Running with Jack

Jack has moved to BTT

2006-07-06T07:19:00.000+02:00

Jeff at breakingthetape has my new Blog up and running (again), so please redirect to my new URL:

http://www.breakingthetape.com/runningwithjack/

Don't forget to redirect your Bloglines and other feeds to the new URL.

See you on the other side!

Technical Difficulties

2006-07-05T14:00:00.000+02:00

Please ignore that last post, since I already managed to kill the template on my new breakingthetape blog. Now how do I break the news to Jeff...

In any case I will post at both sites until the new site recovers from Jack the Blog Killer's latest thrashing.

Did you ever have one of those days where you really, REALLY need to go for a run...!

Jack has moved to BTT!

2006-07-05T08:28:00.000+02:00

Running with Jack has moved to http://www.breakingthetape.com/runningwithjack/, bye-bye Blogger nightmares! Please redirect your Bloglines and other feeds to the new URL.

See you on the other side!

An Early Morning 14K Recovery Run

2006-07-03T09:45:00.000+02:00

Today marks the beginning of a very busy week at work, so I will probably fall behind on reading and writing blogs. One of our manager’s from our sister company in Billerica (MA – USA) will be here at 2:30 this afternoon. We will be trying to complete a technical manual before he leaves on Wednesday.

So in anticipation of a late night at work I decided to go in a little later today and ran at 5 a.m. It was still nice and cool outside as I started out on my 14K/8.7M loop. The sun was just stretching as I made my way over the fields. My legs were a bit sore from my overindulgence at the 10K race yesterday. After a few kilometres my legs started loosing up and I fell into a comfortable 6:00/K (9:39/M) pace, which I maintained the rest of the run.

My next run will probably be Wednesday night, if I get off work on time. I want to run for the first time with the Graben Running Club, the group that put on the 10K race yesterday.

On Friday night or Saturday morning I want to try my first longer run, probably about 2½ hours – easy pace. This should give me a pretty good idea how fast I can return to normal training.

My next major (scheduled) event is a forest marathon on September 10th. Of course there are lots of other race choices almost every weekend, so I may use some of these for training purposes.

Recovery, How Boring, or the Graben 10K Race Report

2006-07-02T14:03:00.000+02:00

Yesterday (Saturday) I spent some time in my woodworking shop working on a small cupboard that my wife can use a coffee machine and “stuff” at work – nothing fancy, just painted plywood.

The weather was beautiful again, sunny and a mild 29C/85F. After grilling up a couple steaks for lunch my wife took a nap and I took an hour walk around the fields surrounding our town. Not the same as running, but pleasant just the same.

This morning I woke up an debated whether I should run the 10K race that was offered at the next town, Graben, the town with the Running Club that I have been thinking about joining. So after pondering over the negative aspects of running a race a week after an ultramarathon, which took about a zillionth of a second, I suited up and drove my scooter to the race. I told my wife that I was just going to go and run a “fun run”, which she never believed for a moment.

So anyway I rode my scooter to the race and parked right next to the school in the bicycle parking area. All the car parking places were filled as I knew they would be, thus the reason for taking the scooter.

It was already 26C/79F and humid – the race was going to be a hot one! I picked up my race number and chatted with a couple people I know – Friedrich Vetter from the Running Club Phillipsburg, he ran the 80K race last weekend too! Albert Ulrich, the 91 year old runner that frequents the local races, he was only going to run the 5K today – too hot!

About 15 minutes before the race I jogged a few minutes to warm up, then took my place at the Start. I new from running this race previously that walkers and slower runners tend to line up at the front and middle of the pack, so I made sure I was well in the front.

So after a few minutes the start pistol went off and we were on our way. I decided to push and see what my body could deliver! I ran the first kilometer in 4:46 (7:40/M) and the second in 4:49/K (7:44/M). As we headed out over the open fields in the full sun I could feel the humidity trying to zap my energy. I tried to ignore this and just concentrated on keeping the pace up. After about 10 minutes we again entered the shade of the forest – the trails that the Graben Running Club uses for their training – I knew them well as I trained on them through the winter.

I passed the 5K half-way point in just over 24 minutes, it was still possible to break my 48:18 personal record, but I had to keep the pace going. I attached myself to a talk, lanky, young man that slowly passed me – I figured if I could hang with him I’d make it.

I passed the 6K marker, 4:55/K (7:55/M) pace, I need to keep this going. Past the 7K, I was breathing heavy, the younger man was speeding up. I hung with him, gosh the time is going by slowly – why do I do this to myself.

So out into the sunny fields again, the forest was so nice and cool…come on Jack, don’ get soft now. So on across the fields, back onto an asphalt path – we joined back with the 5K runners – just a few 5K runners straggling in.

I passed the 8K maker, just one foot in front of the other. We headed back into town, made a left, then a right, past the 9K marker – time to pick up the pace. Huff, puff – gosh I wish I didn’t eat so much the last couple days, I’m carrying an extra 5 pounds today – I feel it all.

Last corner, the young dude left me in the dust, I pass a few, there’s the finish – I try to sprint but it is weak, I cross the finish – glad that’s done. Whew!

Dang, I’m 8 seconds too slow – 48:26. I missed breaking my personal record (48:18) by 8 seconds. But that is still good for a new SECOND BEST!! Whoohoo!

So I walked around for a couple minutes to cool down, then gorged myself with cold watermelon that they were offering – umm, the best part of the run!

As I stood in the shade cheering in the last of the runners I got to talking with a young lady from the Graben Running Club about there group. She invited me to stop on by an run with them next Wednesday night. Sounds cool!

How was your weekend?

Joy is Going for a Run!

2006-06-30T07:18:00.000+02:00

I couldn’t wait anymore, recovery be damned, I had to hit the road last night. It was a beautiful 29C/85F, sunny, warm and the trail was singing a seducing song in the gentle breeze that was blowing…

I rushed home, changed, and headed out the door with probably the biggest, goofiest grin imaginable, and was off. I started out easy and slowly built up my pace as I felt the power and energy flowing through my veins. I finished the last of the 9 kilometers with a sprint to the door - gosh what a good feeling!

In any case, despite my enthusiasm, I managed to keep the overall pace down, I averaged 5:45/K (9:16/M) for the 9K/5.5M.

I did notice that my legs are not fully recovered, so I won’t run again until Sunday. Next week I will start easing my way back into training mode, the first week keeping my pace and distance down, followed by a week of increased distance and finally a week where I try to bring my pace back up to normal. If my body is in agreement I hope to be back on schedule by the third week of July.

IMPORTANT: I will soon be moving from Blogger to Breakingthetape.com – I will let you know when Amazing Jeff has me up and running.

Round and Round we Go

2006-06-29T08:56:00.000+02:00

So Thomas obviously thinks I have time on my hands during my recovery, so has tagged me:

4 Jobs I’ve had:

- Farmhand
- Pizza chef
- Bartender
- Grocery manager in a supermarket

4 Movies I watch over and over:

- Streets of Fire
- Dirty Harry
- Predator
- First Blood

4 Places I have lived:

- Ratcliff, KY
- Ettlingen, Germany
- Aberdeen, MD
- Hinesville, GA

4 TV shows I watch:

- CSI Miami
- CSI NY
- CSI Las Vegas
- Home Improvement (I am a Tim Allen fan)

4 Places I’ve been on Vacation

- France
- Holland
- Denmark
- Austria

4 Websites I visit every day:

- Bloglines
- Weather
- CNN
- USA Today

4 Favourite Foods:

- Pasta (any)
- Salads
- Cake
- Lobster

4 Places I’d rather be right now:

- Running
- Norway
- Alaska
- Upstate NY

4 Favorite Bands/Singers:

- Toby Keith
- Brooks and Dunn
- REO Speedwagon
- Charlie Daniels Band

4 Bloggers I’ll tag:

I don’t know who has done this already, so if you feel the urge, just do it!

Taking it Easy

2006-06-29T07:41:00.000+02:00

On Tuesday I stopped at the swimming pool on the way home from work and swam some laps, nice and easy, more for enjoyment than training. Last night I dusted off the workbench in my woodworking shop in the shed and started working on a small cupboard for my wife.

It feels really strange not running so much. My recovery is going fabulous, no pains, aches, cramps or other weird things going on. My energy level is high, and quite frankly I am bored to death in a running way. Tonight I am going for a 30 minute jog to see how my body reacts.

Race Plans

On Sunday I have a 10K race, actually two, I still have to decide which one I want to do. The race will be treated as a fun run, no PR-setting pace, just running pure!

I think for the rest of the year my major races will consist of a forest marathon in September and a 50K race at the end of October. My wife is not in disagreement with this, so I think it’s a go. Of course there will be several other shorter races mixed in here and there. But most of these are within a half-hour of the house and can be decided at on the spur of a moment.

My main focus for the rest of the year will be to build up my base and endurance. If my wife finds a job right away then I may have the opportunity for a 100K race in the spring. Thus I need to be ready if the race comes calling! I am going to try to run 4 times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with some swimming, weight training, hiking and biking thrown in as time allows.

So Where Am I Running To?

2006-06-28T07:59:00.000+02:00

I’m enjoying my successes that I have had with my running the last couple years – I’ve come a long ways! On the other side my marathon DNF in March is a constant reminder that I am only human, that I need to keep a cool head and train smart, and not rush. Since my marathon disaster I have slowed down my race tempo a little and seemed to have found my groove.

I would like to keep going longer and further, I am pretty sure that I could do a 100-miler if I had enough time to train properly. However there are too many hurdles in the way at the moment. My wife’s job contract runs out at the end of the year so she needs to find a new job. With unemployment at a record level in Germany this will be no easy task. With our hefty mortgage we both need to work, particularly since the introduction of the Euro which drove the price of EVERYTHING through the ceiling. So this needs to be the center of our attention for awhile.

Another personal hurdle is that my wife only tolerates my running, nothing more. Without my wife’s full support, training for such a long race, e.g. 100 miles, would be like running a dark mountain trail without a flashlight.

In any case I will still be running some shorter races this year, a few 10K’s, a HM or two, a marathon in September and maybe a 50K in October. My wife is already asking me when I am going to “slow down a little”, so I need to make sure that I don’t get too carried away.

For next year I may be forced to pick fewer (but hopefully longer) races to pacify my better half. In any case this is a delicate issue and I have to be careful in order to maintain peace on the home front.

I have a good tip for those of you whose spouse (or partner) either runs or fully supports your running – give them a hug, maybe some chocolate, whatever – you don’t know how lucky you are!

Me, an Ultramarathoner???

2006-06-27T09:29:00.000+02:00

An ultramarathon is any running event longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometers (26.2 miles, 45,760 yards).

Ultramarathoner’s are those weird types from some far away planet who run incredible distances, over days, weeks, and who knows how long!

I ran a 43K marathon in April and didn’t even consider that it was technically an “ultramarathon.” I then ran a 50K in May and still didn’t think about it. So this month (June) I ran 50 miles and while I feel good about it, it still didn’t really sink in that I ran an ultramarathon.

But the last two days at work I’ve had at least a half-dozen co-worker’s shake my hand and congratulate me on a good race (I guess they do read my blog). My wife also seems to enjoy bragging at work and at night school about what her “crazy man” - she came home from school last night and told me “Hi from so-and-so and congratulations!” I guess they think I did something special??

I like to run – no I LOVE to run, and I enjoy trying to see how far I can go. My first 50-miler was not easy, but when the smoke cleared I was still standing! That’s a good feeling – no that’s a GREAT feeling!

But I’m trying to remain down-to-earth, I really don't look at myself as an ultrarunner. Some people would be bragging big time by now, but I prefer to remain as obscure as possible – I’m still a penguin runner – the only thing that gets me to the finish line is that I am too thick-headed to quit. And I definetly don't LOOK like an ultrarunner, my spare tire still jiggles, I turn all kinds of shades of red when I run - at least I don't wheez and gasp for air anymore...

A Short Recovery Run

2006-06-26T19:14:00.000+02:00

After work today I went for a short 6K/3.5M jog, easy recovery pace, about 6:30/K (10:30/M). My legs were very tight, the quads still a little sore, but after the first 5-10 minutes my legs warmed up and started feeling much better. It was a nice sunny day today, a pleasant 29C/85F, a slight breeze and a pretty blue sky. I took my time and thoroughly enjoyed my run. So now a couple days of rest, then maybe Thursday another jog.

Here is a couple pictures that my wife took at the start. I’m wearing the blue hat and the goofy grin.

Race Report:: 80K Fidelitas Night Run

2006-06-25T16:47:00.000+02:00

The general response from most of my family and friends when I said I am participating in the Karlsruhe 80K Fidelitas Night Run was that I was totally off my rocker this time – 50 miles, how can anyone do that?

I slept really well on Friday night, almost 10 hours. After a good breakfast I made sure I had everything laid out for the race, rechecked everything about a zillion times, then tried to relax until it was time to go.

The race started at 5 p.m., so we tried to get there about an hour before to pick up my race number – no. 46 which is the same as my age – a good sign? I waited around until about 10 minutes before, did a few calisthenics to warm the muscles up, then found a shady spot near the start – it was 33C/92F and hot!

A couple minutes before the start of the race the race director announced that we should line up, so I made my way to the back of the pack. A lot of people where talking about how hot it was and that they were just going to take their time today. Being my first 80K race this was my plan anyway, so I figured I would have a lot of company.

So promptly at 5 p.m. we were off, but unlike a marathon there was no sudden rush, participants broke into a gentle trot around the track field – I actually walked the first 50 meters with the back of the pack. We circled around the stadium then exited out into the surrounding forest. The first 8K/5M were at least through the shady forest. After exciting the forest we ran about 4K/2.5M through the larger town of Durlach. I crossed the 10K point in about 1:06:00, a pretty good pace despite the heat.

After leaving Durlach we headed over the hottest portion of the race, an approximately 8K/5M stretch that was entirely over open fields in the blazing sun. I passed several people during this part of the race, they obviously hadn’t done any heat training – they were totally wiped out – I hoped they were only doing the 4-person relay.

There were aid stations setup approx. every 5K/3M along the race course. I made it a point to drink at least 2-3 cups of fluid from the beginning. I also was snacking on some salted pretzels – I think this combination helped me get through the first 20K, that and having done a lot of runs in the heat. In any case I had no problem running this part of the course, there was a slight breeze and it was a very scenic part of the run.

So at the 20K point we started climbing the first hill, I immediately started walking, better to save my energy for later in the race. Everyone else around me was walking too, except for one young lady who had just taken over for her teammate in the relay race (4 x 20K) – she was obviously fresh and ready to make some time.

So over the hill, then run some more, down the hill, aid station, through the town of Johlingen, aid station, then walk up the next hill. The second hill was actually in two stages with some rolling hills on top. I walked all the uphills, as did most around me. It was nearing 8 p.m., but was still hot and humid out. I passed the 30K/18.6M point in about 3:25:00 – 20 minutes ahead of my projected 12-hour finish time.

The rolling hills on top of the plateau we had reached where at least forested and in the shade. As I left the forest and made my way down a long downhill section into the town of Singen most of the sun was blocked by the hill behind me – it cooled things down quite a bit.

I ran through Singen and stopped to eat a little at the aid station at the end of town (36K/24M point) – watermelon, a little banana, some wheat cake (slightly sweet) and lots of sports drink. My legs were starting to hurt a little – so I took 2 aspirin.

From the aid station it was uphill, e.g. walking – one of the steeper climbs of the day. It was shortly before sunset and it had cooled down significantly, making it quite pleasant to trek through the forest up the hill. I took my time and just enjoyed the moment, trying not to think that I wasn’t even halfway’s yet!

After reaching the crest of the hill I ran down into the town of Mutschulbach. There was an aid station just as I entered town and it was well manned with helpers, townspeople and a giant screen TV – World Cup of course! I lingered a few minutes and ate some more wheat cake, reapplied some Vaseline on my toes and continued on.

I knew from my training runs along this route that the next couple miles was a gradual uphill climb to the next town. I did my best to try to run this, taking just one short walk break to climb up the side of a water dam that we crossed. This was also approx. the 26-mile marathon point, and what many veterans of the race called the real halfway point - my time around 5:10:00.

I continued on to the next town, Langensteinbach, running down into the town, then walking most of the hill out of the town. It was dark by this time and I was glad to have the streetlights to show the way. At the end of the town was an aid station at the firehouse where my drop bag was waiting. At this aid station I changed from tank top to short-sleeve running shirt and tied my running jacket around my waist for later – it was still too warm (almost 11 p.m.) for a jacket. I collected my flashlight and continued on.

After a short, but steep, climb out of town the trail leveled off and I was alone in the forest (seemingly). It was kind of spooky running with my headlamp, I was acquainted with this from my winter running and knew I had to keep the pace down and just remain alert so I don’t trip over a stone or something.

I wound my way through the forest coming out the other side and started climbing the hill into Ittersbach. Halfway up the hill was an aid station and I drank some sports drink and finished eating the pretzels that I had with me. The sports drink was a different one from the other aid stations and it was not long before my stomach was revolting. By the time I reached the crest of the hill and made my way down the steep hill into Ittersbach I was loosing air at both ends.

