Late Summer Update and Long Distance Worlds
Dear all!
First off, my apologies for not having written in so long....It's been a hectic summer on all fronts. July and August both flew by and I simply cannot believe we're headed into the fall already....
I am typing this note from Copenhagen where I'm finishing off the last day of my 1 month stay over here in 'old Europe.' I am staying with my good friend 'Happy' from Ghana and his family. No joke. That is his name and he is a great man. Happy and his family have have been so kind to let me spend two nights here on my way to/from Holland and the Long Distance Triathlon World Championships that I just completed. More on that in a few.
I first came over on August 3rd for work and then went to Norway where I met my family and to spend two weeks in my motherland. It was nice to see everyone again in my home town of Grimstad. I also took my little girl Tuva and my wife Jean to see the great 'Lysefjord' off the city of Stavanger where I have good friends from 20 years back. We went to the well-knwon 'Preacher's Chair' - one of the most frequently visited tourist sites of Norway - to indulge in what I think is one of the nicest spost Mother Nature gave Norway. Check this weblink out for an idea of what I'm talking about: http://www.norphoto.com/r/eng3499.php
As always, I brought my bike, wet suit and running equipment with me home. It is amazing how much 'stuff' one can accumulate being a triathlete. And travelling with everything never seems to become less of a challenge. For this trip, though, I had bought a smaller bike case and was only charged once for 'excess' baggage. By the way, it really bothers me that 'active folks' like us need to pay extra for travelling on airlines when others who clearly carry more (body) 'mass' don't pay a dime more....what gives....? Anyways, I'm planning on changing that soon. Stay tuned on that front.
I didn't get to train as much as I had wanted while in Norway since I tried to prioritize my family. Nevertheless, I had some good trips on old 'terrain' and was able to get a few quality swims and runs in. My biking took a 'hit' but since that's my strong point of the three, I figured it was best to focus on the run and the swim. I come from a town in Norway that offers great swimming possibilities right off the coast but also in fresh water lakes nearby. The problem is, nobody else really swims outdoors so I had to depend on a few trusted friends to accompany m by either Kayak or a boat when testing the water. My good friend and name brother (Espen Skalleberg, aka 'Big E'), was kind enough to come along a few times. My other great friend, Nils Petter, joined me on my runs.
I got burnt really bad by jelly fish on two swim occasions but otherwise, it was just amazing to swim there. My new 'BlueSeventy' suit felt great and I think my swimming has improved slightly. By the way, the best 'treatment' I've come across for Jelly Fish burns is pure Alo Vera ointment. It really works.
Like I said, my training wasn't ideal in preparing for the Long Distance World Championshps in Almere, Holland. In fact, I first thought this distance was a 70.3 (half IronMan). To my surprise, it turns out it was close to a 4.4km swim, a 120km bike ride and a 30km run.....I knew I didn't have the long bike and run base to do this race but I wanted to do it as preparation for IronMan Florida which is coming up on November 1st. Looking back, I'm glad I did it because it was a true 'suffer fest' for me on the run. I have two months to prepare myself for Florida now and I need to get more long bricks in to be able to sustain myseslf on the run....I then need to learn the magic of 'two weeks' taper before entering long events....One just cannot 'wing it' with these long races....
I qualified for Worlds at the Kinetic Half in Virginia earlier this year and it made a lot of sense to do it since I was in Europe on vacation anyway. This was my 4th time representing TEAM USA at Worlds and I always enjoy that tremendously. Everyone is so great and the support crew in a class of its own. Kudos to Jeff and Amanda who helped us out over there in Holland!
Back to the race.....I have to admit, I wasn't a happy camper on the run as my stomac cramped up and I couldn't seem to take in enough air. While my legs felt fine, I was simply going on 'empty' with way too little energy left from a hard bike ride. I needed more 'salt' so I will have to try to fine tune how much I need for Florida...I'm always worried about taking in too much salt since I've learnt that the hard way (salt crystal converted to kidney stone, leading to DVT in my leg in the Mexico Huatulco IronMan in 2003)....
There were 100 starters in the group (35-39) and I think 5 or so of us where from the USA. I finally ended up 28th (2nd from the US) and was NOT too happy with that. In hindsight, though, it was good training and I know what I have to do to be better prepared for IM Florida....I'm hoping I'll have the time to put in proper training.....This was the longest swim I've ever done (1hr 23 minutes) in rough waters. I got kicked in the chin really bad in the first 50 meters by some 'foreign elbow' that found its way to me....it was a hard 'hit' and I still cannot close my mouth on the right side properely. That set me back a little bit 'mentally' but I reminded myself to 'relax' and simply get through the swim with as much spare energy as I could. It seemed to work as I came out of the water in 23rd place.
The bike leg started out ok and I felt good. I finished the 120km in 3hrs 14 mins which was good for the 11th fastest split and 15th place in the race. Then the run....long story short, I spent 2 hrs 45 minutes getting those 30km behind me.....I learnt a lot about what 'not to do' and, like I said, I hope those lessons will serve me well in Florida. As I always say, this is indeed a humbling sport.....And yes, I did ask myself why I keep doing them when I saw the spectators cheering us by....they seemed to have so much more fun than I did that day....:) But as always, it was all worth it in the end and I'm now looking forward to the US Nationals in Oregon in three weeks :)
Finally, I want to thank everyone of you out there who help support me in my triathlon life. As I have said before, it's part who I am but I couldn't have done it if it weren't for the endless mental support you all give me.
Be well and I'll see you at the races!
