Race of the Week: Vasaloppet

Perhaps I should apologize that for the third time in a row, the race of the week is from the world of cross country skiing. But there is now way to ignore the fact that the biggest and most prestigious cross country race on the planet is coming up. After winning gold at the Olympics or World Championships, most cross country skiers would want to win the Vasaloppet in Sweden. 

The race is not only for elite pro skiers though, because this Sunday morning some 16 thousand skiers of all levels of ability will leave the starting area in Sälen, hoping to make it all the way to the finish in downtown Mora.  Not everyone will. The total distance is 90 km, and on the way you have to pass through a few cut-out gates before they close. If you don’t make it in time, you have to abandon the race and take the bus to Mora.

The Vasaloppet has grown from being a single event to a festival that stretches over more than a week. On the program you will find variety of races, such as children’s race, relay, half-Vasa-distance race, “open track” and more, as well as numerous cultural events. This year, the organizers have received more than 60 thousand registrations for the various races of the festival.

I have skied the Vasaloppet once, and made it all the way! The experience was incredible. This race is a benchmark for all other races when it comes to organization, logistics, atmosphere, the crowd along the course etc.  For many of my friends, this race is like a magnet. They travel to Sweden year after year to be a part of this festival. I loved the race also, but I prefer to try different races rather than going to the same place over and over again. And, while the experience of skiing the Vasaloppet cannot be beaten, I have to say that the course itself is far from the most fun or exiting one I have tried. To be honest, it is quite dull at times, mostly flat with very limited variety in the landscape.  But you don’t really ski the Vasaloppet just for the course. You ski it for the challenge of finishing a 90 km race. You ski it for the indescribable atmosphere before, during and after the race. You ski it for the enthusiastic crowd along the track. You ski it for the blueberry soup at the feeding stations. You ski it for the pure joy which engulfs everything and everyone during the festival. And, you ski it for the prestige of participating in the biggest single skiing event in the world.

For practical info on traveling and such, see http://www.worldloppetskier.com/  

Mental wreck?

When I posted the blog on my “psychological back pain” (see below) I may have opened a box that I should have left unopened. The response I’ve received has made me feel like a mental wreck!

I got a message from a person who found it highly possible the back pain I talked about was indeed imagined. What is more, this person also claimed that my relaxed attitude towards racing and competition comes from the same root.  As I have said before on this blog, I’m not a very competition-minded man. I mean, I love to participate in competitions, but whether I finish at the back of the pack or somewhere close to the middle doesn’t bother me at all (or almost never bothers me). I never have any problems sleeping the night before a race, I never have any problems eating, I’m never nervous before a race ... I’m just there to enjoy the occasion without too much attention on the results.  Actually, I most often give up searching before I manage to find my name on the results lists.

Now, this person I mentioned has found out that this attitude is, in a way, related to my back pain. According to the theory, there comes a time in every race when I know I’m getting tired, but I also know that in order to beat my training buddies I need to push harder and enter a zone of discomfort or downright pain. My subconsciousness  desperately wants to avoid that zone, so it creates this back pain to give me an excuse – or force me – to slow down. In the same manner, according to the theory, I enter each race without any pressure or desire to grind out results, just to save myself from disappointment if I fail to meet my own expectations. 

I’m a bit confused here. Part of me wants to acknowledge that this is exactly the case. That same part of me wants to run to the library and borrow every book they have on psychology and try to “cure” myself. Another part of me asks: Is it really so that whoever enters a competition purely to enjoy the occasion, to mingle with other people interested in the same sport, to get a reasonably hard exercise for the body, is simply trying to escape his/her inadequate mentality?

Psychological back pain?

I never came close to reaching an international level as an athlete. The main reason was lack of talent, physical and psychological. Throw in a large portion of laziness and lack of self discipline, and that puts me where I am today: a middle aged man at the back-of-the-pack-at-small-local-club-races level. But I thoroughly enjoy it, nevertheless.

Cross country skiing should probably be my strongest sport, but pain in my lower back has made it difficult for me to ski at full force. I remember feeling this pain occasionally during my late teens, but since I reached thirty it has been getting worse year by year. This pain always starts in my lower back and then leads down through the hips and to the thighs. It makes each stride painful, and it is almost impossible for me to stay in the "hockey" position on the downhills.  Sometimes the pain wears off after 10-15 kilometers, sometimes it lingers until I finish. The funny thing is, that when I stop it only takes a minute or two before the pain disappears, and I never feel it in my daily life or in the other sports I engage in.

