Did my first outdoor swimming during the week end... +13 degrees with a short wetsuit... that was ok after a while :)
//Pontus
Some photos of the course
15 years ago
Monday, 27 June 2011
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Race report from the 2010 race
So, here we go again :)
Well, what happened last time? Let me start from the beginning…
Sunday - The boat leaves to Sandhamn, chat with some persons which Blogs we have been reading. Chat with people we don’t know but with the same goal…. Finish the race! We all knows that this is one of the toughest races in the world… what the hell am I doing here!? We arrive to Sandhamn and drop our bags – try to get something to eat – collect the equipment we need for the race – Information from the race managers. The race managers have a short information session where they talk about safety, rules, the course, etc… they show us a map on the course …. Damn it’s a pretty long way to go ;)
The race continues – up from the water – slippery rocks – cold water – up again to the heating sun – cold water – and so on… We reach the second last check point at 15:45 and it closes at 16:00… I was at the verge of crying here, my first thought was that we won’t make it! The very last check point at Ornö Kyrka (church) will close 17:00. We have 1 hour and 15 minutes to swim 300 meters and run 11 km! We managed the swim in about 10 minutes and started to prepare our self to run as fast as we could by pulling the top of the swim suit down. Jonas was trying to encourage me with: “Hey! 11 km under an hour is noting, we can do that any day in the week”! I just replied: “I know”! The thing is that we have been running and swimming for more than 10 hours now and we have started to feel it :-). Jonas said: “I am the slowest runner so I take the lead”. That was fine by me, I just replayed: “We need to have a 5:45 pace to manage it”. We start to run as fast as we can and the first 2 km took us 12 minutes … Too slow… We just start to walk instead and finally we arrive to the last checkpoint 30 minutes too late, if we had been running we might have been 15 minutes late. 15 minutes too slow over a period of 11 hours!
I often get the question: “How did that feel”? My answer is: “That’s ok”! We almost made it and we didn’t needed to quit after just 5 hours :-). I’d rather quit the race at the last check point than at the first one!
Now it’s time again and we are focusing on Ö till Ö 2011!! And this time I really think we will make it! Why? Because we now know what we did wrong the last time and what we need to focus on this time. I have been doing a lot of swimming during the winter and Jonas has been running a lot this winter :-). We will also have a different strategy this year and that will be the biggest change!
We are going to find out the best set of gear to use and we have been trying out different stuff. The new strategy will be:
* We will try to have as much as possible equipment inside the wet suite to minimize the resistance in the water, even the fluid bladder!
* We need to be quicker in the transitions!
* Be quicker at the energy stations, grab what we need and eat while walking – KEEP ON MOVING!
* Swim and run faster during the short runs and swims, not have the same pace as we have on the long run and swims.
* Use hand paddles again
* Train differently, much more intervals and not as many long distance runs and swims. Don’t train for the total distance, train for shorter distance, the average swim distance is 500m and the average running distance is under 3 km, think about it :-). It´s ok to feel tired from swimming, you can rest while running…
Well, that’s all for now, stay tuned for future updates!
//Pontus
Well, what happened last time? Let me start from the beginning…
Sunday - The boat leaves to Sandhamn, chat with some persons which Blogs we have been reading. Chat with people we don’t know but with the same goal…. Finish the race! We all knows that this is one of the toughest races in the world… what the hell am I doing here!? We arrive to Sandhamn and drop our bags – try to get something to eat – collect the equipment we need for the race – Information from the race managers. The race managers have a short information session where they talk about safety, rules, the course, etc… they show us a map on the course …. Damn it’s a pretty long way to go ;)
Race Day! The alarm went on at 03:30 (!)
Get up!
Breakfast 04:00 … try to eat as much as you can.
Put on the race clothes and equipment.
05:45 - Get to the starting line ... What’s in my head right now is hard to say but I feel prepared and motivated and not that scared (!) … BANG! The race is on and everybody starts to run the first 1,5 km to the first swim. It has been a pretty nice summer and the rumors about the water temperature say it’s around 13-14 degrees, nice!