Espen
First off, my apologies for not having written in so long....It's been a hectic summer on all fronts. July and August both flew by and I simply cannot believe we're headed into the fall already....
I am typing this note from Copenhagen where I'm finishing off the last day of my 1 month stay over here in 'old Europe.' I am staying with my good friend 'Happy' from Ghana and his family. No joke. That is his name and he is a great man. Happy and his family have have been so kind to let me spend two nights here on my way to/from Holland and the Long Distance Triathlon World Championships that I just completed. More on that in a few.
I first came over on August 3rd for work and then went to Norway where I met my family and to spend two weeks in my motherland. It was nice to see everyone again in my home town of Grimstad. I also took my little girl Tuva and my wife Jean to see the great 'Lysefjord' off the city of Stavanger where I have good friends from 20 years back. We went to the well-knwon 'Preacher's Chair' - one of the most frequently visited tourist sites of Norway - to indulge in what I think is one of the nicest spost Mother Nature gave Norway. Check this weblink out for an idea of what I'm talking about: http://www.norphoto.com/r/eng3499.php
As always, I brought my bike, wet suit and running equipment with me home. It is amazing how much 'stuff' one can accumulate being a triathlete. And travelling with everything never seems to become less of a challenge. For this trip, though, I had bought a smaller bike case and was only charged once for 'excess' baggage. By the way, it really bothers me that 'active folks' like us need to pay extra for travelling on airlines when others who clearly carry more (body) 'mass' don't pay a dime more....what gives....? Anyways, I'm planning on changing that soon. Stay tuned on that front.
I didn't get to train as much as I had wanted while in Norway since I tried to prioritize my family. Nevertheless, I had some good trips on old 'terrain' and was able to get a few quality swims and runs in. My biking took a 'hit' but since that's my strong point of the three, I figured it was best to focus on the run and the swim. I come from a town in Norway that offers great swimming possibilities right off the coast but also in fresh water lakes nearby. The problem is, nobody else really swims outdoors so I had to depend on a few trusted friends to accompany m by either Kayak or a boat when testing the water. My good friend and name brother (Espen Skalleberg, aka 'Big E'), was kind enough to come along a few times. My other great friend, Nils Petter, joined me on my runs.
I got burnt really bad by jelly fish on two swim occasions but otherwise, it was just amazing to swim there. My new 'BlueSeventy' suit felt great and I think my swimming has improved slightly. By the way, the best 'treatment' I've come across for Jelly Fish burns is pure Alo Vera ointment. It really works.
Like I said, my training wasn't ideal in preparing for the Long Distance World Championshps in Almere, Holland. In fact, I first thought this distance was a 70.3 (half IronMan). To my surprise, it turns out it was close to a 4.4km swim, a 120km bike ride and a 30km run.....I knew I didn't have the long bike and run base to do this race but I wanted to do it as preparation for IronMan Florida which is coming up on November 1st. Looking back, I'm glad I did it because it was a true 'suffer fest' for me on the run. I have two months to prepare myself for Florida now and I need to get more long bricks in to be able to sustain myseslf on the run....I then need to learn the magic of 'two weeks' taper before entering long events....One just cannot 'wing it' with these long races....
I qualified for Worlds at the Kinetic Half in Virginia earlier this year and it made a lot of sense to do it since I was in Europe on vacation anyway. This was my 4th time representing TEAM USA at Worlds and I always enjoy that tremendously. Everyone is so great and the support crew in a class of its own. Kudos to Jeff and Amanda who helped us out over there in Holland!
Back to the race.....I have to admit, I wasn't a happy camper on the run as my stomac cramped up and I couldn't seem to take in enough air. While my legs felt fine, I was simply going on 'empty' with way too little energy left from a hard bike ride. I needed more 'salt' so I will have to try to fine tune how much I need for Florida...I'm always worried about taking in too much salt since I've learnt that the hard way (salt crystal converted to kidney stone, leading to DVT in my leg in the Mexico Huatulco IronMan in 2003)....
There were 100 starters in the group (35-39) and I think 5 or so of us where from the USA. I finally ended up 28th (2nd from the US) and was NOT too happy with that. In hindsight, though, it was good training and I know what I have to do to be better prepared for IM Florida....I'm hoping I'll have the time to put in proper training.....This was the longest swim I've ever done (1hr 23 minutes) in rough waters. I got kicked in the chin really bad in the first 50 meters by some 'foreign elbow' that found its way to me....it was a hard 'hit' and I still cannot close my mouth on the right side properely. That set me back a little bit 'mentally' but I reminded myself to 'relax' and simply get through the swim with as much spare energy as I could. It seemed to work as I came out of the water in 23rd place.
The bike leg started out ok and I felt good. I finished the 120km in 3hrs 14 mins which was good for the 11th fastest split and 15th place in the race. Then the run....long story short, I spent 2 hrs 45 minutes getting those 30km behind me.....I learnt a lot about what 'not to do' and, like I said, I hope those lessons will serve me well in Florida. As I always say, this is indeed a humbling sport.....And yes, I did ask myself why I keep doing them when I saw the spectators cheering us by....they seemed to have so much more fun than I did that day....:) But as always, it was all worth it in the end and I'm now looking forward to the US Nationals in Oregon in three weeks :)
Finally, I want to thank everyone of you out there who help support me in my triathlon life. As I have said before, it's part who I am but I couldn't have done it if it weren't for the endless mental support you all give me.
Be well and I'll see you at the races!
Espen
posted by ESPENUSA at
2:44 AM
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