Karel and I would like to thank everyone who has reached out via text, send us flowers or a card, emailed us or sent condolences on social media for our recent loss of Campy. As I write this, it has been 8 days since we said good bye and the pain is still in our hearts. The relationship we had with Campy was extremely special. He was a big part of our life and our identity and we no longer have that relationship. Because Campy had a slow decline with his dementia over the past two years, we have been grieving for some time now. Anticipatory grief and responsibility grief. And now the real hard type of grieving. Grieving is a normal process of loss and we are working through what life without Campy will look like. Karel and I are grieving in different ways as we both feel a strong sense of emptiness. Grief is strange as it feels like we are on a rollercoaster of emotions.
Many people mentioned to us that it's good to stay busy and to try to stick with a routine. Well, alongside grieving the loss of Campy and experiencing this life-changing distruption to our daily routine, I've been trying to gather some mental and physical strength for my upcoming event in Norway - Norseman XTRI.
Norseman is considered one of the world's toughest long distance triathlons. Taking place in the village of Eidjford and finishing outside of Rjukan, this point to point, 140-mile self-supported triathlon event with a total elevation gain of over 17,000 fee is the originator of extreme triathlons. The original Norseman was first held in 2003.
The race begins at 5am with one of the most iconic triathlon starts - 250 athletes will make a 13 foot jump off a car ferry into the dark, cold, glacier fed waters of the Hardangerfjord. The water temperature is in the low 50's so a wide variety of neoprene, in addition to a thermal wetsuit, is highly encouraged.
The 112 mile bike goes from Eidfjord to Austbygde and is a scenic and hilly route with over 10,000 feet of climbing. What makes this bike course even more difficult is the unpredictable weather, which usually involves cold, rain and wind.
If time cuts are met, the run starts with ~15 miles of gently rolling hills toward Rjukan. Next comes the infamous climb and hairpins of "Zombie Hill." For the next seven miles, athletes will run, jog and walk up 3,000 feet at 8-10% grade. The first 160 athletes to reach Stavsro, on the top of this demanding climb at 22 miles into the marathon will be allowed to continue up to Mount Gaustatoppen for another 3 miles (and 2000 feet of climbing) to receive the coveted black Norseman finisher shirt. Everyone else will be turned away to finish the race at a different finish line to receive the white finisher shirt. The run course has over 6000 feet elevation gain.
The race will be held on August 3rd, 2024. More than 5000 people from over 100 countries applied for a spot via lottery or X-points. A select number of athletes have qualified for the XTRI World Championship Norseman at various XTRI events from around the world.
I became intrigued by this event in 2020 while watching Youtube videos. Whereas the Ironman brand has the saying "Anything is possible," Norseman says "This is not for you." event intrigued me and scared me. I qualified for Norseman by placing 2nd overall female both a Canadaman XTRI in June and at ICON XTRI in September and I gathered some courage (with the support of Karel) and accepted my slot at Icon. I registered for the event in October and have been dedicating my entire season and training to this event.
After a smooth and uneventful 24+ hours of travel from Atlanta to Oslo, I am writing this blog from our cute Airbnb cabin in Rjukan, Norway.
Norseman will be the most extreme and difficult event that I have ever completed. Everytime I go to the Norseman website, I see the following...
"This is not for you. Nothing personal. But it’s not. This is for people with fight. Resilience. And minds tougher than their bodies…"
I am currently taking life day by day.
Campy taught me a lot of life lessons during our 16+ years together. He taught me to love nature, seek adventure and to live life to the fullest. Norseman is all about resilience. When you are a resilient person, your thoughts, actions and behaviors help you bounce back when hardships and adversity occur.
I'm going to need a lot from my body and mind on August 3rd. Most of all, I will be resilient.
"This is not for you. Nothing personal. But it’s not. This is for people with fight. Resilience. And minds tougher than their bodies…"
I am currently taking life day by day.
Campy taught me a lot of life lessons during our 16+ years together. He taught me to love nature, seek adventure and to live life to the fullest. Norseman is all about resilience. When you are a resilient person, your thoughts, actions and behaviors help you bounce back when hardships and adversity occur.
I'm going to need a lot from my body and mind on August 3rd. Most of all, I will be resilient.