I tried to ignore my discomfort as I ran through town but by the time I climbed out of Ittersbach and made my way to the aid station on top of the hill I felt like I was going to lose everything in the stomach. I chatted with the medic at the aid station and he suggested I drink some coke. I drank two cups then trudged on up the rest of the hill, burping the whole way. After awhile my stomach did settle down and I made it a point to drink more coke during the night.

At the top of the hill the path turned right and I ran down into Langenalb where I promptly got lost. I was trotting along having a grand old time, then all of a sudden realized that I hadn’t seen any course marking or runners lately. So after backtracking for 4-5 minutes I found where I missed a turn and made my way over the little little hill and started the long downhill stretch into Maxzell in the valley below.

This long downhill stretch was through a very dark, thick forest and I didn’t see or hear another runner the whole time. Luckily the dirt trail was well marked, otherwise I would have wondered if I was on the right path. I remember passing the 60K/37M as I snaked my way down the mountain, but I was too busy watching the trail to check my watch. My legs were tired, but so far I had avoided any cramps – 20K to go!

After what seemed like an eternity I arrived at the edge of Marxzell, passing by a coworker’s house – I was tempted to ring his doorbell, but the lights were off. On the other side of town was an aid station where I promptly sat down for the first time all night. After a couple pieces of dry cake and a coke I continued on my way – all downhill or flat from hereon.

I again found myself in the forest following a dirt path. With only light from a headlamp it feels like you are running in a tunnel. It wasn’t too long before I caught up with a man and a woman who were running together. By this time I was running for 10-15 minutes and taking a walk break for 2-3 minutes. They basically were doing the same, but we ended up playing cat and mouse for at least 45 minutes as we kept passing each other.

At the 65K/40M point was an aid station where I again plopped myself on a stool and ate and drank. My legs had been really aching so I took another couple aspirin – this seemed to help control the pain without having any other noticeable side effects.

I continued on with my running and walking until I reached the edge of the town of Ettlingen. Here was another aid station, but this time they only offered water – a sign that the finish is near? I didn’t stay long this time, with around 11K to go I was ready to get this over with. By this time I knew beyond a doubt that I would finish – actually I never allowed myself to think otherwise!

I ran down the same street that Ettlingen uses for their annual 10K race (coming up in a few weeks). It was nice to see a familiar street. After reaching the swimming pool the route wove it’s way through the sleeping town coming out in front of the old Kaserne (military base) where I was stationed for 3 years in the army. Most of the rest of the race was on home ground, I had run this stretch hundreds of times in the military.

With 8K to go I trotted on down the asphalt paths that would lead to the finish line, energized by old memories and accompanied by ghosts of a former lifetime. With 3K to go I passed the last aid station, stopping only to get a glass of water, I could taste that victory beer at the finish line.

I did my best to run most of the last few kilometers to the stadium. After a ¾ loop around the track I finally reached the finish line and the applause of those sitting around the restaurant terrace celebrating their finish. I finished, in 10:19:09, a most satisfying time, Whoohoo!

After collecting my finisher medal I walked my victory round around the track, then sat down and drank my hard-earned beer. I had my cellphone with me so called and woke up my wife so she could come and get me. She was surprised to hear from me so soon.

I finished my beer and walked down (8 stairs – ouch) to collect my certificate. My wife showed up about the same time so we went home.

After returning home and showering (very necessary) I had some leftover pasta and watched TV for awhile. I eventually tried to sleep, but this didn’t work at all. Finally about 8 a.m. I had breakfast and decided to stay up. I end up dozing off on the couch for a few hours around 10 a.m., and feel a little better.

Other than two blisters on my longer toes and some chaffing under my arms I ended up in pretty good shape. My quads, of course, are totally shot – I am trying to avoid stairs like the plague today. But I know this will pass and in a couple days I will start getting restless for the next race. My wife’s comment this morning: “I hope you are satisfied for awhile and can settle down”! If she only knew...

Race Results

2006-06-25T09:05:00.000+02:00

I finished in 10:19:09. I'll try to get my race report ready sometime today or tomorrow.

Thank You!

2006-06-23T09:10:00.000+02:00

Thank you for your comments, well wishes, tips, and support - I will carry them in my heart all the way to the finish line!

I guess there is only one question that remains to be answered: After I crawl over the finish line sometime Sunday morning, should I really call it my first 50-miler, I mean technically 80 kilometers is only 49.709695379 miles?

My Last Run before Race Day

2006-06-22T07:16:00.000+02:00

Last night I ran one last 9K loop around the fields by our town at recovery pace around 9:15/K (10:00/M). By the end of the run I could tell I haven't run so slow for a long time, my legs were tighter than normal.

So my bags are packed and I’m ready to go. I’ve done everything I can do to prepare for the 80K/50M race in the time that I have had. Nothing left to do now but sleep well, eat well, drink well and wait for the start of the race.

My race strategy is simple: run easy, walk through the aid stations (approx. every 5K), walk up the 6 major hills, and adjust the run/walk ratio as required. Oh, and drink like a fish the whole time because it is supposed to be 32C/90F and humid!

The race starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday and runs through the night. The 16 hour cutoff is at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning.

I put together a sattelite view of the race course here

My goal is to finish under the 16-hour cut-off. My secondary goal is to finish under 12 hours. If I am having a perfect day, maybe 10-11 hours?

In any case, I guess the last 30K/19M will make or break me.

Swim Night, Weather and Webpages

2006-06-21T07:16:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was a cooler but humid 27C/81F when I stopped at the swimming pool after work. I witnessed a rather comical display as I began my laps, about 90% of the people at the pool were huddled around the giant TV screen in the snack bar. I mean, it was only German vs. Ecuador, why pay to go swimming and then spend your time watching TV.

In any case I swam through two goals by Germany - obvious from the roaring of the crowd. I think I was the last remaining male in the pool by the second goal, I obviously would not make a good German, good thing I’m proud to be an American!

The weather prediction for Saturday’s 80K race is looking gloom: 33C/92F, sunny and humid – with a chance of rain by Sunday morning. It’s going to be ugly!

I spent the rest of last night working on my webpage which I have neglected for so long. I’m trying to organize some of my favourite race reports, pictures and travel stories for my family and friends. I’ll eventually put a link on my blog when I’m done.

Speaking of the blog, I have decided that I have had enough of Blogger.com, which doesn’t allow me to edit my posts anymore, rarely lets me post a picture and doesn’t always let people comment. I will eventually be moving to a new host, I’ll let you know when it’s time.

The Lazy Tapering Days of Summer

2006-06-19T18:53:00.000+02:00

Today it was 31C/88F and humid when I went to run at 4:30 p.m. I ran a 9K/5.5M loop at a nice steady 5:30/K (8:52/M) pace. I made it home just as the first sprinkles of rain were falling, which actually felt pretty good as it was so hot and muggy outside.

Tomorrow I want to stop at the swimming pool for some easy laps and on Wednesday I will repeat the 9K loop that I did tonight – but at 80K speed – whatever that is.

A Beautiful Summer Weekend

2006-06-18T15:29:00.000+02:00

We have had some beautiful weather this weekend clear blue sky, a gentle breeze and around 90F. On Saturday I went for an easy 14K/8.7M run around my normal training loop. Average pace 5:34/K (8:58/M). I wished that I could have run farther, the run felt so effortless.

Today (Sunday) I went for a walk, not a stroll in the park, rather a power walk. I went about 9K, with an average pace of 8:00/K (12:52/M) – fast enough to work up a good sweat in the 89F weather!

Tomorrow night I want to run the same 9K route and again on Wednesday. I am resting Thursday and Friday for my 80K race on Saturday evening. I'm really getting excited about the race, a little nervous, but not the scary kind. If I stay cool and relaxed I think I'll do fine.

Have a great Sunday!

My last longer run before race day

2006-06-16T10:57:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was a holiday in Germany so I had a chance to do my run a little earlier than normal. I had an early lunch and left about 1 p.m. and drove to the town of Langensteinbach and parked next to the firehouse on the edge of town. One of the control points for the 80K race is located around the firehouse.

It was 32C/90F, bright, sunny, and very humid. The fire house was located at the base of my first climb for the day. I strapped on my CamelBak, warmed up a little by jogging around the small parking lot, then headed up the hill. It was a short, but steep climb, I was already sweating by the time I reached the top – darn humidity! By the top of the hill I was in the forest and the air was thick and almost stifling, I felt like I could slice it with a knife.

The route flattened out some as I continued through the forest, then started gradually climbing to the town of Ittersbach (the second hill for the day). By the fourth kilometer I started heading out over the fields, still climbing gradually. There was no wind, no shade, just sun, heat and humidity. I kept the pace down, made sure I drank a lot from my CamelBak and plodded on. At least there was lots to look at, a riding club with some teenagers practicing their horse riding, lots of bicycle riders’s, a few brave walkers and a beautiful view of the valley below as I made my way to the top of the hill and edge of Ittersbach.

As I entered Ittersbach the path almost fell out from under me, a steep downhill walk into town. I continued through town, then climbed out on the other side, my third major climb for the day. Although it was a little more gradual than my first climb it was over open fields and seemed to go on forever, I was dripping buckets of sweat by the time I reached the top. By this time I could feel the heat zapping the energy out of my soul, despite drinking regularly. I decided it was time for a walk break.

I walked down a short downhill section, it was beautiful – below me was all open fields, a couple farms and in the near distance a short hill with the town of Langenalb nestled on top. In the background were the foothills of the Black Forest, so beautiful, and of course I forgot my camera again, duh.

I did find a picture on the Internet that was taken in the same direction that I was looking, it pretty much illustrates what I saw:

I could see that the next hill was nothing to worry about, so I decided to turn around and head back, I’d been gone almost an hour. I knew the return hill climb out of Ittersbach was going to be challenging in this heat. So I started running again, first down an enjoyable downhill, then through town and then about halfway up the steep hill out of the town. The combination of the heat and humidity and the steep hill climb stole my will to continue running, I walked up to the top. I looked like a drowned river rat by the time I got to the top, I was dripping buckets of sweat. I continued to walk long enough to drink the rest of the two liters dry from my Camelbak – 5K to go and out of fluid – yikes!

I started running again, but kept the pace down. Luckily the running was easier now, first downhill then through the forest. I had only one small hill climb left, then a short downhill to my car.

Luckily, I had a couple liter-water bottles in my car, I polished the first off as I tried to cool down a little in the shade.

As I sat on the bumper of my station wagon, shirtless, still sweating like a rain forest, an older couple walked by. We exchanged greetings and as they continued on I heard the woman say to the man something about how crazy I was to be running on a day like today. I agree, but if race day is like this than I know what to expect and hopefully my body will be slightly more tolerant of the heat due to my training.

Anyway, I went somewhere around 18K/11M in about 2 hours. This was a fairly decent pace considering the heat.

On Saturday I want to run my normal 14K/8.7M route and next week a couple shorter runs. Eight days until race day!

Yeah, bring on the heat!

2006-06-15T09:32:00.000+02:00

After work yesterday it was a toasty 35C/95F as I suited up and headed out the door for a run around 4:30 p.m.. I ran the same 9K/5.5M route as Monday night, but this time I just let my legs decide how fast they wanted to run. I started out about the same speed as my tempo run on Monday, but by the end I had slowed down by 30 seconds, it was hot! I averaged 5:35/K (8:58/M), a pretty good pace considering the heat.

So why is Jack braving the summer heat? Well, the answer is easy, the 80K/50M run starts at 5 p.m., the hottest part of the day in our region. We have had an extremely cool spring, this sudden heat wave is a shock to the system. With only 9 days to go until race day it is imperative that I get used to the heat as soon as possible.

In any case I felt good after the run, this is a good sign. I drank around 3 liters of water throughout the day before running, this is essential for running successfully in the heat.

Today is a holiday in Germany, so I am waiting until it gets hot so I can run a couple more hilly sections of the 80K race route. My goal is around 21-23K (13M+), easy pace. I have 3 liters of weak sports drink loaded in my CamelBak and I’ve been hydrating since I woke up this morning (5 a.m.) – it is supposed to reach at least 32C/90F by this afternoon – bring on the heat, I’m ready!

Satellite Views of 80K Race Route

2006-06-14T13:51:00.000+02:00

I was playing around with Google Earth last night and put together some quick and dirty satellite views of my race route. You are welcome to view them on my webpage at:

http://www.sniles.de/running/events/fidelitas.html

80K Race Training/Planning

2006-06-14T08:00:00.000+02:00

I stopped at the pool last night on the way home from work and swam 900 meters, 500 freestyle, 400 breaststroke. I was going to do more but I had only eaten an apple and a banana for lunch and I “hit the wall” as far as motivation goes. Of course then I went home and tore the door off the kitchen trying to get to food. I usually eat a healthy midday meal, but I’m tapering so am trying not to gain too much weight this week. Next week I won’t look so close because I need a lot of energy for my 80K.

80K Race Training

I thought a couple of you might be interested in how I have been training or planning for the race. With the exception of the last couple weeks I have not trained for the 80K. I trained for my 50K and for a marathon before that, but not for the 80K. However I think the training that I did for the 50K is enough to get me over the finish line, which is my only goal. Actually the marathon and the 50K were preparation for the 50K. It was only after the 50K that I made the final decision on the 80K – the idea had been lurking in my head most of the year, I only lacked the confidence.

Running in the Dark

Many of my long runs throughout the winter were in the dark hours of the morning, which has served as my “running-in-the-dark” training for the 80K. I have only done one night run in the last few weeks, that will have to suffice.

Race Course Familiarization

I have spent the last couple weeks running several portions of the 80K course, particularly the hill climbs. As you can see below I am quite familiar with the course:

Kilometers 1-21: I know these sections by heart, having ran parts of the course in other races, ridden them on my bicycle or traversed them with my car over the last 16 years.

Kilometers 20-24: I ran almost every Saturday morning for the last few months.

Kilometers 24-34: I ran twice (out and back) over the last two Saturdays.

Kilometers 34-37: Are a downhill and a run through a town – I could see the downhill portion at KM34, easy running. I’ve walked through the town before, flat.

Kilometers 37-47: I ran/walked last Sunday.

Kilometers 47-57: I want to run tomorrow.

Kilometers 57-61: I have walked about half of this section with a friend who lives at KM 61 (we walked his dog). It is all downhill, but it is also in a thick forest and will be in the middle of the night.

Kilometers 61-71: I want to ride with my bicycle on Sunday.

Kilometers 71-80: Most of this part of the trail I ran almost daily for three years while in the military. A couple sections I have run in other races.

Heat Training

It has been very hot for the last week or so, with temperatures approaching 31C/88F. Today is supposed to be 32C/90F. When our heat wave continues, the first couple hours of the run will be during the hottest part of the day and there is very little shade available. I am trying to do all my runs during the hottest part of the day, which is around 4-5 p.m., the time I usually run during the week.

Drop Bags

The race allows the use of drop bags. However so far it appears that you can only use their drop bags, which are clear plastic garbage bags which they tape shut and mark with your race number. Apparently most participants only use the drop bags for a jacket and a flashlight. A couple people who I have talked to that have done the race said there is enough food and drink available at the 16 control stations, i.e. I don’t need to carry any.

My biggest concerns at the moment is what to put in my drop bag(s) and post-race logistics. The former depends a lot on the weather and what is actually available at the control stations. I want to call the club putting on the race and ask them what they will have available to eat.

Post-race Logistics

My wife is dropping me off at the race and will return home after the start. Her idea is that when I’m done, call her and she will come and get me. This is partly because I probably won’t be coordinated to drive our stick-shift after the race and partly so she can have the car. As I am predicting that I will need around 12 hours for the race, this would mean around 5-6 a.m. the next morning. My only concern is that I am a vegetable by the time I get to the finish line and won’t even know my telephone number any longer. Maybe I can pin a note to my start number or something – "If you find this corpse lying at the finish line please call this number. Thank you!" ;-)

A Fast Run on a Hot Day = Bliss?

2006-06-13T07:51:00.000+02:00

It was a bright, sunny, blue and beautiful day when I got home from work at 4 p.m.. The thermometer was peaking at 31C/88F and the trail was calling my name. I rushed around the house, filling my water bottle, getting everything ready, just get my short on…ring!

The door bell…
WHAT, can’t you see that I’m getting ready to run?
It was a salesman from the phone company.
He: Good day…blah-blah…can I take two minutes of your time and explain our latest offer for a DSL Internet hookup.
Me: I don’t have time, I’m going running.
He: Really it will only take two minutes, I ….
Me: You don’t understand, I’M GOING RUNNING!

Doesn’t this fool realize what that means, even my wife knows not to try to talk to me when it’s TIME…TO GO…RUNNING!!

Me: Sorry, I don’t have time, SLAM!

Obviously not a runner, I hope he at least doesn’t have starving kids at home.

Hmmm, I’m supposed to be tapering, although I really don’t know how much ultramarathoners taper – is it like a marathon??

I decided instead of running my 14K/8.7M loop, I would keep it shorter, say 8-9K (5-6M), but would pick up the pace and run through the sunny fields. Nothing like running through the fields at almost 10K pace during the hottest part of the day to help get you used to the heat, right!

