Day 1: Departure from Denver and Arrival in Stockholm, Sweden July 4, 1999

I tried to follow the jet lag tips I had and so far, it seems I may be adjusting. I set my watch to Stockholm time the minute I got on the plane. Flight went well! Plane wasn't full so Tim and Sarah moved to separate rows and we each had a row by ourselves to lie down and stretch out with pillows. I took a 2 mg tablet of time-released melatonin, and started sipping the 44 oz of water I had brought with me. The water was gone by London. I laid down and listened to an ACSM conference tape and fell nicely asleep for a short time.

Dinner was salmon, rice, cheesecake, and red wine. Drinks were free on the flight, but I'll have to wait until return trip to really indulge. Rice was creole, too hot. Breakfast at 7 am Stockholm time. Fruit, muffin and bread. Saved the muffin, but boy, did it get squished. I had listened through about 4 full tapes by now, sleeping through most of them so I had to listen to them twice. 

Arrived London on time. Felt like a school kid going through the Gatewick airport. Ramps more fun than escalators. Exchanged $2US for British and bought a newspaper and postcard. Some exchange rate! But I had to read about Wimbledon. Fun reading a British newspaper on it. On the connection, we got fed a second time. And they also passed out free papers! I could have saved 45 pence! Or almost a $1. A tomato and cheese sandwich. Looked like British food. Arrived Stockholm and it was nice to have Tim and Sarah there to follow. It was Sarah's first overseas trip too.

A whole team of triathletes from South Africa came in at same time on another plane. Alas! None of their baggage was on the plane! I saw my gray suitcase being hauled off the plane--uh, oh. No bike! Yup, bike didn't make the less than one hour connection in London. They located it in London and said they'd fly it out to Borlange, the town where we are staying, it'd be on 4 pm plane and I should have it by evening or next morning. 7 pm now. The hotel is in the "middle" of "town" and I took ashort walk--shops really didn't look that interesting.
Tim had rented a van, so the three of us drove the approx 150 miles. Didn't take too long at 90-110kmph. First impressions of Stockholm--construction here too! Just like Colorado with the roads. The hotel--yikes, only a shower in most rooms. No tub to soak. Two lap pools for guys and gals--thought I'd try it. Eeeek! It's cold! Way too cold. Must be less than 70 degrees. No way. Warmed myself in the sauna and figured I'd see if I could get my internet server connected with the telephone system.

No real dresser drawers to put stuff in the room. A desk, tv cabinet, night stand, that's pretty much it. A long draw under a sitting bench but it was too hard to open. Tried to lock the door from the inside, wouldn't lock. Finally went down to desk and asked if someone could show me. The young man at first thought the lock needed adjustment and took it apart. And then proclaimed it worked. But it didn't stay locked when I tried to take key out. Learned another thing--you're supposed to leave the key in the lock!

Tomorrow Tim will drive some of us around the race course. Have a hunch this week is going to fly.

Tonight, I ate most of my chicken, some trail mix and cheerios and decided that was all I wanted. Took another melatonin, and if I feel good tomorrow, then it worked and that's all I needed.

Temp here in the low 60's.

Day 2: First night and second day in Borlange and Sater July 5-6, 1999

I left off yesterday having gone to bed without having received my bike. The melatonin worked great. I'm awakened during a deep sleep by the ringing of the telephone. Oh, sheez, why is someone calling so early in the morning, I'm thinking to myself. I groggily get up and go for the phone. "Your bike is here." Be there in a few minutes, I say and crawl back to bed thinking it can wait. I grab my watch to see what time it is--oof. 10:20 pm. Boy, was I really asleep! (Had gone to bed about 8:30 pm.) I realize I better go get the bike since I'll want Kevin, the team mechanic, to have it first thing in the morning.

Reluctantly got dressed and lugged the thing back to the room, opened it up and took everything but the bike out of the box, snapped the box lightly back together and feeling like it's the middle of the night, wheeled the box to Kevin's room on the first floor. Figured he was asleep, so I left it outside his room with a note, signed with a smiley face. I went back and promptly fell back to sleep only to awake to my alarm at 7am. I figure I better get used to the time change. Finally got up at 8 am and got myself to breakfast (included in our plan). Found Kevin and the team massage therapist already there so I had breakfast with them.