I have been to physiotherapists, doctors, specialists; I have been massaged, x-rayed and researched thoroughly but I never get any better. Actually, no one can find anything wrong with my back. One specialist told me that my back was exceptionally "well built". But even that doesn't make the pain any more bearable.

A few weeks ago I heard an interesting theory. There was this guy who told me that my pain was probably psychological. He believes that, however it started, my brain now recons that skiing and back pain should go hand in hand. The brain, therefore, simply makes the lower back, hips and thighs believe that they are suffering whenever I go skiing. The other possibility, he said, is that the pain is some kind of a defensive reaction, so when I know that I´m going to be tired, struggling and suffering out on the course, I simply imagine this back pain to give myself an excuse to slow down and relax. Honestly, the pain feels real enough, but after so many unsuccessful attempts at understanding it and getting rid of it, I'm not closing the door on any possible explanation. But how do you make an imagined pain go away?

Race of the week: American Birkebeiner

This week, we have another cross country ski race as our star event. The American Birkebeiner is the biggest cross country ski race in North America and it takes place now in late February. The festival actually starts today, Thursday, but the main race is on Saturday.

For the main race, participants have a choice of skiing either 50 km freestyle or 54 classic style. Both start in Cable, Wisconsin, and finish in Hayward. On the days leading up to the main race, there is a variety of events on offer, including shorter distance races, childrens' races, etc.

When I skied the American Birkebeiner, or Birkie as most people simply call it, some years ago, the freestyle race and the classic race were the same distance and on the same course, with the classic track just put near the edge of the course. I remember how impressed I was over the fact that those who were doing the race freestyle totally respected the rights of the classic skiers, and were very careful not to skate on the classic track.

Since then, the organizers have been working hard to further improve the conditions for the classic skiers. According to the course map for this year's edition of the race, more than half of the course is on separate tracks for classic and freestyle. This separation has left the classic part some 4 km longer than the freestyle part.

The small village of Hayward is the main center of the American Birkebeiner. I would advise everyone to try to find accommodation in or near that village if possible. The atmosphere there during the Birkie festival is hard to describe, but believe me, it is absolutely wonderful. Everyone is living and breathing this event, where ever you go people are asking you about the race, giving you advise etc. It is such friendly surroundings that you cannot avoid smiling the whole day and even in your sleep as well.

Everything about the race itself is also very well organized, whether it is the transport to the start area, the preparation of the track, the feeding stations, information for participants before and after the race ... it is all first class. The spectators along the track are also very lively and very helpful as they cheer you on. It still puts smile on my face when I think about the spectators who filled me with energy as I struggled my way up the notorious "Bitch Hill". 

I would definitely recommend that all cross country skiers try the Birkie. It is easily on the top-three list of my favorite ski races. Organization, atmosphere and the whole experience in general, it is all top class.

For advise on traveling to the Birkie, and more races, see www.worldloppetskier.com.

The new guy on lane 3

Funny that I mentioned my swimming on lane 3, here on the blog yesterday (see below).  At our practice this morning, a new guy was promoted right from the beginners lane up to lane 3. As always, when someone new comes to our line, the "old dogs" decided to welcome him by pushing extra hard on all sets, making him really sweat in the water, trying to keep up with us. And it worked perfectly for just over 2 km.  For the first time since ... well, ever really, I wasn't the slowest on the backstroke.  We left him behind on the breaststroke also, and in one long set of freestyle we even rounded him.  During the breaks we would shower him with nasty jokes and comments, all in good spirit of course, and he just laughed along. We have all been through this at some point (and hopefully will be again, that is if we ever manage to be promoted up to lanes 4, 5 or 6).

Then came the butterfly. Bloody butterfly. All kinds of drills and sprints and whatever names they want to use as a substitute for the correct term: torture. Seven hundred meters of it. The new guy was flying, if you can use that word for a swimmer. Him and me, we were like Ferrari vs Driving Miss Daisy.  Afterwards he just smiled modestly and mumbled something about his injured elbow troubling him during the first few sets, but said he was feeling fine now.  Fantastic! So he's heading for lane 4 as soon as his elbow is OK. Damn, I wish I found a way to make progress faster. But at least the rest of us on lane 3 had fun pushing him for the first 2 km. Always look on the bright side ...