The first swim (1600 m) feels like crap! Damn …. Why is that? After a while, that feels like forever, we get to the other side and I slip on the rocks and hit my knee pretty bad – Good Start! We start to run, I just ignore the pain and the bad thoughts that start to build up in my mind! We are no swimmers, but good runners which gives some self-confidence.
We arrive to the starting point of the first longer run and start to pass some teams instead of getting passed by :-). The weather is nice and we are not that far behind schedule, therefore everything feels good! We arrive to the first cut off at approximately: 11:20 which is 40 min prior to closing it! – Here we do our first big mistake – we decide to rest for 5-10 minutes ….
We continue the race and the good weather is now great! If you like the sun and don’t wear a swim suit and run… the heat starts to get to you and that affects the speed pretty much. I can see that Jonas is suffering more than me during the run but I am also getting to get a little bit slower when swimming… After a while we reach the Mörtö-Bunsö swim which is approximately 1600 meters and the water has quite a current. Let me put it like this: that swim took us 45 minutes …
The race continues – up from the water – slippery rocks – cold water – up again to the heating sun – cold water – and so on… We reach the second last check point at 15:45 and it closes at 16:00… I was at the verge of crying here, my first thought was that we won’t make it! The very last check point at Ornö Kyrka (church) will close 17:00. We have 1 hour and 15 minutes to swim 300 meters and run 11 km! We managed the swim in about 10 minutes and started to prepare our self to run as fast as we could by pulling the top of the swim suit down. Jonas was trying to encourage me with: “Hey! 11 km under an hour is noting, we can do that any day in the week”! I just replied: “I know”! The thing is that we have been running and swimming for more than 10 hours now and we have started to feel it :-). Jonas said: “I am the slowest runner so I take the lead”. That was fine by me, I just replayed: “We need to have a 5:45 pace to manage it”. We start to run as fast as we can and the first 2 km took us 12 minutes … Too slow… We just start to walk instead and finally we arrive to the last checkpoint 30 minutes too late, if we had been running we might have been 15 minutes late. 15 minutes too slow over a period of 11 hours!
I often get the question: “How did that feel”? My answer is: “That’s ok”! We almost made it and we didn’t needed to quit after just 5 hours :-). I’d rather quit the race at the last check point than at the first one!
Now it’s time again and we are focusing on Ö till Ö 2011!! And this time I really think we will make it! Why? Because we now know what we did wrong the last time and what we need to focus on this time. I have been doing a lot of swimming during the winter and Jonas has been running a lot this winter :-). We will also have a different strategy this year and that will be the biggest change!
We are going to find out the best set of gear to use and we have been trying out different stuff. The new strategy will be:
* We will try to have as much as possible equipment inside the wet suite to minimize the resistance in the water, even the fluid bladder!
* We need to be quicker in the transitions!
* Be quicker at the energy stations, grab what we need and eat while walking – KEEP ON MOVING!
* Swim and run faster during the short runs and swims, not have the same pace as we have on the long run and swims.
* Use hand paddles again
* Train differently, much more intervals and not as many long distance runs and swims. Don’t train for the total distance, train for shorter distance, the average swim distance is 500m and the average running distance is under 3 km, think about it :-). It´s ok to feel tired from swimming, you can rest while running…
Well, that’s all for now, stay tuned for future updates!
//Pontus
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Swimming muscles has died...
Me and Pontus was out for a swim (the first for me in a long while) and I realized that my swimming muscles has died?!?!?
I have spent a lot of time running since I felt that was my weak side. But I have changed my opinion about that.
Now I'm going to swim 3-4 times a week, tonight I'm going for about 2 km swim, no running. On July 3:d I'm off to Gotland for a two week training camp (vacation if you ask my wife) with great access to the ocean, that will get my swimming muscles into shape again!
//jonas
I have spent a lot of time running since I felt that was my weak side. But I have changed my opinion about that.
