Boxing Day Football…

I stopped playing football in late 2002. I was tired of having to train at specific times. I was tired of depending on teammate’s mood and motivation to train quality sessions. I wanted to be responsible for my own training, so I could train, when I felt like it, and train what I felt for. So I started to run more intensively. I had been running more seriously for a few years at that stage, but wanted to see, how fast I could get. And then I was simply just enjoying it. And if you are injury free, then running is just fantastic!

In the beginning I focused more on the short distances, and did runs from 5 km. to 21,1 km. But as many other runners have experienced, then a big running load, gives a higher risk of getting injuries. For me it has been knees and hips that have been the problem. I ran a marathon in 2004, but had to drop it in 2005 due to a very sore hip. At this point I felt like trying something new. My brother had tried spinning to get in shape after an injury. I was in the same position, and it didn’t take me many classes, before I was hooked. It was and still is so effective and quality training. And you decide, whether you wish to get something out the training - no one else. You can always experience a poor instructor, but there are always some instructor, who compiles a program, that can motivates you, and that makes you want to go deep. In late 2005 I went 3 weeks to Club La Santa with my brother. The objective was just to have fun and train hard. It wasn’t to do triathlon. But we did the duathlon and triathlon short distance races organized by Club La Santa, and it really turned a spark in both of us. I was mentally and physically hooked on triathlon! Unfortunately I was ill most of 2006, so I didn’t get much training in the book. But from early 2007 I could start training again, and the objective was to finish an Ironman in 2007 in sub 12 hours. In August 2007 I finished the last edition in Fredericia in 9:59 hours, without really pushing myself. New motivation – new objectives – new targets – triathlon is one hell of a sport!

I can’t really say that my training has been perfect since my first Ironman. But I am definitely improving in every sense. I am taking small steps to try and improve on the long perspective. Triathlon and Ironman is a tough sport. One of my main targets from doing this sport is too enjoy every session! That is not possible, but it must be the objective. I will not allow that training sessions becomes a duty. And for me it will never happen. I simply enjoy it too much. I have been training my entire life. And I will never stop. But the objectives can obviously change as you get older.

I may not be as enthusiastic as in my teenage years about football, but I am still passionate about my favorite club Manchester United. And when they loose, then it is not good for the rest of my day... Boxing Day Football from the Premier League is a tradition, which needs to be kept. I saw Man. United vs. Bolton at Old Trafford on Boxing Day in 2004, which ended with a 2-0 victory with Giggs and Scholes as the goal scorers. Since then I have tried to keep Boxing Day a “holy day” in regards to watching football on the tele. This year I will have time to follow all the matches :-) so looking forward to resting the rest of the day with some high quality and intensive matches.
Today I have done 1½ hours indoor cycling this morning. Then 45 minutes running with poles in the forest with some serious off road sections. That was good fun and great action. The weather is luckily better today than yesterday, where I came home from 1½ MTB with absolutely freezing fingers… Now that was not fun…

Have a look on the Boxing Day matches… Obviously the program calls for setting up two teles next to each other…

1.45pm Birmingham – Chelsea
2pm Fulham – Tottenham
4pm Man. City – Stoke
4pm Sunderland – Everton
6.30pm Liverpool – Wolverhampton
7pm Leicester – Sheffield United