Stuck in lane 3

At my tri club, we have three swim sessions per week. We get to use six lanes in the pool, so the beginners swim on lane 1, the fastest guys on lane 6, and the rest of us on the other lanes, according to ability.

When I started regular swimming, some four years ago, lane 1 was the natural starting point. I quickly worked my way up to lane 2 and within eight months I was on lane 3. Fast forward three years and I'm still swimming on lane 3! Sure I made some improvements, especially the first three years, but the other guys improved as well so there has not been any reason to promote me any further. And now that we have a swim coach who seems to believe that butterfly and backstroke are of utter importance for triathletes, I'm actually facing the danger of being relegated back to lane 2. The thing is, when I try butterfly, Pamela Anderson, David Hasselhoff and all the other lifeguards are put on alert and better start looking for their red swimwear because there is a real danger at hand. After each pool length I got more water than air in my lungs, and I usually have to safe my life by turning to breaststroke the last few feet. Alarmingly, since this backstroke and butterfly was introduced into our program, my improvement in the freestyle has stopped. What fool was I to think that the whole purpose of waking up at 4:50 AM to go swimming was to improve my performance in triathlons and aquathlons!

I have tried to be positive; tried to convince myself that this will be good for me in the long run, you know, give me a better position in the water, better feeling for the water or something. But in my heart I just don't believe it. It's funny, though, that this should bug me that much, because usually I'm not a very competitive person. I'm most often at the back of the pack when it comes to racing and that doesn't bother me too much. But for some reason, this swim thing is making me extremely frustrated. There have been moments when I have seriously considered whether I should stop swimming with the group and start studying videos and books in order to make my own program and start training independently. However, knowing myself, this is a bad idea for two reasons: 1- I would miss the company, as for me the social aspect of the early morning swim sessions is probably just as important, or more so, as the actual training. And 2-I'm pretty sure that if I was going to do this on my own, reading books about swimming and studying videos would soon be taking all the time I have available for swimming, so there would be no time for actually getting wet!

Conclusion: I will continue to endure the butterfly, knowing that what really counts is to survive each session and get into the hot pot where me and my buddies easily solve all the world's problems.

Race of the week: Tartu Maraton

I’ve decided to start a “race of the week” feature here on this blog. It may be a race I have participated in myself, but most often it will be just something I have read or heard about and found to be interesting.

The first race of the week is Tartu Maraton in Estonia (see details here on the right  -and yes, they say maraton, without the -h!). This is a cross country ski race, although they also offer a run, bike and inline skating competitions during other seasons. The ski race takes place this coming Sunday, February 19. The main event is a 63 km classic race, but they also offer a shorter distance of 31 km.

I have actually participated in the Tartu Maraton once and skied the full 63 km, and I can honestly recommend it. The start is at the fantastic World Cup ski stadium in Otepää and the finish in Elva.

The start area is wide with numerous tracks. The course itself is very well prepared and if I remember correctly there were always at least 4 tracks to ski in, and more in the wider areas. Therefore, there were never any bottlenecks or other problems with traffic.

The atmosphere along the course was friendly, with numerous people cheering the skiers on. The food stations were well organized and in the finish area they served us free dark beer, warmed in a huge pot over open fire. I will never forget the look on my buddy’s face just before he spat it out!

The luggage pick-up was well organized as well. I got my warm and dry clothes, but due to lack of facilities, we had to change clothes in a huge tent with no showers. To be fair, though, I believe that only a minority of ski marathons can offer shower facilities in the finish area.

After changing clothes we were served a warm, delicious soup which we enjoyed out in the cold before taking the bus back to Otepää, where our accommodation was.

There are many ways to travel to this race. We flew in to Helsinki, Finland, and took a short ferry ride over to Tallin in Estonia.  It is, of course, also possible to fly directly to Tallin, or even fly to Stockholm, Sweden, and take a ferry from there to Tallin. Once we arrived in Tallin, our plan was to take a bus to Otepää, but we soon found out that for a group of four people, it was just as cheep to share a taxi.

I thoroughly enjoyed my participation in the Tartu Maraton and I recommend taking a couple of days extra to relax and have a look around. Further information on traveling to this race, and many others, can be found on www.worldloppetskier.com.  

Note that for those who wish to ski the course, without being in the big crowd on race day, the organizers offer an “open track” one week before the main race.

