Stories

The start of a different summer

6/1/2020

Here we are, summer 2020. How we thought, it would be different from the reality we are living in, huh? Training all winter for an epic summer of sports? Well - Think again!

When was the last time I had a summer like this without racing? I think I have to go back to when I was, what, 11, 12 years old? How crazy is that? I think we have to go back to 2010, now we write 2020. Not saying its connected, just saying it’s a decade ago!

So what’s the plan this summer?

Doing the quarantine I tried to free my mind a bit, keep fit and healthy, but with a more mentally relaxed approach. Because I know that if I had to be strong in September, October, where the season might start again, I shouldn't go too hard already. The quarantine also took me off the rails of the ‘fast life’ (training, travelling, bla bla) and gave me some time to think about my ‘set up’ or the village around me, so to say. I figured this would be the perfect time to find people that I can work closely with towards my Olympic dream.

U gotta - Get’cha get'cha head in the game - We gotta

Doing the month of May we got the new UCI calendar which will start with the World Cup in the first weekend of September. Great! New goals, new plan! After the announcement, we could start to build up the plan for the season. The first goal is to complete June, July and August, stronger, fitter, happier and ‘readier’ than ever.
Is this the biggest opportunity to get stronger than ever before? 3 months to build and find the fire to go hard. And not just for one race weekend, no the UCI plan is really busy and it’s gonna be a tough one. Starting on a new start-line 1-2 a week for multiple weeks in a row. More than ever you gotta keep the head in the game (Please tell me I’m not the only one hearing Zac Efron singing “U gotta - Get’cha get'cha head in the game - We gotta - Get our, get our, get our, get our head in the game” when I wrote that).

So let’s go build? We start with the foundation, which for me, meant a week of technical training and now 2 weeks of endurance volume. This summer I will even do training camps. Crazy huh! I promise to give updates this summer on how the build is going. Always feel free to write to me if there is some themes or topics you would like me to cover.

Enjoy your start of this different summer. It might be one of the best, mostly at home, together with family and loved ones.

/malene

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"The Wolf inside - Malene Degn"

5/4/2020

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A new video is out on Orbea’s Youtube. It’s called “The wolf inside - Malene Degn”. It’s a video we made in February at my home in Spain. Just before our whole world went upside down. It’s a little sneak-peak of my training and a bit about what it takes, to be a part of the top of this sport. (Blog continues below the video).

The video is telling about the dedication, hard work and finding the right mental space, a space that fills you with motivation and passion. I use the wolf as a metaphor for this mental part of racing and training.

“The wolf” symbols varies of things, but a big part of it is self-talk. Which wolf do you feed? What do you make your mind believe? What do you tell yourself when you’re on the startline? What do you tell yourself when you look in the mirror?

The last evening, when we wrapped up the shoot!

It’s important to have this wolf under control. Tamed when it needs to be calm and full of beliefs. Wild when you need to digg deep and forget what limits are. Balancing this isn’t easy. I’m not perfect at all.

Which wolf do you feed? What do you make your mind believe?

Most of the time I have my self talk under control and I can feed it with thoughts that are beneficial for me. “I’m strong today, I’m good, I have courage, I’m smart, I’m beautiful today, I’m strong today”. Letting the supportive and friendly voice win the battle is the best. But it’s not always the case.

There is many moments when doubts sneaks up on me. “Am I strong, Am I good?”. The time we live in at the moment can awaken this destructive voice in all of us, so many worries and questions can fill us up. Even keep us up at night. So maybe now, more than ever, finding a way to feed the positive wolf is the most constructive we can do?

Now watch the video, and hopefully feel inspired :)

It's filmed by @indomitvisuals for Orbea Bicycles

/M

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Can we find a new reason to grind and thrive in it?

4/9/2020

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I have had this mantra on my mind lately;
The grass is greener
where you water it

The sentence caught my attention, when I was scrolling through some old photos. Normally the sentence goes; The grass is always greener on the other side. The saying comes from looking over to your neighbors, where their lawn appears better and greener, blind to see the green grass growing under your own feet.

Right now there is a lot of looking far ahead for better times. Looking for races, looking for open cities, societies, workplaces, schools, looking for company, for family gatherings, events and so much more. Planing and preparing for a strong/good future is a good mindset to have in many ways under normal circumstances, but I think right now it’s important to feel the grass under your feet.
And find a way to water it, in order to let it grow green.

Where to find a watering-can for my grass? … What’s my drive now?

We talk about ‘the grind’ in sport, meaning the hard-work, the long days, the efforts we put in. I love it. Normally I love it because I see the progress that happens when I do those days, over and over, and how it brings me closer to my goals. I'm actually thriving in it, so to say. But those goals are for now out of reach

(because the world is fighting something way bigger than a bike race, hard to find, I know, but you know…(just kidding)) and I’m left with the progress side of things. But progress to what? I need to come back to what makes my grass grow, so my lawn is the good side. Does that mean, Training for the shake of training? I mean, bikes for fun? If I don’t taste my breakfast for the second time, between efforts with a World Cup in the back of my mind, am I even alive ;-) ?

If I don’t taste my breakfast for the second time, between efforts with a World Cup in the back of my mind, am I even alive ;-) ?

Well maybe, after-all, this doesn’t have to be pure struggle and question marks. I want to find purpose. I’m a strong believer that a purpose makes me a much better rider, when I know why, then my good gets better. In this time my purpose needs to be fixated on something different than racing. And that’s when I came back to the sentence “The grass is greener - where you water it”. I can’t change what’s happening to the world right now, but I can decide what attitude I have towards it.

If I can wake up everyday with the plan and purpose to do things, in that present moment, that gives me energy, makes me happy, and makes me a better athlete, well then I think training for the shake of training is a brilliant idea. I don’t want my mindset to be around what I can’t do, but rather what I can. That’s what I mean, when I say I need to water my grass. It doesn’t change anything, to look for all the things we can’t have or do, we need to focus on being in the present moment, follow our instincts and train, because it makes us feel good.

That's my watering-can. My drive. And I'm gonna learn to thrive in it.

/M

P.s I just want to give a massive thank you for everybody participating in fighting Corona. Mostly to the people in the front line, but also everybody else doing their best. I have the feeling that all this will build up to an insanely happy and strong 2021.

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The start of a different summer

"The Wolf inside - Malene Degn"

Can we find a new reason to grind and thrive in it?

Malene

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