THE OLD MAN: We made it! Perhaps not the way we planned – but the end justifies the means! Hvar and Borås have been moved to the Autumn and the Scilly canceled – which we will replace with Utö in September. So we will get our 7 races in 24 months, just not in the order we had planned!
Then it remains to be seen whether the current 31st August date for the ÖTILLÖ Championship race will stay. I sincerely hope so, but if not, we will have enjoyed every meter of the journey. Sharing it with the Boy has been very special.
This journey and the pandemic situation have also given me perspective. I am sure I have not been alone in traveling more and more, doing more and more, buying more and more. Life got diluted – memories, experiences, friendships. Focus lost.
The past months exploring the local trails by foot and bike, experiencing a sunset a stone’s throw from home. Routine and consistency, simple things done well. Time to invest in close relationships, pursuits I enjoy, giving more back.
It has also had some side-effects. In these past weeks, I have run personal best times at 5k and 10k distances. My bike FTP is higher than ever. Weight down and recovery quality up thanks to advice from the Boy. Different than I had planned sure, but in losing things I have gained a lot.
True nobility is being superior to your former self. Races got canceled or postponed – good – more time to get fast. The biggest obstacle for success is not the guy that is faster than me, it is the S&E (the stories and excuses) that stop me from giving my best every day.
With home working and zero travel, my bullshit S&E is at an all-time low. Days are a cycle of beautiful simplicity. Get up and put in the hard work – and it works. To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift (thanks Pre).
The bridge between goals and accomplishment is discipline. Stay safe peeps. Skål.
THE BOY: This journey started on a whim with a message from Tom with a video ad for ÖtillÖ and him telling me he needed a partner to do it. I was in an odd place training wise as I had just moved to another city and had taken up new forms of training after being a gym rat for 3 years. Unknowingly his timing was perfect, finding me in a state of exploration and so I said yes.
Here we are one and a half years later slowly adding more miles to the legs each week getting ready for something I didn’t even know existed 2 years prior. I feel happy, excited and terrified for what’s about to come. I also feel ready to move on to other pursuits of movement. This will be the finale, the final nail in the coffin to end an era of training and competing with the man who gave me life. But it will also be the start of something new.
The OLD MAN is 50 in six days’ time and has been crushing personal bests these past weeks and seems to get stronger following only 50% of the nutrition and bio-hacking advice I give him! This means he moves up an age group and that should only light the fire and as he builds motivation to keep grinding in the endurance sphere. Next year we might see him compete with the best in the world – stay tuned.
ÖTILLÖ will be the most testing feat both mentally and physically I will have ever endured. I think we live in a time where voluntary suffering is necessary to sustain mental health as we are not evolved to have it as good as we do. This race will be the most I’ve voluntarily suffered and so, as the logic goes, I’ll be happier after than I was before!
#otillo #doingmorewithless #trilife #forwardneverstops #fwdmotionsthlm #FMS #trispot #mastersoftri #brommasim #stockholmcitytriathlon
Nice post. Almost philosophical. Good luck!