Now I'm going to swim 3-4 times a week, tonight I'm going for about 2 km swim, no running. On July 3:d I'm off to Gotland for a two week training camp (vacation if you ask my wife) with great access to the ocean, that will get my swimming muscles into shape again!
//jonas
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Let the madness begin...
So it has begun. The madness, the impossible, the ever so difficult but fantastic race is on (again).
We crashed and burned the last year, being a bit blue-eyed about the conditions and what preparation we needed. After a long day of racing we where cut off at the last check point making it very difficult to take...
This year we are certainly not going to be able to blame anything, we know the race (well, most of it anyway ;) ), we are well prepared and highly motivated.
Equipment
Everybody asks, so here goes:
Overall motto: less is more, don't bring "nice to have" stuff...
Last year we had a long wet suite, this year we are cutting the legs and arms off. The hot weather on land was more punishing than the cold water. But anything you do is a trade off...
Cold in the water = less warm on land, no need to strip the wet suite off all of the time
Warm in water = hot on land, strip wet suite off not to die from the heat
I'm going to use a pair of Innov8 (http://www.inov-8.com/Products-Detail.asp?PG=PG1&L=26&P=5050973125), a the same wet suite and back pack we used last year.
This year we might go with fins since we aren't the greatest swimmers, but again, it's a trade off.
See you there!
We crashed and burned the last year, being a bit blue-eyed about the conditions and what preparation we needed. After a long day of racing we where cut off at the last check point making it very difficult to take...
This year we are certainly not going to be able to blame anything, we know the race (well, most of it anyway ;) ), we are well prepared and highly motivated.
Equipment
Everybody asks, so here goes:
Overall motto: less is more, don't bring "nice to have" stuff...
Last year we had a long wet suite, this year we are cutting the legs and arms off. The hot weather on land was more punishing than the cold water. But anything you do is a trade off...
Cold in the water = less warm on land, no need to strip the wet suite off all of the time
Warm in water = hot on land, strip wet suite off not to die from the heat
I'm going to use a pair of Innov8 (http://www.inov-8.com/Products-Detail.asp?PG=PG1&L=26&P=5050973125), a the same wet suite and back pack we used last year.
This year we might go with fins since we aren't the greatest swimmers, but again, it's a trade off.
See you there!
Monday, 2 May 2011
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
It was soooo close....
I will get you a race report later...
Just to summarize, we where at Northen Ornö at 16:00 and had to do a 11 km run under 1 h but after 10h in to the race that was not possible and we did it in 1,5 hour and that was 30 minutes to slow and was the last team to break... But hey... We will hopefully be at the starting line next year!
From TV4: http://www.tv4play.se/aktualitet/nyhetsmorgon?videoId=1.1800276
//Pontus
Just to summarize, we where at Northen Ornö at 16:00 and had to do a 11 km run under 1 h but after 10h in to the race that was not possible and we did it in 1,5 hour and that was 30 minutes to slow and was the last team to break... But hey... We will hopefully be at the starting line next year!
From TV4: http://www.tv4play.se/aktualitet/nyhetsmorgon?videoId=1.1800276
//Pontus
Friday, 3 September 2010
Ready to go!
Jonas to the Left and Pontus to the rightYes! We are as ready as we can be, did some last minutes test and everything feels great!
Follow the race here: http://www.otillo.se/live/index.html
//Pontus
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Getting closer
Did just checked some weather forecast for the race day and it looks good! Wind North East 2-5 m/s and 15 degrees in the air. I also did a quick check regarding the water temperature and now it's 15 degrees at Landsort which is south of Utö but at the open sea (http://www.smhi.se/vadret/hav-och-kust/havsobservationer/havstemp.htm) I hope we will have more than 13 degrees in the water :-)
We did same lst minutes changes regarding the equipment.
1. The bag has been replaces by a camelback
2. On the feet I (we?) will wear Gator Neopren socks
3. On the body some sportslick
//Pontus
We did same lst minutes changes regarding the equipment.
