but the track had been slightly changed. Instead of doing the initial climb on a meandering gravel road, we had a much steeper climb on the Vasaloppet cross country ski track. I could barely do it without...

This has been a good athletic year for me. It started with Vasaloppet cross country ski race March 1 in Sweden, an old ambition of mine. Finally, I did it, and it went so well.  In mid-April the Tour de France organization came to Texas and I joined their amateur race/ride, placing 2nd in the 60+ age group on 60 hilly miles.  Then, the inaugural multisport festival in Irving, TX in late April - early May. Three races for me, two of them US national championships, resulting in a bronze medal in mixed sprint triathlon relay and a 7th place in draft legal sprint triathlon, and a 1st on the Olympic distance (non-championship). I hold the mixed sprint relay as the most fun race of the year. In June it was time for World Championship in Montreal, always exciting. A 28th place in individual sprint and 7th place in mixt sprint relay. I enjoyed every minute. Back to Sweden for swimming over the Arctic circle in the midnight sun, and an MTB race on the Vasa trail, both well worth doing....

I have started to use energy gels on longer competitions. I wish I had done that earlier; it really has helped my performance. Previously, I have only relied on energy drinks and apple juice, usually diluted with water. On advice from training buddies, I tested using gels during training a few times. I think it had some effect, but nothing really game changing. In hindsight, I can see I did not take enough. Recommended consumption is one gel every half hour during endurance events.  On my half ironman in April 2021, I only took one energy gel during the whole race, it was in T2. It probably helped me a bit, but the real game changer was Red Bull. On the run, I took a cup of Red Bull by mistake, I thought it was sports drink. The energizing effect was obvious, I felt it right away. Worried about too much caffeine intake, I swapped sports drink and Red Bull on every other drink station for the rest of the run. It was still hard, but the extra stimulant and sugar made it doable, and t...

On Saturday June 25 I did the individual sprint race in F60-64 and next day mixed team sprint relay 60-69. It was fun and intense, but I did not feel much pressure, as I knew I would have nothing to do with the podium.  Pre-race On Thursday before the races, it rained a little while we had a USA team photo and parade of nations. Elite races scheduled for Friday had their swim cancelled due to water contamination from the rains and their competition reverted to a duathlon (run-bike-run). By Saturday and age group races, water quality got restored and we did a normal triathlon. On Friday, it was bike check in and I looked over transition areas and course. We had not been allowed to swim or bike the course, only the run was available. This was because swim was in a harbor and obviously, it is not a place that normally allows swimming. Bike course was on busy roads, at times against the normal flow, so that was also a no-no. Instead, they provided videos, which I reviewed several times...

It is not great to be old and find your physique declining every year. On the other hand, with time, I have gathered some helpful experiences.  For one, I am convinced that our environment and relationship to people around us shape our success far more than most people think. Too many setbacks and put downs make us shrink, mentally and physically. Yes, physically too. We grow on success. I guess too much success can destroy people, it is not something I have personal experience from. I have noticed that easy early success for children can be negative for them, they do not value what they can achieve and throw their talent away. How can it be valuable, it was so easy, right?  photo by George Becker (Pexels) Here is a scenario I have seen time and time again: A slower cyclist/runner falls behind in a friendly training session, the gap just gets bigger and bigger. It is not fun for anyone, but especially not for the person behind. They are struggling and suffering on the edge of ...