This is the view from my office and it is pouring rain and 6C. This is certainly a good way to keep people at work since you need to walk a fair distance outside to get to any spårvagn from here.

So here are my thoughts on rain. In cross season, rain is a dream. A grown man can slop around in the wet for 40 minutes without any risk of getting sent to the looney bin. But what about rain during MTB marathons?

In Finnmarksturen it rained just when I was starting the toughest uphill in that race. Perfect timing! And the same thing happened to me in MTB SM tempo last year since the rain hit when I reached Mördarbacken. But there it continued and was a bit heavy to be that fun.

The worst rain I have been in was during Grenserittets speedseeding last year. That was 10km of max speed in my case until the sky opened and it poured so much I could not see where I was going. And the water was so deep I didn't know where the track was in the downhills. I just aimed and hoped for the best. No wonder I ended up with leg cramps in the real race the day after.

If it were 6C and raining this much at the start of a marathon, I am not sure I would make it. Standing waiting for the start would leave me soaked and then I would need twice the energy just to keep warm. I will gladly use my mind to win over muscle pain or tiredness but a full-body chill is too much for anyone.

I have been fortunate with weather for my marathons but I will say this now...I am going to start 10 MTB marathons in 2010. And I hope to finish them also. Given the right conditions, I always finish eventually. But some things are beyond our control.