I can't wait...

Things are getting really close now, all this time has passed since Pontus approached me with this great idea to compete in Ö till Ö.

I feel that I have done all I can in order of physical preparation and I am so excited to start the race. Obviously this race is more about metal stamina then physical, the average time you need to do both running or swimming isn't that fast. But after 8 hours things start to change... ;)

And since there is a bit of a tradition to have goals for the race here are mine;

1. finish race
2. don't shit in wetsuit

Well, that basically it... ;)

Right now I'm in the office and looking at the great running weather outside (rain and 15 degrees C). I'm gonna try my last-minute-need-to-have shoes in my "back yard" forest and see how it goes.

See you there!

//jonas

Time schedule

We are aiming to be able to do this under 12h, we don't know if it's possible or not but I have made a time schedule for it... Feel free to copy!

OBS I am not sure if the distance and island are the correct once because the milestones are from previous year!! If you want it in Excel mail me and i will send you a copy.

Time for an update

Jonas and I did a 2 hours “Ö till Ö” in Waxholm and it felt good! We tried to keep the race speed and we where also drinking and eating what they will serve during the race. What we learned was that we have to be better to drink and eat during the race. We didn’t feel any lack of energy but this was only a 2 hours trip… We tried to do it as race like as we could and practice the switches. We find out that if the run is less than 2 -2,5 km we can keep a 5:30 pace without any problems with the wet suite on. If it’s more that 15 minutes running it’s much better to pull down the wet suite.

A friend and I were running the Stockholm Half Marathon track and the goal was to do it under 1:45 (4:55 min/km). What I can say after that training session is that I am in good shape, I have a lot more to give! :-)

On Saturday I will participate in a sprint (750 meter swimming, 20 km bike and 5 km running) Triathlon race and that will be my last “training” session where I will give 100%. Next week Jonas and I will head out on the sea for some cold water swimming. After that the focus will be to not to get sick or injured and also to charge the muscles with energy, it’s only 17 days left!

//Pontus

I´m starting to feel the nerves…

Yes, that´s right I’m starting to feel the nerves for the race! I am so focused on it that failure is NOT an option! It’s less than a month until we are at the starting line and my head is full of questions:

* Have we trained enough?
* Have we done right type of training?
* Have we chosen the right equipment?
* Have we got the mental strength?
* And so on…

Under 12 hours?
I just had a chat with Jonas and he told me that he got a crick (ryggskott)! Well, I know he got what its take to do a competition like this so I’m not worried about that. We talked about the running and swimming pace and the conclusion is if we keep a 6 min/km tempo on the running and 30 min/km on swimming we will have 1 hour for swap between running and swimming and energy refilling. If we are able to keep this we will do the race in about 12 hours.

Long or short sleeves?
We were also talking about the length on the wetsuit because it’s damn hot to run in it with long arms and legs. When I’m been training with the wetsuit on I have seen that it really affect my running negative, i.e. if I runt in tights and a linen I can keep 5 min/km without any problems but when I put the wetsuit on it drops to 5:40-6 min/km. At the same time, if the water temperature is below 12 degrees I will freeze if I go for the short arms and legs sleeves.

The nerves…
The more I am thinking about the race the more I can feel the nerves :-). I am just an ordinary man with a family and I am comparing my own training with the elite. The last 224 days (2010) I have approximately 7300 minutes of training divided on 112 days that’s 50%. Will this be enough? How much time do you put on training for the Ö till Ö?

//Pontus

3 days R&R

My body is a bit whacked, so I'm officially off training until Wednesday...

Have been doing OK in the tracks, the mental part is ok as well. But boy it's hot in the wet suite...

I'm hoping for 15 degrees and rain... ;)

(it's getting close now...)

At the starting line!

Yepp, I’m here at the starting line! I have just done 1 hour open water swimming in 13 degrees water and it felt OK.


Me, my girls, my brother and his wife at Sandhamn.