​Let’s go 7 days back in time. Because 7 days before I discovered this, I was racing in Chelva, and beside of Racing I also had an over-the-bar crash which caused pain in my shoulder, hip and knee. The impact had been pretty rough but it wasn’t too bad, and I could still ride and go to the gym.. So that was what I did the following week. If I could feel the impact from the crash? sure! Did it stop me? nah not really. Who wants to stop when the rest of the body is feeling great? Definitely not a motivated athlete. 
​But this afternoon the pain wasn’t just on the skin, it was more inside. So I did what I always do. Freak out a little and ask google. Google told me that we have a tendon called the patellar tendon just below the knee cap. A tendon is a fibrous band of tissue that connects bone and muscle. Our tendons have a tolerance level (which we make stronger with training) and if we overdo it we simply put on overload on the tendon - which can cause a problem. 

​So I took a long inhale-exhale and looked back at my training week. Okay, so I 1) crashed on my knee 2) I felt strong 3) I pushed hard on the bike and in the gym, adding an extra session myself. A combination of these 3 factors was what I estimated as my reason for this overload. Google said that; “Basically any unexpected loading on the tendon can trigger a reaction and subsequently the tendon can thicken in an attempt to handle the stress of training. At this time an athlete may experience pain as well as a small amount of swelling around the tendon.”  

​I slept badly that night. When I woke the next day the first thing I did was feeling my knee. Damn, still painful. I do believe in the effect of a placebo and as I called with my boyfriend he also reminded me to get my mind off my knee. You see, from the moment I realized something was wrong - I could feel it all the time. 

​I had planned to climb a big mountain that Sunday but I changed my plans and instead went to the climbs close by (so I could get back home in no time). And actually, my knee felt okay doing the ride. But after two hours I had to admit that it wasn’t all good. So I turned around and finally texted my coach. I know it might sound silly, but I kinda wanted to hide it, mostly for myself. Because when you first say the words out loud, then it sounds so real. And did I actually have an injury?
​Now I had addressed my problem and admitted it to myself. So my next move was reaching out to a physiotherapist I know down here, Xavi Fisiat, I told him that…., ‘Houston we got a problem’. 
​Monday morning I was getting my first treatment. My quad was very tight so he made it relax and used the machine Iniba to speed the recovery process up. When I afterwards was spinning the legs, there was absolutely no pain. Which was a good sign - if I can release the tension, the pain disappears.

​My coach made a plan for the following week. No intervals that would put fast/high power on the tendon - I was going back to a week with slow endurance and rest. On Tuesday it was still a bit swollen, but not warm anymore, I went for a spin again and I also went to the gym, to do some exercises. Because the tendon needs to be used in the right way in order to fix it. The weight in the gym is not the problem it's the speed. I also did a 20-30min session daily with some yoga, mobility and stretching with a focus on the lower back, hip and quad. Wednesday was easy again plus the second treatment. The second treatment was acupuncture and Iniba. Plus some more exercises to activate the tendon in a good way. Slow movements. 

​When Thursday came I felt good. What a relief. I met with two of my training mates; Tommi Misser and David, and we rode together. The ride developed into a 4-hour ride with 2000 altitude meter and lots of fun. I knew that it wasn’t the smartest move, but it was the funniest — and it made me happy. And that counts for something. On Thursday afternoon and Friday I did what I could to make the best restitution possible. And the outcome was good, no increase of pain. I continued with me mobility sessions and the compex to make my body work better. 
​After one week there was still soreness in the area when I touched it, but no longer pain that affected my training on the bike. So with a mix of treatments, fast decisions, self-trust, good nutrition, and a modified gym plan I came out of the week all good. 

So maybe 
- Be honest with yourself
- Get help
- Seek knowledge
- Eat foods there is rich of Omega-3, Vitamins, and anti-inflammatory foods. 
- Try to think about something else
- Learn from it
- Write a diary on your activities + feelings 

But best is to not get there in first place haha :-) 

If you find this interesting - then go to my Instagram and find my IGTV. I uploaded a video to give you some inspiration! 