I hate treadmill running - a little bit less

When the weather conditions are just too horrendous to go for a run outside, I face the choice of skipping the practice or going to the gym and run on a treadmill. I usually take the first option, but these days I’m trying to stay on track with the training for my first marathon (seriously considering a half-Ironman as well next summer!). Therefore I opted to run on the treadmill this morning, as I felt the storm and the rain were simply too unappealing for an early morning open-air run.

Running on a treadmill is probably the most boring form of training ever invented.  True, most gyms have TV screens to help people forget what they are actually doing there, but in my gym the screens are so high on the wall that my neck starts hurting after a few minutes of watching. After that I can choose between watching myself in the mirror or staring at the treadmill’s dashboard.  I usually don’t find the picture in the mirror appealing at all so I end up staring at the dashboard, waiting for it to show the time or distance I need to reach so I can go and take a shower. It is all so painfully slow when you keep staring at the digits.

But anyway, this morning was different. Not fun, but different. I went through the program as my coach had set it up. During the warm up, everything was normal. An interval of 6 x 1000 m at half-marathon pace went relatively well, also. Then there was this 4x200 m “fast and furious”. I put the treadmill on 20, the fastest it can go. The first two sprints were fine, but during the third one, there was a power failure. The bloody treadmill stopped before I did, so I went head first over the dashboard and ended up basically head-down-ankles-up. Fortunately there were not many other people in there to see this, but the owner noticed what happened and came running, worried that I had seriously injured myself. It didn’t hurt at all, though, (apart from damaging the ego a tiny bit) and once the power was on again, I finished the program.

But now I realize that treadmill running is not only boring, but dangerous as well. Which again makes it a little bit less boring.

It was wet, windy and my belly was full of T-bone steak, but I still managed to force myself to go for a run last night. Just a short one, but still a run. My 214 lbs body has never felt soooo heavy, my oversize heart was struggling, my muscles were burning as my lungs couldn't get enough oxygen in. I felt I was about to faint. All this after quarter of a mile. Although I recovered slightly, it felt bad until I was back home and in the hot shower.

I started wondering: Is it good for the body to go for a run with the belly full of food? I know you can get a side stitch but that was not my problem yesterday. Rather, this overwhelming feeling that there wasn't enough blood in my body to keep it going.  So I figured, perhaps the digestive system needs a certain amount of blood, at least the first hour or so after a heavy meal (o.k. I ate three plates more than I should have).  Then, if you go for a run at the same time, the "running muscles" must compete with the digestive system for the blood available. My question is, can this competition be damaging for the body?

Lost weekend for me and Lance

I didn't train at all this weekend. Damn! I was planning to do a long run on Saturday and then go cross country skiing on Sunday. Instead I ate a pizza, ice cream (three of them, actually), a big steak with fries and a mountain of chocolate. I tried to convince myself that consuming all this energy would give me a huge boost of energy for my next training session (whenever it will take place!) but I had to admit that in reality, all it gave me was an unwanted addition to my bodyweight. An this happened just days after me and my coach had  been talking about how I need to loose some 25-30 lbs before I run my first full marathon!

The good thing about this weekend is that I managed to postpone that first marathon for a few months. The plan was to run it in May, but I found one that suits me better in October so I'm altering my plans. This gives me some four months more to loose those pounds and get in shape. My goal is to run the marathon in something like 3:40 hours. Currently, though, 5:40 hours is probably closer to reality (well, DNF would be the most likely results if I was running today!), but given that I have done a couple of half marathons in the past in 1:40 to 1:50, plus I have finished Ironman 70.3 distance in 5:45 hours, my coach tells me I should be able to break 3:40 in a full marathon, but sadly this can only happen if I loose weight and train consistently.

Let's not, though, underestimate the importance of resting. You know, during your training sessions, all you do is damage your muscles. When you are resting afterwards, that's when you make the actual progress. That's when the body recovers from those damages and actually adds a little bit extra to be better able to deal with the strain you put on it at your next practice. So, alternating training and resting - plus suitable nutrition - is what gives us better shape and improved results. My problem is that the balance between those three has not been perfect lately. I have emphasised resting and nutrition too much, and paid too little attention to the training part. But that will change. Someday.

