Monday, April 25, 2005
Humidity is Not my Friend; Mannheim Facts
Yesterday my ankles were a little sore from the walk over the cobble-stone streets of Mannheim on Saturday. It’s kind of funny, I can run for 3+ hours without any trouble, but an hour or two walking around the hard streets of most inner cities and stores really messes my legs up.
In any case I ran for 85 minutes yesterday afternoon. I decided that it was time for a chance in scenery, so I set my stop watch and headed off in the opposite direction than I normally run, over the paths linking the fields, through a couple neighboring towns and back again. It was fitfully humid again, cloudy, and no wind. It didn’t feel so warm when I started out so I was dressed too warm. I didn’t feel like carrying my running jacket so kept it on. I was sweating like Niagara Falls most of the way and wishing that I had brought some water along. But I kept the pace down and had quite an enjoyable run despite the thirst. I have been running my normal trail since January, so it was nice to see something different for a change.
I found a race report for the Mannheim marathon from last year. In 2004 there were about 2500 runners that ran the marathon. Here are the statistics for 2005 so far:
2479 – Marathon
2044 – Team Marathon
347 – Inline (rollerblade) Half-marathon
56 – Hand bike/Wheelchair Marathon
31 – Mini- Marathon
Last year the route consisted of two rounds around the city and surround area. This year the marathon and team marathon route first loops to the north-east part of Mannheim (towards Seckenheim) then back through the middle, looping toward the neighboring city of Ludwigshafen to the south-west. The inline half-marathon starts in Ludwigshafen and follows the second half of the marathon loop. Organizers are hoping the skaters will be finished before the first runners make it to this part of the route. I guess they had a problem with this last year.
So anyway, I am already starting to feel the nervous energy that I normally encounter before a race – and this 26 days before the event. I can just imagine how the next few weeks are going to be. I KNOW my wife will be glad when this is over, she already says I am starting to climb the walls at home – wait until the tapering starts ;-)
In any case I ran for 85 minutes yesterday afternoon. I decided that it was time for a chance in scenery, so I set my stop watch and headed off in the opposite direction than I normally run, over the paths linking the fields, through a couple neighboring towns and back again. It was fitfully humid again, cloudy, and no wind. It didn’t feel so warm when I started out so I was dressed too warm. I didn’t feel like carrying my running jacket so kept it on. I was sweating like Niagara Falls most of the way and wishing that I had brought some water along. But I kept the pace down and had quite an enjoyable run despite the thirst. I have been running my normal trail since January, so it was nice to see something different for a change.
I found a race report for the Mannheim marathon from last year. In 2004 there were about 2500 runners that ran the marathon. Here are the statistics for 2005 so far:
2479 – Marathon
2044 – Team Marathon
347 – Inline (rollerblade) Half-marathon
56 – Hand bike/Wheelchair Marathon
31 – Mini- Marathon
Last year the route consisted of two rounds around the city and surround area. This year the marathon and team marathon route first loops to the north-east part of Mannheim (towards Seckenheim) then back through the middle, looping toward the neighboring city of Ludwigshafen to the south-west. The inline half-marathon starts in Ludwigshafen and follows the second half of the marathon loop. Organizers are hoping the skaters will be finished before the first runners make it to this part of the route. I guess they had a problem with this last year.
So anyway, I am already starting to feel the nervous energy that I normally encounter before a race – and this 26 days before the event. I can just imagine how the next few weeks are going to be. I KNOW my wife will be glad when this is over, she already says I am starting to climb the walls at home – wait until the tapering starts ;-)
# posted by Jack : 9:13 AM
