Shut The Cakehole, Little Powerhaus

After a prolonged weekend in Barcelona I am now safe home in Copenhagen and can look back at 5 days with good training and great company.

I went to Barcelona to pick up my new bike, to visit this blog’s Spanish members; Janne and Thomas, and to get a much needed get-away from the Danish dark and cold.

The pick-up turned out to be quite an emotional affair as I almost burst into tears when I first lay eyes upon the beauty. Love at first sight! My very own Argon 18 XXS Krypton. Could not wait to try it, so off we were to the nearby mountains.

Up, up! My first mountain ever. Not big, but still an awful lot bigger than Geels Bakke in Holte. Thomas blabbing away about all kinds of stuff and gear etc. related sports, while me being relatively quiet, which is a good sign that I am focused and pushed physically - I was quiet a lot this weekend.

One thing he said made me laugh inside and out, though. “If I know you right, you are not looking for too much female specific gear”. Spot on! Why it is like that, I do not know – but following Peter’s post on humor and self-irony I can definitely smile at myself for that.

Two hours went by – a nice little taster of what was awaiting me the next day.

Despite of our planned ride on Saturday we still went out on Friday night. Obviously. So after 4(!) hours of sleep we went to meet up with some members of the notorious Argon 18 mafia on a beautiful sunny morning.

This was my first time riding in a big group, so again – focused.

Nice and easy out of the city. Drafted fast on the highway - yes, highway. Pure Vuelta a Espana. I managed to hang on all the way on the flat, but then ... BOOM !!! We hit the gradtients at the coast. 20 seconds and I had lost sight of the group. Luckily the great Janne Lankila sticked with me giving me my first round of "Shut the cakehole, Little Powerhaus. Just push the pedals and enjoy the scenery" ... and so I did.

We had lunch in Sitges - wonder why the guys were so keen on going there in their spandex outfits?! Then headed back along the coast. Breathtaking sight. Bluebird. The Mediterranean right beneath us. I could not have chosen a better way to spend my Saturday.

Got back to the city after approximately 4.30 hours on the bike. Pretty okay, if you ask me. Then Janne turned at me and said, “Have you been on the Olympic mountain? It’s only 200 meters. Vamos”.

“Shit”, I thought, but what can a girl on a bike do? Nothing but try to keep up with the guys. Went okay – for the first 15 meters or so. Then the inner monologue began going nuts. “If they can do it, I can do it too” – “c’mon, Majeline” - “You can do it”… My entire body felt cold and started trembling. Looked at the guys and wanted nothing more than to make that stupid hill. “I can f***ing do it!” As I saw Thomas make a u-turn and come down towards me, his words “you always have 10% more than you think” went through my head and I gave the last bit, but then my entire body was shaking and it started to blacken for my eyes, so eventually I had to get of the bike before I fell. Damn it!

It was definitely not good for my pride, but it was a good lesson. This is apparently how my body reacts, when it gets really pushed, and at least I gave what I had in me - that is satisfying.

Talking about satisfaction. The following siesta – could be the best ever.

Sunday we took off for yet another bike-ride. This time the route was flat as we went up-coast to check out a bit of the route I am going to ride for the half- and full Challenges in May and October. It was really crazy being there. There, where it all is going down in 10 months. Unbelievable and at the same time so in-my-face real.

Two hours of riding and then an awesome Catalan lunchy thingy with the best people. It sure was a nice Sunday, but it can also happen any give day and hour, doesn't necessarily have to be on Sunday.

Monday – total relaxation. End of story. End of a great weekend.

I was actually asked at the Sunday lunch which three things I learned about training and life in general this weekend. I have given it some thoughts. Here goes:

What did I learn in the School of Life?

1. That I am getting more and more in love with the Barcelona area, atmosphere, climate and people.

2. What it means to have calçots and that the Dancing with Wolves soundtrack actually can be hilarious.

3. That I have to sign up for a Spanish course ASAP.

What did I learn in the School of Training?

1. Sleep and good diet should not be underestimated. New thumb rule: don’t train more hours than you have been sleeping.

2. Pushing hard is what it takes – and I can take it. I can make it.

3. How to… bike.

But, most important lesson…

The two things cannot be separated. Training is a part of my life, and … the trick is getting the training part and the life part combined in a good way. That is what it is all about. There is no either/or.

Adios Barcelona. See you soon.

Thanks a lot to Janne and Thomas – for making this weekend possible. Means a lot.