I have decided to do an ironman in April. This requires that I get in solid shape during the winter months.

Since I live in Copenhagen training outside is not always the smart choice. This winter has been brutal and I have not been outside on my bike since November.

I also do many of my runs inside, and I even swim inside in the pool

But does this mean that I cannot get in good shape and ready for an ironman?

Personally I think training in nice weather is one of the best things in the world and it’s easy to feel that the body preforms better when it’s not minus 10 degrees Celcius outside but it is possible to give yourself a great fitness even if you are limited to training inside.

All you need is to be a bit smart and have some good music.

Swimming during the winter is easy. The weather in the pool is always the same here and there really is no excuse for not swimming like you would had you been in nice weather.

Cycling inside.

Cycling is a bit different. I don’t go to spinning classes but use a hometrainer. I set it up and ride it hard.

As with other parts of my training I have begun using the feedback I get from training to plan the training to come instead of just training what I wished I could do. I do several test to get feedback on how my training is going.

On the bike I use a 20-30 min time trial to see how my fitness is progressing and on the run I use 3 km tests. I don’t train to get better on these tests but I know I must improve them in order to be on track – if that makes sense!

I make sure my training is geared towards my goals in the season but I also work on what I have found to be my weakness.

In the past I would just do plenty of hours and hope that would get me where I wanted.

I don’t have the time to do this anymore and I don’t want to do it either – one could say I am becoming comfortable, which is a choice I made.
This would normally mean that I should not be improving as much but the things is I have never been better in training since making the decision. Isn’t that ironic?

Back to cycling inside. I found that the trainer is both fun (yes I know most think it’s boring) and I have found that doing it 3 times a week gives good progress without leaving me feeling burnt. I also have no problems with doing 3 hour sessions inside.

I think there is no way around weeks of hard training with big volume. In the past I tried to train over 20 hours a week and it just did one thing..made me tired. Now I am training 12-15 hours a week and am feeling good and most important – I am improving.

I use watts to monitor my fitness on the bike. I really find it motivating to get the feedback and so see how time efficient the training is.

Running.

The run is a bit different. Running on a treadmill is just boring but I find that the workload is about the same as outside if you run at a small incline on the treadmill – about 0.5 percent, but again treadmills vary in models and how they are set up.

The most important thing about training inside is the mindset. If you tell yourself it’s boring and focus on the things you cannot get in your training inside then you are going to be bored.

Instead focus on the good things.

- Always hot and humid.

- You can always get a nice cup of coffee within minutes.

- Great music.

- The chance to get back at your neighbors – given you live in an apartment. Just really loud music and remember to yell and scream during the workout.

Putting the fitness to the test.

It’s easy to get caught up in how great training can go inside but it’s remember to remind yourself that you are not training for and ironman inside and that you shouldn’t quit your job before you have seen how the fitness you have build inside carries out onto the road in the real world.

But one things is for sure – improving fitness begins with training, weather it’s inside or outside you have to make the most of it.

Here in Copenhagen where I live, riding your bike around town is normal and it’s very easy.

I really enjoy this wonderful part of my city a lot.

Last year I had been away from Copenhagen for a long time and the first things I did the first night I was back was to take my bike and ride i around my city, seeing all the places I like, the places where special things have happened, places where I know I will return to.

I like the YouTube video and remember to bring your bike when you get to Copenhagen

Winter has really come to Copenhagen.

Normally we don’t get much snow. Denmark is surrounded by the ocean and is just a bunch of small islands.

A typical winter doesn’t have much snow but this winter is much worse than usual.

What is a triahtlete to do?

Training in the cold is a bit of a challenge since it does require some adjustments in your training.

Triathlon is quite popular in Denmark and there are several of the worlds best triathletes living here which one would think is far from optimal but year after year it is proven that it is very possible to train through the cold winter and have great results come summer.

There are two main adjustments I do in my training.

The first is to not do too much volume in my training. I think training many hours outside in the cold wears me out so I make sure I don’t get out too much.

This of course means that intensity is quite high when I do force myself out of the door, but then I make sure to not do too much high intensity in a session since it’s still winter and a long time until I want to be in great shape.

Another thing is that I do all of my biking inside. This again means that cycling is a bit different from what I would do if I was in a nice and warm place. However I really do enjoy the trainer and I think it’s nice to be efficient and have more time to do other things that training.

So basically training in Copenhagen is very possible but you do have days where I get very whiny about the training but then I think about how much I will enjoy training when I get to train in the sun.

It’s Christmas day and I am celebrating the holiday with my mother in a far and distant part of Denmark.

I like Christmas but not because of the food * or the presents* but because it’s nice to spend time with family and friends.

