Triathlon at Retirement

Triathlon is an expensive sport, and it is getting worse. Apart from all the equipment, competition entry fees have increased a lot. Who is going to World Championships? The best athletes, one hope, but the reality is that lot of accomplished athletes are prized out. Travel, bike transport, hotels, entry fees, national kit fees, it mounts up. If it is overseas, it can get really bad, easily 5k US dollars for a single person.  Entry fees for regular races have also increased in the last few years. It is now at a level where I really think twice if I want to take part. Often it is cheaper to sign up early, but you never know if you will be healthy and available on the day and usually, there are no refunds. I have given up on two half Ironman races after signing up early and then, one year, I had shingles and the next year, I had Covid just before the race. In the first case I lost all the money (over 400 US dollars) and in the second case I lost about 300 dollars after I had signed up 6

Without previous experience in winter triathlon, I signed up for US National Championship in duathlon (run + ski) and triathlon (run + bike + ski). With all my participation in regular triathlon and cross-country skiing, how hard can it be? Answer: very hard. Maybe it was the altitude (>9000 feet), maybe all the fresh snow, but it was exhausting. I was worried about the altitude, and I also needed to get back into skiing, so I arrived in Breckenridge a week before the competitions.  I got an extra workout right away the first morning when I had to clear my car of snow and shovel my way out to the road. I did not want to push my limits the first day and skiing felt fine, but really, that slow? Mile splits of 12-14 minutes! I checked the Strava segments, and I was quite high on them, for my age group number 1 or 2. I realized high altitude has a big impact. After a few days, I rented a fat bike and tried the biking. It had snowed in the night and even though the track had been prepare

You like the idea of being super fit and participate in amazing races. But when it comes down to it, you don't do the training. You call yourself lazy, or you are just too busy.  I am usually very motivated to train, planning workouts, races and tactics in my head. But it happens that I just don't feel for it. If it is a temporary problem, I start the training but allow myself to shorten it. Half the time, I will do an easier workout, half the time I am fine with the prescribed workout once I start. But it is important to allow yourself a little brake. If you struggle a lot with motivation, stop and analyze. Do you really want to be a serious athlete and pay the prize?  There are a lot of things I like to be able to do, mastering a musical instrument for example. I mean really mastering it, picking up tunes by ear, play a big repertoire effortless and relaxed in public. But I do not want to do the training that will take me there. I have started many times, and I don't like

This morning it was 10f (-12C) outside when I took the dog for a morning walk. I live in Texas. I grew up in Sweden and I have spent a lot of time being cold and miserable, so much that I learned to take great care to dress for the weather. The dog and I were alone out there, and we were comfortable. In fact, I got too hot. The saying: there is no bad weather, only bad clothes , is largely true. All the time I see people make mistakes with their cold weather clothing. A warm jacket is nice, but the critical spots are ankles, wrists, neck and head. The fashionable short socks are crazy in cold weather, and I cringe when I see runners without covering their achilles tendons.  And please, put on a hat. I like the neck scarves that you can pull up over your face and head if necessary. When it gets hot, you just pull them down.  The predicted cold spell has made me adjust the training for the coming week. Bicycling outside is not going to happen, so I did some extra biking last week to comp

I have been fortunate. For over 5 years, I have had no significant illness or injury forcing me off training. But since about August this year, I have had a string of setbacks. First a wonky knee, then Covid, then a broken bone in my foot, then a cold and now my only road bike broke. It can be mended; it is just another obstacle. Like the foot, it can be run on cautiously, the cold and Covid are gone, I am fine. Until now, I have seen a steady progression of my performance, despite getting older. But I have regressed quite a bit. Last year, I steadily ran below a 9-minute mile, the question was if I would go below 8.30 or not on a 5k. Now a 9-minute mile on my regular training runs are hard to do.  It was inevitable, I am getting older and the recent training breaks have had a negative effect on my performance. I am not sure if I ever can get back to the form I had in 2023. It was more fun when I was getting better, but it had to come to en end, aging always wins. But I am also in an o

