Photo: Francesc De Lanuza Gimeno (here with Nicolas Remires), Victor Dahl, Desirée Andersson and Benoit Charrier.
We asked a few questions to some of our Team Envol members going to Ötillö Engadin. Or the ones who were planning to go … Given the conditions we don’t really know who will make it to the start line.
How was it to start the season during a pandemic? Who is your partner and how do you think it will be to race together? Did you do the race in Engadin before?
Below Desirée Andersson, Francesc De Lanuza Gimeno, Alexandre Dumoulin, Victor Dahl, Benoit Charrier and Eduard Barcelo give some answers.
Their full interviews will be posted on our instagram account @teamenvol.
Fransesc:
During almost 3 months of confinement I was training 3 hours a day on the treadmill, spinning and strength exercises of the upper body to not lose shape. Once I was able to start training normally I have not noticed too big of a loss. I’m going to Engadin in my best shape!
Desirée:
In Sweden it has been possible to continue with the training in the pool and running outside. Just trying as much as possible to adapt to the rules and recommendations like social distancing and stay home when not feeling good.
Now when spring and then summer arrived I did the fun Monday swimrun sessions with @envolcoaching. Technical run and shorter swim in nice loops. Really good for transitions as well. Then I did some longer swimrun sessions the last weeks to prepare for the upcoming race, a couple of them with hill reps. We’re using a ski slope that’s in Stockholm and together with other members in Team Envol we did sessions similar to what Engadin is going to be in terms of times and distances. But of course without the beautiful alp view!
Alexandre:
With the special conditions of confinement, I spent two weeks without much motivation and training. I finally found the desire to get back into great form and stay on track. After the confinement, the preparation stages were squeezed into 2 months. Going back to running outside meant big sessions with lots of intensity. I’ve only been swimming in the pool since June 15th, but there’s finally an advantage to all this, I’ve found it even more fun to run for a month!
The race in Engadin will also be an opportunity to meet new people of Team Envol. I always felt that this group showcased the team spirit and support, inspiring the roots of Swimrun. To be able to find this friendly aspect with high-performance swimrunners is, in my opinion, worth a lot!
Victor:
Together with my new swimrunpartner Desirée I hope to have fun and enjoy the adventure! To see how we can bring out the best of each other on the course and how we will go against the competition. What I like about swimrun is how closely you can get to know other athletes by racing with them, which is completely different to other individual sports. As a team you can benefit and use each other’s different strengths.
This will be my first time in Engadin. I am looking forward to lots of friendly Team Envol faces and a general friendly/family environment.
Benoit:
I have not been able to train as usual. I didn’t train from march to end of may. The pools were closed. I did run a bit but had to stay within one km from home so didn’t do that much. I also volunteered at a French hospital from April to July so didn’t have much time to train. I am counting on my partner (Jeff d’Hoe) to pull me through the whole race
I found a good opportunity for a mindfulness moment last year in Engadin. For more info, see the article I wrote https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mindfulness-competitive-sports-benoit-charrier/?trackingId=MjZPKCb2SjenRr0xFiqicA%3D%3D
Going to Ötillö Engadin race, meeting up with some fellow Team Envol members – it’s that community feeling, the sense of belonging to a like-minded group of people, friendly, caring, daring, and adventurous.
Eduard:
During the lockdown I went back to my triathlon ages with a lot of roller workouts because it was the only thing I could do. I combined it with resistance exercises, but in the end it was mentally hard for me to keep working hard.