So that is exactly what I did. I jogged for about 5 minutes at an easy pace, than picked up the pace. I ended up running 8K/5M with an average pace of 5:05/K (8:11/M). I started to feel the almost 90 degree heat towards the end, but probably because I didn’t slow down enough to drink. After a 5 minute walk to cool down, some water and a cool shower I was feeling fantastic, ready to go again :-)

Tonight I am heading to the pool for some laps and tomorrow (Wednesday) I will probably repeat last night’s run, albeit at an easier pace. Thursday is another holiday in Germany (I love it!), I want to do a 20K run, probably a 10K out and back on the 80K race route - but during the hottest part of the day.

No Clever Title Today

2006-06-12T07:36:00.000+02:00

Sorry that I have been neglecting reading your blogs and commenting the last few days, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in a day.

Less than two weeks now before my 80K/49.7M ultra. I’m kind of nervous, but at the same time very excited about the race.

I just figured out that I ran 83K/52M last week, the highest mileage week for the last couple months. The last time I ran this far in one week my legs were pudding by the end of the week, but this morning my legs feel really good! I attribute this to the slower speed and walk breaks during my long runs. I think the walking yesterday also helped loosen up all the muscles and joints.

Tonight I want to run my normal 14K/8.7M loop. It is supposed to be 30C/86F outside, so I want to make sure I get out there and run in the sun before it gets even hotter! I hope it won’t be so warm for my ultra, but on the other side I want to train as much as possible in the heat beforehand – just in case.

Have a great week!

A 3:50:00 Long Run and a 20K Run/Walk

2006-06-11T18:10:00.000+02:00

Where does the weekend go?

Saturday morning I was up at 4 a.m., left the house at 4:30 and was running in the neighboring town of Weingarten by 4:50. It was already 17C/63F as I started up the first hill. I had wanted to drive another 30 minutes to a different town (Singen) that is along the 80K course, but I had to be back by 9:00 a.m. so that we could drive to the Black Forest for a wedding reception. So I decided to redo the stretch that I ran last Saturday, plus an extra 5-10K, depending on how much time I had.

I felt pretty good has I headed over the hill, the rolling hills on top and down the other side of the mountain into the town of Johlingen in the next valley. To save time I didn’t take any walk breaks, but just kept moving. As I headed up the second major climb I paused at the top to eat a gel and walk for two minutes, this was somewhere around the 1½ hour point.

Twenty minutes later I finished the last of the rolling hills on top of the second mountain and found my self on a plateau overlooking the fields and town of Singen below. I had planned on running to Singen, but I was already 1:53:00 on the way and I needed to turn around and head back.

So on back the way I came, through Johlingen and up the hill on the other side. Last week this hill climbing out of town reduced me to a walk. This week I ran the whole length and continued on another 10 minutes before finally taking a walk break to eat another gel and a sports bar. This time I walked maybe 4 minutes. But then I was off again, back over the rolling hills and down the mountain. I arrived at my car with a time of 3:50:18. After walking a few minutes to cool down, I stretched a little then hurried home. I walked in the door at 8:59, whew that was close.

It was a good run, I guess I ran close to 32K/20M including several pretty good hill climbs. It is also important to mention that I only took about a third of the normal walk breaks that I do.

Sunday

My wife wanted to study this afternoon so ended up with some extra training time. Normally I go swimming around lunch time, but as it has been getting quite warm lately I thought I should spend some time outside in the heat. I decided to check out a 10K stretch of the 80K route – from Singen to Langensteinbach. As I had just ran 20 miles yesterday and my race is less than 2 weeks away I decided that I should walk it – which I figured would take about 3 hours.

After lunch I got out my shorts and tank top, running shoes and drink belt and drove to Singen (about 30 minutes away). I found a shady park place near the soccer stadium on the edge of town and got ready to walk. It was already around 27C/81F, sunny, warm and beautiful. From the stadium I spent a couple minutes looking for the right trail using a topographic map that I downloaded from the race website.

After finding the trail I walked for a couple minutes, then the trail turned and started climbing. I decided to run to the top of the hill. Seven minutes later I reached the top and switched back to walking. The climb was steep for the first minute or two, but then became more gradual – nothing to worry about during the race.

The downhill portion ended in the town of Mutschelbach and I walked through the town and started a gradual ascent as I left the town. The race route follows an asphalt bike path paralleling the main road for about 2K before turning left than right onto a trail through the forest. This trail in turn leads to the next town.

So backing up a bit, the walk through Mutschelbach and on to the forest trail was open, no shade, so I got the acclimation training that I was seeking. I guess it was in the mid-80’s (30C) by this time.

One I turned onto the forest trail it was about 1K (half mile) to the next town Langensteinbach. The name of the town translates loosely into “a long stoney stream”, and the town was exactly this, a long cobblestoned street snaking its way up the valley. I walked for 2K before reaching the edge of town.

By this time I had going for about 1:20:00. The next hill was still about 20-30 minutes away, which would mean I would be coming home much later than I had told my wife. I decided to turn around and head back.

After walking back through Langensteinbach and reaching the forest trail, I decided to jog for a few minutes. It felt so good that I ended up running most of the way back to my car. I ended up walking maybe 14K8/M and running at least 6K/4M – something like that anyway.

More important was that it gave me 2 hours 15 minutes outside in the heat of the day. As we have had a really cool spring it is important that I get used to the heat before the race. It is supposed to remain quite warm at least for the next 4-5 days. It is very likely that we will also have temperatures around 30C/86F for the race as well.

Running with a Friend

2006-06-09T07:19:00.000+02:00

Last night I drove to Konigsbach, where I ran the 8.2K race a couple weeks ago, to run with a friend (co-worker) of mine. He was sick the day of the race so couldn’t run, so invited me to come over and run some evening. So after work I drove over to Uwe’s house and we did an hour loop around his area. This was a new and pleasant experience as normally I run alone. I noticed right away that it is harder to run when you talk a lot. As Uwe doesn’t run as often as I do I probably did most of the talking, sorry Uwe – I hope I didn’t wear you out (with the talking).

Uwe invited me to stay for dinner, which I gladly accepted, I’m not one to pass on any offer of food :-) I had a chance to meet Uwe’s lovely wife and four children (ages 4-10), got a tour of the house and saw all the renovation projects that Uwe has talked about over the last year or two, and just had a super evening with some good people!

My wife also had a satisfying evening studying at home, no man around bugging her ;-)

So today is a rest day, no training. Tomorrow I want to get up at 4 a.m. and run for at least 3 hours over part of the 80K route. I haven’t decided whether to just repeat last weeks route or try a new part of the trail. The problem is that I have to be home by 9 a.m. because we have to drive to the Black Forest for a wedding reception.

Have a great weekend and happy running, cycling, swimming, walking, house hunting,...!

"The Diet"

2006-06-08T07:43:00.000+02:00

I haven’t talked about my diet lately. This was mostly because I have been stuck on a plateau with my weight (around 75 kg/165 lbs.) for most of the last 14 months.

My weight goal is 150 lbs., which is slightly over what my doctor told was my ideal weight (66-68 kg/145-150 lbs.) for my height (170 cm/67”).

I don’t know if I will ever weigh 150 lbs. again, the last time was when I was about 10 years old (no kidding). I averaged 155-160 lbs. during my last couple years of high school and for about a year of my 8 years in the army, but that’s it!

Anyway, I have been really watching what I have been eating (e.g. no junk or sweets) the last couple weeks, being sure to reduce calories somewhat on non-running days, and today have managed to bring my weight down to 73 kg. (161 lbs).

I am not getting too excited yet because I know the weekend is coming and I generally eat like a famished grizzly bear in the spring after my long runs. I will be overjoyed if I am the same weight on Monday. We have also been experiencing warmer temperatures, so I'm sure a lot of it is water loss.

I think what has been driving me to lose the final pounds is my wife telling me that I will “never” lose the spare tire around the stomach. For those of you who have been obese or know someone who was, then you may know it is very difficult to get rid of the fat deposits around the stomach region. In any case I have accepted my wife’s “challenge”. Anybody want to do some crunches and leg lifts?

And the training continues...

2006-06-08T07:24:00.000+02:00

On Tuesday night I stopped at the swimming pool on the way home from work and swam 1000 meters, 7 laps freestyle, 3 breastroke.

Last night I ran my 14K/8.7M flat route, easy pace, almost exactly 6:00/K (9:39/M). I actually wanted to run even slower in preparation for my 50-miler, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. It was just too nice outside, 22C/72F, sunny, warm, and no wind. I almost turned and ran another loop, but then I remembered that tonight I am invited to a coworker’s house for a run, so want to be in good form for that. He (Uwe) lives not too far from the 80K trail and runs on path’s that are similar to what I’ll be running on during the race. This will be the first time that I have run with someone outside of a race, so I am really looking forward to it. Uwe doesn’t run as often as I do, he is a cyclist, but he has been thinking about trying a sprint triathlon sometime.

I was going to run on Friday night after dark again, like I did last Friday night, but I think it is more important that I get in a longer run (3+ hours) on Saturday morning. My wife is invited to a wedding reception from one of her coworker’s at noon on Saturday in the Black Forest and informed me last night that I’m driving her. This means I have to get up really early and get my run out of the way so we can leave by 10:30 – looks like another 4 a.m. wakeup!

50 Miles or Bust

2006-06-07T07:24:00.000+02:00

I signed up for the 80 kilometer (49.7 miles) Fidelitas Night Run last night. The event starts at 5 p.m. on June 24th and runs through the night. Participants have to cross 18 checkpoints before allotted cut-off times.

The cutoffs are calcuated using a pace of about 5K/hour or 12:00/K (19:19/M).

A few facts:

- Participants are required to carry a flashlight after dark and wear a reflective vest or strips on their clothing.
- Getting in a car during any part of the race will result in automatic disqualification.
- Pacers or bicycle escorts are allowed, but must be pre-registered and must bring their own support (drinks, food etc.).
- Aid will be provided at all 18 checkpoints, approximately every 5K.

My Goal

To cross the finish line any way I can in under 16 hours (the cutoff). I've been practicing my crawling techniques ;-)

Half-Marathon Pictures

2006-06-06T09:23:00.000+02:00

I remembered that I did the first 10K of the half-marathon yesterday in 53:05, an average pace of 5:19/K (8:33/M). With a finishing time of 1:49:39, this means I did the last 11.1K in 54:34, an average pace of 4:55/K (7:55/M), which is a faster pace than most of my 10K races. Hmmm, I'm going to have to run another HM this year!

I found the following finisher pictures from the half-marathon. My wife said I looked pretty intense as I sprinted to the finish:

Decision on 50-Miler Postponed.

2006-06-06T07:29:00.000+02:00

This morning my legs are tired. No pain or anything negative, but just tired from a good workout yesterday. After work today I am going to stop at the pool and do some easy laps.

So last night I figured that my wife and I would sit down together and make the BIG DECISION about the 80K/50M Fidelitas Night Run on the June 24th. Here was the conversation:

Me: Do you think I should do the 80K?
Her: I’m can’t say if you have enough condition or not.
Me: ??
Her: Went back to knitting...

Was that a yes or no?

My feeling:

My body and the training that I have done will get me over the finish line. The only thing that can stop me from finishing (outside of injury) will be my own mind. It will be the toughest race I have ever done in my life. I'm ready to give it my best shot, but I would like my wife's blessing before I go out to battle.

South Pfaltz Half-marathon Race Report

2006-06-05T16:57:00.000+02:00

This morning I ran my eighth half-marathon, the South Pfalz HM, as a training run. My wife wanted to visit with a former coworker she used to work with (Eva) who lived in the same town as the event so I decided to run the HM instead of my normal 14K/8.7M that I had on the schedule.

The race started at 9:15 a.m. so we picked up our friend Eva on the way the race. I went to pick up my start number and the girls picked up coffee and found a place to park until while I ran.

After going through the normal race routine I made my way to the Start line to cheer on the 10K racers who started at 9 a.m.. It was just beginning to rain a little as we began the race, but lasted only a couple minutes, then the sun came out again.

There were around 400 people signed up for the HM, I recognized a lot of faces from previous races. I chatted with a man who has run the Fidelitas Night Run for the last 10 years in the row. He assured me that the race is easier than a marathon. This is relative as he is a running machine.

So after a few minutes we were off. I held down the pace for the first 14K/8.7M, about my normal tempo run speed (5:30/K, 8:50/M).

I love this race, it is flat, almost entirely through the forest and probably 70% packed dirt trails. I set my HM personal record (1:48:12) on this course last September.

At the 14K point was an aid station and right after this a 5 minute stretch of asphalt-covered bike trails. I had been following a couple who were doing a comfortable pace and at this point they poured on the gas. I decided to hang with them for awhile. They kept going faster and faster and I guess my competitive juices started flowing, cause next thing I new I totally forgot about this being “just a training run” and I left them behind me.

For the rest of the race I kept up the pace passing a couple dozen people before sprinting over the finish line. I ended up finishing in 1:49:39, about a minute and a half slower than my best time, but much faster than I planned.

I came in 235th out of 378, 53/76 in my age group. Not bad for braking the first 2/3 of the race. I just hope my legs will forgive me...

A Night Run and and EARLY Morning Run

2006-06-03T18:23:00.000+02:00

On Friday night at 9:45 I headed out for a run just as it was getting dark outside. My goal was to practice using my running headlamp. I ran my normal running route, but turned around early. I ran about 9K/5.6 miles at an average pace of 6:00/K (9:39/M). After a quick shower I tried to get some sleep.

At 4:00 a.m. this morning (Saturday) I woke up for phase 2 of my weekend training. I had breakfast, got ready and drove to the neighboring town of Weingarten to run part of the 80K race course that I mentioned in my last blog report.

At around 5:00 a.m., with the temperature barely reaching a cool 6C/43F, I headed up my favorite hill and on to the 80K race course at the top. I have been running this part of the course for several months. After about 30 minutes I turned and followed the race course as it left my normal running route. I followed the race route downhill to the next town, Johlingen, then uphill to the next town Woschbach. Just past this town I turned around and retraced my steps back to the car.

This took me 2 hours and 52 minutes (maybe 25K/15.5M, including approx. 20 minutes of walking up some of the major hills, particularly on the way back). After I returned to the car I ate a sandwich, then continued to walk for about 20 minutes before finally calling it a morning and returning home.

My legs were pretty sore by the time I got home and showered. But after a second breakfast and a short nap I felt much better. This afternoon I spent a couple hours walking around a shopping mall with my wife, so I guess I’m not to bad off.

On Monday I am running a half-marathon as a training run. My wife wanted to visit an old coworker she used to work with (Eva) and there just happens to be a HM on Monday. So she get to gab, I get to run – sounds good to me!

Have a nice weekend.

Okay, so here’s the deal...

2006-06-02T09:34:00.000+02:00

Tonight (Friday) I am going for a run around 9-10 p.m., probably for about an hour, easy pace.

Tomorrow I’m getting up around 4-4:30 and am going for an approx. 26K/16M hilly long run here:

Monday is a holiday in Germany, so instead of doing my normal 14K/8.7M run I’m going to do a half-marathon as a training run.

On Monday night my wife and I am going to decide if the 80K (49.7M) Fidelitas Night Run is a GO!

The Fidelitas Night Run

2006-06-01T07:23:00.000+02:00

The Fidelitas Night Run - June 24th, 2006:

Can Jack conquer this mountain?

"...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." - FDR

So, back to work!

2006-05-31T18:49:00.000+02:00

Or actually training. After work tonight I warmed up a bit and headed out over my 14K/8.7M route. The sky was dark and looking like rain, the wind blowing, and the temperature around 16C/61F as I made my way over the first kilometer.

I cautiously picked up the pace, this was my first training run since the 50K and the 8.2 race on Saturday. I really didn’t have a time goal, I let my body dictate the pace. I gradually settled on a 5:30/K (8:52/M) pace and tried to maintain it. It felt comfortable for the first half, but as I approached the 10K tree I could feel that I was pushing more than usual. I slowed down a little bit for a 500-600 meters, but as soon as I ran out of the woods into the open path through the fields, I picked up the pace to try to get out of the cold wind and sprinkling rain as soon as possible.

I cruised my way around the fields and finally down the last dirt road back into town. I had to work to keep the pace going, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. I finished finally with an average pace of 5:29/K (8:49/M) for the 14K, a pretty good tempo run.

I’m going to take tomorrow (Thursday) night off, except for a little upper body weight training. On Friday night I will either rest or run about an hour depending on how I feel. On Saturday morning I want to run a hilly 2-2½ hour long run and on Sunday head to the pool. Monday is another holiday, so I need to plan something special for this day, maybe a hill run or a half-marathon race - I'll have to see what the wife has on her mind.

Yes, it is nice to be back in training modus! Have a great week.

An Easy Swim Night

2006-05-31T07:59:00.000+02:00

Generally, I try not to brag too much about my accomplishments. But yesterday my ego got the best of me and I found myself bragging about how great my 50K race was last Thursday. Okay this was with a coworker (also a marathon runner) and it wasn’t a typical Ali “I am the greatest!”, but I definitely let the pride of my accomplishment be noticed. What can I say, I completed 50K, I still get goose pimples thinking about. Everyone needs to complete 50K, just to get this feeling. Can you imagine 50 miles, or a 100, my poor head would probably burst!

Anyway last night I went to the pool and swam 8 laps (800 meters), about half with my perverted freestyle and the rest breast stroke. Somehow my freestyle form was way off, I guess I forgot how to swim in the last three weeks that I stayed away from the pool. Sigh, I am still hoping I can take a freestyle class in the Fall.

