For the 4th month in a row, training has been an after thought, last minute planning thing to squeeze in. But not because the desire to work out was not there, but my new tattoo caused me to miss a swim practice, then another Sunday I stood on the side to coach my newbies and help them get updated base times for this winter/spring swim training. I missed then a few more swim practices because of another week in Dubai and then it was Christmas break. But there was no good reason for me not to run or bike more. I did manage to get more time in the gym in December than I did the rest of the year.

My December had the least amount of training since Sept 2013 when I broke my collarbone.

A very successful 2014 with some unfinished business for 2015 left me feeling empty. Feeling depressed way back in Sept. The only goals for 2014 that I managed to make were total number of hours working out, number of km biked and run. I was way off for my swimming goal, but I always new that it would be tough to keep up swimming with an increase in biking.

Swimming – I managed to swim well in most of my races, as well as expected. Sweden has lots of great Masters Swimmers, but not so many great triathlon swimmers. Swedish Nationals in March was tough. So my swimming always seems to give me a boost when I race in a triathlon. But getting crushed in my only OW race of the year hit me hard. Harder than I could have imagined at the time. I swam well, better than 2013, and felt strong through out the race. I had so much energy left at the end that I was able to take the bus back to the start of the 5km race which started one hour after my finished of the 21+km race and came in 2nd, behind another great swimmer that had been training for the long race, but due to illness switched to the shorter race. A week later I came in second in the swim at Kalmar IM in my age group, by one second! Talk about two punches to the face in back to back Saturdays. Yes, maybe I would have swam 2-3 min faster had I not swam 27km the weekend before, but I held back and felt great, I just did not see the other swimmers until we were 200m from the transition area. I had a decent swim at Tjörn 11.3 and at the Karlshamn Sprint, but Swedish Nationals put the icing on the cake to a dismal 2014 swim year. It turns out I was sick but, that is no excuse.

Biking – The year started off shaky. I was afraid to bike on the road, I was afraid that I would fall again and re-brake my collar bone. Actually I was afraid to let go of the steering wheel. I bought a Cross around New Years and started biking the 40km trail around Växjö. I was not until May that I finally was able to shake that feeling, thanks to a training camp i Kalmar with a great group of people and coaches. After those 4 days I was able to bike on the road again. It took a few more rides with Glenn, Ola and Peter before I felt I could drink and ride at the same time. Växjötrampet was no fun ride. but 3 weeks later I managed to cut one hour from my 300km race time of last year thanks in part to a strong team. Over the summer I tested a time trail, 20km. I finished under 30min ahead of some very good traithlon teammates! The only other ride of 2014 that I was happy with was in Vansbro. It was cold and wet, and the swim was replaced with a 5+km run. I started on the bike with nearly 300 people in front of me. Normally there is less than 20 people in front of me after T1. It was the first time in my since I started triathlon that I was actually moving up in the field during the bike….

Running – I could not have had a better start to 2014. I improved my Växjöloppet 21.1km race time by 10 minutes and felt really strong during the entire race. Thanks again to teammates that had the same pace as me, we could talk the entire time, pushing each other the last 3-4km. That was by far my best run race ever. passing people left and right the final 5km, being able to increase my speed, and nearly getting down to 4:15 on the last km.The scariest moment of 2014 came in Vansbro when I hit a wall, and passed out during the run of a 11.3. everything was going well, I was at the 15/16km mark when I slowed down to take a drink, when the lights went out. I never really lost consciousness, so I managed to roll down to the ground and land on my back. after about 2-3 min of safety checks from the staff I was allowed to finish the race. I prioritize a SPA weekend with Jeanette over the Växjö Marathon this year, which was probably for the best. since I have not had any injuries due to running, but I am afraid that had I run the marathon in October I would have strained my knee.

Crossfit – To be honest, it is nothing I ever considered. I have lots of friends that do it, and love it. I have a cousin who started a Box where they train BJJ and crossfit. But in October my swimrun partner Fredrik gave me a gift card for 3 months membership at Växjö Crossfit. He could tell that I was not as motivated and thought crossfit was a change that could get me going again. He was so right! It’s hard, it’s fun and I want to get better. I have never been good at pushing my self to the point that it hurts. I usually back off and continue at a more comfortable pace. But I am hoping that Crossfit will help me to push past that limitation and allow me to reach my full potential.

Swimrun – Scary how popular extreme sports have gotten, at least in Sweden. Next years Swimrun races opened their registrations in aug, and you had to be quick to get a spot. Luckily for me, Fredrik and I had decided early that we would give it a shot. So we signed up for our first Swimrun as Ironman and Phantom. But shortly after we changed our name to TYR Warriors thanks in part to TYR that will supply us with the equipment we need to have a competitive edge in the water. We even have help from Dynamic Training to keep us feeling good and strong through out the season and races.

I’ve learned a lot about myself in 2014 that I am hoping will allow me to become a better person and athlete in 2015.