Shownotes

Solveig race expectations

04:30 -

• I entered the race without any specific expectations. I thought a top-five finish was realistic if I had a good day, and that a podium might be possible if everything aligned perfectly.
• Winning was never a goal I had in mind, mostly because the start list included so many athletes whom I did not realistically expect to beat. Still, Kona is unpredictable, and I knew that if others struggled while I performed at my best, a podium could happen.
• I felt confident, training had gone well, and I carried an optimistic mindset into race week, but even then, I did not anticipate winning.
• In long-course racing, the dynamic of the competition can play a role, especially on the bike, but ultimately my focus is always on delivering the best performance I can produce on the day.
• If I prepare well and execute to the best of my ability, I leave the race satisfied. Of course, it is disappointing when the shape simply is not there and I have a bad day, but as long as I know I did everything possible in the moment, there is nothing more I can control. That mindset helps me feel surprisingly calm before races, because the result is simply the outcome of my own effort.
• Compared to short-course racing, long-course events give you far more time to correct early mistakes. In short course, you can lose the race within the first hundred metres of the swim, which naturally creates more pressure and nervousness.
• In long course, although the level is continually rising and the swim will become increasingly important in the coming years, it still does not define the entire race.
• This year’s Kona podium is a good example, as all of us were six minutes behind after the swim. That alone shows that the swim is not everything in a race lasting more than eight hours.

Kona race plan

07:52 -

• I did not go into the race with a precise strategy. I always have an idea of the power I believe I can sustain on the bike and the pace I expect to hold on the run, but both depend heavily on how I feel on the day and on the conditions.
• I had never raced in conditions like Kona before, although I had felt strong on the bike in training leading into the event. I tend to race by feel, and I usually do not go out too hard; if anything, I can sometimes be overly cautious.
• As a result, I did not want to restrict myself too much, and I ended up riding slightly harder than I had planned. On the run, the heat affected me significantly, and I ran slower than I would have liked had I felt completely fresh. Still, I adjusted well based on how my body responded throughout the race.
• I do not rely heavily on heart rate to dictate pacing, because for me it is unpredictable and lacks a clear pattern. I pay attention to it, but I never use it to make decisions during the race.
• One day I can perform a threshold session with a low heart rate and feel strong, and the next week I can feel equally strong but with a much higher heart rate. Only long-term extremes—consistently too low or too high—carry real meaning for me.
• On race day, I was conscious of not starting the run too fast, but I also did not want to be overly conservative. I settled into a pace that felt uncomfortable from the very beginning.
• It was not fast, but it felt hard enough that I questioned whether I could hold it. At the same time, it did not make sense to start any slower. If the pace had felt extremely hard while being significantly faster—something like 3:45 per kilometre—that would have been unreasonable.
• In this case, the pace was moderate, so I committed to it and decided to see how long I could maintain it. It remained consistently uncomfortable, but it did not deteriorate further, and that became reassuring.
• I focused on the fact that it stayed steadily uncomfortable rather than worsening, and that made it manageable.

Bike pacing

12:04 -

• I did not spend much time riding in a group during the race. I left T1 with Laura, but she rode very fast from the start, and I was dropped almost immediately.
• I then found myself with Kat, who had an issue with her helmet visor and came out of transition behind me. She caught me quickly, and we worked our way back toward Laura.
• I may remember the timing imperfectly, but I think it took around forty minutes to close the gap, and once we reached them, I only stayed with the group for a short period—perhaps ten minutes. It did not feel long.
• Laura took a long pull at the front, and when I moved to the front afterwards, I unintentionally rode away.
• I did not realize I had dropped them until I looked back and found myself alone, which was disappointing because it is genuinely more enjoyable to ride in a group.
• It gives you more to think about, and when you are sitting legally behind another rider, RaceRanger makes it almost like a small game: staying as close as possible without ever touching the red light.
• I enjoy that dynamic, and losing it so early left me frustrated, especially with such a long distance—roughly 140 kilometres—still remaining.
• Once I was alone, I focused entirely on my own race. I think I held a fairly steady power output for most of the ride, adjusting slightly to the terrain.  
• Even so, I kept those efforts controlled. I know that if I go too hard early in the race, especially on climbs, I risk raising my core temperature more than I should. I probably increased my power by ten to twenty watts on some sections, but I never came close to threshold at any point.
• My bike split ended up being just fifty-three seconds slower than Taylor Knibb’s, which reflects how strong the ride was. I also gained significant time on the chase group with Laura.
• In training leading up to Kona, I had felt better on the bike than before Hamburg or Lake Placid, though I did not expect the improvement to be so evident in the race.
• I was holding slightly higher power in training, but it did not feel extreme. I simply felt that my form had gradually improved throughout the season, and I was pleased that my best bike shape arrived exactly when I needed it, ahead of my main goal of the year.
• During the race, when I was briefly riding with Laura and Kat, I remembered how in Hamburg earlier that year I had struggled with their pace and had been dropped near the end of the bike.
• I did have some mechanical issues that day, but even without them, I felt like the weaker rider. This time, because my bike training had gone well, I felt more confident that I could stay with the group. That was my expectation—just to hold on. I never imagined I would ride away from them.
• I did not receive any time splits to that group for the entire bike leg, so the ride felt quite lonely. On the return from Hawi, I did not feel like I was pushing especially hard. If anything, I think my power was slightly lower on the way back, but still steady.
• The last time I saw the group was at the Hawi turnaround, and the gap was not big at all. Hearing that I had an eight-minute lead when I exited T2 was a complete shock. I had no idea the gap had grown that much.

