– Then we increase to 14 kilometers per hour! Magne Lund-Hansen glances at the clock. In the test laboratory at the Norwegian Sports Academy, the number on the screen in front of the university lecturer has increased to “74.5”. The panting increases in intensity from the mouthpiece. 50-year-old Anders Aukland runs on the treadmill. He is dissatisfied with something. Now the skier will get an answer. A test of fitness takes place with increasing speed on a treadmill with a 10.5 percent incline. The test equipment measures the body’s ability to withstand increasing speed. A test of fitness takes place with increasing speed on a treadmill with a 10.5 percent incline. The test equipment measures the body’s ability to withstand increasing speed. The question is, can the 50-year-old actually get better within a few weeks? – Work on. Completely out. Come on! Completely extreme Before the season, Aukland let researchers see right through his body. Tests of the heart, lungs, blood and body showed identical values as national team athletes aged 25–30. – To be 50 years old, it is quite extreme, concluded Professor Jostein Hallén. The 50-year-old is in his last season at the top level, over twenty years after he won Olympic gold in the relay. On Sunday, he runs the nine-mile long Vasaloppet. But before the season, the fitness figure had been lost. Aukland thinks it was frightening to see how much it had fallen, even though the fall is part of the body’s natural ageing. He demanded a new test immediately. Aukland was dissatisfied after the last test. Then he measured 72 in O2 recording. It had fallen from 79 five years ago and around 85 20 years ago. Photo: Anders Leines – What is exciting is whether I can do something about it, said Aukland after the last test. He said that even though a maximum oxygen uptake of 72 is considered extremely good for a 50-year-old. This is how he was last time: Now he is back on the treadmill to see if he has managed to raise his level. Meanwhile, the body has been hardened. Now he also gets the opportunity to check out the effects of the last few months’ hard work. Among other things, it includes a method, which creates debate in Norwegian skiing. Three weeks at altitude In January, he ran three races in the Ski Classics long-distance cup in the course of 15 days. Almost three weeks at altitude, where he lived 1,860 meters above sea level, ended with the seven-mile Marcialonga run. But it is in February that Aukland really ups the ante. The last 5–6 weeks leading up to the Vasaloppet define the season. He gets rougher. The build-up to the Vasaloppet is tough for Aukland. Here he is in the basement in Tønsberg during a training session. Photo: Helene Mariussen Herding ahead of the Vasaloppet is tough for Aukland. Here he is in the basement in Tønsberg during a training session. Photo: Helene Mariussen – My feeling is that the form has lifted. I stake faster and go faster on a stake machine, says Aukland. It is in the middle of the toughest period of the year that Aukland allows itself to be tested. The plan is tough: Long-distance trips of 4–5 hours, with elements of tough finishes, every other day. On the days between the long rides, intervals, hard sessions or strength training are practiced. He lets up on training after the last long race, two weeks before the Vasaloppet on March 5. Recently, the intensity and exhaustion built up during a very tough session, so that his stomach finally twisted. – Fortunately, I had a bag next to me. This doesn’t happen often, says Aukland. But does all this have an effect? The result – I ran faster and longer than last time, says Aukland. He breathes heavily after spitting out the mouthpiece. Magne Lund-Hansen (right) is responsible for the fitness test of Anders Aukland on the treadmill at Norway’s Sports Academy. Photo: Nils Christian Mangelrød – You have trained, exclaims Professor Jostein Hallén, grinning brightly. The numbers seem clear: the fitness figure has increased by 3 per cent since last time. The level has been raised. Already impressive test results for the age have become even better. But nine days after the return journey from Italy, this fitness figure is not the whole answer. Something in the body has also changed. The amount of blood in the body, called blood volume, is important for fitness. – The maximum O2 uptake has increased from 72 to 74 ml per kilogram per minute and the blood volume from 7.1 to 7.4 litres. These are positive changes of 3–4 per cent and, in addition, he runs longer on the clock, says Professor Hallén. Professor Jostein Hallén at the Norwegian Sports Academy is impressed by Aukland. Photo: Anders Leines Professor Jostein Hallén at the Norwegian Sports Academy is impressed by Aukland. Photo: Anders Leines Hallén points out that there are small uncertainties surrounding such measurements. Therefore, it is often prudent to overinterpret a small progress or decline. This can both be due to the form of the day and the training schedule. – But here it is both blood volume and maximum O2 uptake that have increased, in addition to him running longer and slightly faster at the finish line. Then we are sure that he is in better shape, says Hallén and adds: – He will be able to perform better. But why has it happened? Seeing the effect Aukland himself believes that the capacity has improved due to three weeks at altitude. – It is not the training in itself that has made me better from the previous test. I’m pretty sure it’s the altitude stay, says Aukland. Hallén replies that it is tempting to believe that the increased blood volume is due to the stay at altitude. Aukland measures how much blood he has in his body. A prick in the finger contributes to the calculation. Photo: Anders Leines Aukland measures how much blood he has in his body. A prick in the finger contributes to the calculation. Photo: Anders Leines But what speaks against it is that the height where Aukland has stayed has been too low. Moreover, nine days after returning home, large parts of the increase in red blood cells should also disappear. – The blood volume fluctuates a little from week to week, and I would like to think that the increase we measure in Anders is partly due to these fluctuations and perhaps a little altitude effect, says Hallén. – A beast The tests to Aukland are in any case met with admiration from his former national team colleague, who is also 50 years old. – He is a beast, chuckles Frode Estil after he is informed that Aukland has actually raised the level in the new year. He sees how the investigation of Aukland breaks with a number of accepted truths about when the decay starts. Frode Estil (in the middle) won gold in the five-mile race during the World Championships in 2005 ahead of Anders Aukland (right) and Odd Bjørn Hjelmeset (left) Photo: Erlend Aas / NTB Together they took, among other things, Olympic gold in the relay in 2002 and World gold the following year. The difference is that Estil gave up over five years ago. Most surprising to him is the motivation and enthusiasm Aukland has continued. He himself has experienced how parts of the body have suffered after his career. – My biggest challenge has been a worn out back, which I also struggled with increasingly towards the end of my career. In addition, my airways have taken quite a beating over the years, and I notice that I react to cold, dusty or dry air to a greater extent than others, says Estil. Anders Aukland is ready for the Vasaloppet. The measurements gave the answer that the form has improved since the last test. Photo: Anders Leines Anders Aukland is ready for the Vasaloppet. The measurements gave an answer that the shape has improved since the previous test. Photo: Anders Leines Aukland himself is now looking forward to Sunday’s nine-mile effort. Last year, Vasaloppet was the strongest day of the year. He then finished ninth, less than five seconds behind the winner. – There are twenty people who beat me on a normal day. Then I get to try to maximize everything, as I managed last year and the year before, and be with the field all the way in. I hope so, says Aukland.
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The tests were extreme. Now Anders (50) is even rougher – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