1. The bag has been replaces by a camelback
2. On the feet I (we?) will wear Gator Neopren socks
3. On the body some sportslick
//Pontus
Monday, 30 August 2010
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;
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
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;
- finish race
- don't shit in wetsuit
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
Thursday, 26 August 2010
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.
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.
Friday, 20 August 2010
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
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
Sunday, 8 August 2010
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
* 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
Monday, 2 August 2010
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...)
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.
Sunday, 25 July 2010
3 hours at Domarudden
Today I made my first training session in full race-gear I did a 3 hours running-swimming-running-swimming 13,3 km running and 3450 m swimming… Damn that was warm running in the wetsuit
I started with a 2400 m run then 2300 m swim, 2500 km run, 500 m swim, 5900 m run, 650 m swim and finally 2500 run. During the runs I pulled down the wetsuit and it was no problem to get it on after the run. I drank my own sport-drink and water but after about 2 hours I started to feel tired and lack of energy. I had one Snickers and one Raider for some quick energy refill, one of my fears for this race is that the stomach will crash.
How have you previous Ö till Ö competeders done during the race to be able to keep a good energy level?
I started with a 2400 m run then 2300 m swim, 2500 km run, 500 m swim, 5900 m run, 650 m swim and finally 2500 run. During the runs I pulled down the wetsuit and it was no problem to get it on after the run. I drank my own sport-drink and water but after about 2 hours I started to feel tired and lack of energy. I had one Snickers and one Raider for some quick energy refill, one of my fears for this race is that the stomach will crash.
How have you previous Ö till Ö competeders done during the race to be able to keep a good energy level?
//Pontus
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Swimming with my greatest fan
Hi all,
Had a nice 1,4 km swim in warm weather (the little lady is my greatest fan!). I always try to train as I race but this time it was to hot. I skipped the cap, other then that it's race-gear that I'm wearing.
Seeing this picture (thanks to my wife) I'm looking a bit high in the water, need to get my chin lower (tighter to the chest)...
Still time to get that swimming form adjusted... ;)
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Vacation in the Swedish archipelago
I am out with our boat and take a look at my training environment :) . Right now I am sitting in the caboose and updating the blog. I am trying to do some swimming and yesterday I did a one hour open water with hand paddles and that really increase the speed but you need to have strong upper body!
For a couple a days ago I finally reach the Island to Island goal! ;-)
Have a nice one!
For a couple a days ago I finally reach the Island to Island goal! ;-)
Have a nice one!
amazing stuff - the feet that is
Hi all,
I just completed a 5k trail run barefoot! ;)
I can't help to smile internally when I think about it, if anybody would have told me I could/should go for a 5k trail run barefoot 1 year ago I would have called them nuts! I'm so happy my feet hurt a bit when I started training for Ö till Ö, otherwise I wouldn't have questioned my old ways.
Took a swim yesterday in the ocean, realized I need to do a lot more swimming... :(
Stay cool in the heat!
//jonas
Monday, 28 June 2010
stay cool...
I did a one and a half hour of trail running yesterday, it was very very warm... I drank 1,4 litres of water during the run and still I felt very tired and banged up afterwards.
Might have been my incredibly well poised lunch (ice cream, strawberries, cake and coffee at my parents in law)... ;)
Today I'm doing a nice calm 5k recovery run late in the evening when it's nice an cool.
//jonas
Might have been my incredibly well poised lunch (ice cream, strawberries, cake and coffee at my parents in law)... ;)
Today I'm doing a nice calm 5k recovery run late in the evening when it's nice an cool.
//jonas
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Training and midsummer
Ahhh… the midsummer is here and a nice trip with our boat out on the Swedish archipelago together with the family is planed! We will be south of Möja at Njudholmen which means in the same water as the race, I’ll bring my wetsuit for some swimming. :-)
I’ll will update the blog with some picture afterward, have a really nice midsummer everybody!
//Pontus
I’ll will update the blog with some picture afterward, have a really nice midsummer everybody!
//Pontus
Monday, 21 June 2010
Getting into the groove...