Hydration on the run

19:02 -

• Before the race, I developed a detailed plan for both the bike and the run together with the Precision Fuel & Hydration team. It is extremely helpful to be able to discuss the conditions and create a race-specific strategy, especially in a place like Kona where the heat demands additional considerations.
• A key part of the plan was not to begin the run too aggressively. Looking back, I probably could have started even slower during the first couple of kilometres. It is important to let the sweat rate rise naturally; if I push too hard before that process has fully started, I risk overheating very early.
• The principle is essentially the opposite of what I do in heat-training sessions. When I train in heat on purpose, I often start hard, and within ten minutes I feel completely cooked.
• For the rest of those sessions, my power output collapses because I have overheated right from the start. I know from that experience how detrimental it can be, and I wanted to avoid putting myself in that position during the race.
• I therefore held back slightly during the opening kilometres. Even though I might have opened too fast to be ideal, I did not overdo it, so overall it was acceptable.
• One of the advantages of Kona is the availability of six pro-fluid stations. At each of them, I carried half a litre of fluid containing carbohydrates and electrolytes, and I believe that made a significant difference.
• Even though aid stations were available every two kilometres, the heat made those gaps feel extremely long because I was constantly thirsty. Having additional electrolytes in my soft flasks allowed me to drink freely from the aid stations without throwing off my sodium balance.
• In total, I consumed all six of my soft flasks—three litres—along with the additional water I took from the aid stations. The bottles were cold, which made carrying them in my suit surprisingly comfortable, and I genuinely enjoyed drinking them.
• In many races, I have to force myself to take in carbohydrates, but in Kona, I found myself almost trying to ration them because they were so refreshing.
• I had no stomach issues at any point, and staying hydrated felt straightforward simply because I was so hot and so aware of my needs. I drank as much as possible from every aid station in addition to the planned fluids I carried.
• Although I do not have the exact number, the Precision team estimated that I consumed around 1.4 litres per hour on the run. It is difficult to measure precisely because cups from aid stations often contain only a small amount of water, and drinking while running means I do not absorb everything I grab.
• Still, given the three litres from the flasks and the additional intake from aid stations, that estimate seems reasonable.

Heat mitigation strategies

23:50 -

• Throughout the run, I made a deliberate effort to use ice as frequently as possible. At every aid station, I took one cup of ice and placed it down the back of my suit, and because I had ice pockets both in the front and the back, the ice would stay in place on top of the fabric, which was extremely helpful. I also put a cup of ice in the front of my suit at each station.
• Even so, the ice melted so quickly that after only a couple of hundred metres I already felt like I needed more. With roughly two kilometres between aid stations, those gaps felt very long in the heat.
• I poured water over my head at every aid station as well. I wore the Omius headband, which many athletes use, and when I poured water over it, it provided a noticeable cooling effect. 
• Small interventions like that made a meaningful difference, and anything that helped me feel even slightly more comfortable was valuable in those conditions.
• In the end, my strategy came down to three things: using ice consistently, pouring water over myself whenever possible, and drinking enough to stay ahead of the heat.

