During the past week we have had 2 race cancellations of our World Cup. Which is our biggest series of races in xc mountainbike. that means we are down to only 2 rounds (both held in Nove Mesto Na Morave). This year sucks, honestly. There is still smaller races on the calendar here in Europe, but none of them is in the same league as the World Cup. Beside the races in Nove Mesto, we will also have the World Champs. Worlds is hosted by Leogang, which I had looked much forward to, but as the situtationen is developing it starts to feel strange. Are we going to have a world championship without the whole world able to compete? ​

​The other night I drove through Barcelona with Loic, we saw the statue of Columbus. And Loic was like ‘The Navigator!’ (in a prober french accent, hah). And it made me think. We have to be great ‘navigators’ this year. There are plenty of waves and obstacles on our way, but if we are smart, and keep on taking that, ‘step back’ to see the bigger picture, I’m sure we find our way. ​

​If you are a man reading this. Chill. It’s just blood. And that’s how we work, us, women. We can bleed for 5 days without dying. Just sayin’

And if you are a woman reading this, or girl for that matter, thinking, eww Malene, not that topic. Don’t be ashamed of your period, for **** sake, you are a woman and it’s freaking cool to be a woman. Period

First of all, I want to make sure that you know that I’m no scientist, (surprise)… But for real. If you want to know more about this topic I would take a look at dr. Stacy Sims research (and book). She will for sure give you all the right terms and explanations. 
For me, this is more about addressing some of the symptoms I have and what I/we can do about it. It’s no biology lesson 

​How my cycle affected me is first something I really have started to look at as I have grown a little older (soon 23!! I’m not old enough to use that term.. but yea here we go), when I was a teenager it didn’t affect me much - or, so many other feelings and hormones affected me that I didn’t have time to think about my cycle. That changed. As an athlete, you are in touch with every little change in your body, and for me, there are two things that I have noticed, when it comes to this. Or I say it’s two things, but honestly, I think they are walking hand in hand. (And there will probably be more to add to this list over the next many years) 
((..fyi, My cycle is around 30 days, ish))

​The week leading up to my period I am often more down and moody. It doesn’t take much to knock me down. And my mini-Malene inside of me is not always so nice (We all have a mini version of ourselves inside talking, right? Or did I watch too much Lizzie Mcguire?). She can actually be kind of rude at times. If I have a bad hair day it's always in that week... joke aside, but you get the point? So when I head out for training I will already feel a bit mæ-mææ before I even start and then I get out there and it feels way harder than normal to hit my numbers. I can do it, but it’s just not as enjoyable. I’m also often saltier (sweat) after my rides and I’m in general just not as cool as ‘normal’. The recovery is poorer and in general, it's just a bit more annoying to be me. 

​Then my period arrives and I'm celebrating. I know better days are coming. Cause when it starts I will already feel better. And the next weeks are for me so awesome. I can train hard and recover better. And mini-Malene is way nicer. 

​It’s also important for me to mention that I know how these hormones are affecting me, but that doesn’t mean I let them control me. I know what to do to make me feel more confident and happy on the low days, and I can do actions against my 'symptoms'.

​Like being more aware of my hydration, recovery process and so on.  I know I can get through my training and I’m also aware of being okay with saying not today. I have done some really good races in my pms period (pre) and during my period, just to say that menstruation doesn’t hold me back in any way. It’s apart of being a female athlete and you have to find your way around it. 
I think being aware is the best advise I can give. 

And celebrate that you have it. 

​Honestly, it means we are healthy humans. 

​— For women who struggle with pain and so on this is of course super annoying and a different case. I don't struggle too much with any of these symptoms. Which can be super performance hindering. So this was just my experience - it’s not a fact book. There is plenty of ways to feel and handle this. You are normal whatever you feel and do. 

​If you have any questions you are welcome to write to me here or on IG - dm me and I will try to come back to you. 

Hope it was useful and a bit funny to read. 

xoxo 
Malle 

​The race I talk about was the test event for the Olympic games in 2020. Almost every discipline competing at the Olympics has some kind of test event the year before the event, to yea test it… So off we went to Japan! And what a place. 
With the long season including a lot of travelling around, I hadn’t spent too much time thinking about this trip. Nevertheless, it was a key point on the road to my Olympic dream.
​Before I went there I made a list of questions, that I had to answer doing the week. How was the place? What was the travel like? Key things to remember etc. ​

And then, of course, the track, lines, training area, warm-up area and so on. Honestly just a lot of things that would make my life easier and more prepared, if I go next year. 
​​I didn’t know what to expect from this place or the course. So it was with an open mind I went there. We arrived in a small traditional house on the mountainside where we would spend the week. It was quite fun to experience their culture and differences. Like no beds, just small madrasas on the floor, I slept well the whole week tho, hehe! 

​We started the preparation with a track-walk. A track walk is exactly that, we walk the track. When you walk you can see more things than when you ride, so because it was the first time we saw this track it was great to walk it first. Our first impression from the new track was like holy moly that’s something! There was so much to remember on that 4 km; with off-camber corners, rock gardens, steep climbs and so on. But when we took the bikes with us the next day it felt really awesome to ride. Super flowy, demanding and fun! 

​I was stoked to race it the upcoming Sunday, but my race became such a strange day. Because of the chain problem I ended up racing by myself half a lap behind the rest. On my second lap I started to catch some riders, but most of the time I was riding on my own. But I thought that I still could get some great data and impression of the track if I just continued racing the best I could. And with the circumstances, I was proud of what I did. I pushed with what I had in me and I did feel great out there. The course suits me well and now I know which parts of the track I struggled more on and which parts I felt flawless on :-P I think the last 30 minutes tells a lot. 

​Now I’m back in Denmark, but only for a short transit before I’m off for the Roc d'Azur in France for the weekend. When that is done my calendar starts to have a lot of empty days and I’m super excited to get back to Spain and start with the early build-up towards the winter training. I also have a holiday to look forward to. 

The trip to Japan felt like a success, even tho faith didn’t let me finish on a good result, I’m home with a smile on my face and a big dream shaping inside of me. Hopefully, my 19’ season has given me enough hard times, so I will start next year as a tougher and better athlete.  
No rain. No Flowers

​/Malene