Pál Joensen and coach Jón Bjarnason left for Denmark today, to join the Danish Olympic squad, Spain's Aschwin Wildeboer and Tunesia's Oussama Mellouli, in an elaborate altitude training program developed by the Dutch head coach of Denmark, Paulus Wildeboer.
(Mellouli and Joensen at the 2010 Mare Nostrum meet in Canet)
They will be training for about a week at 3000 meters altitude in Leadville, Colorado, mostly just adapting, before going down to do more serious training at 2000 meters in Flagstaff, Arizona. A program that has worked well for Jeanette Ottesen, Lotte Friis and Rikke Møller Pedersen, and that now will include the entire squad plus Wildeboer and Mellouli.
After the altitude camp, the Danes will compete at Sette Colli in Rome, while Pál and Jón take a short breather in the Faroes, before another camp at sea level in Croatia.
Hoping to hear a lot from them while they are away ! :-)