It really is. Essentials are a racing bike and all the additions like helmet and bike shoes which will be 2000 dollars to stratospheric. Then we have regular access to a pool, basically a gym membership and on top of that several pairs of high-quality running shoes, tri suits, swim goggles etc.  Entry fees to races vary a lot but a regular minor race is often 100 to 200 dollars. Ironman races can be everything from 400 dollars (and that "cheap" is unusual) to about 1000 dollars depending on location and time of registration.  Now you need to get to the race, if it's local and you can drive, you need a car that can transport your bike, and often you need a night or two at a hotel in order to not arrive sleep deprived and exhausted.  If your ambition is national and international races, everything escalates, add on bike transportation (packing bag and fees), air flights, hotels and special race kits. For winter triathlon you may need to pay for transport of skis (another p

That is what the podiatrist told me when he saw the recent X-ray of my left foot. It has a small chip broken off the fourth metatarsal bone.  It happened on the Kerrville triathlon September 25; I felt a sharp pain already on the swim. Maybe I hurt myself warming up, maybe someone stepped on my foot. I have had a previous injury at the same place, something called Morton's neuroma, so I thought it was the same thing. I have actually had pain right there on and off for about two years. "Forget Morton's," said the Dr., "this is a broken bone." In hindsight, I wonder if I have had a crack for a while. Bottom line: I don't know how it happened. When I told the podiatrist, I had completed a quarter distance triathlon with the broken foot he laughed and said I must have high tolerance for pain. There is no clear treatment, If I continue to have pain, removal of the bone chip may be the solution. For now, it is wait and see and NO RUNNING. After 5 and a half ye

In a previous post, I touched upon doping and performance enhancing drugs. Recently, I have seen some blatant cheating on important races. I am talking about people cutting run and bike courses short, getting pushed up hills, drafting on non-draft races and receiving outside support. There is probably more, this is what I personally have observed. Why do people want to cheat? Some of them are accomplished athletes. For most age group athletes, there is no monetary award or even fame. If I ask a person on the street who is world champion in mens 50-54 draft legal sprint 2023, I guarantee that no one knows. I don't know who it is as I am writing this.  Even when I win a race (fairly and squarely) I am acutely aware that there are people better than me, that did not participate in this particular race for one reason or another. If you cheat, you know even less what your level is.  It's pathetic to cheat and you take away a position (a win?) and satisfaction from someone that ear

It is called performance enhancing drugs. Sounds better than doping. Sadly, at least I feel sad about it, I have come to understand that even amateur racers use performance enhancing drugs. I am starting to realize it is not uncommon even at intermediate performance levels. Many, maybe most, don't see anything wrong with it.  And there is a grey zone, I don't think anyone would object to over-the-counter vitamins for example. Or a cup of coffee, which boasts aerobic performance. Asthma sufferers are prescribed inhalers which can be crucial to their breathing and participation in sports. Inhalers can also boast performance. When is it a form of cheating and when is it fair? Probably impossible to say, but there have been a lot of runners that have been diagnosed with asthma and are allowed to use inhalers. Low testosterone is another grey area. Hard training can significantly lower testosterone levels. Is it then fair to get prescribed additional testosterone? After all, to cure

But not if it's about Covid.  A few days after flying back to Texas, I got a "cold" that got very nasty and of course it was covid. For a few days, I was very sick. Extremely tired, I slept most of the time for two days, headache, body ache, sore throat and a thick cough.  This is my first real illness in the 5 1/2 half years since I started training seriously for triathlon. I have also been almost injury free this time, I have not had to decline a single race that I have signed up for, and I have completed all my races in style! It had to end.  I also have a knee injury, I first noticed it after the Cykelvasa . First, I thought it was due to one of the falls, but I soon realized it was an overuse injury. I have not been to a doctor, but the symptoms fit something called "bicycle knee." My last race in Sweden was a 10k road running race in central Stockholm at midnight; Midnattsloppet one week after the Cykelvasa . It is huge, this year about 20 000 competitors