Things are flowing, doing nice long runs in the forests around my house. Haven't been swimming as much as needed though, got very bored in the pool the last time.
Not to worry, I'm looking to get my S3 this week (or at the very latest next week), then I will swim outdoors instead. No risk for crowds in the open water! ;)
Oh, I almost forgot, I'm on vacation/training camp all of July and August... ;)
And I am going for Vibram KSO Trek for the race (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/products_kso_trek_m.cfm).
So far I have trained in "normal" KSO's but the sole is on the thin side and I need to be a bit more robust for the race. If you are able to control your environment normal KSO's are just fine, but since I will be very tired and probably not as sharp as I need to be I'm going for more protection. I would hate to have to end the race on some stupid injury...
//jonas 'the tortoise'
Not to worry, I'm looking to get my S3 this week (or at the very latest next week), then I will swim outdoors instead. No risk for crowds in the open water! ;)
Oh, I almost forgot, I'm on vacation/training camp all of July and August... ;)
And I am going for Vibram KSO Trek for the race (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/products_kso_trek_m.cfm).
So far I have trained in "normal" KSO's but the sole is on the thin side and I need to be a bit more robust for the race. If you are able to control your environment normal KSO's are just fine, but since I will be very tired and probably not as sharp as I need to be I'm going for more protection. I would hate to have to end the race on some stupid injury...
//jonas 'the tortoise'
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Equipment
We have started the process of find the best equipment and as we have said before, less is best! What I like from your Senior Island to Island competitioners is comments on our suggestion:
- Wetsuit – Orca S3, Equip or Sonar and full length!
- Shoes - Pontus will probably use adidas adizero xt mens. Jonas is still investigating, will it be some “Toe Shoe” look alike!?
- Bag and fluid – GoLite Hydroswift
(http://www.addnature.com/product.aspx?dept_id=0&pf_id=GOLITEHYDROSWIFT_S09) - Swimming cap – Something thicker?
- Ears – Some type of earplug to avoid water in the ear which can cause nauseas.
- Energy – Some type of bars or gel, which is best?
Have we missed something?
//Pontus
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Divide it into four
When I am doing my distance runs or swim I try to divide the session into quarters. In example yesterday I did 20 x 200 meters in a 25 meters swimming pool, that’s a total of 4000 meters or 160 turns! I divided into 5 x 200 meter with 10-15 sec rest between the sets and then 1 minutes rest before next 5 x 200 meter. In this case it was only 4 times 1000 meter and that much easier to perform :-). For Island to Island which in our case will be ongoing for 12-13 hour I think we need to aim at the next station because if we see the entire course ahead we will never make it. What do you think?
//Pontus
//Pontus
Monday, 14 June 2010
Intensive weeks!
Puuhh… it has been some pretty intensive weeks but is there a light at the end of the tunnel over there? The last weeks has included, work, fever, training and some shopping. :-)
My Knees
After my Italian trip I caught some type of a virus which resulted in one week without training. I really hate when that happened, it make me so stressed! I also investigated my knees with ultrasound and the result came back with “No injures on the knee tendon, but with some small irregularity on the bone.” It means that I can trainee but to mitigate the risk to get it worse in the future a couple of new custom made sole for the foot. This is just the opposite too the “Toe Shoe philosophy” but it’s too close to the race for me to change philosophy now! :-)
Premiere outdoor swimming!
Yep, I had my premiere of outdoor swimming and used my Orca S2. It was nice to overcome the mental barrier of swimming in cold water. It was somewhere between 13-15 degrees and it wasn’t that cold! When I first entered the water I thought I was going to freeze to death but after a while it felt pretty good. I was just swimming for 25 minutes but that was enough to just prove to myself it is doable.
Shopping
One of many question is what to wear and what to bring. Jonas and I had some chats regarding tactics and my believe is the less the better. Another question is what to wear on your feet. I bought “Adidas Adizero XT mens” and they feel great. I have tried them a couple of times and yesterday I did a 130 minutes trail running almost no tracks and a lot of up and down hill. It’s so nice with some charleyhorse in my calfs today.
