Not where I had hoped to be physically at this point in time.

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With just over two weeks left until the start of my 8th Vidösternsimmet 21+km I have to admit I am not in the form I had hoped to be.
2023 started off badly because om my back to back lung infections. but I was able to swim a lot of open water in May-June-July-August, This year I was able to swim almost normally with only a few missed practices. But with Lily’s high school graduation and my parents here for 2 weeks, I was barely in the water in June. July started with 8 straight days with no swim practice. Most of my OW friends did not seem interested in swimming outside either…

I will not be able to make up for lost time, but I am hoping to be in the water every day I can. Not to swim fast, or long, but just to swim so my body remembers how it feels. I am not going to be able to swim the 5th-7th because of a business trip.

I have however been able to add over 180km running to 2024 that I did not have last year and I have been biking on a similar basis since November last year.

My first goal for this years race is just to finish. For the first time since I started doing longer races in 2013, I am more concerned about finishing, than what my time is. I am guessing that if I do manage to finish, it will be around 7:20.

To swim or not to swim…

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Vidösternsimmet is a 21km race in August. The race has been around for 12-13 years, the first year was a test swim amongst friends. They have added a 500m kids/beginner race, and a 5500m race that has been modified to be 6km. I have participated 8 times in the past. Twice I have finished the 21km fast enought to make it to the start of the 6km race. I even managed to swim the 500m race with my daughter. My first time was in 2013. I have since then swam the 21km 7 times, and swam their Viking edition which is 42km once. One year I swam the 21km without a wetsuit just to say I could do it.


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Swedish Nationals 2024

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The last time I raced at Nationals was back in 2021. The 2020 meet was cancelled because of Covid, and the 2021 was moved to December instead of in March. Prior to that I swam just a few events in the 2019 Nationals.

This weekend was the first time since December 2021 that I raced outside of Växjö (in a pool). Prior to the 2016 National Championships I always had my goals set on placing in the top 3. This year I compete in the 50-54 age class and I will be doing everything I can to not come in last place this year, which is not unrealistic that I could be at the very bottom of the results list.

I swam five individual events and was able to swim in one of the mixed medley relays only because we don’t have many swimmers that like to swim breaststroke.


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From sofa to 10 km in 10 weeks

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September 13th a few weeks after I started to run again, I joined a group called from sofa to 10km in ten weeks. A local running club runs the group as a way to recruit new members. It worked, both my wife and I loved running in a group and joined the club after just three weeks.

During the ten weeks, we got tips on how to run, to use our arms more, body position, running up hill, running down hill. We ran various types of intervals. 30/15-45/22-60/30, 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 min runs with half the running time as rest and my favorite was two 15 minute periods of running 300m + walking 100m around a track. I was able to keep most of my 300m around 1:30. I also learned that it is easier to run fast up to about 200m, then it get hard 🙂


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The Journey Continues

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The last thing I wrote about was my August swim challenge Vidösternsimmet. Since then I have started to run again. Yes, you read that correctly, I have started to run. It came as a shock to me as well. But on August 19th I decided to try a 5km Parkrun. It ranks in the top 10 things most difficult things I have ever done, but I did it. It took just over 36 minutes, 36:06.

Kalmar Swimrun 42km 2016 – DNF had a stroke with 500m to the finish
Stockholmn Swimrun 24km 2016 – DNF passed out with 3-4km to the finish
*** 5km Parkrun 2023 – first near death experience since 2016***
Jönköping Ironman 2016 – lack of training
Kustjagaren Swimrun 24km 2016 – lack of training
Vansbro Triathlong 2014 – turned into a biathlon because of water temps ( run-bike-run)
Kalmar Ironman 2015 – lack of training
Viking Open Water 42km 2021 – 13+ night swim
Vätternrundan 300km 2014 – lost contact with my group and biked solo the last 60-70km
Vidösternsimmet 21km 2018 – with out a wetsuit
Kalmar Ironman 2014 – first full distance triathlon
Växjö Marathon 2013 – first run over 22km


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Vidösternsimmet (21km + 6km) – 2023

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Last fall I decided to attempt med third 21+6 race at Vidösternsimmet. I had recovered from my 2021 injury and my 2022 Vidösternsimmet swim felt good at 6:23 (8th place) and missing lots of winter swimming. But of course I got hurt again this past winter, and I missed out on nearly 7 months of training.

Being able to swim the 21km was a real positive for me, not swimming fast enough to join the 6km was not great, but probably best for my recovery in the long run.


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The first half of 2023

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The year did not start off great, but is slowly getting back to normal for me. I recovered from my broken elbow and sprained wrist in December 2022, only to get pneumonia in January and again about a week after my last dose of penicillin.

I switch jobs on March 1st, struggled with the long term effects of being sick with pneumonia for the better part of three months. I was sent to Texas to work for 3 weeks before I had even been employed for a full month. I think being in the dryer Texas weather helped my lungs recover, and it gave me a reason to rest from all training. I returned home in time for Easter and since then I have been biking to work, and was able to swim the entire workouts with masters, even if it was with either slow, or a little faster with fins or paddles, or sometimes even both.


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So much for Christmas wishes…

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So 2023 could not have started off any worse, for me at leaset.

Christmas workouts seemed to be on track with me getting back to full strength in the water, but around the 3rd of January I started to have breathing problems. I assumed it was connected to my back and chest pain. I managed to swim about 25-30 minutes the 8th to the 15th, but on the 17th I January the pain was too much for me so I contacted a Doctor. After a few phone calls and a few visits at various clinics I was released from the Emergency room around 0200 on the 18th with a diagnos of Pneumonia. So 8 days with antibiotics I started to feel better. But I was still coughing up blood.

With an planned trip to India on the 30th I was given an inhaler that would help open up my lungs and reduce the coughing. It worked I was able to travel with minimal coughing.

This week I picked up a blood pressure testing device and started my investigation into high blood pressure. I was able to swim about 1400m both Tuesday and Wednesday. I am hoping to get in at least 1000m tonight. but the combination of the lingering cough/breathing issues and now this thing with my blood pressure I am starting to think i will not get much swimming done in February.

My new ambition for 2023 is to be OW ready by May.

All I want for Christmas is…

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to be healthy in 2023.

For the second fall (autumn) in a row I have had to struggle with injuries. In 2021 it was my shoulder that could not keep up with the amount of swimming I had done from September 2019 until August 2021. It took 7 months to get back to “normal” and I was able to swim all summer, jippee!

I managed to race twice in August, on long race and one short race. Things were looking up for 2023. Then I fell of my bike, broke my the top of my Ulna (elbow) in September. Back to rehab, focus on getting mobility back in my left arm. After ten weeks of rehab and starting to try to swim my right elbow started to acted up. It turns out that I neglected my right elbow during my rehab so much that I got tennis elbow.

This meant no Club Championships for me, this means no Swedish Nationals in March 2023 for me, and it means that I will have to struggle all winter to be able to get back into shape for OW season.

All I want for Christmas this year is a healthy body so I can practice again. I am so out of shape, I get easily irritated (more than usual) and there is a risk that I fall into a bad routine that will be really hard for me to break.