Finally: One person who had a lousier weekend than me was a certain Mr. Lance Armstrong.  It looks like he didn't get nearly as many ice creams as me. However, he can take some consolation in the fact that he made an impressive comeback to the Ironman world (or rather Ironman 70.3 world) with a second place finish at Ironman 70.3 Panama (see here).

Discovering the world through ski races

Just to continue with what I was talking about in the “Race to see the world” post here below:

In 2006, Håvard Skorstad, former member of the Norwegian national cross-country team, wrote an article called “Discovering the World through Ski Races”. Originally published on www.langrenn.com, the piece can be found in English on www.fasterskier.com (the article itself is here). In it, Skorstad shows us his top-5 list of races that cross-country skiers should make sure they don’t miss (given that they can find the time and money necessary):

• Vasaloppet, Sweden, (www.vasaloppet.se)
• Marcialonga, Italy, (www.marcialonga.it)
• Fossavatn Ski Marathon, Iceland (www.fossavatn.com)
• Chinese Vasaloppet, China, (www.vasaloppetchina.com)
• Svalbard Skimarathon, Norway/Svalbard (http://ski.svalbard.com)

Sounds like a plan to me.   

 

Quit sports and start smoking?

For many years I was ignorant – and happy. I honestly believed that participating in sports would do me good; make me stronger and healthier. Then I discovered that I have developed an overgrown heart and abnormal heartbeat. Since I wrote a few lines about this problem (see “A good heart” here below) my attention has been brought to numerous articles about sports and heart disease.

A recent research in Australia shows that endurance athletes are in a risk of developing malfunction in the right ventricle of the heart.  Much to my relief, a researcher was quoted saying “Endurance athletes like marathon runners may suffer damage to their hearts but it doesn't mean that exercise is unhealthy” (see here).  Great news that we can damage our hearts in a healthy way !   

An older research in France showed numerous heart-related problems and deaths amongst bikers who participated in the Tour de France after 1960. A research in Iceland seems to show that many athletes develop abnormal heart function which, I understand, may be connected to the scary cases we occasionally hear about, of athletes dying sudden death while training or racing. The list goes on.

I know that my doctor told me not to worry, just keep on living, training and racing as I have always done.  This does, however, make me wonder how precise science really is.  Don’t we have countless examples of “scientific facts” that suddenly loose their validity and some new "truth" takes over?   Will we, after 5 or 10 years, see an announcement saying: “Please note that due to some minor error in calculation, the results of all previous research on smoking have been misleading. After recalculating all available data, it is now evident that smoking substantially benefits health and is especially effective in countering the damaging effects on the heart and lungs, caused by involvement in the so-called sports.”

I admit that after briefing through some of the research on the Internet last night, I felt like quitting all sports, taking up smoking and joining a poker club. I decided to sleep on it. Then, at 5:00 AM this morning, I woke up to attend my tri-club’s swim practice. After two miles of drills and sprints I felt a little bit better.

Celebrate all victories - also the small ones!

You know the feeling. You have been putting in those 9-12 hours per week consistently, endured the tough intervals and skipped your children’s music school concert to do the long and slow runs. Rain or shine, you never miss a training. And then, after three months or so, you suddenly realize it. You are actually running faster and lasting longer. Your performance has risen to the next level, and you are ready to take your training there, too.

Not for me. One of the million reasons why I’m such a poor athlete is that I lack consistency.  I may start the build-up season with high hopes and noble goals, but it usually wears off pretty soon. Family obligations, lack of time, the weather is too cold or too warm, too wet or too dry, too windy or too still ... I usually find a reason to skip training. First it’s just one training, but then it is easier to skip the next one and the next one and the next ... When I finally find the motivation again, I’m back on square one, start from scratch.

When I did my first half-Ironman distance race, for once I managed to train consistently for 9 months. I had a great race but afterwards I was totally worn out – mentally. I couldn’t find the motivation to train for six weeks after the race and when I finally started again, I was back on square one.

My friend has challenged me to do my first full marathon next summer.  In order to have a decent race I would have to loose preferably some 30 lbs. And train consistently.  As I said, consistency is not my strong side when it comes to training. But yesterday I won a small victory. The weather was dreadful, temperature just above freezing, with heavy rain. You know, the kind of rain that is somehow much colder than snow. Usually I would find an excuse not to go out. Help the kids with their homework, help the wife with ... whatever. But none of them actually begged me to stay at home yesterday, so finally I forced myself to go out.  The freezing rain slapped me; my face and thighs immediately started burning with cold, but I kept on going. After a few minutes I came to a path that goes directly uphill. A mile and a half with 8-10° incline. I decided to really beat myself and run up the hill, with the wind and the rain in my face. At the top my George Michael three-day beard was all iced up, my thighs were practically frozen but I was immensely happy with myself.

