​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 

I had hit a hole in the gravel road, in that 1 second, I was looking away. One-second of paying attention to something else and then boom. It took me a little while to get up and get myself together. All the worst fears were ruining through my mind at that moment - how hurt am I? It definitely hurts, but? It was bleeding a lot from my elbow and I removed a rock from it. That didn’t really stop the bleeding… so I called Loic and told him to find me. “I’m on the gravel road close to the city…” Good luck Loic. 
He found me, I got cleaned up and at the hospital, they stitched my elbow together. 

Recovery 

I'm 22 now and I still turn 12 when I have to call my mor (mom) and tell her that I'm hurt. Like when I talk with the doctor I can keep it cool; 'yea, bit painful, can't really move but it's okay'. Then I hear my mum's voice and I'm just cracking like, 'mooaaar it's horrible, I'm so not okay'. 
Wondering if I will ever grow too old for that, hah. 

Anyways. The skin missing wasn't really a 'big' deal, even tho it was a big area and it did bring pain, the skin repair itself quite fast (the human body is pretty amazing). 7 days after this picture was taken I only had some light pink marks left. (I kept it 'wet' the whole time under covers, and it worked super well). 
The elbow.. Was a bigger deal. An inflammation came doing the first 24 hours and I started on Antibiotics. It didn't evolve well, and I had no strength. So after 3 days, I got prescripted a new antibiotic with a bigger spectrum (=kills more enemies in the body). That was a game changer and my elbow started to get a normal colour, temperature and form. Halleluja. 

Getting back to training

After 5 days laying on the sofa, it was time to feel the body on the bike again. I wasn't sick anymore - I don't know why but while my body was working on the infection it made me feel sick, so I stayed on that sofa, hah, maybe it knows me? 
The short spin was so unpleasant. I had looked much forward for this moment and then it turned out to be so disappointing. Crap. 
I called my team-manager and told him about my sensations on the bike. He gave me the idea to check the hr every morning to follow the response of my road back to training. 
After a few days of short rides, my body started to feel normal again. 

What a good feeling. Setbacks always give perspectives. 
8 days post crashing, the only thing that hold me back and still does is the weakness of my elbow. Training on the tarmac is not a problem, but a little speed bump or something alike feel like a shock in the elbow. 

The antibiotic definitely has an impact on my body and I am really cautious about everything I am doing. My training load, recovery, mood, food, hydration and so on. Trying to be honest with myself. How are you today Malene? 
If I want to be resilient in this situation, I have to roll back the super-hero-I-can-do-everything feeling, I think. 

I do have that feeling, if you wonder. It's my 'I'm-a-strong-iiindeeeepeeendent-woman' feeling, haha. It comes in handy most of the time, but I can also shoot myself in the foot at times. So Malene, take it easy. 
Easy to say - hard to do.

When I first crashed I didn't even think about missing the WC. I was just focused on healing as fast as possible. 
But as the days went by I had to admit that I couldn't possible ride a World Cup when I couldn't even ride on tarmac without a lot of caution and pain. ​

One thing is to call the team and tell it. But another thing is to say it out loud and admit to yourself. 

It might sound silly, but it's a little heartbreaking. I was so excited to ride in the colour of the danish flag on the awesome track in Andorra. 
Not this year anyway.

​Health over any race, always. 

With the antibiotic 10-day cure coming to an end my body is feeling stronger and more capable of doing what I could prior the crash. ​​
So with all the small positive notes and progresses I am looking forward to travel to Les Gets for next weekend. I really hope I will be ready for it. At least I'm doing my best at staying calm, train smart and being resilient.