If I had not raced Norseman, I could have bougth............

Triathlon is not cheap, doing Norseman is not cheap, doing Norseman and upgrade all your equipment in one year is absolutely not cheap. Well I did just that, had a coach, new bike, shoes, helmet, travel, rent a bike case, and all other kind of stuff. Was it worth it? YES. But what could I have done with the money if I did not race triathlon?

I am using a budget of $10,000 for this example. Luckily there are a lot of stuff you can buy, but maybe you should not.......;-)

 

Norseman is done, now what?

When your bucket lists just has one race and you have done it, it is time to start thinking about what is next. What do I want to do with my triathlon/sport life in 2014? Should I get some new goals or is it time to just enjoy being active and race for fun?



Why should I have a goal in the first place? A goal not only helps making training more structured, it adds motivation and it simplify the athlete experience by taking out noise. All of that is good, but it can only be as good at the goal itself (God I am getting philosophical here). So the next question is; what is a good goal? Norseman was a good goal for me. That race had several factor of my life incorporated so it was easy to get excited about and motivated for. Now I need to find other races with qualities that are interesting and make the heart rate increase.



So far I am looking into Wildflowers in California, Pacific Crest in Bend Oregon or maybe I should do a triathlon camp with a lot of trading at a nice and challenging place. For 2014 I will not work out more, but I will race happy and enjoy being active. My list is not finished, so right now I do not know what I will do in 2014.

The Norseman 2013 video is out, and I am in it

For Norseman fans the official videos have always been a place to go for motivation when training is hard, the weather is bad and mood is down. Watching the athletes jumping of the ferry, battle the conditions and harvest the reward at the peak of Gaustatoppen can make even the hardest triathlete soft.

The 2013 edition is out and it is great. Even better, I am in it. You can see me at 4.27 of the video entering T2. But do not blink, I am there just for 1 second.

One of my favorite pictures in the video is a aerial shot of the first part of Zombie hill. Damn, it is steep.



So here you have the video.

Norseman 2013: the conclution

I did it, I managed to accomplish my goal; finish at the peak of mount Gaustatoppen and get the black t-shirt. What I also set out to do was to enjoy the journey, and even though it was painful it was also enjoyable. Here you have my wrap up and conclusion of my race experience.

 

Before the race

You can race Norseman, or you can enjoy racing Norseman. I enjoyed racing Norseman, and one important part of it was the days before the race. I enjoyed spending time with my brother and dad. The drive to Eidfjord was nice, spending time in Eidfjord meeting other athletes, support crew, race organizers and take part of the social swim just added to the experience.



The swim

I swam in 1.15 in difficult conditions. I am really happy with that. I managed to not drink and of the salt fjord water, kept my legs still and actually managed to have vertical forearm once in a while. My finish was the best, trying to get up from the water I had a big fall. Even I had to smile. Overall, the swim leg went better than expected and gave me a good start of the day.



The bike leg

I was number 80 after T1 and number 80 after T2. How did that happen? The bike leg was challenging, it was long, steep, windy, rainy, cold, but also beautiful. I used 7.50, not only was that the longest I have ever been on the bike, the 180k is the longest I have ever biked. I manage to focus on myself, I did not use any power meter or bike computer. I was riding with a GPS and used the HR monitor to keep effort down in the last hill. What I am most proud of is that I raced my own race. I did not care if anyone passed me, I knew the biggest enemy was myself, not other athletes.

 









The Run (walk) leg

I got the amazing message that I was number 80 out of T2. I had the black t-shirt in reach, I just had to run a marathon and climb a mountain first. Knowing the fitness level, I knew I had to focus on myself during the run. It had to expect to have several athletes pass me. The first 20k went smooth to be me, I got passed but I was within myself. Then I got hit by my lack of eating and my energy level hit bottom. I can only blame myself. But when I got to the hill I knew I could enjoy the rest. Well, I was tired and the hill was steep and long. But I was walking with my brother and I knew I would get the black t-shirt. The rest of Norseman was more a journey than a race, and I was ok with that. I had a hard time from 32k - 37k, but then we hit the trail and we where joined by my dad. The last 5k are hard, but they went really good. And then I could se the finish and it was all over. The run leg went well, especially taking my fitness level in to consideration.







But I have to remember I had the best ever support team with me and so much support from family and friends. Thank you all