Incredibly, I also had the wind in my face on the way back, but I made it home an awfully proud man. I know that one run of just 5 miles is, per se, not going to change a lot for my marathon next summer. But, this was a moral victory. I forced myself to train in conditions I would normally have found an excuse not to. I felt really good about myself and I’m convinced that next time it will be a wee bit easier to convince myself to go out and train. So this victory, as small as it was, may prove to be very important in keeping me on track with my training, keeping the momentum going.

There may be some truth in what I read somewhere: Always remember to celebrate all victories, also the ones that seem almost too small and unimportant to count as victories. They may be our most important ones.

Race to see the world!

Traveling to participate in races, whether they are triathlons, marathons, cross country ski races or something else, is a fantastic way to see the world. What makes it even better is that many of the best races are staged in areas or cities that are not the most usual destinations for “normal” tourists.

Every few years I try to travel somewhere to participate in a race. Most of them, so far, have been on cross country skis. There are numerous great long-distance ski races held around the world, where the amateurs share the tracks with the world stars. Those races are often referred to as “ski marathons” although the distance is usually not the actual marathon distance of 26,2 miles / 42,2 km.  The most common distance is probably around 50 km, but you should be able to find both longer and shorter distances. Obviously there are also great marathons and triathlons held around the globe, and I’m hoping to explore more of them in the not-too-distant future.

If you are spending your time and money on traveling long distances – even to other countries – to participate in a race, you want to make sure that it is worth it. If the race is a part of recognized series such as Worldloppet or Euroloppet, you will know that it is good, as these series demand that their races fulfill certain requirements regarding organization, tracks, service to participants and just quality in general.  There are also many great races that are not a part of such series, so make sure you do your research on the internet on simply ask those who have the experience. Websites such as http://www.worldloppetskier.com/ are also very helpful when organizing such a trip.

Participating in races has given me the opportunity to visit places such as Hayward (Wisconsin, USA), Otepää (Estonia), Mora (Sweden), Berlin (Germany), Bathurst (NB, Canada) and more. Most of them I would never have visited if it hadn’t been for racing.  I know that such trips to other countries cost money and they take time from family and work, but if you make a plan to squeeze them in every four years or so, it just might work.

Should you be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go on such a trip, my main advise would be to find an accommodation close to the centre of the race, somewhere where you know many other participants will be staying. Research shows that one of the things that people value the most on such trips is to meet other people – from all over the world – who share the same “sub-culture, i.e. the passion for the sport. In this regard, I have found that races held in small communities, such as Mora or Hayward, usually somehow generate greater atmosphere and better overall experience than those held in big cities. It looks like the big city races are in more danger of fading a little bit amongst all the other things that the big cities have to offer. The participants are also more spread around the whole city, so the “intimate” atmosphere and the sharing of the sub-culture is less likely to happen.

Beaten by the girl I used to babysit !!

What a fabulous day! This was turning out to be one of my best races in several years. I was relaxed, calm, confident; had a solid game plan as well as a smooth, effective and energy-saving technique (any similarity to any paragraphs in the post here below is purely coincidental). I was a happy, happy man when I crossed the finish line after 30 km of cross country skiing yesterday. But it all changed quickly, as I was walking towards the small booth to pick up my dry-clothes-bag. 

Suddenly, I saw a familiar face. I hadn’t seen her for a few years, but she was the spitting image of her mom.  Our conversation went like this (I won’t write her words, you will be able to figure them out):

Me:      Hi, is it ...  Is it really you?

She:      ...

Me:      Wow, I haven’t seen you for a long time. You must be what, twelve years old now, right?

She:      ...

Me:      Pardon me? Really? You are 28 already? Ehh, you’ve probably forgotten me then, but I used to live next door to your parents. Our moms used to make me babysit you. Are you sure you’re 28? How time flies. I tried to teach you to play basketball; you told me you wanted to be a pilot.

She:      ...

Me:      Oh really, you are a commercial pilot now! Good for you! ...So, you were skiing here today? Did you do one of the short distances?

She:      ...

