Triathlon at Retirement

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 the r

Last Triathlon for the year for me was just for fun on a slightly shortened sprint in the town of New Braunfels, TX. This race had a lot of first timers. Swim was in the amazing spring water pool in Landa Park, crystal clear and perfect temperature. I was one of the few that choose to wear a wetsuit, because I am sure that even on shorter swims, it is faster. The swim was actually in two parts, first about 150 meters in the spring fed pool and then 150 meters in a regular pool. I swim about 10-15s faster per 100m in wetsuit, that is a 30-45s advantage by using it. Getting the wetsuits off takes about 15s, so I am still ahead and, on a sprint, every second counts! I should mention that there were two options to get into the water, jump in or a water slide... I judged the waters slide would be about 5 seconds slower, so I was boring and jumped in. Bike course is slightly undulating but has a steep uphill shortly after start. A few beginners were in the wrong gear and had to walk up. I ha

I always feel a lot of pressure at the Kerrville triathlon which is in my hometown. This year, I placed 2nd in the W60-64 division, quarter ironman distance (1100 yards swim, 29 miles bike and 10.4 miles run). The competitions are very well organized and set in a beautiful environment, but I have difficulty enjoying it.   On Friday afternoon, I volunteered at the sprint bike check-in for 5 hours, and it was hot, over 90f (32C). I already knew from my experience last year, that to avoid overheating on the run was the main challenge. I have spent most of the summer in much cooler temperatures in Sweden, and only about 3 weeks in Texas heat, so I worried that I was not fully acclimatized.  I prepared as much as I could, I did several bike and run workouts in the midday heat the weeks before the competition. On the morning of the event, I brought a small cooler full of ice and a water bottle to transition 2.  The Guadalupe River where swimming was taking place, was too hot for wetsuit and

I guess we all know that it is harder to perform in hot weather, but I am coming to realize that the difference is bigger than I imagined. I keep statistics of all my training and competition, and the evidence is clear: hot weather is disastrous for me.  All my record times are in the winter season. The trend is clearest in running. Below is a comparison of my times on a 3.1 miles flat run course, and a 2.8 miles hilly run course. I also show temperature and heart rate. Best times are in the colder weather, and on top of that, my heart rate is lower despite the record time. Heart rate is increased in warmer weather. On many occasions during warmer weather, I think I have done really well, I pushed harder than normal, and the feeling of exertion is almost unbearable. Then I see the time, not good and I am disappointed. Thinking back, it has been a pattern my entire life, winter training is going really well, I am doing good times, but when temperatures rise, performance drops like a roc

Yes, Vadstena Triathlon August 27 in Sweden used the courtyard of a medieval castle for transition. It is probably the most beautiful triathlon I have participated in. This post will partly read like tourist information. The city of Vadstena is old, picturesque and pretty with a castle built by king Gustaf Wasa around 1545, and a nunnery and monastery inaugurated already 1384. I arrived a day early and walked in the city and then biked on small roads, looking at old churches and a stone age burial site. Would not mind returning and do a longer bike tour around lake Vättern. This competition also served as the Swedish Championship on Olympic Distance. I had signed up two years earlier for a competition in Stockholm, but due to covid, the event got postponed two years and new construction in Stockholm forced the event to Vadstena. Now I found myself at the top of my age group on a distance that is not my best. Well, I compete to enjoy, and although I was far from medals, it was one of my

This summer, I have strayed quite a bit from my core sporting activity - Triathlon. August 12, I did it again when participating in a 94km (58.4 miles) long MTB race called Cykelvasan in Dalarna, Sweden. It is a very popular race in Sweden that draws several thousand participants. The trail is fairly easy, lots of gravel road and broad forest trails following the classical Vasa cross country ski race for the most part.  The distance is very respectable, and I was entered into the open race. My tactic was to last the distance and never over exert myself. It worked out, I had an even pace and plucked quite a few places on the second half of the race. My time was 5 h 18 min and 34 seconds which gave me a 14th place out of 67 women in my age group. I really had no problems during the way. As usual, Volvo cars did a video of the performance if you wanted to participate. It was fun! Volvo movie

I realize there are several "worlds largest" sporting events in Sweden, and I think O-ringen is one of them with over 16 000 participants. It is a classic orienteering competition and a "must do" for most dedicated orienteers. I am so impressed, entry fees are not that high and there is so much complexity in organizing an orienteering event.  There are classes for everyone, from the littlest doing intro orienteering, play orienteering or just going to the free child minding, to the class for 80+ and everyone imaginable in between. There are full length courses, short length, and easy courses, in every 5 year age group! Then there are elite classes and courses that are age-less. Basically, there is a suitable course for everyone. All of this demands many checkpoints in the woods (many in difficult to reach places) and a specially produced highly detailed map. The arena has several finish lines to handle the complex class system, (handily named by sponsors to the even