After a quite dinner at home, my wife crashed on the couch and I spent some time looking over the race schedule for the summer. Lots of 10K races coming up in June and July. Several of them are within a half-hour drive from us, so I will probably participate in a few of them.

I have a slightly longer race in mind for the end of June, but am patiently waiting to see how my run tonight and this weekend go before I make any final plans. If my fitness level feels close to what it was before my 50K race and my wife is in agreement, then I will probably go for “it”. My upcoming runs this week are important milestones because there will be very little time to prepare for “it”.

Happy training!

A Short Recovery Period

2006-05-30T07:36:00.000+02:00

Last night I took advantage of my recovery time to butter my wife up for the next big race on my clipboard. Dinner, a movie, sitting at a street Cafe with a friend, and just enjoying the company of the one I love. She already figured out that I have something brewing in the background.

Anybody ever see "Brokeback Mountain"? Well, we met my wife's English class last night at the movie theater to watch this movie in English. The catch was that none of us had any idea what the movie was about. It turned out to be quite intensive, and for my rather old-fashioned, grass-roots background, almost disturbing. I have to admit that the movie was well made and of course the mountain scenery was absolutely beautiful.

Long Term Training Plans

I want to continue to work on my freestyle swimming in preparation for a sprint Tri in 2007. I also need to learn how to race with my bicycle – I am only a tourist when it comes to bike riding.

I am signed up for a hilly marathon that takes place on September 10th. I think if I continue the hilly long runs that I have been doing the last few months I won’t have too much trouble with this. I only need to learn to run the hills a little faster, e.g. build up my endurance.

Here is the elevation profile for the marathon:

I am thinking about running the Rodgau 50K race in January 2007. The catch is that there is a 6-hour cut-off, which means I have to pick up my speed significantly compared to the 50K that I just finished. The good news is that it is a flat 5K round course. The bad news is that it is asphalt-covered and takes place in the dead of winter!

Short Term Training Plans

My priority for the next week or two is to try to get my weight down a couple pounds. Currently I’m sitting at 75kg/166lbs. which is a couple pounds higher than it has been lately. My dream weight is still 68kg/150 lbs., but I at least want to get the fat level down some (e.g. more muscle, less fat).

I’m going to slowly ease back into my running over the next few days and if that goes well I want to see how fast I can get back up to my pre-50K level. For this coming Saturday (June 3) I want to try about a two hour hilly route run to test my fitness level. If I feel good after this run, then I hope to be back up to a three hour long run the following couple weekends. The run on this coming Saturday will be an important milestone for another goal that I have in mind.

If this sounds like I am moving kind of fast, well let me just say that I think the 50K race was actually less stressful on the body than my first couple road marathons. Okay the hills were tough and I felt it in my muscles for a couple days. On the other side I didn’t walk around like the Tin Man for a week, didn’t have to crawl up and down the stairs, or have extended leg problems. The 50K race pace was much slower than a road marathon, which I think has reduced the amount of recovery time that I need significantly. I’ll put this theory to the test when I lace up tomorrow night for a run.

Tonight I’m heading to the pool for some laps, followed by some upper body weight training. Have a great week!

50K Race: After Action Report

2006-05-29T09:10:00.000+02:00

I generally jot down a few notes after a major race to archive what went wrong or right before, during and after a race. The Westerwald 50K race on May 25th was my first ultra distance, i.e. more than marathon-distance, so I spent a little longer pondering the event.

The Training

Negative points:

- Generally speaking my training was too short and not hard enough.
- Specifically, I needed even more hill workouts, especially aggressive downhill sections.
- The almost 3 week tapering was a little long, 1 - 2 weeks probably would have been enough.

Positive points:

- My long runs closely resembled the terrain that I encounted during the race.
- My Run/walk ratio that I trained with was adequate for the race.
- My eating and drinking during the long runs closely matched what I required during the race.
- The training marathon that I completed 4 weeks before the race provided the confidence (and experience) that got me through the last part of the 50K!

The Race and Logistics

Negative points:

- The hotel.
- Started out too fast.
- Ran the first major hills.

Positive points:

- Had a couple good nights sleep before the race.
- Did a good job adjusting my race after a too-fast start.
- Fueled well before, during, and after the race.
- Maintained focus during latter part of race.

Post-Race

Not much to say here other than that I have been eating too much and have put on a couple pounds since the race. One could also debate whether running a race two days after the ultra was a good idea or not. In any case my legs held up well.

On a positive note I started refuelling immediately after the race (e.g. within 30 minutes), first some hot bean soup and a roll, some alchohol-free wheat beer (Weizen) and a piece of cake; then later a large pasta dinner with a mixed salad containing turkey wedges. I also drank at least 2-3 liters of water over the rest of the day. On Friday and Saturday I also kept up a high volume of fluid intake and had a couple good meals with carbs and protein.

I made it a point to stay off my feet as much as possible on Thursday after the race and Friday after we got home. On Friday afternoon I went for a walk/jog. This consisted of about 500 meters walking, a 1K slow jog, another 3-4 minute walk, then finally about a 2K jog. My legs were really stiff and my right ITB was whining, but the next day I felt much better. And of course Saturday night I ran the 8.2K race.

Today (Monday) my legs are tired and begin to stiffen if I sit at my desk for too long without walking around. My neck and shoulders have been stiff since I raced on Saturday night - I wonder if this is a result of the races or more as a result of being in the wind for over two hours on Saturday night??

So my training plans for this week:

Today: Rest
Tuesday: Swim
Wednesday: A recovery run, distance to be spontaneously determined.
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest or recovery run.
Saturday: At least an hour run.
Sunday Rest or swim.
Monday: Maybe a half-marathon

Future plans:

I have a longer race in mind for June 24th, but first I need to see how my recovery progresses this week before I make any final decision. In the meantime I’ll keep you all in suspense.

The Koenigsbacher Mile 8.2K Race Report

2006-05-28T12:14:00.000+02:00

I was getting pretty stiff sitting around the house yesterday, so decided I need to stretch the legs out a bit. A friend and coworker, Uwe, had mentioned to me earlier in the week that if I had any energy left I could come and run with him in Koenigsbach on Saturday night. The Koenigsbacher Mile is an 8.2K (5.1M) race consisting of 4 laps around the town of Koenigsbach where my friend lives.

I usually run a day or two after a long race to keep the muscles loosened up, this seems to help me with my recovery. Now Uwe had mentioned that he hadn’t trained much, so was just going to take it slow and easy and jog around the race course. Since I was going to run anyway I thought I might as well do it with a friend!

A quick telephone revealed that Uwe was in bed with the fever, so much for running with a friend. The race was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. – at 5:30 p.m. my wife decided she was content to sit on the couch and knit, but I should go because I was pacing the house with nervous energy driving her crazy.

So I drove the 25 minutes to Koenigsbach and picked up my start number at the soccer stadium and preceded to look for the start line which was about 200 meters around the corner. Apparently there had also been a 4K run which started earlier so I had a chance to see these racers complete their second round. I was sure to yell encouragement where I could.

About 15 minutes before the race I warmed up a little, jogging part of the race course – nice and flat, asphalt covered roads and bike paths. My legs were tired, but actually felt pretty good considering I had just run 50K/31M on Thursday. I was just going to do the race at a slow jog anyway, and was not above quitting early if I felt the need. This was all about recovery, right!

As I lined up with the other 142 runners, I bumped into 91-year-old Albert Olbrechts and his wife who I visited with before the Baden Mile on May 6th. He was doing good, looking forward to running as always. I hope I’m still alive at 91 years old!! His 33 year younger wife is training for a marathon in September.

So anyway after a few minutes the starting pistol went off and I quickly settled into a comfortable pace, I was in no hurry. My legs felt amazingly good, not aches, pains, or other complaints.

The start of the race was in front of the local Edeka supermarket. From there we ran along a row of houses that led into the center of town. As we approached the center the road went down a tiny hill and turned left. Here was the main part of town with several shops, stores, and old timber-framed houses. A fair sized crowd was gathered along this part of the route, despite dark, gloomy, overcast skies.

The race path continued to wind through the center of town, twisting right and left onto a couple different streets, then past an aid station at approximately the 1.5K point. Dozens of kids were passing out water to the runners and generally having a good time. The atmosphere was very festive, many residents were standing in front of their houses lending support.

The route continued around a corner to the right, then a quick left and up a little tiny hill. Another 50 meters and the route turned left and ran by the soccer stadium where the finish was located. On the fourth lap runners would turn right here to reach the finish line. But for the first few laps we ran a few more meters then turned right, ran a minute, then left and past the shopping area and the supermarket where we started.

It was cool running by the shopping area, there were maybe a 100 people cheering and a small band was playing upbeat music – quite motivating really!

I finished the first lap in 10:20, for an average pace of 5:10/K (8:19/M), about two minutes faster than I had planned on. It was obvious that I wasn’t feeling too bad for having run 50K two days before.

I felt comfortable at this pace so kept going, but making sure that I didn’t speed up any – no since pushing my luck.

The second lap came and went and by the third lap I could feel myself slowing down. Normally, I would have pushed myself and tried to pick up the pace again, but instead I just let my legs decide the pace.

So I kept slowing down a bit as I started the fourth and last lap, but I didn’t care. As I passed the 7th kilometer I saw that I was slowly overtaking a younger lady (around 20?) wearing an ipod and jamming. She first noticed me as I began to inch by her. Well, I guess this woke her up because she struggled to get by me again. Of course this got my competitive juices flowing and I kicked in the turbo just as we climbed the small hill.

As I rounded the last couple turns and made the last right into the soccer stadium she was dust, I had left her for dead on the trail. So anyway I enter the stadium with about 200 meters to go and see a dude about 100 meters ahead of me. Now my adrenalin burner was cranked on high so I broke into a sprint and was only two steps behind this dude by the time we crossed the finish line.

So I finished my supposedly “slow recovery run” in 42:18. This was an average pace of 5:10/K (8:18/M) for the 8.2/K (5.1M) race – or right around my best half-marathon race pace. I was 92nd out of 143 overall.

So after a little stretching and a cool down, I hung around and cheered in the last of the runner’s before heading home to spend the rest of the night with my lovely. I felt really great after the race, but had a ravaging appetite.

This morning my legs are a little sore, which is no surprise, but really do not feel bad at all – I’m even comfortable walking up and down stairs. However, now I am going to take a break from running until at least Wednesday in order to give my body time to recover. I may go for a swim on Tuesday night, but nothing too ambitious.

Have a great Sunday!

50K Race Photos: Group 3 of 3

2006-05-27T11:42:00.000+02:00

So shortly before 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 25th, 2006. Eighty-one people were signed up for the 31K (really 35K) or 50K run. We received a short race briefing from the race director:

And we were sent on our way:

I'm going to miss you Westerwald Forest:

50K Race Photos: Group 2 of 3

2006-05-27T11:35:00.000+02:00

The swimming pool where the race started:

Here is Jack (in red jacket) discussing the hazards of smoking with Stephan Isringhausen, ultra runner and Webmaster of one of the most popular Ultrarunning websites in Germany www.steppenhahn.de. Don't let his smoking fool you, he is a running machine who has completed 24 and 48 hour runs. He did admit that his smoking slows him down:

The Start banner:

50K Race Photos: Group 1 of 3

2006-05-27T11:27:00.000+02:00

Wednesday, May 24, 2006. Driving to Rengsdorf for the 8th Annual Westerwald 50K Run. The Westerwald Forest is looming in the background:

A view from our hotel on Wednesday evening. The swimming pool where the race was held is at the bottom of the hill behind the houses. The weather was still looking promising at this point:

A view on Thursday morning about an hour before the race:

The Westerwald 50K Race Report

2006-05-26T16:04:00.000+02:00

Pre-race

Rengsdorf, small town on the border of Rhineland-Pfalz and Hessen, about 30 minutes northwest of Koblenz. We arrived at our hotel at about 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday night and checked in. Right away we noticed that the place was a dive, nothing like the pictures that were shown on the Internet. But it was only a few minutes from where the Westerwald 50K Ultra race would start the next day so we decided to take the room anyway.

After dropping our bags in the room, we decided to look for the public swimming pool where the race would start. The way was well marked and we found it right away. There were several people there setting up tables and things for the next day. I chatted with the race organizer for a few minutes. He warned me that the race course was tough and, after hearing I was from the flatlands around Karlsruhe, asked me if I had trained on any hills. I ensured him I had and seemed relieved. He went on to say that one of the reasons the race is popular is that it is so challenging.

We stopped at an Italian restaurant that we noticed on the way back to the hotel so I could get my pasta fix. The food turned out to be really good and at a reasonable price.

When we arrived back at the hotel we discovered the first major flaw with the hotel – no heat, they had it turned off for the summer – and this with 12C/54F outside! There was a portable electric heater in the bathroom, I rolled this out into the main room and plugged it in. After an hour or so we were comfortable.

I guess I dozed off around 10 p.m. and slept fairly soundly until 6 a.m. As I got up to take a shower I discovered the second major flaw with the hotel – no hot water! I took a very quick cold shower, my wife declined, and we went down to breakfast. We complained about the heat and hot water and the owner said they have been having trouble with the hot water all week and she would see to it that it was fixed that day.

After breakfast I stepped outside to see check the weather status. It was 6C/43F and raining. We returned to the room and I decided on my outfit for the run, long running pants, short-sleeve running shirt, rain jacket and baseball hat. I also stuffed a long-sleeve running shirt in the larger pouch of my running belt along with a bottle of water and a handful of sport bars.

The Run

We arrived at the start about 30 minutes before the race and I collected my race card. There were no start numbers, just a card with our name and address on it and room for the five stamps that we had to collect at the control stations along the way. We also received a small plastic bag (Ziploc) for the card to keep it dry (very necessary). I mingled with a few of the runners, recognizing a few from an Ultramarathon Webpage that I frequent. My wife busied herself taking some pictures and getting a cup of coffee.

About five minutes before the start of the race I said goodbye to my wife and headed out to the parking lot to warm up for a couple minutes. Shortly before 8 a.m. the race director called everyone (around 70-80 people) over to the start line, went over a few notes about getting the stamps and how the trail was marked. He then asked if everyone was ready and hearing no negative comments, said “Okay, have a good run!” and we were off.

The first 2 minutes of the run went uphill along the edge of town, then quickly turned left and snaked down a very muddy and slippery downhill trail. We were reduced to running single file and for many of the runners it was a time to catch up with the news from old acquaintances. The atmosphere was festive and no one really seemed to mind that it was raining and cold.

I was following a group of four that seemed to know each other pretty well. The scenery was absolutely fabulous. We descended into a narrow valley with a small stream running down the middle. The trail crossed the stream over a small wooden bridge and wound downwards through a forest that was thick enough to keep most of the rain off of us. The trail was super saturated with water and was wet with boot-sucking mud.

Based on the kilometer markings I averaged about 6:00/K (9:39/M) for the first 4 kilometers, but a couple people said that the markings were usually not accurate. I decided to stop worrying about it anyway because once I start the hill climbs it will no longer be relevant anyway.

I didn’t have to wait too long for the first hill, it showed up around the 4.5K (3M) point. This first hill climb was the longest climb of the event. Three kilometers (2M) later we arrived at the top and the first control point. This came up rather unexpectedly as I had anticipated having to walk part of the hill and I was still running! The hill was long, but ended up being a very gradual upgrade, I ran almost effortlessly up the entire hill!

I received my running card stamp at the control point and decided to take a 3 minute walk break and eat a sports bar. The small group I was following kept running. After a few minutes I picked up the pace again just as the route crossed over a highway. From here the trail changed from mud to asphalt, then a gravel-covered logging road. I caught up with two runners, when one stopped to relieve himself behind a tree. They were from Duisburg, a town several hours to the north and this was also their first ultra. We stuck together for the next hour or so chatting as we went.

Around the 13K/8M point we started up a short, but steep incline which left us walking for several minutes, it really took our breath away. Our efforts were rewarded with a beautiful view of the forest-covered valley below as we rounded the top. The two quickly picked up the pace as we headed down into the valley and I decided to stay with them for as long as I could.

The second control point (15K/9M) lay at the bottom of the valley. We stopped briefly to fill up our water bottles and to drink some isotonic drink, the we started up the other side of the valley. The other two seemed to have received an energy rush and were keeping quite a pace going up the hill, so I start having second thoughts about staying with them. But the hill was short so I hung with them a while longer as we cross another flat stretch of forest.

Around the 18K/11M point we again started up a significant hill climb, the two younger men were not giving me any slack. As we started down the other side I finally told them that I needed to slow the pace down and they should continue on without me. I took a short walk break and ate another sports bar, then continued on at my pace.

The trail left the forest at around the 23K/14M point and snaked through a small town, exiting onto a farmers tractor path through the fields on the other side. After a few minutes the trail turned to asphalt and wound through a slightly larger town. I remember this part well as the drizzling rain turned into a drenching downpour which lasted at least 5 minutes.

As I exited the town and once again made my way over a tractor path the trail suddenly abandoned this and headed over a grass covered field. Luckily most of the grass was trampled down by those who ran before me, but by the time I made it over this almost 1 kilometer rolling hill stretch of field my feet were soaking wet. The last stretch of field went downhill then cut right onto another tractor path which wound up another uphill section. Due to the recent pouring rain this path looked more like a creek bed at the time. After slipping and sliding up portion of this I finally gave up and walked the rest. I wasn’t alone, several other runner’s were doing the same.