On my way out, Heidi came in. She had already been out for a run. Tom was putting her bike together and later in Sater I saw them biking. I went into Sater with Tim, his wife Sarah, Liz, and Chad, who placed 7th overall at Ironman NZ. Tim drove us over the run course--pretty course. Shaded in parts, some hills, but that's really to be expected. It's good that it's a two lap course. Will make it seem shorter. There are two major hills, one doesn't come until about 7 miles into the race which you get twice, and the other one is less than 1 mile from the finish. The gravel part isn't bad at all. Somewhat like the Glenwood Springs (Colorado) Strawberry Shortcut 10k past the lumber and hardware store.
Sater is 26km away. We got our registration packet and the competitor list was posted. Tim had to be there until 1:15 pm, so Liz  and I went for a short run along the run course. We ran the end that leads to the stadium and track. Liz was very happy to run my pace even though she's faster. Finish of the run is like the olympics where you run onto a track, 2/3 around before finishing under the finish line. Gonna be neat! Uh, oh, they changed the swim start times. Reversed the order. Women are last! Darn! Makes me last one out of the water.  Not much competition in older age groups. A lot decided not to come because of the longer than usual race course distance.

Found light  nylon backpacks with the race logo on sale at the packet pickup. Only $6.50 apiece. Solves my problem of gifts for the kids. Got back to Borlange and our hotel. Kevin had finished my bike and aerobar changes. Took it out for a ride. Noticed the difference immediately. Hardly any effort to pick up my head and see the road. Much more comfortable. He put a new stem in and the riser for the tri-bar and also double-wrapped the handlebars, which made a lot of difference in more comfort, less shock when I'm using the handlebars vs tri-bar.

The hotel is right in the middle of Borlange, and the town center is virtually all pedestrian oriented, with walk plazas like Aspen  and no cars. So I took a walk to find a bank, there were 3 within 2 blocks of the hotel, and all closed! It was after 3 pm. I'll have to wait til tomorrow to cash in some travelers checks. Swim water 19C, learned a quick way from Tim to convert. Double 19C and add 32. Lot easier than 9/5 and -32! It'll be cold. Also choppy. The wind does blow and it was choppy when we were there today.

Just got back from the team party. Bus took us to Sater and "triathlon village" which used to be a medical institution with extensive grounds. Had a smorgasbord (light) and white wine. Suggested an addition to the itinerary for tomorrow. They had a special bus tour planned, but some of us didn't want to spend the whole day and planned to skip the tour (myself included) and go to Sater to swim instead. So I suggested  the athletes who wanted to swim at the lake could get a 6:30 am swim in before the tour and thus go on the tour.   I'm feeling perky right now, but it's 9:15 pm and I need to get to bed. Tomorrow, the land of the wooden horses!

Day 3: Sater and tour July 7, 1999

Plans for Wednesday went great! We had about 18 show up at 6:15 am for a swim. Water was about 68 degrees, but calm. Wore full wetsuit with sleeves. Water clear, except in trying to cut a short course to a buoy, swam into a patch of shallow water and grass/weeds growing up and it made me quickly turn away rather than try to swim through it. Yuk! But they have done a super job for the swim course. All the buoys are attached by a green line that you can see underwater if you swim close. Swam for 20 min. Great having a bunch in the water at the same time.

Got back, had time for breakfast, hot shower and we were off on the tour bus to Moya and Anders Zorn Home and Art Museum. Had a guided tour of his home, but we all got tired standing and listening. We went into the art museum and had a fantastic time there. Really great stuff of his. Liked his water colors the best. I dilly-dallied and the bus left without me. About a 1/4 mile away they realized I wasn't on and had to come back. I made sure to set my alarm at the next stop to be at the bus!! So after that, the joke was, is Mary Ann here? One thing about traveling with others similar to yourself--you get to be like a family and have a lot of fun.

We visited the factory where they made the wooden horses, toured a lot of the countryside and ended up at this Swedish summer musical center that was an amphitheatre of natural rock from an old mine with water at the bottom. The music tent was on a dry piece of land in the middle of the "lake" and seats rose up on one side. The orchestra was practicing for a concert tonight--not unlike the Aspen rehearsals. At the top was a restaurant where we had lunch. Bear stew! It was tender and delicious meat! They had to get a special permit to kill the bear and the bear was killed just the night before. Strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. Oh, found out the tender "roast beef" we had the night before was really moose.

We got home around 5:30. Long day. But several groups of us went out on bike rides in different directions, exploring the many bike paths in Borlange. 10:30 p.m. and it's still light out! Fantastic! My bike is riding very well and comfortable with the changes Kevin made.

Temperature continues to be wonderfully pleasant. Keeping my fingers crossed for race day.

Tomorrow will be a long day--the traditional parade and opening ceremony. Remember Hawaii? Ugh. Too much standing and waiting around. However, word is that the Mayor doesn't like to give long talks.

Day 4: Sater parade July 8, 1999

Today we had a team meeting at 12 noon, with bus scheduled to leave for team picture site, pasta party and parade at 2:30 pm. Meeting lasted too long, till 2:10, made me sleepy. Some had already changed into team uniforms, I hadn't and went back to room to change, get a sports drink to take with me. Just didn't believe it'd leave on time! Missed the bus again. 75-yard sprint, though, and the team saw me running and told the bus driver to stop.