Here is a map on my last run:
http://www.funbeat.se/tracks/index.aspx?RouteID=415544
//Pontus
My Knees
After my Italian trip I caught some type of a virus which resulted in one week without training. I really hate when that happened, it make me so stressed! I also investigated my knees with ultrasound and the result came back with “No injures on the knee tendon, but with some small irregularity on the bone.” It means that I can trainee but to mitigate the risk to get it worse in the future a couple of new custom made sole for the foot. This is just the opposite too the “Toe Shoe philosophy” but it’s too close to the race for me to change philosophy now! :-)
Premiere outdoor swimming!
Yep, I had my premiere of outdoor swimming and used my Orca S2. It was nice to overcome the mental barrier of swimming in cold water. It was somewhere between 13-15 degrees and it wasn’t that cold! When I first entered the water I thought I was going to freeze to death but after a while it felt pretty good. I was just swimming for 25 minutes but that was enough to just prove to myself it is doable.
Shopping
One of many question is what to wear and what to bring. Jonas and I had some chats regarding tactics and my believe is the less the better. Another question is what to wear on your feet. I bought “Adidas Adizero XT mens” and they feel great. I have tried them a couple of times and yesterday I did a 130 minutes trail running almost no tracks and a lot of up and down hill. It’s so nice with some charleyhorse in my calfs today.
Here is a map on my last run:
http://www.funbeat.se/tracks/index.aspx?RouteID=415544
//Pontus
Friday, 4 June 2010
8K barefoot run
Just finished an 8K barefoot run! I try to run twice a week completely barefoot to strengthen my feet and muscles.
This week will be a 50K week, finishing of on Sunday with a 20k (10k on asphalt and 10k on a forest track).
We had a quick tactics talk today, the old unix motto "less is more" seems to prevail... ;)
//jonas
This week will be a 50K week, finishing of on Sunday with a 20k (10k on asphalt and 10k on a forest track).
We had a quick tactics talk today, the old unix motto "less is more" seems to prevail... ;)
//jonas
Monday, 31 May 2010
The bugs are bugging me...
Training is going great! Some small obstacles on the way though. The other night when I was out on a short'n'fast 5K run I was "attacked" by bugs. Seriously I have never seen that much stuff in the air (where I live), and I had to run with my mouth closed for most of the way...
Still, I ate quite a few... (nasty)
Picking up my new shoes today, it's a pair of vibram five-fingers KSO, KSO stands for Keep Stuff Out and is basically the basic shoe with cover over the top of the foot.
My toe-shoe running adventure is continuing and I must say it is working great! Who knew that all you needed was protection from the ruff surfaces... But if you think about it it's quite obvious, 1.8 million years of evolution did a good job.
//Jonas (the tortoise)
Still, I ate quite a few... (nasty)
Picking up my new shoes today, it's a pair of vibram five-fingers KSO, KSO stands for Keep Stuff Out and is basically the basic shoe with cover over the top of the foot.
My toe-shoe running adventure is continuing and I must say it is working great! Who knew that all you needed was protection from the ruff surfaces... But if you think about it it's quite obvious, 1.8 million years of evolution did a good job.
//Jonas (the tortoise)
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Italia!
Last week I was in Italy on a conference and that was nice. I did some running but I was 30 degrees which made it pretty tuff! I start to feel some pain in my left knee and have an appointment for an ultrasound this week and I really hope for the best. I will take “the opportunity” to do a lot of swimming instead. It still pretty cold in the water outside but maybe in a couple of week the out-door premier will take place!
//Pontus
//Pontus
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Intensive periods and rest periods
Intensive
The last weeks have been pretty intensive for me and I did a 30 km run to finalize it. Last week was a soft week with just two training sessions, one 12 km running and one 53 km on the bike. This week will also be a calm one and that is because I start to feel some pain in my left knee.
The importance of rest!