Last week was out of my comfort zone in many ways. First of all, I was on two start-lines (Banyoles + Chelva). Not that start-lines are strangers to me in general. But to be lining up at the opening cross-country races of the year after almost half a year without, in my new kit, with a new crew, new-everything basically, was definitely a comfort zone challenge. There is something calm and simple about the winter time, it’s almost easy so to say. The training schedule isn’t, but I don’t have to perform, at least not in front of anyone, besides me and my coach. But eventually, you stand there. First row. All eyes on you. Or that’s how it feels, those last 15 seconds before the gun goes off. Before you know it you are in the middle of what’s going to be 90 minutes of battling for your spot, fighting with all you got and let the legs speak for them self. 

​The race evolved fast to a battle of the last podium spot. British Annie Last and German Elisabeth Brandu were gone in the front, and back with me were French Leona Lecomte and Tanja a little minute behind us. Racing cross country is so demanding and it takes a lot. I felt my lack of freshness when the last part of the race began, the recovery time between the efforts simply got longer and longer. I had to let go of Lecomte and I saw Tanja coming closer from behind. I think she was as close as 10 seconds behind me, when we entered the last lap. And then I remembered something. “You're strong Malene. If she can close this gap to you she will believe that she is stronger than you. And is that true? No, you’re strong M”. And so I continued to repeat in my head on the last lap, and when I came to the finish line the gap down to 5th was bigger again. Was I strong enough to win the fight? Most definitely. 

​The following week was a camp in Chelva with the team and I was determined to have more courage for the second race. If you followed along with my daily updates on my IG story you got an impression of what was happening. The week was all about the team, riding together, have long dinners together, drink coffee’s and test the equipment. A great week. 

​They say, that stress is your best friend and your worst enemy when it comes to pursuing sport. You need to stress your system and break it down - in order to gain and build up. You need to find that spot-on area where it’s not too little nor too much. Phase 1 was all about that balance. Building a base but don’t overload, so I tip over because getting back up is simply too hard. 
Building the foundation in winter so I can ride my bike fast in the summer, is something I really enjoy. Well. Okay, riding bikes for hours every day isn’t always so entertaining, I must say. But it has another side to it that I enjoy just as much as racing in the summer. It’s kind of meditating and so addicting. I love the feeling of progress and trying to be a better me every day. I like to make improvements from earlier mistakes. And I generally just really love to ride bikes. All of that I can do in the winter time, without worrying too much about performance, travelling and so on. I mean I didn’t start riding mtb because I won races, I just enjoyed riding with friends, and in the winter months, I kind of get back to that place.  

​So in my first ‘phase’ of training this year I had 2 blocks of base training. Which in January consisted of a lot of road cycling and as I moved to the Barcelona area in December the mountains made the road cycling pretty cool. Now in the second block, I got my Orbea Oiz (bike-check a few stories back), so a new motivation kicked in - a new ride that would bring me back on the trails. Adapting to a full-suspension bike after 10 years on a hardtail was for sure a weird feeling the first days. Plus a month on the skinny tires made the transition a bit sketchy and not so pretty for me ;-) Whatsoever I felt the benefits of the bike quite fast. A few days after the arrival of my Oiz I took a plane to Lanzarote, where I participated in the Club La Santa Stage Race a 4 days race + 5th and 6th stage with the Danish team the following days (You can read more about that in the last story). When I got home from the island I was pretty dead. My body was low in everything so I pulled the red-card and took some days away from athlete Malene. Okay, almost a week I must admit, but honestly, I was tired.

​When I came back to Spain I had one week to get back into training routines and get ready for the Mediterranean Epic, again a 4-day stage race. The Mediterranean Epic was again on a new bike, still an Oiz but my race machine for the year. But as I had decided to use the two stage-races like some intense training-camps I thought it would be a good test for me and the bike. And what a cool race! The stages were super nice and the trails were technical and demanding. After this race, I didn’t need more stages :-P

​The two races were not only good training it also gave me good UCI points as I finished them in 4th and 5th position. It was not the most glorious racing of mine, but defiantly good training, allowing me to push more than I would have done by myself. 
So now I'm back in my apartment and resting with a good feeling in my stomach. I came through this winter strong, finishing my coach’s training plans, competing in the two stage-races on my own demands and made some new PR’s. So far - so good.