Actually, some others did too, but I didn't know about it till later. Heidi and Tom were following bus in their rental car because they didn't know the way to the picture site and stopped to pick up 4 that also came out later than I did. As a result, they lost sight of the bus and missed getting in official picture. Picture was taken in the country at a former military base. A  pretty and cultural setting.

The pasta party for all athletes was pretty good. Lasagna, salad, and beer. Water, too, of course. Had to figure the Germans were there. Party was held in a park carved out by a glacier. Apparently all of Europe considers it famous and a place to visit and vacation because the bottom where the buildings were is 150 meters from the top in height and the temperature is different between the top and bottom. It meant we had a long uphill road to walk (twice, pasta party and parade ceremony ended there) because the bus waited for us at the top!

Sater is a town of about 11,000 people and a pretty good portion of the town turned out for the parade and ceremony afterward when the mayor spoke. The town is extremely supportive and enthusiastic of triathlon, and this event is it's annual big event and with the championship designation, makes them even more proud. Parade was short, waiting to assemble was durable, not at all like Hawaii. So the evening went well.

Tomorrow: 7am trip to Sater for drive of bike course. It turns out it's a rolling course, not really flat. Maybe a short dip to check out sleeveless wetsuit and decide which one to wear. Heresay is water temp moved up a degree (to 67-68).

Won't be much to write tomorrow, so next time may be with a quick report of my finish. I watched Swedish version of Headline news and caught weather (in Swedish), but I could figure out the words Thurs-Fri-Sat for the forecast pictures and looks like a front coming through tonight. Hopefully, we'll miss it because next day after front, Saturday, shows clear before another front on its way. Weather today was lovely.

Day 5:  10 July 1999 Race Results:

Race went well. Hottest day of the year for Sater, 28C = 82.4F, which compared to Lubbock and Clermont isn't much.  However, After most were finished except a few of us with the second lap of the run course, they decided there was too much medical emergency and stopped the race! They kept everyone who had one lap remaining in their position and they'll still get medals.

My US age-group competitor Peggy will get silver, the gal from England took gold. I get bronze.

USA team earned 8 medals in all.  Visit the photo page for pictures of the team members.

Day 6: 11 July 1999 Pro Race

Great day for watching the pro race day after our race. Pros had a multiple lap swim course as well as more laps on the bike and run. Did some swimming at the Triathlon Village pool, water felt good. Another hot day. Check out the links to the pro race report on the Sater and XTI websites.

Day 7: Travel to Stockholm

Stockholm was wonderful!!! Thoroughly enjoyed my day and a half "doing my thing" when the team had time after the competition to relax in Stockholm. I got my Stockholm Kortet for a day, priced at $199Kr or about $24US, listed what I wanted to do and asked the information person at Central Station to tell me the order in which to do them so that I wouldn't add to travel time. I got my money's worth!

Got into Stockholm at 2 pm, too late for last city hall (Stadshuset) tour. So I took the two boat tours (normally $60Kr each, but free with the Kortet), loved the historical one with the "live" guide and nearly fell asleep during the taped tour on the second one, the royal canal tour. Lulled by the water at 5:30 pm after an early morning and 2-hr bus ride from Borlange to Stockholm. 

With other museums now long closed, I looked for things in the Kortet book that were still open and went to both the Kaknas Tower and Katrina Lift. Gave me a chance to see how the terrain changes on the island and a bit of adventure traveling the buses. Since I have a poor sense of direction, I clutched my map in one hand with the places circled where I was headed and would ask along the way, pointing to the map if I was going in the right direction. On the bus to Kaknas, the driver said I would see the tower and know when to get off. We made quite a few stops and then at one stop people got off, and suddenly it was quiet. The bus motor had stopped, and the driver was getting up. We were at the end of the line!

"Didn't you see the tower", he asked? No, I said. I guess I missed it. "We go back in 8 min". And so soon, we were headed back and this time I got off near the tower. 

The Katarina Lift turned out to be quite a surprise because I got curious and walked through the cafe and discovered a whole different world in Mosebacke. The second outdoor dining area high above the water was filled with older people sitting at tables having cocktails and music was playing. A wooden dance floor was filled with people dancing to old tunes. I had a big grin on my face as I heard them play "Ain't She Sweet". Here I am in Stockholm and I would think I was in Naples, Fl! Same type of people (older, retired type), same type of music. I walked through them to a cobblestone road and just wandered around, soaking in the environment and savoring every moment. The warm summer breeze, the constant "daylight" in the evening, people enjoying themselves. I didn't want to head back.