As I was heading up this uphill section I passed the 25K marker, the halfway point - I believe my time was around 2:42:00. So what goes up must come down and after a short time was I was on the run again. Just past the bottom of this hill was the third control point (28.5K/18M). I stopped here and ate a banana, being sure to refill my water bottle. I was still feeling pretty good at this point, but I was a little worried because my feet were soaked. I could feel a blister forming on one of my toes.

Right after the control point was a small uphill section, so I took a walk break for a couple minutes and walked up the hill. Then it was a quick downhill, then up another short hill section, which I ran, then finally down into another valley. I remember crossing a small bridge then running a few minutes until I came to the second tea station, where they were offering only drinks. They warned me that the steepest hill was just around the corner.

I took a walk break so I could eat a sports bar and sure enough, right around the corner was heartbreak ridge. The little sliver of a trail rose approx. 125 meters in 4-500 meters distance. This hill was after my soul and will to live and almost beat me. I mean the thought of running any portion of this didn’t enter my mind, and walking it proved to require a tremendous amount of effort.

My legs and lungs were screaming as I finally crawled over the top. But what really scared me, was when I tried to start running again and my calves cramped up. I had to try to run 3 or 4 times before I could finally get moving again. The trail went up and down a couple asphalt covered bike trails at this point and every time we went down I was rewarded with spasms of pain behind my knees.

It finally got a little better when I started heading uphill again and decided to walk it. After a few minutes the pain seemed to go away. As I headed down the next downhill at least I wasn’t gritting my teeth. So the fourth control point was around the 38K/24M marker. I stopped and ate another banana and tried to stretch a little – this turned out to be a painful ordeal. I think I was scaring the people at the control station with my grunts and groans so I decided to keep moving.

The trail started heading downhill, first gradually winding down a hill side, then all of sudden down a steep asphalt-covered road following a creek bed. Give me an uphill climb anytime, this downhill portion was a nightmare. The road continued downwards for almost 2K/1.2M. By the time I reached the bottom the asphalt had beat my legs to a pulp, my knees were shot. I was in pain!

At the bottom of the hill the trail turned and headed up the second longest hill climb of the run, an almost 4K/2.5M, long, 200 meter gain, gravel and mud-covered trail. The back of my knees were throbbing, I could only run small stretches as I hobbled up the hill. At the top of the hill was the last control point, I made sure to get my last stamp, then drank a coke. I again tried to stretch, but figured I should keep going. For the first time since the half-way point I glanced at my watch, 5:48:00, with 5K to go. No way was I going to break 6 hours, and I was worried if I could get in under 6½ !

So with new determination I did my best to keep running. I ran for maybe 3-4 minutes, then walked a minute, continuing this pattern until the 47K/29M marker. It was just past here that I totally wiped out on a tree branch that was on the path as I was heading downhill. My feet literally flew out from under me and I slid about 15 feet downhill on my side.

Gingerly getting to my feet I did a quick damage assessment and figured out that the only thing that I hurt was my pride. I ended up being covered shoulder to toe with mud on the one side of me, so spent a minute trying to remove the worst of it. This was the only time on that day that I was thankful that it was raining, as it aided in getting most of the mud off.

Of course several runners were coming down the hill behind me and witnessed the whole thing. They were kind enough, between their chuckling, to ask if I was okay. In any case I made it a point to quickly get back to running. I actually ran the next 10 minutes without stopping, probably hoping to leave any snickering runners behind me. With less than 2K to go I took a short walk break as the trail again headed up a small (and very slippery) hill.

As I came down the other side I saw the first signs of the town of Rengsdorf, and shortly after passed the 49K marker – 1K to go. My legs were rubbery as I slowly ran the last kilometer, I had hoped for a stronger finish, but by this time was just plain happy to have the run over with.

No one was around as I crossed the finish line. I walked for a couple minutes, then hobbled over to the swimming pool building to turn in my running card. Of course this entailed walking down two flights of stairs which my legs were totally thrilled with. Right away I saw the twosome from Duisburg, they had arrived 45 minutes ahead of me, young studs! After congratulatory handshakes and best wishes I made my way over to present my running card and get my finisher certificate and medal.

The hot water in the hotel was still not working so my wife brought my gym bag and showered at the swimming pool. It was better this way anyway as I had dragged half the mud from the forest back with me. We sat and enjoyed some hot soup, a beer or two and some the company of other runners until the cold air got the best of us (the swimming pool was outside, the table under a roof, but not heated).

Race Summary

The 50K run took place in one of the most beautiful areas that I have ever had the privilege to run. The Westerwald National Forest is incredible, the winding paths, trails and roadways. The thick forests, streams, and surroundings breathtaking. The organizers of the Westerwald 50K run in Rengsdorf pride themselves in offering a challenging run in one of the more beautiful areas of Germany. I certainly can’t argue with either one of these points.

The run was tough, as I knew it would be. As usual I went out harder then I planned on, but this time I just kept going, walking when I felt the need to, but always progressing forward. There really was no point in time where I thought that I couldn’t finish, I had faith in myself and my training and knew that I would finish even if I had to walk in. The real fight was to keep running when my legs wanted to walk – I think this is the area where I need more training or more experience.

Conclusion

After another evening with no heat in the hotel room and another cold shower this morning we decided to come home early. The hotel manager noted our discomfort and gave us a 20% discount and an excellent breakfast. As we drove away it was still raining...

50K = Mission Accomplished

2006-05-26T11:56:00.000+02:00

We just got home a few minutes ago, so I'll just give you a few quick facts. It rained, it rained, and rained some more. It was 8C/45F, cold, windy, and did I say it rained. The trails were slick with mud, the hills steeper than I had imagined, some of the downhills downright brutal and merciless. I came, I fought - the trail and the weather beat me to a pulp, but in the end I conquered - 6:23:11! I'll try to get the full report finished today!

I was just thinking...

2006-05-24T11:52:00.000+02:00

...about how much I hate the last 24 hours before a big race. It’s kinda like the last half-hour before the start, but stretched out for a longer time. You know you have done everything possible to get ready, you just waiting around, twiddling your fingers, waiting for someone to say “Okay you can run now!”. There is a little nervousness involved, but actually it more impatience than anything. It’s a little bit like when I fly home to my parents in New York. I rush to the airport to get checked in, clear customs and then – wait and wait, can’t we just get on the plane and go!

And I’m always hyped up before a race too. I mean normally I train so much that I’m pretty much reined in with fatigue to some degree or another. But after a couple weeks of tapering my race glands are flowing and I have zillions of race ideas flowing through my head.

I try to avoid online race listings during this time – I never know when I will sign up for a marathon, ultra, or worse during this spastic time. I was one click away from submitting my application for an 80K Ultra last night – the one on June 24th. The only thing that stopped me was the thought of my wife’s reaction – “What, you haven’t even lived through your 50K yet!”.

I can imagine that my wife kinda hopes that I will end up crawling over the finish line tomorrow with my last breath, collapsing onto the nearest stretcher – because she has pretty much figured out that if I arrive with too much energy that I will no longer be satisfied with “just” 50K.

My wife knows me, oh how she knows me! In any case I will have a good 6-7 hours tomorrow to think about how I can talk her into supporting an 80K (50 mile) race adventure. Or maybe those hills will kick my butt and leave me whining and licking my wounds, stay-tuned...

p.s. Blogger is messing around with me again, first I couldn't post this, then it posted twice - blah!

Ready to Run!

2006-05-24T07:48:00.000+02:00

Two things, before I get started.

1) Thank you everyone for your well wishes and encouragement, it truly means the world to me!!!
2) Tomorrow is Father's Day in Germany and I want to dedicate my run tomorrow to my dad who just turned 85 a few days ago. You're still my hero dad!

So all my bags are packed, I'm ready to go, I'm standin' here outside your door, I hate to wake you up to say goodbye – and although I’m not leaving on a jet plane, I am anxiously waiting for work to end so that I can pick up my wife and we can drive to Rengsdorf, a small town on the border of Rhineland-Pfalz and Hessen near Koblenz. The trip will probably take around 2½ hours if we don’t end up stuck in any long traffic jams (normal in Germany).

I am hoping to arrive in Rengsdorf early enough to scope out the town a little bit. It looks like a fairly small town, so I think this won’t take too long. In any case the race start is supposed to be about a 10 minute walk from the hotel.

Last night I took a 35 minute run around the outskirts of our town to loosen up a little – I am a bit stiff from so much tapering. For the second night in a row I had a deep 7½ sleep, so feel rested and ready to tackle my first 50K.

The race starts at 8 a.m. (2 a.m. in NY) tomorrow (Ascension Day and also Father’s Day in Germany). The 50K race is pretty low key, the term “race” is used rather loosely as this is more of a “fun run” then a competitive event. The very nature of the terrain suggests endurance rather than speed. Many of the participants (74 are signed up so far) use this event as a final training run for the Biel 100K Ultra in June.

There is a mass start - I can picture someone just saying “Okay, you can run now!”, and at the finish line you have to write down your own time on your card when you finish. There are 5 checkpoints where you have to stop and get start card stamped, pretty low tech.

I plan on running very conservatively, my only goal being to reach the finish on my feet. From various race reports that I have read, walking breaks are the norm – several of the uphill climbs are so steep (and long) that only the elite even try to keep running. I have trained with walk breaks in mind, so know I can keep running after walking. I would like to finish as close to 6 hours as possible, but I think this is an event where I need to listen to my body more than look at my watch.

In any case we are coming back on Friday night so I will at least try to let you know how I did by then. Catch you on the flip side!

Packing for Race Day

2006-05-22T18:22:00.000+02:00

The race on Thursday is far enough from our house to where we will be staying overnight the night before, so I packed my running bag with everything (anything) that I could possibly need. As the weather people can’t seem to meet an agreement as to whether it is going to be hot, cold, wet, dry, windy or whatever I got them all covered! Long-sleeve, short-sleeve, shorts, long pants, rain jacket, hat, gloves, I got half my wardrobe packed. Running shoes? Two pairs ready to go! Water, sports drink, sports bars, snacks, sugar, salt – I got it covered – glad we have a station wagon to carry it all. Now if I can only remember to put my bag in the car on Wednesday afternoon ;-)

My wife has night school tonight so I cooked up a pile of spaghetti for tomorrow night and Wednesday afternoon (and probably enough for the rest of the week too). Pasta is covered, there’s hamburger in the spaghetti sauce, salad in the fridge, fruit everywhere you look – pre-race food is covered. Check!

I checked the car out yesterday, fluids are good, I only need to stop and top off the tank tomorrow night. I have the route to Rengsdorf all mapped out, 220 kilometers, roughly a 2-3 hour drive depending on traffic. The hotel is booked, I have a map of the town, the race Start is a 10-minute walk from the hotel. Check!

So tomorrow when I come home from work I want to take a 20 minute jog, then finish packing. We hope that we can leave work a little early on Wednesday so we can avoid rush hour. Thursday is a holiday in Germany (Ascension Day) so a lot of people are taking a long weekend = oodles of traffic!

Tick, tick, tick...

2006-05-22T12:30:00.000+02:00

...tick, tick, tick,...goes the countdown clock in my head. I remember counting down to my first marathon - it about drove me mad. I have been trying not to think about my 50K race on Thursday, but tick, tick, tick...

It really is not a question of being nervous about finishing, I am ready - I just finished a marathon on April 30th with energy to spare, I’ve had lots of good training runs since then, I’ve tapered like a good boy, I’ve been watching my eating, have been sleeping good the last couple nights and have nothing to prove on race day – I only need to finish. As long as I keep a cool head and don’t run into any trees I’ll be fine.

So what’s the problem? I asked myself this as I rode the train and streetcar to work this morning. I have come to the conclusion that I am greedy, I am attempting to hoard as many races as I can. I look at a race schedule and drool like a kid in a candy store.

I’ve reached the point in my running where I can run a 10K, HM or maybe even a marathon on a whim. Granted we are not talking PR’ing here, but it is still a tremendous feeling. But on the other side, it is also frustrating because I know my eyes are bigger than my stomach, or to put it in a running perspective, my body could never keep up with all the race ideas that are flowing through my head, especially during my tapering.

I mean I almost let myself get talked into running an 8.2K (5M) race on this Saturday (yeah, like he really twisting my arm), barely two days after my 50K race. And then there’s the HM on June 5th, and another one on June 18th. And let’s not forget all the 10K races in June. I was even looking over the race route for the 80K/50M Fidelitas Night Run on June 24th and drooling all over my desk..if only my wife new of the extent of my running disorder :-O

Mannheim Marathon Cancelled!

2006-05-22T08:18:00.000+02:00

A friend of my mine was going to run the Mannheim Team marathon on Saturday. He was among the over 8000 runners who lined up at the start line in the wind and the rain. As the wind speed increased, race officials delayed the race an hour, then cancelled it completely. Sections of the marathon route were scattered with trees and branches and the wind speed on the bridges had reached hurricane levels. The safety of the runners could no longer be guaranteed so the event was cancelled.

Having run this marathon last year, I can verify that high winds would have been brutal, there are lots of open roads and bridges. But can you imagine training for so long and then having the rug pulled out from under you as you line up for the start of the event!

My friend said that the runner’s were very unhappy about the decision, the majority angrily whistling and shouting when the announcement was made. What really added salt to the wounds was that the stormed cleared soon afterward and the sun came out.

This morning a local Mannheim newspaper reported that a local 10K race held in a neighboring town was overwhelmed on Sunday by frustrated marathoners looking to “run any race around”.

Have a nice week!

Bike a little, run a little.

2006-05-21T15:32:00.000+02:00

After lunch today it was a cool, very windy, but sunny 19C/66F. My wife was working on her homework for her Business English class, so I decided to take a bicycle ride. I rode on the asphalt bike trails separating some of the neighboring town, then came back along my running route, riding around 20K/12M. My wife was still studying, so I decided to get my run over with. I headed out over my normal running route, turning back after around 4K. I finished the 8.4K/5.2M round with an average pace of 5:40/K (9:07/M), a nice relaxed pace.

In any case my 50K race is coming up on Thursday morning (a holiday in Germany – Ascension Day). Tuesday I want to take a 20 minute jog, but otherwise I will be chilling out the best I can until the race. I am really looking forward to the race, am slightly nervous, but I know if I concentrate on going out slow and take it easy on the uphill sections I will be fine. I’m not really interested in setting any records, I just want to take it easy and finish. Early weather reports are calling for a mild 21C/70F and partly cloudy, which would be just about right.

We’ll see what happens. Have a great week!

A Hilly 11-12K Run

2006-05-20T09:56:00.000+02:00

In preparation for my 50K race next Thursday (25th) I decided to do my Saturday morning run last night. When I arrived home from work at 4 p.m. last night it was 20C/68F and the sky was turning black, I thought for sure a thunderstorm would soon be upon us. I quickly changed and drove to Weingarten, two town’s southeast of us, where I would run my hilly route. My goal was one loop, which normally takes 1:16:00, or around 11-12K (7M).

As I warmed up the sky started to clear and the sun came out, no rain. As I started running the clouds pretty much dissipated, leaving a clear blue sky, cool temperatures, and sunshine. After a 5 minute warm-up on a relatively flat dirt road, I turned and headed up the mountain. I felt fresh and strong, fly up the twisting road and gravel paths like a mountain goat. I flew over the top of the mountain, feeling powerful and energized - when I think back to the first time I ran this route in the Spring, the huffing, puffing and gasping – I’ve come a long way!

I continued my loop, over the rolling hills, down the mountain and up the second major climb – again tackling this with relative ease. From here it was another mile or two of rolling hills, then downhill all the way. The last mile was a gentle downhill stretch, approx. a mile long, I remembered my promise to Rae and flew down this joyful, dirt-covered stretch for Brent – Happy Birthday man!

I finished the loop 9 minutes faster than normal, partly because I didn’t take the two 3-minute walk breaks that I normally do, and mostly because I was just hyped and full of energy.

On Sunday I want to run a 8K/5M loop and Tuesday a gentle 20 minute jog around the fields. We are driving to Rengsdorf, just above Koblenz, where the race is held after work on Wednesday. Thursday is Ascension Day in Germany, a holiday. We are also taking a vacation day on Friday and staying an extra night.

Have a great weekend!

Random Bloggering from a Tapering Madman

2006-05-19T07:34:00.000+02:00

Last night was a rest night and I did…absolutely nothing, I sat in my home office and caught up on my genealogy e-mails, budget etc. My wife sat at her desk and updated her resume and filled out a job application for a new job she is trying to get (wish her luck). My major physical activity for the night was mounting a new water bottle holder on my bicycle.

Random Bloggerings

- I admit that I get amused easily, or perhaps it is taper madness, but I thought the following film “Evolution of Dance” by Judson Laipply was hilarious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ekottke%2Eorg

- I want to run the Karlsruhe Fidelitas Night Run 80K/50M Ultra next June!

- I wouldn’t mind running the above 80K/50M Ultra THIS June (24th), but don’t know if I want to do this to myself yet!

- I have been thoroughly enjoying the blogs and website from Jason Grose (codename Viper) over the last couple months. The blog contains “The daily thoughts/rants of a Marine Officer, father, scholar, husband, marathon runner, Flash cartoonist, computer nerd.”

