Hvordan få en slapp mosjonist klar for en ironman neste sommer?

Disse rådene er publisert i Kondis sin treningsdagbok. Er ikke sikkert at de er smarte. Men publisert er publisert...

Selv om fysikken din ikke er så imponerende, kan du gjennomføre en lang triatlon. Du kan til og med klare det uten å hate så veldig mye underveis og etterpå vil du påstå at det er det største du har opplevd. Nest etter det å bli far. Forutsetningen er at du er skadefri, har trent endel og at du har veldig lyst. Jeg ikke prøvd å gjøre dette uten sterk motivasjon, men tror at det er værre enn å trekke ut alle visdomstennene på samme dag.

Hvor mye må du ha trent da? I sommer ble jeg fraløpt av en kollega rett før målgang på Norseman og han påstår at han ikke trener. Han er gammel skiløper. Gamle skiløpere har så fantastisk fysikk at de ikke behøver å trene. Jeg gjetter på at vi andre trenger minimum 3 økter og 4 timer pr uke for å komme komfortabelt igjennom.

Hvordan skal du trene? Jeg vil derfor nøye meg med å gi deg noen mer generelle tips om forberedelsene. Tips før din første ironmandistanse:

Tren allsidig og tren for å holde deg sunn og skadefri. Dersom du har passert 30 bør du ikke glemme mage og rygg.

Dersom du ikke kan svømme krål bør du skaffe deg en instruktør som kan lære deg å svømme bryst effektivt. Det går nesten like fort som krål, men krever mer av beina. Med våtdrakt flyter du oppå vannet. Meld deg på svømmekurs!

Ta noen lange svømmeturer i sjøen til sommeren for å teste utstyr og mage. Med full mage og store bølger er du sjøsyk selv etter at du har parkert sykkelen.

Hold på den treningsteorien som fungerer for deg. Men den ukentlige rolige langturen er viktig.

Bruk lang tid på å glede deg til sommerens konkurranse. En ironman er like mye en mental reise som en fysisk utfordring. Med gode forberedelser tror hjernen at du har det morsomt, selv om kroppen hater.

Tren på å spise og drikke under trening og lær deg hva kroppen tåler uten at magen slår seg vrang. Finn noe du synes smaker godt, for du blir ganske uggen utover dagen. Dersom konkurransen ender i havari er årsaken mest sannsynlig at du har bommet på næring (eller dårlig løpsopplegg) og ikke manglende trening.

Nei, du behøver ikke å ha gjort en kort triatlon først. Vi er skapt for lange distanser.

Tren med riktig intensitet ved hjelp av pulsklokke. Du skal aldri oppleve melkesyre under en ironman.

Norseman Xtreme Triathlon 2003

Her er innslaget fra Nrk Norge rundt etter det aller første året av Norseman, i 2003. Nrk følger Fredrik og meg gjennom løpet. Vi synes Nrk lagde et veldig bra innslag. Det viser ganske bra åssen Norseman var med bare 21 deltakere. Vi var spente på om vi ville klare å nå toppen. Med tv på slep tok vi oss helt ut og prøvde å smile pent til kameraene underveis. Det var faktisk ganske slitsomt. Fredrik skryter av eksplosiv muskultatur etter målgang.

Kalmar Triathlon 1999

Back in 1984 I signed on to do the first ironman distance ever in Norway . I was 17 and lied on my age to be allowed to enter. I had finally learned to swim a year before, after I almost drowned as a kid. And I screwed it all up a few weeks before the race by doing “Den store styrkeprøven”, 540 km at the bike from Trondheim to Oslo . My knees were totally messed up afterwards and I couldn’t start. Then I spent almost 15 years at the couch, saying “…one day I am going to start training to become an ironman..”.

I trained for 12 months. I bought an old racer. And I bought my own wetsuit in Kalmar the day before the race. I had been very weak all July and didn’t feel strong at all when going to Sweden . But Kalmar was like coming home. Cars came with proper triathlon bikes on the roofs. I had never ever met a triathlete before.

15 minutes before the start I laid on my back, in my new wetsuit, and I was so tired I could hardly lift my arms. I have never felt tired like that afterwards, except at the finish line. When I did put on my goggles 60 seconds before the start, the rubber band broke. I was the last man to enter the water, but it was warm and calm and the swim was nice. The swim was crowded with people like my self, doing 50 meters free swim and 10 meters breast. We all went zigzag. Things were going fine, but I did one very big mistake. I swallowed lots of water. I finished at 1 hour 39 and there were still bikes in the transition zone.

After 30 minutes at the bike, I started to throw up. And I kept doing so every half an hour during the rest of the day. I got into the routine and tried to eat and drink properly, as I knew what was to come. I realised that the water I had swallowed had seriously messed up my stomach. My speed was excellent for the first 80 km’s, above 30 km/h . Then I faded. My speed the next 100 km’s were below 25 km/h . Of course my bike was not well prepared either. So I had to keep the gearing thing stable with my hand all through the second half of the bike leg. The first time is supposed to be difficult. It was a relief to leave the bike and put on my running shoes.

The run was 4 rounds of 10,5 km . It was a warm and sunny day with 28 degrees C. I drank and ate well. And I throw up every half an hour, as regularly like a Swiss watch. The first 14 kms went ok and I kept a pace at a bit over 6 minutes pr km. The first 10,5 km round was 1 hour 10. Then I hit the wall. I was freezing cold, I throw up heavy and outside my 30 minutes interval. I lied down in the red-cross tent for 15 minutes. Then I walked slowly towards the transition zone. I tried to measure if I could still make the cut of at 15 hours, but my brain didn’t work. The second round was 1 hour 55. Red cross must have reported to the race doctor. When I came to the transition zone, the race doctor didn’t like my looks and told me to leave the race. It takes more than a Swedish race doctor to make a kid from Telemark leave the party.

Things always goes up and down. Except the food that went down first and then up. I ran slowly but with a sense of control at the third round in 1 hour and 24. I thought I saved energy for a little sprint at the final round. The final sprint was about 5 km. At the last 5 km I was zombie. A friendly female Swedish competitor took care of me and followed me to the finish line. That was smart, because I had lost my sense of direction. I could not remember the roads even if it was the fourth round. She told me that she would only do an ironman this one single time. I knew I had to do this again. The last round was done at 1 hour 29. The kids followed me the last 50 meters . I was proud. They also.

I was not much of a company after the finish. At 11 pm Hege took me to the hospital, because I could not stop throwing up. There were seven other fresh ironmen there. It was a warm day. I got intravenous liquid and at 3 am I felt fine and walked back to the camping ground.

I was totally high, happy and energetic throughout the first month after the race.