Triathlon at Retirement

I do not like swimming in cold water, but I don't dislike it as much as I used to. Cold water is soo...cold. I am from Sweden and lets face it, the water is cold there, even in the summer. You either tolerate the temperature, or you never swim outdoors. When I lived in Houston, Texas, I did not have to deal with that, I swam in pools that would get too hot in the summer. When starting triathlons, I was so relieved to find that the open water temperature on my first race was comfortable. But I soon had to confront lower temperatures. In 2018, I was to swim a Swedish open water event called Vansbrosimningen . I had bought a full cover wet suit and I went to Sweden in early June to start training in a lake. The water temperature was maybe 57f (14C). This is not extremely cold by any means, but it felt icy to me, even with the wetsuit on. My neck almost immediately locked up, everything that came out of the wetsuit ached when water contact was made. I almost panicked, I can't do th

This is the time of year when I can take it easy and train less. I have cut down on my normal exercise load to maybe half, shorter distances, slower pace and more free days. At the end of November, I even took a whole week off! I do this to restore myself both physically and mentally, and I notice some interesting effects. Not only do I have more time for other activities, but I am also inspired to to them! What used to feel like a chore, is now fun.  In the last two weeks I have remodeled part of the garden, I have tried new cooking recipes and I have practiced playing my musical instrument diligently. These are activities I wanted to do for months, but I never seemed to get around to. I thought I was lazy, but I now realize I was tired. I was soo tired most days, I used to fall asleep in my chair watching some mindless TV in the evenings. There was no energy for high concentration projects. After seven days of no training, I did one of my shorter bike rides, and I set a new personal

Recently, I invested in new pair of bike shoes. For winter training, I like to have a roomy pair where I can fit a decent pair of warm socks. I am very pleased with the shoes, so comfortable and stiff sole with carbon. I also bought a pair of cleat covers, which I never had before. They can easily fit into my back pocket while biking and then be slipped onto the cleats if I stop for a break. These covers are so great and they will really reduce the wear on the cleats. /Gunilla

  Another race in the Dallas area! I am so grateful to all that make this happen in corona times. Arrangement was excellent in every way and very safe. We waited in the transition area and groups of 50 were called into the swim, which was in a pool. Weather was perfect for racing, not too hot, not too cold. I felt I had a good race and finished in second place on a decent time, 1.15.19 (swim leg was only 275 yards). Transitions were fast at 1.21 and 1.11. My run time was a little slow at 9.17/mile on a relatively flat course, I wish I could improve a bit but I am careful with running training to not get injured.  I noticed a guy on the bike leg that had his shoes fastened on the bike pedals pre-race, like the pros. He was struggling in slow speed to get his feet in and after several miles I passed him. Basically, if you are not an expert on the flying bike start, just put the shoes on in transition.  /Gunilla

  Another competition! The Wurst Tri Ever sprint triathlon took place in New Braunfels, Texas, Sunday the 11th October. Covid-19 restrictions were enforced with minimal contact between people and we had face masks except during the competition.  Swim started in the spring fed Landa Park pool and it was fantastic to swim about 150m in the absolutely clear water above the natural vegetation. Then we transitioned to a regular pool for an additional 150m. Bike course had a large hill in the beginning and the end and lots of turns along the way. The cyclist in front of me got caught in the wrong gear uphill and took a fall, fortunately with no injury.  My timing chip did not register on all the timing sensors, but fortunately it was noticed by the organizers so they checked me off manually as well, thanks for that! I finished in 2nd place in my age group on 1.23.19, almost 4 minutes after the winner, Lisa Canedy.  The wurst from Kiolbassa smoked meat was so good... /Gunilla

The Kiwanis triathlon in McKinney (near Dallas) September 20, was the first competition this year for me! Everything else that I have signed up for have been cancelled due to COVID-19. It was fun to see some real action again after all the training. The arrangements seemed very safe with minimal contact between people. The sprint course started with a 275yd pool swim with quite a long run to transition. Bike 10.25 miles in two laps and run 3.1 miles. I finished with a time of 1.14.43, place 1 in my age group and 28th of all women.  I took a wrong turn during the bike leg, just had my eyes on the person in front of me that went into transition while I had a second lap to do. No biggie, but it showed I was out of competition practice. Hopefully, a mistake I will not repeat again! It is important to compete regularly to avoid such mistakes. /Gunilla

In 2018, I retired at age 60. I always wanted to do triathlons and it was now or never. I did not know if I could do it, maybe I was just too old, maybe I was starting too late, maybe I would fail?  I trained, I signed up for a competition, I did it, and I have never looked back. I am enjoying my retirement, and with this blog, I want to inspire other closet athletes to have a go.  I am really not a natural athlete. Seriously, if I can do it at 60+, probably you can do a triathlon too.  /Gunilla