I highly recommend his running blog where you will find great reports on his marathon and ultramarathon races. While Jason is not an "Elite" runner, he is an awesome runner - his race reports totally leave me enticed to do what he has done. Jason is also an extremely talented writer that I hope will one day sit down and write a book about his adventures.

- So I want to do a few more runs before my race next Thursday. Tonight (Friday) I am going to drive to Weingarten and run a lap on my hilly route, which will take about 1:15:00. Sunday I want to run another 5 miles and on Tuesday about 5 kilometers. I will probably squeeze in an hour at the pool on one of the non-running days. Wednesday after work we are heading out to Rengsdorf where the race will be held, about a 3-hour drive.

Have a nice weekend!

50K Race Prediction

2006-05-18T08:12:00.000+02:00

Last night was a sunny, humid 26C/79F as I headed out for a repeat of the 8.4K/5.2M loop that I did on Monday. My legs were a little stiff from the bike/swim brick that I did on Tuesday night, so I kept the pace down some, averaging 5:42/K (9:10/M). The run ended way too soon, or seemingly. Normally I run at least 14K/8.7M on Wednesdays, so the run last night was short for me. I was also thinking a lot about my upcoming 50K race next Thursday (a holiday - Day of Ascension), so was running spaced out most of the time.

A couple nights ago I sat down with the elevation plan for the 50K race to try to estimate where and when I need to take walk breaks. I figure I will probably need to walk some of the tougher hill climbs, so charted approximately where the walk breaks would probably begin and end. Assuming a worst case scenario where I would need to walk up ALL the major hills, here is the list of the parts I would need to run and walk:

KM 0 to 4.5 – Run
KM 4.5 to 8.0 – Walk
KM 8.0 to 12.5 – Run
KM 12.5 to 13.5 – Walk
KM 13.5 to 15.5 – Run
KM 15.5 to 16.5 – Walk
KM 16.5 to 17.5 – Run
KM 17.5 to 19.0 – Walk
KM 19.0 to 22.0 – Run
KM 22.0 to 23.5 – Walk
KM 23.5 to 25.5 – Run
KM 25.5 to 26.5 – Walk
KM 26.5 to 33.0 – Run
KM 33.0 to 33.5 – Walk
KM 33.5 to 41.5 – Run
KM 41.5 to 44.0 – Walk
KM 44.0 to 47.0 – Run
KM 47.0 to 47.5 – Walk
KM 47.5 to 50.0 – Run

This works out to running 37K (23M) and walking 13K (8M). If I can maintain an average running pace of 6:30/K (10:28/M) and an averaging walking pace of 10:30/K (16:54/M) than this would mean I would need 4:00:30 + 2:16:30 or 6 hours and 17 minutes to complete my 50K. How’s that for some geek predictions, huh!

Here’s the elevation chart that I used. The numbers on the bottom are kilometers, the height on the left in meters. The “V” numbers are the aid stations, the “T” numbers are tea stations, e.g. just something to drink.

Bike/Swim/Bike

2006-05-17T07:37:00.000+02:00

When I got home from work at 4 p.m. last night it was a humid 24C/75F and the storm clouds were brewing. I sat around for a nanosecond trying to decide if I wanted to go to the swimming pool. My wife needed the car for a doctor’s appointment (checkup), so decided to take my bike to the next town, Blankenloch, and use their smaller 25-meter pool. This is only a 7K bike ride as opposed to 14K/8.7M to the larger (50-meter) pool in Karlsruhe. In any case I had to ride along several fields, fighting a stiff wind most the way to the pool – good training. I did a quick 800 meters, 500 freestyle, 300 breaststroke – then changed quickly and headed home. The way back was much faster as I was flying with the wind, I made it back to my house just as the first drops of rain began to fall. It was a very satisfying night of cross-training.

My tapering so far has left me feeling very positive and energetic. The only side effect is that I have been having trouble falling asleep the last couple nights. During normal training weeks I am worn out enough that I usually fall asleep instantly. I hope that my sleep pattern returns to normal soon, especially at the beginning of next week. Happy training!

No Taper Madness, but lots on my mind...

2006-05-16T10:16:00.000+02:00

I am fairly relaxed about my first 50K next week (May 25th). I know it will be probably be the most challenging run that I have ever faced due to the hill climbs. It will also be the longest run that I have tried to date. But this is my first 50K, so I am just going to put one foot in front of the other and see how it goes.

I have lot’s of race ideas for the rest of the year, ranging from mild to madness. Here is a sampling:

1) July HM, September M, October HM, December HM, January (2007) 50K

2) July M, September M, October M, December HM, January (2007) 50K

3) June HM, June 50K (not timed), July M, September M, October M, December HM, January (2007) 50K

4) June 80K, July M, September M, October M, December HM, January (2007) 50K

I’m already signed up for the September 10th Rhineland-Pfaltz Forest Marathon.

The June 50K is a wandering (or volksmarch), e.g. it is not timed and probably would not count as an ultra in most people’s books. In my opinion 50K is 50K, especially when there are no (or minimum?) service points and you have to carry everything with you.

The June 80K race is the Karlsruhe Fidelitas Night Run, an official ultra with a 16 hour cut-off. My hilly running route actually follows part of this course, it is not an easy course compared to most in our area. There is no way that I can be properly trained by June for this race. However, this does not mean that I will eliminate it from my list. If my wife is supportive I may just go for the guts and the glory. But first we’ll see how the 50K goes.

There are several 65K ultras around that I could try, including a Night Run that I talked about in the last week. Most of them have 9 hour cut-offs which at my current speed and endurance level is really pushing it. I think I need to build up a year before I seriously consider these.

My instinct is that I will probably run into a time problem and will end up going with option 1 or 2 above.

Other things on my list for the summer:

- Get back on my diet: current weight 74kg/163lbs. – goal weight about 68kg/150lbs.
- Work on upper body fitness (e.g. weight training).
- Continue to learn the freestyle (2007 Tri?).
- Continue to build endurance.

So what's on your list for the rest of the year?

My New Asics GT2110

2006-05-15T18:53:00.000+02:00

I forgot to mention how my new Asics GT2110 fared on their first run. I only ran around 8K/5M, about 2/3 of my normal run, but they felt comfortable from the start, just as new running shoes should feel. Of course the true test will be when I take them out on a longer run - but this will happen first after my 50K race.

I also tried out a shorter pair of running short like those I see so many runners wearing at races. I usually stick to longer running shorts, typically spandex-type material because I've never had chaffing problems with these. But I recently bought a couple new pairs of sythetic material short shorts to see if chaffing would be an issue. Despite the shorter run my legs were already starting to chaff - not good. I'll try them again on another run together with Body Glide, if the chaffing problem continues they go in summer clothes closet - which will be too bad as they are really comfortable otherwise.

A Faster, Shorter Tempo Run

2006-05-15T18:45:00.000+02:00

Tonight was warm, overcast and a humid 27C/81F as I headed out the door for a tempo run. I was wearing my new black Asics GT2110 running shoes and new short running shorts to test.

I quickly picked up the pace my first 4 kilometer splits approx. as follows:

KM 1 = 5:30/K (8:51/M)
KM 2 = 5:00/K (8:03/M)
KM 3 = 4:50/K (7:47/M)
KM 4 = 4:45/K (7:39/M)

After kilometer 4 I turned off my regular path so was no longer sure of the kilometer markings. I also slowed down a little as my side was starting to hurt.

I rejoined my normal running trail for the last 3 kilometers

Last KM – 2 = 5:15/K (8:27/M)
Last KM – 1 = 5:00/K (8:03/M) – my side felt better so I picked up the pace again.
Last KM = 5:00/K (8:03/M)

I estimate that I ran a total of about 8.4K (5.2M), give or take a few hundred meters. In any case, a tempo run at almost 10K race pace.

I had Matt over at igotblistersonmyblisters ask me if I do any weight training as part of my cross-training. When I’m not tapering I try to do this at least twice a week, yes. It is not my favorite thing to do, so I am not as regular as I should be. I work primarily with free weights (low weight, more rep’s) and do lots of push-ups, crunches, sit-ups, and such. The main reason I use free weights is because the fitness studio fees are more than I can justify paying at the present time, not because I necessarily prefer them.

Oh The Lazy Days of Tapering

2006-05-15T07:04:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I took another rest day, part of my tapering plan. My wife and I went to a friend’s steam locomotive club for lunch. The club has a scaled-down steam locomotive and train, complete with tracks etc. Once a month during the warmer months they have a ride day where they offer rides to kids (of all ages) for a small fee. The weather was good, the food okay, and the time with our friends fabulous.

My tapering is in full swing, I feel fat and lazy, pigging out yesterday didn’t help. With my race 10 days away I have to slow down with my running (and my eating). Tonight and Wednesday I want to do a 45 minute run. On Saturday I will probably do one loop on my hilly training route (1 hour 15 minutes). I guess next Tuesday will be my last run before the race on Thursday – I’ll probably run for 30-45 minutes. I will also mix in some swimming and maybe some lower mileage bike riding so the joints don’t get rusty.

Have a nice week and happy running!

A 2 1/2 Hour Hilly Run

2006-05-13T14:16:00.000+02:00

This morning I went for a medium long run, about 2½ hours, or two loops of my hilly route in the neighboring town of Weingarten. I tried to take it a little easier today with my 50K race coming up on May 25th.

The temperature was 14C/57F as I started out, rising to 19C/67F by the time I drove home. It rained through the night and humidity was super high, I was drenched with sweat in a short time. Luckily I had filled my CamelBak so had plenty to drink with me. I really felt the high humidity on the uphill climbs, sweat was dripping like a waterfall along these stretches, whew.

While running I felt that I am not totally recovered from my marathon, long run, and fast race last Saturday. I’m going to cut my running down some more over the next 12 days before the 50K to ensure that I am in good shape for the race.

I was surfing the internet last night looking over races coming up the next few months. There are so many possibilities at almost any distance. I am wondering how much I should be pushing. I have been training pretty hard the whole winter and up to now. I am wondering if I should slow down and just train for my marathon in September, or keep the rhythm going and look for another marathon or ultra this year. I think things will be a little clearer after my 50K.

A Running Shoe Shopping Tale

2006-05-12T07:05:00.000+02:00

So 13 days to go until my first 50K, I am pretty excited about it. With my marathon a week and a half ago I was pretty cool about the whole thing, I knew I would complete it without any major problems. I am slightly nervous about the 50K, but mostly I think this is a result of tapering and the associated “losing my mindness” that accompanies this.

With having run almost 1200 kilometers (745 miles) so far this year another pair of running shoes (Adidas) hit the trash can this week with almost 900K/560M on them. My wife suggested meeting her in Karlsruhe (the city near us) after work and going to Runner’s Point to pick up a new pair. Being Taper Mad I didn’t argue with her, so took the street car from work to her work in Karlsruhe and we made our way over to the store (almost across the street from her work).

I was hoping to find another pair of Asics GT2100, but all they had was the new model GT2110. Despite the sales person telling me that they were almost the same, I remained skeptical and decided to look around some more. I checked out two other sports shops in Karlsruhe with the same results. My wife remembered that we saw a pair of GT2100 at a shoe store in Stutensee-Blankenloch, the town just south of us, so we decided to stop there on the way home.

Well I did indeed find one of the last pair of GT2100’s on the planet (seemingly), and at a lower price than in Karlsruhe! While talking to the sales person at the shoe store I found out she is an avid runner and Nordic walker. She was also wearing a pair of GT2100’s! I decided to ask her about the difference between the GT2100 and the new GT2110. She mentioned that the middle sole has changed somewhat, now offering a little more support than the previous model. She had me try on a pair and I really could feel no difference between the GT2100 and the GT2110.

So I’m sitting there trying to decide which one to buy and my dear, sweet wife spoke words of love “Why don’t you just get both, you’ll wear one pair out in a couple months anyway!” So I have my third pair of Asics GT2100’s on the shelf and a pair of black GT2110’s – I mean who am I to argue ;-)

Diet Status

2006-05-11T10:05:00.000+02:00

I haven’t talked about my diet in a long time – not because I’ve been off it and have sprouted into glutton-Jack the ravish of every fast food joint in town, but rather because I am stuck on my marathon training plateau. The last few months I have hovered around 74kg/163lbs. with very little movement in either direction. On the positive side this means I have succeeded in fuelling a marathon and 50K training regime without ballooning out of proportion, but on the other side I am still 13 pounds shy of my final weight loss goal.

So after my 50K race in two weeks it’s back to losing weight before my next marathon training kicks in (sigh).

In any case I think overall I am eating much healthier than I ever have in my life. Most of the time I resist inhaling junk, high-fat, high-sugar, worthless (but good tasting) foods, alchoholic beverages or other assorted poisons. I do occasionally have some cake to keep from going through withdrawl, but either lighten up on stuffing myself with other high calorie foods or run some extra miles on these dark days to balance out things. So far so good, I'm only afraid to stop running because I know I'll end up balooning into the Pillsbury doughboy in a matter of hours.

First 50K = Two Weeks and Counting

2006-05-11T06:51:00.000+02:00

After work yesterday it was a pleasant 21C/70F as I headed out over my 14K/8.7M flatland loop. My legs are still not totally recovered from all the running from last week, so I tried to keep the pace conservative. I ended up with an average pace of 5:40/K (9:07/M).

During the run last night my body let me know that it needs more time to recover from the roughly 104K/65M that I fed it last week. Looking back I should have stayed home on Sunday and put my feet up, rather than cycling and swimming.

In any case I am taking tonight and tomorrow night off from any training. Saturday morning I want to do a shorter long run, maybe 2-2½ hours, I’ll know better when I get out there.

Two weeks and roughly an hour from now is my 50K race. I use the term race loosely as most of the race reports that I have read about the event indicate it is really non-competitive, more of a family get-together of ultra freaks in Germany. Sounds like a challenging (due to the hill climbs), friendly, and low stress entry into the ultra running world. I feel kind of nervous, like with my first marathon. But my marathon a week ago was good proof that my training has been quite effective, I just need to trust my body to carry me through and not freak out when Terrible Tapering Tommy starts whispering doubt in my ear. Happy running!

Running Fever (or Taper Madness?)

2006-05-10T14:15:00.000+02:00

I was doing good this week, calm, cool, concentrated...until my coworker asked me today whether our company would sponsor a team for the Baden half-marathon in September. Our company already said they would only sponsor the Baden Mile and one 10K run in October – anything else we had to take care of ourselves. But this conversation erupted into a lengthy discussion on training, running, etc., in other words, all concentration was lost for the rest of the morning.

So than it was back to the grind after lunch - I was deep in the middle of copying some corrections to a Spanish version of a manual into my desktop publishing program (I don't understand much Spanish), when boom the next question came. This time another coworker asked me if I was interested in running a 65K/41M night run in July, from Baiersbronn to Baden-Baden in the Black Forest.

Of course my reflex was "Yeah, where, when, what?"

An hour later we figured out it is a fundraising run on July 7th limited to 50 people. Participants start at 10 p.m. on a Friday night and run through the night as a group, averaging about an 8:30/K (13:40/M) pace. It is slated as a beginning ultra-friendly fun run, the pace will depend on the slowest participant. The group is invited to a breakfast buffet at the finish line.

Hmmm, is that too near my 50K? I wonder how I can talk my wife into this one?? Well, first I'll see how the 50K goes, then we'll see...

¡Así pues, de nuevo a trabajo!

Swim Night & Post-Race Plans

2006-05-10T08:42:00.000+02:00

First I would like to address a couple question that arose over the last couple days.

50K Training – I have been running my long runs on hilly terrain where the highest climb was 125 meters over about a kilometer. This is about a third of what I will face at the 50K – but it was the largest hill in my area. The rest of the training trail is very similar to the surface I will be running on at the fifty - namely dirt trails and gravel paths. I anticipated (and trained) walking up the more aggressive hills during the 50K, so I should do okay if I don’t get too ambitious during the first half.

Gardening – Yes this was a hard decision, I really love growing my own veggies. We have a space behind our house where we can sit in the sun, but it is all tiled (cobblestones). My wife does have a herb garden growing in containers and I am building a couple growing beds where I can at least plant some salad fixings. In a few years we may look around for a garden closer to home, but no hurry.

Swim Night

Last night I stopped at the pool and swam 1000 meters, 700 freestyle and 300 breast stroke. My freestyle is really at the kindergarten level, I really need a class, I expend a serious amount of energy with each lap – I really feel it in my shoulders and arms.

So in two weeks and a tomorrow is my 50K race (May 25th). I am excited and nervous about it. My only goal is to finish, which I am very confident that I can do. Due to the numerous hill climbs I am expecting that I will need 6 hours, but 7 would be okay too. The weather is up in the air at this point, in past years it has ranged from 40-80°F, so anything goes.

I am officially tapering, which for me means reducing mileage. Tonight I will probably run my 14K/8.7 mile route and on Saturday morning a two hour hill run. Next week will probably consist of an 8K, 14K and a one hour hill run. The last few days before the race I will do a short run and maybe a jog.

Post-Race Plans

I really haven’t look into the future, e.g. post-race, as far as what is next on my race agenda. I am registered for a country marathon in September, which will be very similar to the one I just completed.

