Ironman Copenhagen 2022 Preparation Series

Ironman Copenhagen 2022 Preparation Series

2022 will hopefully be the year I slay the dragon that is long course triathlon. I made an attempt in Hamburg 2018 but it was a hollow victory (hollow slaying?) when Ironman cancelled the swim and replaced it with a 6k warm up run. The dragon was already hurt and limping. Ever since I have to endure the mocking of friends, that technically I have yet to finish a full distance event. Time to get it over with. What are…

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Off-season go away, I am making plans for next year!

Off-season go away, I am making plans for next year!

It is November, the typical month to get back into structured training, making plans and setting goals. With races filling up quickly the most important milestones of a season are usually decided upon during the season, but now is the time to define the path and set some goals. After consulting with friends the basic outline of my 2022 season is already set. It’ll start, maybe, with a mountain bike marathon (119 km, 3000m elevation) that has been rescheduled several…

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Race Report IM 70.3 Slovenia

Race Report IM 70.3 Slovenia

Around July I lost confidence that I would be able to travel to the US for the 70.3 WC in St George and quietly began looking for a consolation race and so I began searching Ironman.com for half distance events that weren’t already booked, preferably on the same weekend as St George and within reasonable driving distance. I ended up with 70.3 Slovenia.

I’m going to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships

I’m going to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships

In February I passed on the opportunity to take a slot for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Back then the pandemic had not yet stopped the world in its tracks and the race was scheduled for November 29th 2020 in New Zealand. A friend who traveled with me took his slot, I didn’t because the race would have coincided with my wives‘ birthday. No way, Jose! At the time it was the obvious and easy decision. The following days however…

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Race Report Ironman 70.3 Gdynia

Race Report Ironman 70.3 Gdynia

2020 has been a tricky year to race for the triathlon community. I didn’t know it when I planned my season at the end of last year, but by accident I picked one of the last races before events got COVIDed and one of the first to resume the half distance calendar. 70.3 Gdynia at the Polish Baltic coast was originally scheduled for August 5th, but was pushed to September 6th. The organizers put together a race concept that accounted…

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Reflections of an Adult-Onset Swimmer

Reflections of an Adult-Onset Swimmer

If you’ve followed this blog for while you’ve probably noticed two things about my swims: I’ve never considered it my strength, but I am doing relatively well. Like most triathletes I’ve had a difficult relationship with swimming from the beginning. I’ve never really swum. I learned to not drown as a kid, I’ve spent endless hours at the lake or public pools in my youth. But I’ve never swum properly. My first triathlon-swim will sound reminiscent of many novice‘ triathletes…

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Race Report IRONMAN 70.3 Oman

Race Report IRONMAN 70.3 Oman

It is Monday after the race. Sitting at my breakfast table, still stoked about the greatest race of my triathlon life so far. It was an emotional week, crowned by myself surpassing all my athletic expectations. But let’s start at the beginning. Going to Muscat in 2009 10 years ago I spent a semester abroad at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat. Until then I’ve never been on an airplane or travelled outside the German speaking world. The decision to go…

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70.3 Oman – Preparation Review

70.3 Oman – Preparation Review

The Time Has Come And here I am sitting on my couch, thinking what went wrong. And what went right. I’ve completed 4 months of dedicated training with the explicit goal of racing my best 70.3 yet, knocking on the door of my age groups top ten in an international field and have some hope at a 70.3 worlds qualification. I’ve worked harder than ever before, more than ever before. The proverbial hay os now in the proverbial barn. So…

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The Price of not Recovering Enough

The Price of not Recovering Enough

For this season I’ve worked more and harder than ever before. I am so proud of all the work I put in that I talked about it several times. To push above my recent plateau I recognized that things needed to change. Among the changes I did were a lack of scheduled rest days, assuming life would force these upon me anyway, a change in diet, being very conscious of my weight, and a rise in volume for running and…

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70.3 Oman – Learnings after Build Phase

70.3 Oman – Learnings after Build Phase

With the holidays around the corner my build comes to an end. After 9 weeks of working harder, more structured and more frequently than ever it is time to recap. Might also be the time to reconsider goals and ambitions. As a reminder, my goals are stated below. I want to beat my club mates and ultimately get near a slot for 70.3 world champs. I know that I’ll probably rely on a rolldown, but top 10 should give me…

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