Christmas here is not very traditional so yesterday I we listened to hip hop and African music instead of the traditional songs. I even did my running man dance move which by the way should be avoided when you are as full as I was.

However which way you celebrate Christmas, I wish you a very merry Christmas and if you don’t celebrate Christmas I hope you will still have a great time.

*= a huge lie.

Tomorrow I am having Nikola Tosic as a guest in my small appartment in Copenhagen.

I look very much forward to showing Nikola Copenhagen.

While he is in town he is organazing meet in a nice restaurant on the 19th and 20th of december.

Besides have nice dinners I look very much forward to showing Nikola my city. I think we all have special relationship to the cities in which we live.

I have lived in many cities around the world but I think Copenhagen is the one I have enjoyed the most. I think Cape Town could be just as great and I do contemplate on moving.

I hope Nikola will enjoy his stay and if you are ever in town please send me a note to get som tips on things to do.

I have been interviewed by South African triathlon website Triharder.

I was happy to be asked to do the interview.

In the spring I really enjoyed my stay in Stellenbosch and even tough I am sure Stellenbosch in many ways is not typicial for South Africa then I became very facinated by the beautiful country so far away from where I live.

The interview is one in a series of interviews with the other athletes on Triathlonteam.

Doing the interview also made me look forward to comming back to South Africa.

I will be back in march to get ready for Ironman South Africa.

One of the greatest things in sport is that it opens possibilities to meet people you would never have met had you not done sport.

Social barriers are broken down in sport as is geographical and other differences.
With the risk of sounding more cheesy than normal;  “Sport unites people“.

I have met many great people through my sport. This past weekend I was in Belgrade.

During the stay I had the pleasure to meet and train with some of the triathletes and Belgrade.

It was very interesting to see how and where they train. In many ways Belgrade is a better place to train than Copenhagen where i normally train but I was also fun to feel how small the sport is there.

I also recived a honorable membership of the biggest triahtlon club in Serbia – Hermes.

Besides sport I also got to feel the Belgrade vibe. The city is really cool. Lots of graffiti and it has a very raw look, but in a very cool way.

Food, music and people are awesome and I will be back in Belgrade again.

I am in Belgrade which I am enjoying very much. It is a very intresting city and I am in good company.

Yesterday I had the pleasure to give a talk in the Hermes sport club network.

The talk was a bit different than the talks I normally give but I enjoyed it very much and was happy to see people turn up for the talk.

Thanks for listening.

Next year in august there will be an ironman distance race in Copenhagen.

The organization behind the race is really doing an good job in creating a world class race.

One of the things I really look forward to is racing in the heart of Copenhagen. If you have ever been here you will know it’s a very beautiful city and I am sure that even when it will be a very unique race.

Challenge Copenhagen will be my main focus next season where I will face very hard competition from the other strong Danes and the world class athletes that are coming to the race.

I was very pleased with being the first athlete to be interviewed for the race. I had had a big cup of coffee before the interview and all of a sudden I had lots to say so the interview is in two parts.

If you are thinking about doing the race here in august then feel free to contact me for practical information about Copenhagen.

This past weekend was the running of the Hawaii Ironman.
For the race in Hawaii there are more than 2000 thousand well trained athletes and each with their own unique story which they bring to the unique event that is about much more than just crossing a line on the road.

For many going to Hawaii to participate in the race has been a dream, for others they perhaps never thought much about it and it just kind of happened.

When you follow the race online as I did this saturday there are two things that come to mind.

First of all – an ironman is really long and at moments very boring to watch. Second is the journey the people you know who are participating has traveled to get to the start line.

My friend Kaisa has had cancer twice, a guy from my club never had planned to go but it just kinda happened because he was too fast in his first iroman in Frankfurt this summer.

Igor Nastic and Dejan Patrcevic who are a part of triathlon team were also on the start line.

I was very impressed with both of them. Dejan was 29th overall and did a solid race. He has fought very hard to get to the level he is at. It is not easy to develop into world class when you are isolated in a country where only very few do triathlon.
I am sure that Dejan is setting the standard and in the future we will hopefully see more Croats on the top level in triahtlon.

Igor was 5th in his age group. That is a great result, and when you consider that the training is done between a million other things that Igor like to do in his life then it’s truly amazing how he did. Igor is a man of many great talents and triathlon is one of them.

I admire both of them for doing things the way they do just like I admire Kaisa for the way she got her result.

I think that a race like ironman is unique in the way that at the startline there are so many totally different people and they have traveled so different ways to get to the race and after they will move in new directions.
But on that day where those + 2000 ways of living crossed each other that is amazing and in my opinion greater than any time or result that can be achieved on race day.
This is also what makes triathlon unique and intresting to me.