The moment Solveig realised she was first

25:42 -

• During the run, people began telling me that Lucy was struggling, but I assumed they were simply trying to motivate me. When I first saw her, she looked strong, so I dismissed the comments. Then I suddenly saw her stop at the side of the road with support around her, and I was genuinely surprised.
• I did not know whether she would continue or what was happening, but I reminded myself that I needed to focus on my own race. Still, it felt uncomfortable to pass her in that situation.
• You never want to overtake someone because they are having a bad day; you want to race people at their best. It was a strange and unpleasant moment, even though it meant I moved into second place.
• The situation with Taylor unfolded in a similar way. I knew from the splits that I was getting closer to her, but when I first reached second place, I was genuinely thrilled.
• The second felt like a dream scenario, and I did not imagine anything better. When people started telling me that I could win, my initial reaction was almost irritation, because I was exhausted, perfectly happy with second, and not eager to push any harder.
• I had to gather myself mentally and acknowledge that if there was even a small chance to fight for the win, I owed it to myself to try.
• Once I committed to that mindset, I focused on giving everything I had. I continued to gain time on Taylor, but even with three kilometres left, I was convinced it was too late to catch her. Then I saw her as well, sitting on the side of the road, and the moment felt surreal.
• Everyone I passed that day was already stopped, and it was unsettling to witness. I felt sorry for both her and Lucy, and it was frightening to see what the heat could do, especially in a race of that length. I had never competed in conditions like that before, and seeing two incredibly experienced athletes suffer made me worry about my own situation as well.
• Even though I was close to the finish, I became very aware that I needed to be careful. Suddenly, I found myself in the lead, and I did not want to make a mistake that could jeopardise the race.
• My priority in those final moments was to stay composed, stay safe, and not let the conditions undo everything I had worked for.

Mental strategies to push harder

29:38 -

• In moments like that, my focus is on recognising when my mindset is not where it needs to be and forcing myself to shift it. I know that when I am exceeding my own expectations, I tend to feel satisfied too early, and that makes it difficult to push harder.
• What helps me is remembering races in the past where I settled, where I did not fully motivate myself to give everything, and how much I regretted it afterwards.
• Even if I had been genuinely happy with second place, it would still have felt bittersweet if I knew I had not really tried to go for the win. I believe that the right way to race is to give everything you have, and the most satisfying outcome is always the one where you can say you truly emptied the tank.
• Kristian often says that it hurts more to lose, and even if I am not completely on board with that sentiment, there is truth in it.
• When you finish a race knowing you did not give your best effort, you always regret it. During the race, pushing harder feels incredibly difficult when you are already suffering, but the discomfort is temporary, and the feeling afterwards—knowing you committed fully—is far more rewarding. I do not have a specific strategy for this; I just remind myself that I owe it to myself to give everything, especially after working so hard to prepare.
• It feels disrespectful—both to myself and to the people who help me—to hold back when I am capable of more.
• In the moment, I do not articulate every thought in the same detailed way I can now, but the experience is still there. When someone told me I could win, my first reaction was resistance, but almost immediately after that, I knew they were right—I needed to at least try.
• The excuses always appear, especially when the pain is overwhelming. I do not believe anyone genuinely enjoys that kind of pain. It is not enjoyable at all; you simply learn to live with it and move through it.
• For me, the excuses range from the rational—like not wanting to risk blowing up—to the comforting: being in second is already very good. But I want to race in a way that embraces the challenge, even if it means taking a small risk.
• I am still working on that aspect, because I do not think I am naturally the most competitive person. I have to consciously work on the desire to win. It is why I do the sport, but it is also easy for me to settle and be content with where I am.
• This season was my first in 70.3 and Ironman racing, and compared to my short-course results, I have taken a big step forward. Even finishing fifteenth in Kona would have been a major result for me.
• Now, having won, finishing second in the Pro Series, and placing sixth at the 70.3 World Championship, I can see that the bar shifts. 
• It just takes time to adjust. I am not used to winning or having these kinds of results, so it is natural that I still fall into that mindset of being satisfied. But I know it is something I can learn and improve.