This is a mountain bike race largely on the Vasa trail. This year I settled for 45km, which is half distance. Last time I did this distance was in 2019, my time then was 2h 26 min. In early August, I did several training runs on the trail and my splits were not anywhere near those needed for my previous competition time. Weather in Sweden has been the opposite of USA and most of Europe, with the rainiest July and August for at least 30 years. I have never seen the local lakes and rivers so high. Of course, that made the bike track really muddy at some parts. The organizers have made a good job of improving the track, so overall it was not too bad but there were difficult patches. Competition day was lucky with the weather, a rare day with little rain! This time, I knew my approximate finishing time and I was placed in start group 2. I got off well and raced past many bikers without extra effort. In the well-known climb "Lundbäcksbackarna" I felt I was doing well. But somethin

Mixed sprint relay is a competition form I really enjoy. There are two men and two women on every team. All team members do a super sprint triathlon each; 300m swim, T1, 5km bike ride, T2 and finish with 1.5 km run. First relay leg is always done by a male, leg 2 a female, leg 3 a male and a female finish. Start is communal, so first to finish line by 4th team member win. Age groups are done at 10-year intervals, so I compete with my team in the 60–69-year age group.  It is short, it is speedy, positions change all the time, it is exciting. This was my fourth relay competition and every time I have had mostly new team members which makes for new friends. I was on Team III USA 60-69; I think we had 6 or 7 teams in this age group. I had leg 2 and there was a lot of anxiety before we could enter the exchange area. Information of where to go was substandard, huge audience crowds and closed roads made it very difficult to navigate. I, and many other stressed athletes finally found our way a

It is a big undertaking to go to a world championship overseas, and I am not only talking about the training and sport performance. That is the part I can, and do, control. It is everything else; flights, bike transports, getting the right information, food choices in unfamiliar settings etc. This is the third time I am in a triathlon world championship, and it is following a familiar pattern of chaos and panic.   I got caught in a massive flight delay and had to wait in an airport for over 24 hours. After standing in a line for over 4 and a half hours in the middle of the night, I got another flight the next day, and I went to a hotel to rest. Most hotels were booked so I took what I could get. The hotel had no food. Lack of sleep, lack of food and on my feet for too long is not a good prelude to a big race. It is what it is. I flew early and recovered in time. I got my luggage and bicycle undamaged and on time, many did not. This has happened on every world championship. To make thin

 The last few days, I have migrated over to Sweden again. The travel was difficult, I got caught up in the recent flight cancellation chaos, caused by bad weather in New York area, air traffic control shortage and I don’t know what. I got stuck in Houston for over 24 hours and stood in a line trying to get new flights for over 4.5 hours. This was at night. Overall, the travel was not good for my fitness level. Eventually I did reach Sweden, bone tired of course. On the positive side, I did not get sick. I tried to catch up on training right away, but sensibly. I do not want to get sick or injured, and after a major exhaustion event like this, the risk is high. First day, I tested my Swedish road bike, a Trek Madone I bought in 2010, a very good bike. A short 12-mile ride at a slow pace proved that I, and the bike, was still working. Then I put on my wetsuit and swam for about 15 minutes in the local lake. Saturday July 1, 3 days after arriving, I raced in Challenge Vansbro Sprint

In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge became the first human to run a marathon under 2 hours. On his feet were a pair high tech shoes featuring a carbon fiber plate and air-filled pods. Since then, numerous long-distance records have been shattered by runners wearing these types of shoes. Strava data suggests that a change to carbon plated shoes improves running time over 5%! I have been wondering, is it just a fashion, or are these shoes really faster? Seems hard to believe that shoes could make a noticeable difference today. Can they help me to be faster or is it just for elites? Finally, these shoes are being made by various brands in larger quantities and are available in low enough price for the general public. As I like to try all new shoes in person, I went to town to buy a pair, any brand. That did not go well, all shops were sold out.  I decided to gamble and order on-line. I read a lot of confusing reviews and learned that shoes higher than 40mm mid sole just have been banned for competiti

