I had a very inspirational night yesterday, sharing a meal with two world class swimmers.

Ben Treffers competes for australia over 50 backstroke.

Jennie Johansson is a top Swedish 50m breaststroker who already swam her A standards for London.

We concluded our training regimes were of a slight different character.

When they get tired they back off.

As their training is all about maximum power and perfection of details.

I wouldn’t know what that feels like. We just keep training and take the body through the various levels of tiredness.

If the rumor is true, and eskimos have the most amount of words for “snow” in the world.

Triathletes for sure would own the word “fatigue”.

But then, I rarely push my body up into the world of 18mmol of lactate.

And I’m not sure I’d like to on weekly basis…

But I did get some very useful tips.

And I’m thinking someone might be out of the blocks a helluva lot quicker this year…

Hopefully the next picture of the three of us will be snapped somewhere in the Olympic Village in August. Not a too far fetch thought really.

Signed an important paper today.

Butterflies…

Christmas has come and gone.

A nice little break from the quiet Canberra city.

I swapped the murky waters of Lake Burley Griffin for the salty surf at Malua Beach.

Two night with good friends and amazing food. A different environment, a beautiful place, lot of laughter and good times.

Then I drove my little borrowed Mazda back over the mountain.  To reality, routine and hard work.  And I was looking forward to it.

It is good to go away. But nice to come back.

We decided to celebrate New Years together with a big dinner. Instead of our normal lycra dressed sessions this one turned out to be a bit different. And definitely a bit more fun. A potlock dinner with an amazing display of dishes, a warm australian evening and a very relaxed atmosphere.

We started 2012 in style.

And I think we all shared a similar excitement over the year ahead of us.

Happy New Year to all of you!

If you want to see more photos from my holiday have a look at my flickr album.

As good as it gets?

ABSOLUTELY!

A pair of ASICS custom made Tarther Diva.

Swedish colors.

Norden on the heel.

Need to say I’m super excited about my new pair of shoes?!

It’s a bit remarkable that in a job that has so much freedom,

I appreciate the routine.

The arrival in Canberra has reintroduced this part of my life.

A structured training program. Meeting times. Meeting points.

A regular appointment with the physio.

Sunday post ride coffees.

The routine makes it easier for me to get things done.

And enjoy the time when I  do anything.

The company helps as well.

To be a small group, being in this together.

We might not always do the same things.

But there will always be someone doing something.

Bless the routine.

It’s been half a year since last time.

So many memories.

Mostly of me limping around, being frustrated with myself, my leg and my life.

This year we are trying to get it right.

It’s exciting with new starts.

An endless amount of possibilities.  Making things better.

More refined.

But also the chance of screwing it up.

Can’t do that this year.

2012 has got to work for me.

I’ll give it my best.

I have left the Swedish darkness for a green and crisp Canberra.

Traded autumn for spring.

Closures for starts.

I spent last weekend in Venice.

The best way to see a place is to bring your runners.

And your camera.

Time efficient and definitely more fun!

Apart from enjoying Italy I also had a productive weekend with JTT Services.

A new sponsor I’m very happy to have on-board.

Exciting times ahead.

For the 4th year in a row I won the US Open Dallas Triathlon.

It was a great race and I was enjoying myself out on the Texan roads.

It seems like I managed to gain some nice fitness through my last  block of races. A task I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pull off.

The bike worked so well I and I came in to T2 with a good lead. I had expected to play catch up going out on the run. Having the luxury of a lead I could afford to run comfortable at a good pace – without having to smash myself for the start.

It also gave me time to clean myself up…

I had managed to get a chocolate gel all over my light grey race suit.

I didn’t even want to think about what other people would have thought had happened… Grabbing water I washed off as much as I could – hoping I would be fine for the finishing photos.

Lesson to self – never use a chocolate gel while racing in a light colored suit.

This was my last race for 2011.

I’m now looking into a couple of easy weeks. Most of which will be spent on the beach.

LA Triathlon and me are friends.

Like really good good friends.

I was told to race smart. My coach didn’t want me to destroy myself. I’ve been going for four weeks now and I still have one race left.

“Don’t over do it” he said.

I didn’t think I did.

But I look at the sheet of results and see a 58:30 bike split and a new course record. And a winning margin 5 seconds short of 4 minutes.

That’s a good feeling!