7 advice from a Swimrun World Champion - my interview with Maja Tesch

She started running just five years ago when she could not afford a gym membership. In 2015 Maja Tesch became World Champion in Swimrun - after completed a 65 kilometers trail run over 26 islands and 10 kilometers of swimming in cold open sea. What is her best advice to keep the motivation and not get hurt?

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Have you read @neilstrauss interview with Elon Musk here on Steemit? If not I can really recommend it! You can find it here. I like the idea of interviews here on Steemit. As a former journalist I got inspired and thought I also want to do an interview to share with the community (even though I'm not used to write in English...). Maja, a swedish power woman that I'm looking up to, was an obvious choice for me.

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When I first met Maja I got so inspired by her humility and attitude. When we start to talk about running she describes an incredible sense of freedom of running in nature. The environment is important to her. She introduced "plogging" in Sweden - a combination of running and picking rubbish people throw in the woods.

To run in nature have a lot of benefits for body and mind.

For me it's pure freedom. I love the variation of trail running, ranging from deep forests to high mountains or steep cliffs. Sometimes it's a struggle to get out, but I never regret it. Even if you run in the same area, you will always discover new trails, she tells me and continues:

Stop and stand still in the quiet nature. Take some deep breaths and just let go of everything you "have to do" in everyday life. Take a break from all impressions and charge your batteries!

It's few things in life we must do.

Five years ago Maja found out that she needs to be active to feel good and keep a healthy mind. But as a student she could not afford any sport or gym membership.

I thought running was easy - and free. The problem was just that it was not that easy... It was heavy and painful. I got hurt all the time, mostly in my thighs. But in the woods I was forced to slow down the pace and shorten my step - suddenly it ended up hurting.

Every time you practice trail running it will be easier to just run without thinking - it's like the feet find the way themselves. This awesome phenomenon is called proprioception. To run in nature is also more gentle for the body, besides being a lot more fun and beautiful than working on the treadmill. Your steps will be automatically more effective and less efficient, you build the strength of your feet and improve your balance.

And just being in nature is like a kind of meditation.

7 best advice from a Swimrun World Champion

For those who want to get started:

1. Focus on the time you are out in nature, instead of how far or fast you have run. Find a suitable goal for the day.
2. Invest in a good headlight so that you can enjoy running in darkness, it's a cool experience (and in Sweden it's dark most of the time half of the year).
3. If you find it unpleasant to run alone, bring a friend or find a training group.
4. Listen to your body and adjust the exercise according to how it feels. If you have a lot of work and feeling stressed, the training needs to GIVE you energy. This time it may be enough with a walk in the nature.
5. Build a strong foundation step by step. Take care of your body and don't push yourself to hard.
6. Never cheat with recovery! Food and sleep are number one if you want to avoid injury.
7. Build the strength of your feet and the small muscles. A strong foundation is important to become a better runner. The feet can get twisted on the uneven surface, but they are strengthened fast. Take it easy at the beginning and do a lot of balance exercises if you want to speed up the process. Maja usually balance on one leg when brushing her teeth!

I'm so excited to explore more nature in my running shoes! To breathe the fresh air and get a moment of stillness. How about you?