Training leading to Kona

35:33 -

• After Lake Placid, I took a couple of easier weeks, as I normally do after an Ironman, and then I began preparing for Zell am See.
• Training actually went very well. I had some of my best brick sessions ever, and I felt that my form was excellent going into the race. But on race day, I felt terrible.
• I was dropped on the bike, especially on one of the hills, and what concerned me most was that even after the downhill—where I would normally feel recovered and ready to push again—I simply could not produce any power.
• I felt completely useless on the bike. The run was no better. I ended up running essentially the same pace I had run in Hamburg and Lake Placid over a full Ironman marathon, and yet the effort felt incredibly hard.
• I was giving everything I had and still only managing my marathon pace. I walked away from that race disappointed, wondering whether my fitness was really as good as I had believed.
• Afterwards, I went to Font-Romeu for four weeks at altitude, and the entire block of training went very smoothly. Of course, there were days when I felt tired, but I had no illness, no niggles, and no setbacks. Everything simply worked.
• For me, that consistency is the most important part of preparing well. A bad session here or there does not bother me, but being able to train continuously for many weeks usually leads to good form.
• Toward the end of the camp, during the more specific sessions, my power numbers were better than earlier in the year, and I felt genuinely strong. It ended up being a very enjoyable and productive camp.
• My training structure remained very similar to what I had done before Hamburg and Lake Placid. In fact, the build into Kona resembled my preparation for Lake Placid almost exactly.
• Before both races, I spent time in Font-Romeu and came down from altitude around two weeks before racing. The training mix was consistent: a lot of threshold work, specific sessions in the first week, and even more race-specific work toward the end. It felt familiar and reliable, and I knew the approach suited me well.

Heat training

39:00 -

• During my time in Font-Romeu, I incorporated heat training into my preparation, beginning roughly two weeks into the camp.
• I focused mainly on the bike, with an occasional run, because without access to a treadmill or a climate-controlled room, it was much easier to elevate my core temperature indoors on the bike.
• My setup was simple: ten minutes before starting, I turned on the shower with very hot water so that when I returned to the bathroom fully dressed—with multiple layers—the room was already humid and extremely warm. It was a surprisingly effective method.
• For these sessions, I typically trained for fifty minutes to an hour. I usually started slightly harder than my normal easy-ride intensity—not anything extreme, still below LT1—to raise my heart rate and core temperature quickly.
• Within ten to fifteen minutes, I felt uncomfortably warm. By the end of these sessions, the contrast was stark: my heart rate would be very high while my power output dropped dramatically. It was not unusual to see a heart rate around 150 paired with only 130 watts, which clearly shows that the body is deep into heat stress.
• These sessions affected me noticeably; I often felt slightly unwell afterwards, which is why I preferred to place them at the end of the day or on the same days as interval sessions. That allowed me to keep other days fully easy.
• I completed roughly two weeks of heat work in Font-Romeu, followed by almost two more weeks in Kona, where every session naturally became a heat session.
• Before this block, I had not done any heat training earlier in the year. I normally rely more on altitude for adaptations and only incorporate heat training when preparing for genuinely hot races.
• Since I had not raced in such conditions earlier in the season, this was my first heat block of the year. To be honest, I do not enjoy heat training—it's physically uncomfortable, requires a lot of extra clothing, and always creates a mess to clean up afterwards.
• In terms of clothing, I wore as much as possible: wool socks, shoe covers, warm cycling tights, a warm jacket, gloves, and a heat suit or even something as simple as a painter’s suit over it all.
• Combined with the steam-filled bathroom, it made the sessions extremely demanding. It also meant I had to be careful during the last week in Font-Romeu, when temperatures outside dropped sharply.
• I avoided letting myself get too cold outdoors, as that can interfere with the adaptations I aim for through heat training.
• I occasionally combined longer outdoor rides with a shorter indoor heat session afterwards, or split the work into two separate sessions on the same day.
• My approach is flexible—as long as the heat exposure fits logically within the training structure and does not compromise the key sessions, it works.
• I also monitored my core temperature using a core sensor. In Kona, my core never rose excessively; toward the end of the race, it reached around 39°C, which is high but not extreme. In heat sessions, I rarely exceed 39°C, usually sitting around 38.7°C.
• I treat these metrics similarly to heart rate: useful information that helps contextualise how I feel, but not something I rely on exclusively to dictate decisions.
• Hydration is another part of my approach. I drink a lot during heat sessions. Some athletes deliberately restrict fluid intake to increase dehydration stress, but that does not suit me.
• I prefer to maintain balance in the session, and I do not want the heat work to compromise my ability to train well the next day. Research may have supported dehydration protocols in the past, but more recent evidence seems to encourage staying hydrated, and for me, that approach works best.