I finally got back to Central Station and City Terminal to catch the bus back to the airport hotel, only to find the last bus had left! With all my wandering on buses during the day, at least I retained my common sense and knew not to try and take the local buses and train out to the airport. One of terminal workers tried to bargain down a taxi for me and then told me to keep asking the airport coach buses that came in since sometimes they went back empty to pick up plane passengers. It was getting later and no luck. And then I heard a young woman talking to a taxi driver. I went over to her. She had also missed the plane and was headed out to meet her boyfriend. She spoke both English and Swedish and had bargained the taxi driver down to $345Kr rather than the $435 they posted. She said even $345Kr was too expensive for her. I quickly told her let's share and her face lightened up. It ended up a very warm and friendly evening. She had no idea where her boyfriend was coming in and I recognized the flight as British Airways on which I had flown, so we went together to terminal 5 where I knew it came in to. She was so nervous, it was cute. She hadn't seen him in a month and just hoped he was on the plane. He was. Happy ending.

For only a half day in Stockholm, I had gotten a lot in that day. Set the alarm for 7 am, determined to get my money's worth from my remaining 24 hrs on the Kortet.

Day 8:  Stockholm touring

Tuesday I caught the 10 am tour at Stadshuset. We had a wonderful, interesting and entertaining guide. Seeing the Nobel Banquet Room and hearing the story of how Stadshuset was built filled me with delight. I had edited a number of sportscience history articles on scientists who had won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine and this just put the icing on the cake. Hearing that the architect/builder had his wife walk up and down steps in her high-heels numerous times so he could plan exactly how high and wide to make the stairs so ladies could easily navigate them was funny. Or the fact that a last-minute decision to add marble trim along the bottom walls caused the tapestry to hang higher than planned and cut off the patron saint's head painted on the original length.

With map in hand and asking directions every two blocks, I made my way to the Royal Palace and caught the guard-changing scheduled for 12:10 pm. Another delight. The band was marvelous, and the cermony and music went on for over 30 minutes. I was so glad I had not missed that.

From the palace I walked to the ferry boat and paid 20Kr to take the ferry ride to Djurgarden. Lijevalchs Museum and Vasamuseet were on my list there. I had to limit the museums, so decided to visit their special exhibit of Swedish Art from the turn of the century to the turn of the millenium, which was close to the Vasamuseet. Enjoyed seeing Nilsson's work and particularly their collection of Cubist paintings.

Vasamuseet is probably one of those "must see" tourist exhibitions. Our team had been talking about it, and I not knowing anything about it thought I should see it. It was interesting. By that time, however, I was more in a cultural mood than a shipwreck mood and thought what I had seen so far that day was far more pleasing and fulfilling.

By the time I got out of the Vasamuseet it was after 3:30 p.m. My 24-hr card "expired" at 3:30 pm and I still had one more must see on my list: Millesgarden. I looked down at the directions I wrote down from the tourist information person. Take the #44 bus right outside Vasamuseet to Karlaplan in Osermalm. Then change to the tube to Ropsten, 2 stops. Take any bus but 203 or 213 to Torviksborg. Walk, following signs.

Last thing I want to do is fiddle with coins and transfer, I thought. I wonder if he'll let me on in spite of my card expiring. I casually showed him my card, he waved me on the bus. Whew. Got through one. Now comes the subway. Hand the card, he glances at it and hands it back. You'll want to take the left stairway to get to Ropsten. And I was off. Same thing with the bus to Torviksborg.

No problem. Got there easily only asking to make sure I was going the right direction on the tube or bus!

I was prepared to pay the 60Kr for the museum, mumbling something about it being my last stop, but she gave me a ticket and in I went. Glanced at my watch. Just made it. Darn the museum closes at 5 pm and it's 4:30. Spent some precious minutes browsing in the books shop and buying Carl Milles--Episodes from my life, because it looked like something not to be missed.

I could have spent hours there! Was I in luck to get there before they closed. They also had a special exhibit through Aug 22: Eros. Gustav Vigeland Konst. I stopped and it was as if my mouth just fell open. The sculptured bronzes were captivating. I don't think I have ever seen such remarkably sensual renditions before. I pulled myself away from the exhibit, realizing my time was running out. I walked through the other rooms and took a quick walk through part of the gardens. A place to come back too. Much too much here to be able to fully appreciate in such a short time.

The lady was locking the doors, getting people to leave. 5 pm had come and with that, I started walking back toward the bus. Not 50 yards I came to a bench and realized how tired I was, my back beginning to ache. I just sat down and rested knowing there was no rush to go anywhere. I was headed back to City Central and the airport bus. My day was over! Not an ounce of energy left. Tomorrow we fly back to the US.

The trip to Sweden has truly been wonderful. I hope that Sater will be the site again for a future World Long Course Triathlon championship, since sites do tend to rotate, because I surely want to return. So much left unseen and unexperienced! The Archipelago would have been a fun get-away, not to mention other museums, dining places (never did get to dine anywhere--didn't want to spend the time), and shopping places I never came close too!