A triathlon will probably not happen this year – my swimming is still too weak. I need 4 minutes per hundred meters on a good day, or around 20 minutes to complete 500 meters. The sprint tri’s in our area have a 500 meters swim. The slowest participant completed their swim in 14:35 last year, so I still have a lot of work to do before I take on a Tri. I also need to learn to ride my bike fast (and need a new bike). So, I have basically put a Tri at the bottom of the pile.

I am really tempted to do another training marathon in July in Buehlertal in the Black Forest on July 23rd. This marathon has only 2K of asphalt, the rest is forest trails, dirt roads and gravel paths. I did the half marathon at this site for the last two years, it is not a flatland run! The marathon basically goes down for 25K and back up the rest of the race (low point 675 meters, high point 890 meters).

I also will do several 10K races over the next couple months, and maybe a HM or two. The possibilities are only limited by the time that I have available.

Time to Put a Hobby on the Shelf

2006-05-09T12:37:00.000+02:00

After 11 years we have finally decided that our garden and membership in the Weingarten Garden Club no longer has a place in our schedules. So the garden is gone, passed onto a loving couple who have adopted it and hopefully will continue to feed it with love and fertilizer and keep it clean and blooming.

We both love gardening, but the garden is 11K from our house and with rising gas prices and stretched schedules something had to give. We will miss the garden and our garden friends in the club.

So as we close this chapter of our life we look forward to channelling our time and resources in our other hobbies and parts of our life. Goodbye garden (sniff), you have been such a part of our life, we're going to miss you...

Profile of my upcoming 50K race

2006-05-09T06:43:00.000+02:00

Matt asked me about the elevation for my upcoming 50K race on May 25th, so I decided to post the profile chart that I found on the race website. The "V" followed by a number are the aid stations (Verpflegung in German).

Please note the height on the left is in meters, the distance in kilometers:

A 12-13K Recovery Run

2006-05-09T06:35:00.000+02:00

After a very trying first day back to work I was primed and ready to go for a run last night. Despite a gentle pace I was still feeling all the mileage I put in last week as I made my way over the first couple kilometers. My body was stiff and my overall energy level less than normal. I kept the pace down and decided to shorten my normal 14K/8.7M run by a mile or so. With 16 days until my 50K it is time to start reducing mileage anyway. Tonight I want to stop at the pool on the way home from work and do some laps. I expect that I will be working late so I will probably have to limit the number of laps as well, but we’ll see. Have a great week!

Cross-training Pure!

2006-05-08T11:17:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was my first offical day of tapering, my plan was to kick my feet up and relax the whole day. By noon my wife, who was trying to study for her evening class, suggested that I go swimming or something rather than pace around the house all day.

So I hopped on my bicycle and rode the approx. 14K/8.7M to the swimming pool in Karlsruhe and went swimming. The pool was fairly empty so I decided to practice my freestyle. I ended up swimming 600 meters freestyle (no breaks) and 400 meters breaststroke.

So I ended up with 28K (over 17 miles) on the bike and 1000 meters swimming – better than sitting around the house and snacking!

Tonight I have a 14K/8.7M recovery run on the schedule, Wednesday a slightly faster version of the same route and Saturday around a 2-2½ hour long run.

My next race is the 50K race on May 25th.

The 17th Annual Baden Mile: Race Report

2006-05-07T11:52:00.001+02:00

I kind of dreaded the 17th annual Badischemeile (Baden Mile) yesterday morning as I woke up. I just ran a marathon 6 days ago and I had a 3 ½ hour hilly long run behind me from Friday. But I had signed up as part of the 52-person strong team from my company and, being how I am, I do not let the team down, I showed up ready to give it my best, whatever that was to be.

The race started at 3 p.m. in Karlsruhe, the nearest city about 20 minutes south of where we live. My wife wanted to do some shopping so we left early. I picked up my start number at the court house and sat outside on a park bench watching the people go by.

As I sat waiting for the race to start I was graced by running royalty in our region, Albert Olbrechts, the now 91-year old regional runner and a companion (daughter or young wife?) happened by and asked if I had room for them on the bench. Of course I did (and would have given up my seat for them), so I enjoyed talking with them for almost an hour before the start of the race. I can almost write a whole posting on this conversation – but will leave it for now.

In any case about 50 minutes before the race I unglued my butt from the bench and sought the never ending line for the toilets. Thirty minutes later I made my way over to the start (at the edge of the palace garden in the middle of the city) and joined several of my coworkers who were warming up. A few minutes before the start of the race I snaked my way through the crowd of almost 2900 runners towards the front – I knew this was a good strategy for this race, as there is always a tremendous bottleneck as the race begins. Participants wear a start number with a barcode, e.g. no chip, so to have a good run you have to get out of the crowd as soon as possible.

In any case after a couple minutes the start pistol sounded and we were off. I started really fast (for me) trying to break out of the masses of people as we wound our way through the palace gardens. It was kind of dangerous here, as there were a lot of small trees every 10 feet or so. Several people actually ran into trees as we went through, I saw one runner with blood dripping from his head (he kept running).

I completed the first kilometer with an unprecedented pace of 4:30/K (7:15/M), which left me wondering if the kilometer marker was correct – I’ve never run so fast! I was breathing heavier than normal, but my legs felt good so I kept pushing as we left the palace gardens and made our way through the city streets of Karlsruhe.

It was a rather warm day, about 27C/81F, with a blazing sun and only a slight breeze. Most of the race was not shaded and on hot asphalt or concrete streets. I was already soaked with sweat after the first 5-10 minutes.

I completed both the 2nd and 3rd kilometer with an average pace of 4:45/K (7:39/M), still faster than my best 10K pace (4:55/K). I started wondering how long I could keep this up, but decided the best thing to do is not to think about, just run! So for the most part I stopped looking at my watch after that and just concentrated on my breathing and pushing forward.

By kilometer 6 I could feel myself slowing down, we were on the home stretch, an almost 2 kilometer stretch that goes straight towards the sports stadium and the finish. So anyway, as I struggled to keep the pace going, a coworker of mine, Wolfgang passed me. Now Wolfgang has beat me by 2-3 minutes the previous years that we ran this race, and is rather boisterous about his speed. This thought ran through my mind as he passed and somehow I just couldn’t bring myself to let him do this a third time – I hit the turbo booster and passed him – and kept going not looking back until I made it over the finish line! He came in a few seconds behind me. He later complained that he had just about succeeded in passing me again as we lapped the track in the sports stadium but the last two hundred meters I broke into a spring and he couldn’t keep up. Me, a sprinter, ha!

I finished in 42:57, which in comparison to last year’s 43:44 is a new personal best. More importantly it is the fastest race that I have ever run (period) with an average pace of 4:46/K (7:41/M).

I was in 437th place out of 2889 runners. The race results are not broken down by age groups so I can’t say how I compare to other runners in my age group. I did figure out that I was the 13th fastest runner in my year of birth (1959), out of 80.

So today my legs are tired, but no real aches or pains. I look forward to kicking up my feet and relaxing today – it was a busy week in the running arena – I ran 104K/65M in the last 7 days – a new record. Have a nice Sunday!

p.s. Albert Olbrechts, the 91-year old that I talked to before the race finished in 1:16:44, 2858th out of 2889 runner's. Is that awesome or what!

The 17th Annual Baden Mile Race: Preliminary Results

2006-05-06T20:16:00.000+02:00

Despite running a marathon 6 days ago and a 3 1/2 hour training run yesterday, I still managed to shave off a roughly 45 seconds off my record for the Karlsruhe Baden Mile Race. This race is an 8.88889K (5.52M) race through the streets of Karlsruhe, the largest city near us here in Germany. A complete race report will follow tomorrow. Have a great weekend.

A 3:30:00 Long Run

2006-05-05T11:31:00.000+02:00

You know you’re a runner when you get up at 5 a.m. on your vacation to run your long run – at least that’s what I read somewhere. This is also what I did this morning, up at 5:00 and on the run by 5:50 in the neighboring town of Weingarten where my hilly route is. If you have been reading my blog you might realize that I just ran a marathon 5 days ago – so I was about as uncertain as any of you on how far I should run this morning.

I started out nice and easy on my first loop. You might recall the loop consists of a 6-7 minute warm-up on semi-flat forest paths, a 7-8 minute hill climb, 30-40 minutes of rolling hills, another 6-7 minute hill climb, more rolling hills, then finally a rapid downhill stretch back to the “start”. I usually finish a loop in around 1:15:00-1:20:00.

So anyway, the first loop went well, I felt good, just like a well-oiled machine. The second loop also went well, albeit a few minutes slower. I made it back to the “start” after about 2:36:00, not too bad of a time, and I still felt good enough to run some more. At this point I had to make a decision whether to keep going. Tomorrow is the annual 8.88889K Baden Mile race that I do with a group from my company and it is very competitive. On the other side today is probably my last long run before my 50K on May 25th, so it was important for me to get the time in.

I quickly decided that my priority was my training and headed up the hill again, the Baden Mile be damned. The third time up the mountain was hard, but I ran all the way up, no easy road for this dude. After reaching the top I had about 40 minutes left (to complete my planned 3:30:00 run) so calculated about where I needed to turn off the normal loop to make it back to the car. I arrived at the car by 3:26:00, so turned around and ran 2 minutes out and then back again to bring me over the 3:30:00 cutoff. After 5 minutes of walking and a lot of stretching I headed home, totally satisfied with my training run.

My legs are kind of sore as I write, but in a good way. Tomorrow I am going to the race and jog to the finish – my coworkers can pick on me if they want – I know what I accomplished this week :-)

So next week it’s back to work, I’m sure by Monday night I will be stressed enough to where I need to run again. Have a great weekend!

A 14K Tempo Run

2006-05-04T16:43:00.000+02:00

Yesterday afternoon we had beautiful 28C/83F weather, sunny, light breeze, blue sky – a great day for a run. My wife had an evening class last night so I suited up and was out the door about 4 p.m. My goal was to try to maintain around a 5:45/K (9:18/M) pace for my 14K/8.7M loop. The first kilometer went a lot slower than this, I was quite stiff from climbing up and down the ladder all day on Tuesday. But as I warmed up the stiffness left and I was able to pick up the pace. I completed the first 10K in 54:45, a respectable pace for me, at least considering I had just run a marathon four days before. The last couple kilometers were tough, I had to push to keep the tempo going. In any case I finished with an average pace of 5:25/K (8:42/M) for the 14K. After cooling down, stretching and eating I was good to go – I wish I had run farther.

Today I went for a 18K/11.2M bike ride in an attempt to find a new running trail. In the end I decided I already am running the best route around, so will continue using this until I find something better.

Tomorrow morning I want to get up early (e.g. 5 a.m.) and run my hilly long run – somewhere between 2-3 hours. As I am technically still recovering from my marathon I want to make sure I don’t overdo it. I am still trying to decide whether to do a two week or three week tapering before my 50K. In the latter case this will mean that tomorrow will be my last long run. It will really depend on how I feel tomorrow as I run.

Painting, Anniversary, and the Next Marathon

2006-05-03T09:07:00.000+02:00

Thank you for you comments about the marathon, it really was a beautiful run!

Yesterday my exercise consisted of climbing up and down scaffolding, lifting sandbags, scraping paint, and painting. The paint on our rain trough in front of the house was peeling badly, so it was time to scrape off the old paint and repaint it. We purchased some portable scaffolding a couple months ago for this and other projects. The sandbags add ballast so that the scaffolding doesn’t decide to send Jack flying through the air with the greatest of ease. The only disadvantage to the scaffolding is that it is only two meters wide, which means I had to move it a lot. But mission accomplished, the rain trough is painted, good for another 5-10 years (I hope).

My wife attempted to capture my latest Jack Home Improvement Adventure in the following picture:

Other News:

Today is our 18th wedding anniversary, we have been married a happy 18 years and I still look forward to seeing my better half’s sleepy face every morning :-)

I signed up for my next marathon! Yep, just can’t get enough pain. The next “M” will occur on September 10, 2006 in Pirmasens in the Rhineland-Pfalz. The 1st Annual Pfaelzerwald (Pfalz Forest) Marathon:

“Starts in the city but in a few short minutes, leaves the city streets and enters the soft paths and fresh air of the forest, eventually returning to the trade center in Pirmasens.”

So it appears like there is almost no asphalt after leaving the city – sounds good to me! According to the elevation profile of the route there are three small hill climbs, the largest a 125 meter climb starting at around the 32K point and peaking at the 40K point – so just as I hit the wall I have to climb over it too ;-) Oh, and this with potential temperatures of up to 35C/95F – yes this is my race!

Tonight my wife has an evening class, so I am going to stretch out my sore muscles (from the home improvement yesterday) by running a slow 14K/8.7M loop. Friday morning I plan on finishing off a great two weeks vacation by getting up at 5:00 a.m. and do a hilly long run. Normally, my next long run should be 3 hours and 30 minutes, but having just run a marathon I am not going to be too strict on myself – I have a 50K race in THREE weeks!

A Couple Pictures of the Marathon Start

2006-05-01T18:14:00.000+02:00

My wife took a couple pictures of the the town of Egenhausen where my marathon was on Sunday. As Blogger still does not let me post pictures (nothing happens when I press the image button), I am trying to store them on my website and provide an "img" link to them.

A 5 Mile Recovery Run

2006-05-01T13:03:00.000+02:00

After a restful 9 hour sleep I woke up this morning feeling pretty good for having run a marathon yesterday. How good? Well, before lunch I went out for a 8K/5M recovery run, at a 6:21/K (10:13/M) pace. After a couple minutes the initial stiffness past and I felt great, I could have easy run my normal 14K route. But I decided not to push my luck and quit after the 8K. I made sure I stretched really well upon my return, and now, after a hearty lunch, I feel amazingly good.

My next run will be on Wednesday, a 14K/8.7M run, again at a conservative pace. On Friday I want to attempt a long run, the exact distance to be determined when I get out there – it depends on my recovery.

So today is a holiday in Germany, plus I still have vacation the rest of the week. Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, will find me up on a scaffold scraping the old paint off my rain troughs. The paint is chipping so I need to repaint them - there is always something to do around the house.

Happy Runnning!

My 43K Training Marathon

2006-04-30T18:38:00.000+02:00

The Short Version:

Today I participated in the Northern Black Forest Marathon, finishing in 4:42:00 (the time was rounded off, it was actually a couple seconds under this). Due to some construction the marathon was extended from the traditional marathon distance to 43K/26.7M – which is about a half mile further than normal. The race consisted of two loops with about 1/3 asphalt bike trails or roads and the rest mostly gravel logging roads with a few dirt sections here and there. There were no mile (or kilometer) markers, which caused me (and many others) to go out too fast, but I was able to hang in there. Despite taking 3 minute walk breaks every 30 minutes, I still finished within 8 minutes of my best marathon time to date (and today was a half mile further). All in all a satisfying “training” run.

The Long Version

The race today was a dress rehearsal for my 50K race on May 25th. I wanted to test my run/walk strategy, which is 30 minutes running/3 minutes of fast walking for the duration of the race. With my previous marathons I always tried to run straight through, so this was a new concept for me and one that I have been training with during my long runs over the past month or two. The race was primarily a Nordic walking race, but walkers and runners were invited as well. There was no mass start, marathon participants could start between 8-10 a.m., 10K and HM participants could start between 8-11 a.m. On the back of the start number was a list of checkpoints (5K, 10K, 15K, 20K, 25K, 30K, 35K) whereas the participants had to stop at these check points and have their number signed. The start number was in a plastic envelope which could be attached to a belt or shirt. The starting time was written on the start number at the starting line when the participant wanted to start the race.

The entire course was a continuous bunch of rolling hills, with the highest elevation gain being around 100 meters (approx. 300 feet). The marathon route basically consisted of two loops. As I mention in the short version there were no mile markers, and only about half of the checkpoints (aid stations) posted the distance, so participants were pretty much on their own as far as determining speed. It was a cool and frosty 3C/37F at the start of the race, but was sunny and warmer by the time I returned.

I didn’t taper for this race, my only pre-race preparation was to reduce my 20K run to 14K last Wednesday and my 14K run to 8K on Thursday (I actually ran it Friday).

In any case we were up at 6 a.m. and on the road by 6:45. I wanted to try to start at 8 a.m., but it took longer to get to the race than I had anticipated, so I started at 8:36 a.m. The first 4K/2.5M were asphalt paths running between the neighboring fields and over gently rolling hills. I passed probably a dozen Nordic walkers on the way, I noticed write away that everyone was friendly and not in any particular hurry. I exchanged greetings with almost everyone I passed, it was an awesome environment compared to city marathons.

Just after the 4K point I turned and headed into the forest on a gravel logging path and eventually caught up and passed a few runners. At the 5K checkpoint the girl didn’t have a pen so waved us through. Shortly after the checkpoint was the highest climb for the course, but very gradually, rising a 100 meters over probably 500 meters distance – with the first loop it felt almost effortless.

So the trail continued over the rolling hills and the 10K point popped out of nowhere at a road crossing. The young man manning the checkpoint at least had a pen, but no cups – I refilled a half-liter water bottle that I was carrying with me. I was a little skeptical that the 10K checkpoint really was at 10K, based on my time I would say it was closer to 11K or 12K – but no matter. After the checkpoint began one of the most scenic portions of the run, on a dirt and gravel path that wound along a stream for about 30 minutes, ending by an old mill of some kind. This was also where the next checkpoint was, this one was marked 17K (34K for loop 2). I wish I had my camera with me, it was a really beautiful location – the mill, a small goat farm and a little waterfall – all nestled in a small river valley surrounded by forest.