Photo by Med Gadon In my last post, I was acutely suffering from an injury, probably a pinched nerve. I am relieved to report, I am doing so much better! My first action was to go swimming in cold water, and I right away felt so much better. After resting a few days, I thought I would try a bike ride with my friends. I told them I might not be able to follow them, I was tired and in pain before we even started. After half an hour I felt good, yes, a little pain, but not anything that would hold me back. The more we biked, the better I felt, and I pushed hard at the end. It is amazing how exercise is the best antidote to pain and inflammation. I admit I also had help by anti-inflammatory inflammation, but the bigger relief comes after hard exercise.  Friends and family agree, arthritis pain and inflammation are reduced by exercise. It is a story I hear time and time again, even with quite severe problems. It is counter intuitive, but please try it. It has helped me so many times. I wish

Since my last post, I have not been competing, just training. It has been going well, I think I have improved my swimming a little bit by doing several sessions almost purely focused on speed. It has been intervals of 25, 50, 100, 150 and nothing longer than 200 yards, with the bulk in the shortest range.  But the last few days, I have hit a snag, a new pain in my left hip. At first, I ignored it, I always have pain somewhere, but it nearly always goes away after warmup. Last Saturday, I was going to run 10k in 4 parts of 2.5k, with two minutes rest in between. I warmed up on the treadmill, but the pain just got worse. Then at 9 min mile speed on the treadmill, my left leg gave in, and I almost fell over.  Ok, I thought, best not to push it on the treadmill where I can hurt myself, I will just run my 10k on the road and take it slightly slower than normal. But it was impossible, I was limping, and I had to stop after a few minutes. Ok, calm down, I told myself, no catastrophe if I miss

This year, I participated in 3 national champion ship events: individual super sprint time trial triathlon, draft legal sprint triathlon and draft-legal mixed relay triathlon. I am now the youngest in my age group (65-69), and I hoped to place top 10, maybe top 5 in something. The first race was the super sprint time trial, which also was my first triathlon competition in 2023. I decided to use bike shoes for the ride (5k), and not try to save time by biking in running shoes as I did last year. I also swam the 250m in wetsuit, I have calculated that despite additional transit time to change, it is faster.  As this time trial has individual start, I had no idea of my position as the race progressed. But it felt ok, I passed people on the bike and on the run (1.2k), I shortened the gap to the runner in front of me. My time was 24.57 and it was enough for a second place in my age group! Way better than expected. Next day was the draft legal sprint triathlon (750m swim, 12-mile bike and 3.

This is a bike race for the public and a few pro bikers in cooperation with the Tour de France organization. They have races in various cities all over the world. The first US race was in San Antonio last year, and as I live within easy driving distance, I joined for the training effect and the fun. This years race day was April 16.  I had first signed up for the long race of 100 miles, but I changed to 60 miles, because later in the year, I learned that the national championship in draft legal sprint triathlon was going to occur only 5 days later. I figured I could recover in time from a 60-mile race, but not a 100-mile. My training up to the race for the last month and half has been entirely focused on the sprint races.   The day was not too hot, but windy, up to 30 miles an hour gusts was in the forecast. I arrived early and got a perfect parking spot next to the venue, I kept all my gear in the car until it was time to line up for the race. Wise from my last race, I took a fairly a

TriDot is an online training program for triathlon that uses data collected from triathletes to customize training schedules for different individuals depending on their goals and fitness levels. I am a big fan of TriDot because the suggested training is based on the evaluation of previous results and knows what works, and what does not work. In January, I took up an offer from TriDot to try their training program for free for 2 months. It is all online. First, I had to put in basic information like my age, height and weight, how long I had been active and my goals and ambitions. Then I was asked to do a fitness evaluation in swim, bike and run and enter the results.  From this information, a detailed training schedule was generated. Each day is different, it is varied, and I think it looks very appropriate for myself. If you have one of the common brands of smart watch, your training data will be automatically uploaded, and depending on how you are doing, the training schedule will be