Training volume and race simulation sessions

48:50 -

• When I looked back at my TrainingPeaks data, my biggest week during the Font-Romeu camp was 30 hours and 49 minutes, with the previous week at 29 hours.
• The most substantial session I completed came in the final week of the camp: a four-and-a-half-hour bike session that included two blocks of two hours at race pace, essentially a full race simulation.
• I did this on a road that closely resembled the Kona course—mostly flat but constantly rolling. After that ride, I rested for about an hour and then ran 30 kilometres, including two 14-kilometre segments at what was intended to be race pace.
• Those running blocks ended up being far faster than my eventual race pace, but the conditions were much cooler, and it was not a heat session, which made it significantly easier to run quickly.
• I averaged around 3:47 per kilometre for the run, which felt surprisingly comfortable at the time. For American listeners, that is roughly a six-minute-mile pace.
• On the bike, the numbers were very encouraging. I checked my file and saw that I held 235 watts for the first two-hour block and 243 watts for the second.
• The whole session felt so good that I questioned whether the power meter was reading correctly. The run felt equally easy. That combined session gave me a huge amount of confidence; I remember thinking that if the race had taken place that day, I would have performed extremely well.
• In hindsight, averaging 3:47 per kilometre in training was much faster than I realistically expected to run in the race itself, especially in Kona’s conditions, but it was simply enjoyable to run at that pace.

Marbella 70.3 Ironman World Championships

51:57 -

• I was fairly happy with the race, and I think it is important to keep things in perspective. A year ago, finishing sixth would have made me extremely satisfied, and even now, I feel pleased with the position.
• Of course, I was still several minutes behind the leaders, Taylor and Lucy, but I was genuinely happy for them. It was impressive to see how both of them bounced back after Kona, not only physically after the heat exhaustion but also mentally. Their ability to reset and perform so well really stood out to me.
• In my own race, the swim went well, but I lost a lot of time on the bike, which I somewhat expected. I do not feel confident on climbs; I do not consider myself a climber, and it is an area I want to improve.
• The course had significant elevation, and I lost time in the uphill sections. I had also never raced a course with such an on-and-off rhythm in terms of power and pace.
• Looking back, I think I should have committed more to the climbs rather than being overly cautious out of fear of blowing up. Even so, my watts per kilo are simply not strong enough yet to match the best climbers on a course like that. I did enjoy the course, though, and I managed to gain time on the descents.
• My run was fine, but mentally, I was not in the strongest pushing mindset that day. By that point in the season, I was already very satisfied with everything I had achieved, and leading into Marbella, I had found it difficult to push myself both in training and on race day.
• I was content, which is positive in many ways, but it also meant I was not able to dig as deep as I normally would. That is part of being a good athlete—having the ability to push regardless of circumstances—and I did not quite find that gear in this race.
• Still, I was genuinely happy with finishing sixth, and I really enjoyed being out on the course. Because of Kona, I did not feel any pressure to perform.
• I saw Marbella more as a bonus race, as I had already exceeded my expectations for the season. It was a satisfying way to close a year that had gone far better than I could have imagined.

Goals for 2026

54:50 -

• I plan to race the Pro Series again next season, although I have not yet finalised my race schedule. Kona will remain my primary goal.
• At the start of this year, I did not have clear expectations for the championship races, but now that I have actually won in Kona, it feels natural to set that as a target again. 
• I genuinely want to try to win it once more, even though I know how difficult that will be. The level keeps rising, and many athletes did not have their best day this year. Still, having experienced a race like that gives me confidence, and now my focus is on trying to repeat it.
• Looking ahead, there are a couple of key areas I want to improve for next year. The most important thing is not being as far back after the swim.
• Being six minutes down worked this time, but with complete athletes like Taylor and Lucy—who are exceptional riders and runners on their best days—starting that far behind leaves almost no chance to catch them. Reducing that gap is critical.
• On the bike, my goal is to ride at the same level or ideally slightly stronger, but with less energy expenditure. If I can produce a similar or better ride while saving more energy, I will be in a much better position to run stronger than I did this year.
• So the path forward, as I see it, is to swim faster and run faster. I believe I have the potential to make those improvements; it is simply something I need to work toward systematically in training.

LINKS AND RESOURCES

• Solveig's Instagram