Me:      Oh, you did the full 30 km?  But you’ve already changed your clothes, did you break the race? No shame in that, you need to train really hard ...

She:      ...

Me:      Oh really? So you did finish the race? Just over 30 minutes ago? Great! Listen, it was really nice seeing you, but I need to put some dry clothes on. Say hello to your folks, bye!

What a dreadful day! This was one of the lowest points of my career.  I had just lost to the baby girl I used to babysit when I was a teenager. And I hadn’t just lost to her; I lost by half an hour. Just over half an hour, actually.

I feel old, weak and tired.

Sex before a race?

"If you want people to read your blog, write about sex". This is the advise I got from my friend who actually made me start this blog. And is just about the only reader - yet.  Faithful to the main theme of this site - endurance sports - I decided to take this opportunity to address the most important question an athlete can ask: "Is it good or bad to have sex the night before a race?"

I have heard both pros and cons. Those in favour of it claim that a little workout between the sheets the night before a race will help you approach the competition at hand in a rational way. You will be relaxed, calm, confident and less likely to let those shaky nerves ruin your game plan. Those who are against it claim that abstinence the last few days before a race will give you the necessary aggression to push yourself to the limit, raise the pain barrier and give your opponents a real fight all the way to the finish line. They also claim that if sex-starved, you will be less likely to succumb to any mind games the competition will throw at you.

My own research on this matter has been inconclusive, i.e., there is no simple "yes" or "no" answer.  I´m leaning towards the conclusion that it all depends - to a large degree - on the race at hand.  If it is a long distance race, where the pace is a bit slower but you nee to have a clear mind, good tactics, a solid game plan as well as a smooth, effective and energy-saving technique, sex might actually be a good idea (as long as you manage to restrain yourself a little bit, in order not to wear yourself out totally). If, on the other hand, it is a short distance race, where explosive power, pace and aggression are the keys to success, then abstinence is likely to help you develop the necessary mood for success.

Further research is necessary, though.   

Swimming for triathletes

I often wonder whether triathletes should train for swimming in a different day from what specialized swimmers do.  I swim regularly with my training buddies who are all focusing on triathlon or aquathlon. Most often we train in a pool, and our coach makes us do endless repeats of backstroke, butterfly and even just butterfly feet or breaststroke. My question is: If you are a triathlete/aquathlete, and the only swim you do in a competition is the front crawl, does it make any sense to spend half your training time on all the other swims?

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A good heart

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.  As you will have noticed, the title of this post is a quote from the classic Feargal Sharkey hit from the 80s. But that's not the point here. The thing is that I took my son to the doctor a few days ago. Nothing serious. The doctor seemed to have plenty of time, at least he offered me to have a short medical examination, since I was already there.  I accepted, of course, and the results showed that I was perfectly fine. Except there seemed to be something wrong with a small organ called heart. According to my doctor, my heartbeat sounded nothing like the heartbeat of a human being.

I was sent to a heart specialist who examined me thoroughly. He used dozens of cables to connect me to a computer before putting me on a stationary bike for some 15 minutes, while he observed all kinds of numbers and values on the screen. After that I had an ultra sound scanning or what ever it is called. The specialist's conclusion was that my heart was too big.  "Is it good or bad?" I asked. The answer, obviously, was that it could be either good or bad.  Luckily for me, it seems that in my case it is not harmful.  An overgrown heart may be an indication of some severe problems. However, when people have been involved in endurance sports for a long time, their hearts may grow bigger than hearts usually do. In those cases, this overgrowth is usually not dangerous. Or that's how I understood it.

The doctor told me just to keep on with my normal life, train as I usually train. From now on, though, I need to see him once a year to have my big heart checked.  And pay for it. Still, I kind of remember someone telling me that participating in sports would "keep the doctor - and his bill - away".

Revisited: The Right Frame of Mind

Many thanks to those who emailed me about the post "The Right Frame of Mind" (see a little bit further below). Just to share their suggestions with you, one claimed that learning self hypnosis helped her approach both racing and training (especially tough training and lousy weather conditions) in a more positive way. Two emails suggested that reading a book called The Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training by Taylor and Schneider could be a great help.  One of them wrote: "The book was great, but what helped me the most was learning this: When you are totally worn out and the pain is killing you, force yourself to smile and think "this is money in the bank, baby".  Once you master this, you will raise your pain barrier significantly."