– I can’t have another year, I think, with the training I had last year. So I try my best to be present and train. Sometimes it’s very tough, and sometimes it goes well, says Heidi Weng thoughtfully. news meets her during the ongoing national team meeting at Sognefjellet. She attributes the fact that she is there at all to positive development. At this time last year, it was not relevant to train with the teammates. It is now 62 weeks since the cross-country star posted a message on Instagram that she had fallen on the ice, hit her head and suffered a concussion. “I’ll have a few quieter days now, and unfortunately won’t make it to the NM in Harstad,” she wrote. The headache would turn out to last considerably longer than Weng thought. – It is mostly constant, she admits now. – Constantly? – Yes, it’s usually like that during the course of a day, I need a lot more breaks, need to be alone a bit. It’s a bit tough at times. MEDAL CLAIMERS: Heidi Weng won silver at the WC three-mile in Oberstdorf in 2021. Since then, illness and injuries have cost her an Olympics and a WC. Photo: NTB Withdrew from the WC In March, Weng revealed to NTB that she had also struggled with crystal disease in December. Despite the problems, she completed a good season with two individual podiums in the World Cup. Nevertheless, she chose to withdraw from the WC in Planica. The training basis was not good enough and the headaches too dominant for the normally very strong championship runner. – Now I’ve just decided that I have to try to make the best of it. I will try to train optimally, says Weng. National team coach Sjur Ole Svarstad also believes that it is the only possibility. – Training is a bit of a novelty. This also applies to Heidi Weng. You have to stand up, really, if you want to keep up with where she has been and wants to be, he says to news. Weng has done that. After a short break in April, she has trained a lot in May. She also started in the Fornebuløpet. She ran the mile in 34.55 and, to her great surprise, won clearly. – I don’t think I’ve ever been as proud of myself as I was that day, she smiles. CAUTION: Heidi Weng has done more than most to avoid injury and illness. Nevertheless, things have not gone her way in recent seasons. Photo: NTB – Takes on the psyche At the same time, the race was a reminder that not everything is as it should be. She had to put in a quiet day beforehand – and not least a quiet day afterwards. Social activities also trigger a need for rest. The participation in the wedding of cross-country skiing friends Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget and Synne Baklid had consequences. – You get tired of things like that anyway, but now I’m completely knocked out. It’s just boring. It takes a bit on the psyche. Everyday things also come with a price. – Driving is actually the worst. Then I might have to lie down a bit afterwards, she says. A situation on the same day that news meets her says a lot about what Heidi Weng is in. – I woke up and didn’t have a headache, then it was suddenly surprising, and then it was wrong, she says smiling, while shaking her head self-deprecatingly . CORRECT: National team coach Sjur Ole Svarstad is clear that Heidi Weng is dependent on being trained as a top athlete. Photo: NTB The most important thing is to get well. Weng does exercises that will help to keep his head on straight. – I am not a specialist, so I will not mention what I will be training. But at least I’m going to train the system in my brain again, so I do what I’m told, she says. Coach Svarstad will try to facilitate based on the signals Heidi Weng receives from her body. – She can have good and bad days, and we have to adapt training and recovery based on that. It is important. But we have to focus on her having to get the job done too. She must train well, like a real top athlete, in the next few months to keep up with the top, he says. Weng completely agrees with that. – At the same time, the most important thing for me is to get completely well and have a more normal everyday life. Even if I give it my all when I’m at a gathering, it costs a lot when I get home, I know. Then I have to prioritize things and take some breaks, she states.
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