I quote:
“
When we are training for an endurance event (marathon, half marathon, ultra marathon) we often think the main thing we need to do for training is RUN. After all, it makes sense. We're going to be running for a very long time so we should probably focus mainly on running for our training. We often believe that more is more; the more we run, the more prepared we will be for our races.
While we definitely need to run to prepare for our races, rest is as essential a component in our training as running is. In fact, our rest days may be the most important training days in our week. Experienced runners can get away with less rest because they don't damage their muscles as much when they are running. In fact, Paula Radcliffe (world record holder, Women's Marathon), takes one full rest day every ten days. When you consider that she has a personal massage therapist, Physical Therapist, and has to focus solely on her running, it shows you how important rest is even to elite athletes.
“
It’s ok!
I just love to train but it’s hard for me to say to myself, it’s Ok to rest. I think many of you have the same problem but just remember, if you get hurt you will end up with a long period of physical therapy instead.
Train hard but train smart!
//Pontus
The last weeks have been pretty intensive for me and I did a 30 km run to finalize it. Last week was a soft week with just two training sessions, one 12 km running and one 53 km on the bike. This week will also be a calm one and that is because I start to feel some pain in my left knee.
The importance of rest!
I quote:
“
When we are training for an endurance event (marathon, half marathon, ultra marathon) we often think the main thing we need to do for training is RUN. After all, it makes sense. We're going to be running for a very long time so we should probably focus mainly on running for our training. We often believe that more is more; the more we run, the more prepared we will be for our races.
While we definitely need to run to prepare for our races, rest is as essential a component in our training as running is. In fact, our rest days may be the most important training days in our week. Experienced runners can get away with less rest because they don't damage their muscles as much when they are running. In fact, Paula Radcliffe (world record holder, Women's Marathon), takes one full rest day every ten days. When you consider that she has a personal massage therapist, Physical Therapist, and has to focus solely on her running, it shows you how important rest is even to elite athletes.
“
It’s ok!
I just love to train but it’s hard for me to say to myself, it’s Ok to rest. I think many of you have the same problem but just remember, if you get hurt you will end up with a long period of physical therapy instead.
Train hard but train smart!
//Pontus
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
crazy run in toe-shoes
Wow, I just did my first run in toe-shoes (5,5k on 30 minutes)...
Toe-shoes you wonder, well I have been reading up on shoes and the facts behind different shoes. Or rather the lack of facts to support anything other then barefoot is probably the best way to run (as evolution has provided us with the tools).
And since toe-shoes are basically soles and nothing more they also have a side-effect of being very light, and they don't carry any water at all. In short the perfect shoe for the race.
Well, I will keep you posted on my toe-shoe adventure! (I'm not ready to toss my old shoes away just yet).
Here is a good article if you are interested.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1170253/The-painful-truth-trainers-Are-expensive-running-shoes-waste-money.html
//jonas
Toe-shoes you wonder, well I have been reading up on shoes and the facts behind different shoes. Or rather the lack of facts to support anything other then barefoot is probably the best way to run (as evolution has provided us with the tools).
And since toe-shoes are basically soles and nothing more they also have a side-effect of being very light, and they don't carry any water at all. In short the perfect shoe for the race.
Well, I will keep you posted on my toe-shoe adventure! (I'm not ready to toss my old shoes away just yet).
Here is a good article if you are interested.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
//jonas
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Tactics...
Jonas and I had a short discussion regarding the tactics for this competition. The questions we need to straight out is:
- Flippers?
- Paddles for your hands?
- How long should the wetsuit be?
- Running pace – 7 min/km?
- How much should we drink and eat?
- ….
Everything has its Pros and Cons of course the question is what’s the best. You need to save your legs for the running but to swim open-water there is a big advantage to use flippers. To be able to keep the pace the biggest challenge will be to start slow and keep that pace and not run off and hit the wall after 6 hours. Should we during the training keep a slow tempo, today I run between 4:30 and 5 minutes per km is that too fast?
What do you think?
//Pontus
Monday, 3 May 2010
the tortoise is back on track
Yeah! Back after beeing struck by lightning (or a cold actually...). Didn't do any training for almost a week so I restarted with a 5k run on friday, 10k on saterday and finished the weekend with a 4,5 easy run.
This week am back on my "normal" schedule;
mon: rest
tue: 10k run
wed: 1hour swin
thu: 7,5k run
fri: rest
sat: 1hour swim
sun: 15-25k run (doing 20k on sunday)
Jonas (aka the tortoise)
This week am back on my "normal" schedule;
mon: rest
tue: 10k run
wed: 1hour swin
thu: 7,5k run
fri: rest
sat: 1hour swim
sun: 15-25k run (doing 20k on sunday)
Jonas (aka the tortoise)
Sunday, 2 May 2010
No I am not sponsored by Scott! :-)
Bought some new cycle cloth but I am not sponsored by Scott, it’s more I am sponsoring them ;). Went for two shorter bike runs but hey… The best training is the training that is performed. If you plan for 100 km on the bike but you only got time for 30 it is still better to do the 30 then nothing! Went on a 24 km on Friday and a 30 km on Saturday, have not be able to keep up the pace to over 30 km/h yet but I hope to be there soon.
You might wonder why I put time on the bike when there is no bike on Island to Island. Well, there are some Triathlon races I like to do and also it’s pretty nice to ride the bike. Training should be fun and if you like to walk, run, swim, play squash or whatever do it like Nike say, Just Do it!
Have a nice one…. Time for some running now!
//Pontus
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Late run
Ahhhh.... this was a nice after rain almost summer night run... :-) I went for a 12km run and it was so nice today!
People use to ask me how I find the time for training. Well, i got a simple answer on that... What do you use to do at 21:00, watch TV?
I added one picture, PreRunning.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Training update…
Thursday March 23:th: Running 9 km - 40 minutes
Sunday March 25:th: Cyckling 63 km - 2 h 25 minutes
Monday March 26:th: Running 5,3 km - 24 minutes
Planned for today: Swimming "the Pyramid" warming-up and then 100-200-300-400-500-400-300-200-100 meter.
As you can see it's no that much time that goes to training, I think I need to crank it up :-)
//Pontus aka "The Rabbit"
Sunday March 25:th: Cyckling 63 km - 2 h 25 minutes
Monday March 26:th: Running 5,3 km - 24 minutes
Planned for today: Swimming "the Pyramid" warming-up and then 100-200-300-400-500-400-300-200-100 meter.
As you can see it's no that much time that goes to training, I think I need to crank it up :-)
//Pontus aka "The Rabbit"
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Team Diversify starts to blog!
Finally, now is it possible for you follow our road to the 2010 setup of island to island.
What is island to island (its real name is actually Ö till Ö) and why Team Diversify?
Well…. Let me quote from http://otillo.se/
“Ö TILL Ö is a unique race in a unique environment. Teams of two race together from island to island (Ö TILL Ö). The teams swim between the 19 islands and run on them. The total distance is 64 kilometers of which 10 km are swimming and 54 km are running.”
Why Team Diversify… our Idea is to show that even a hard working person with a family can do something different and diversify it self. We believe that 60 minutes of training gives you 120 minutes of more energy. The name Diversify is inspired from the company that Pontus (more about our self later) is working at and to hopefully inspire you to Diversify your self!
What is island to island (its real name is actually Ö till Ö) and why Team Diversify?
Well…. Let me quote from http://otillo.se/
“Ö TILL Ö is a unique race in a unique environment. Teams of two race together from island to island (Ö TILL Ö). The teams swim between the 19 islands and run on them. The total distance is 64 kilometers of which 10 km are swimming and 54 km are running.”
Why Team Diversify… our Idea is to show that even a hard working person with a family can do something different and diversify it self. We believe that 60 minutes of training gives you 120 minutes of more energy. The name Diversify is inspired from the company that Pontus (more about our self later) is working at and to hopefully inspire you to Diversify your self!
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