The climb out of this little valley was short and abrupt, I ran it the first loop, but had to walk up it the second loop. After a couple rolling hills the trail turned back onto the original asphalt path where I started. Here we had to backtrack to within 1K of the finish, then loop around a field and onto the asphalt path again for the second loop. I am curious how many people gave up with the sport club within view – definitely not a motivating factor.

So by the end of the first loop I was still feeling fine, keeping the speed down, taking my walk breaks, drinking, eating etc. It was first around the 34K/21M point where my legs started feeling really tired. I munched on some salted pretzels and it seemed to get better for a short time. For the most part I tried to ignore the pain and kept going. I did notice that my speed was declining rapidly, but managed to keep moving anyway.

The last 4K, which were on the asphalt path, where pure hell – my legs were hurting and on the asphalt they were being beat to a pulp! As I was not overly concerned with my race time I elected to take a couple extra walk breaks. I at least managed to run the last kilometer in, albeit without any sprint and glory this time.

I was satisfied with my 4:42:00 finishing time, I really hadn’t planned on returning in under 5 hours, as this was a training run.

My wife was waiting for me in the sport clubhouse – she had brought her homework from the evening class with her to work on. We were generally disappointed with the food that was available from the group and elected to wait until we got home to eat. I did have a sandwich and a coke before we left. I was also disappointed that the race T-Shirt was not included in the event registration. My wife told me that several people had already complained about this and several other things, so I left them alone this time.

So as I said this was a dress rehearsel for my 50K and I did learn a few things. I started out too fast and ran too many of the hills on the first loop. I think my legs would have felt better if I slowed down and walked the hills. The salted pretzels seemed to have helped, I need to try them on my two remaining long runs before the 50K. I also carried a couple pieces of candy with me which I consumed after the 20M point to bring my blood sugar up – this really seemed to help in the energy department – I didn’t feel as much fatigue as normal.

In any case, 5 hours later my legs feel much better, a little achy, but I can walk up stairs (the ultimate test, right ;-). I will probably try to go out for a 15 minute jog tomorrow as a damage assessment. I hope that I am able to continue training on Wednesday with a 14K/8.7M recovery run. On Saturday is the 8.88889K Baden Mile race that I do every year with my company – I told everyone that I am going to walk it this year – no one believes me ;-) In any case this means I have to do my hilly long run on Friday. I will decide how long when once I get out and start running – I would like to do at least 2-2 ½ hours.

Have a great week!

Tomorrow's Training Marathon

2006-04-29T14:06:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I went for a shorter 45 minute run, about 8K/5M, at an average pace of 5:30/K (8:51/M). I reduced the mileage slightly this week in anticipation of a longer training run on Sunday (tomorrow). I have wanted to test my run/walk strategy that I plan on using for the 50K race on May 25, so am participating in the Northern Black Forest Marathon. This marathon, along with a HM and 10K race, are being held by the Nordic Walking Club in Egenhausen, a small town in the northern Black Forest.

What makes this event different is that it is primarily a Nordic Walking event, but is also open to runners and walkers. There is no mass start, participants can start anytime between 8-11 a.m. Participants will be individually timed. There are no prizes, no age groups, everyone who finishes will receive a certificate with their finishing time printed on it. There are aid stations set up along the way with drinks, fruit and sports bars.

This will be just another long run for me, only a little further than normal. I will use the same 30 minute run/3 minute walk strategy that I have been training with over the last couple months. This has worked well during my long runs up to 3 hours 15 minutes, tomorrow I will see how it works with the marathon distance. It is important for me to continue with my training on Tuesday, so I will add as much walking as I feel I need to. I am not placing the run under any time constraints, I be done when I’m done.

The marathon route is supposed to be a mixture of forest trails, gravel roads and some asphalt bike paths. The elevation gain is less than I had expected, only 100 meters (around 300 feet), so it should be a relatively easy run compared to the hilly long runs I have been doing. In any case I will post a report on Sunday night or Monday. Have a nice weekend!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2006-04-26T12:15:00.000+02:00

I can’t wait to go back to work so I can relax – well, then again maybe not. Anyway, yesterday we were up at 7 a.m., had a leisurely breakfast, then my wife was off to one of the bureaucratic offices to get some paperwork done. As it was looking dark and stormy I vegged out by trying to catch up with bloglines for two hours – still not caught up – y’all write too fast. After I felt the dust setting on my head I decided I should get up and do something. First order of business was my weight training. As I finished up I noticed that the sun was out so I went outside and swept off the lower skirting around the house so I could start painting. My wife still wasn’t home so I made a quick omelet and a green salad for lunch, then headed outside to start painting. Three hours later I was finished and decided to go to the swimming pool. My wife was studying her Business English, so elected to stay home. I completed about 1100-1200 meters at the pool, a mix of freestyle and breaststroke. So that was yesterday.

Today I was again up at 7 a.m. - as I had a haircut appointment at 8:30. After the haircut I stopped at the garden with the intention of mowing the lawn, but it started pouring rain. I puttered around cleaning the garden house a little bit hoping the rain would let up so I could at least pull some weeds – no chance, so I headed back to the house. My wife was studying again so I decided it was an opportune time to get my run in.

So with the temperature approaching 18C/65F and with a gentle rain falling I headed out for a 14K/8.7M loop. After about 20 minutes the rain stopped and the sun came out – the humidity was terrible, I was wearing a light running jacket over my running shirt and it felt like I was running in a sauna. I was soaked from inside out and outside in. I still managed to keep up a pace of 5:38/K (9:03/M), a bit faster than I had planned on.

So as I write we just finished lunch and my wife wants to study some more. The sun is still shining so I am heading back to the garden. My wife has school tonight so she needs the car by 4:30 p.m. – got to go!

Blogger is a Pain in the Blog

2006-04-25T08:32:00.000+02:00

Blogger, my blog host, is seriously getting on my nerves. I have been trying to post pictures and links the last few days but have been unable too. Yesterday I tried to post a comment on Thomas’s site and it wouldn’t post, it wouldn’t post, it wouldn’t post and BLAM finally it posted three times – what’s up with that? I think it about time to start looking around for another blogging host – any suggestions?

Anyway as a work around for the picture problem I have copied the pictures that I wanted to show to one of my websites. Here are the links:

1. Some pictures of the front of our house and the masonry work that I was doing this week.

2. Some pictures of our trip to Karlsruhe last Sunday.

Our humble house on the corner was built in 1715 and is one of the oldest houses in the Village of Friedrichstal, Town of Stutensee. Friedrichstal was originally a Huguenot settlement, built from Huguenots that fled religious persecution in France and/or Switzerland.

The house was purchased by the village around 1775 for use as a Lutheran School. A local historian has also stated that the house was used as a toll house at some point in time, but could not provide any further information.

We did discover a picture of the house in a local history book that was probably taken around the 1920’s or 30’s. This picture shows some of the original timber frame construction. The timber frame has long since been plastered (cemented) over, but we still see some of the timbers in the upper part of the shed (right side of the house).

Being a history buff (and active hobby genealogist) it is totally fascinating living in a house that was built in a time when America was still in its infancy. We keep hoping that we will stumble across more information about the house. I guess you can imagine why I have a hard time imagining moving back to the United States anytime soon (that and the 30 days vacation a year ;-)

Home Improvement XT and A Great Tempo Run

2006-04-24T19:47:00.000+02:00

Today was a busy day, I was up early and drove to the German equivalent of Home Depot to pick up some masonry cement and some paint.

Most German houses are some kind of brick construction which has a layer of masonry cement splattered on the outside for insulation. Over several years time water seeps behind this cement layer and the layer starts crumbling. The lower 3-4 feet skirt around the front and side of our house has several patches that need repairing. So this was my job for the day.

The first order of business was to walk around with a masonry hammer and knock down any cement that was crumbling. This left 3 major areas of around 4 square feet each to repair. Step two was to paint a sealer over this exposed area in preparation for plastering, or re-cementing the area.

I had these first two steps done before lunch, and as I had to let the sealer dry for 2-3 hours decided it was an opportune time to get my run in. My wife had gone grocery shopping, so I left a note and headed out.

It was just after 12-noon, the sun was shining, the sky blue, the temperature was already 21C/70F and a gentle breeze was blowing – perfect weather in my book! So off I went on my 14K/8.7M loop. I quickly settled into a comfortable pace and put it on cruise control. It was beautiful outside - the trees are all budding, the fields are growing, I love the springtime.

I was feeling quite good so just kept cruising along. I made it back to the house just in time to jump in the shower and sit down for lunch. My average pace was 5:22/K (8:39/M), not a bad tempo run consisting my long run this past Saturday.

So after a long leisurely lunch with my wife I went back outside and finished my project – all the mortar work is down, I only need to let it dry out a couple days then I can start painting. I only hope the weather holds out.

Tomorrow I want to head to the pool for some laps, on Wednesday I will do another 14K/8.7M run and probably a shorter run on Friday. Sunday I have a longer training run scheduled so need to take it a little easier this week.

An Afternoon in the City

2006-04-23T20:06:00.000+02:00

Today was a picture perfect day of being lazy. First we slept till almost 8:30 a.m., something that doesn’t happen too often in this household. Then after church, rather than going swimming I let my wife talk me into going to the nearby city of Karlsruhe for a market festival.

So we drove to the next village where we caught the streetcar to Karlsruhe, whereas upon arriving at the market square did not find a festival! My wife apparently didn’t read the fine print, the festival ended last night. Being flexible people we took a stroll through the palace gardens and discussed what to do next. We decided to backtrack with the streetcar and go to the local brewery and have lunch in their beer garden (Biergarten).

The Hoepfner Biergarten is a favorite place for the local city dwellers to sit and spend a warm sunny afternoon on the weekend. I was a little concerned about finding something healthy on the menu, as most beer gardens specialize in bratwurst, pork schnitzels and other fatty foods. I was pleasantly surprised to find a fiery pasta dish and a green salad on the menu, which turned out to be quite good and about as healthy as I was going to find.

In any case we had a good time sitting in the sun, chatting and watching the interesting people around. All in all an interesting afternoon, despite missing the market.

I took a couple pictures, but so far Blogger has not let me upload a picture, maybe tomorrow. Have a nice Sunday!

A Three Hour Fifteen Minute Hilly Long Run - Yeah Baby!

2006-04-22T11:51:00.000+02:00

So I just got back from an awesome long run an hour ago. I was up at 5:30 a.m., had breakfast, grabbed my stuff and drove to the neighboring town of Weingarten to run some hill loops. After some calisthenics and a 6 minute jog along the semi-flat base of the “mountain”, I turned and started tackling the first loop.

So up the hill, a steady climb for around 5-6 minutes, then some gentle rolling hills for about 20 minutes before heading back down again. Then it was a left turn and up the second major hill, about a 4-5 minute climb. The second hill is slightly steeper than the first, but I sailed over it! So after another 10-15 minutes of rolling hills I finally wound back down the mountain side to where I started. I finished the first loop in almost exactly 1:15:00.

So without skipping a beat, it was back up the hill for the second loop. As I crossed over the crown of the hill top and started down one of the rolling hills, I had a dude with a tractor and wagon stop me and ask if I had seen a pile of new logs on top of the hilltop – I guess he was picking up the logs for someone. Unfortunately, I run kind of tunnel-visioned so couldn’t honestly say that I had seen any or not – I had passed so many piles of logs already. He just kind of shook his head and drove away, probably totally convinced that I was out of my mind, crazy runners anyway!

In any case, I cruised around the second loop, again making it up the second major hill without falling apart, albeit a bit slower than the first time. My legs were getting a bit tired by that time, but I knew it was nothing to worry about – just push on – so I did. The second loop took about 6 minutes longer than the first, but I was still cruising.

So back up my heartbreak ridge a third time – last week I had to walk part of it by this time, this time I pushed myself up to the top and over! So by this time I was trying to figure out where I need to turn off to be back to the “finish” by 3:15:00, by goal time for today. I found a turn that did the job, basically a short cut to the trail that I take down the hillside.

I arrived back at the car after running for 3:17:15, mission accomplished. My legs were tired, but I knew I could push them further. I trained with walk breaks again today, roughly a 2-3 minute walk break every 30 minutes.

Before my run I ate a small breakfast consisting of a glass of tomato juice, a slice of whole wheat bread smeared with peanut butter and honey, a liter of water, and a bowl of granola with low fat milk. During the run I drank 2 liters of sports drink (from my CamelBak), ate two sports bars and peanut butter and honey sandwich.

As I write I am drinking water and just finished a cup of coffee. I am impatiently watching the clock, hoping that it will speed up so lunch will be ready soon. I’m a bit hungry – you know, something simple, like a side of beef or something…

It is a lovely day outside, warm and sunny. I believe it was 9C/48F when I left for the run this morning and 19C/66F when I came back. Despite wearing shorts, short-sleeve running shirt and a thin running vest, I was still totally drenched in sweat by the time I finished.

So today was the first day of my vacation (if weekends count), we are mostly staying home doing some home-improvement stuff and working in the garden. Next Sunday (April 30th) I am doing a slightly longer training run. Let’s see, I guess it’s about 4 weeks now until my 50K race, I can’t wait – it’s gonna be great!!!

An Easy 14K Run

2006-04-21T09:15:00.000+02:00

Last night was a pleasant 21C/70F as I headed out the door for a 14K/8.7M run. My only goal was to keep the pace down so that my body recovers fast enough for my long run on Saturday morning. I ended up managing a relatively consistent pace, finishing with an average pace of 5:54/K (9:30/M). This morning my legs are slightly tired, but in a good way – I don’t anticipate having any trouble on Saturday morning.

Today is my last day of work before a two week vacation, so I have a lot of work to do. Have a great weekend.

What a wonderful night for a 20K run!

2006-04-20T07:06:00.000+02:00

It was a warm, sunny, 20C/68F outside as I left for my 20K/12.4M run last night. The birds were singing, the trees budding, the air was fresh with the fragrances of springtime – I love this time of year.

I concentrated on maintaining an easy pace, around 6:00/K (9:39/M). I cruised over my normal running path, eventually turning west and running an extra 6K/4M loop around the Graben Running Clubs trails before reconnecting to my path. I finished in 2:02:37, for a pace of around 6:05/K.

Later on in the evening my legs felt kind of stiff and sore, but this morning they are much better. I think the longer run in the middle of the week is quite challenging, and I'm sure I will eventually reap benefits from this. Tonight I want to run another 14K/8.7M run, but at recovery pace.

On Saturday I have a 3 hour and 15 minute long run on the schedule. I will be running this in the hills of the neighboring town of Weingarten, as I have for the past few weeks. For me these hilly long runs are very aggressive runs, at least compared to all the flat long runs that I did throughout the winter. But I am slowly starting to feel the benefits of these runs on hilly terrain. My other runs during the week, on flat land, are starting to feel slightly easier.

In any case I have a lot of miles to cover in the next few weeks before my 50K race on May 25th. I hope the old body holds up. Happy running!

Training is going swimmingly...

2006-04-19T07:22:00.000+02:00

...as Jank (Bill) put it yesterday in a comment. Last night I stopped at the larger swimming pool in Karlsruhe to do my laps and was pleasantly surprised to see that the pool was almost empty! My first thought was “Tonight is the night to practice my freestyle stroke!” I still haven’t had a freestyle class yet so I usually end up beating myself (and anyone else foolish enough to get in my way;-) to death in a short time.

I warmed up with two breaststroke laps (1 lap = 50 meters), then halfway through the next lap I switched to my rendition of freestyle. This ended up leaving me gasping for breath by the end of the lap, a normal occurrence for me. So, on the return lap I switched to breaststroke. Then I turned around again, swam halfway, then tried again. I repeated this for a couple more laps and gradually noticed that I was relaxing and my breathing was improving!

So then I started increasing the distance, 30 meters, 40, then an entire 50 meter lap! Then I started alternating 1 lap breaststroke, 1 lap freestyle. Finally, as the grand finale, I swam a lap out and a lap back, freestyle! My wife, who met me at the pool after work, commented that my form was quite crude, but it seemed like I was much more at ease then other times when I tried the stroke.

In any case this was a major breakthrough for me, I probably swam around 500-600 meters of the 1400 meters total using the freestyle stroke. I can’t wait for the next trip to the pool!

After a small dinner, I took advantage of the sunny weather we had outside and went to the garden to pull weeds for two hours. I wish I had brought my camera, all the spring flowers are in full bloom.

Daydreaming + Running = Skinned Knees

2006-04-17T19:09:00.001+02:00

Today was Easter Monday, a holiday in Germany. I spent some time with my wife this morning, then, as she needed to study for her night school, suited up and went for a run before lunch. My goal was a 14K/8.7M tempo run.

It was a fairly mild day, cloudy with temperatures hovering around 15C/59F. The wind was blowing slightly as I started out on my run. I quickly fell into a 5:30/K (8:51/M) pace and wound my way over my normal trail. My legs were kind of stiff from the long run on Friday, but after a few kilometers I loosened up and but on the cruise control.

As I entered the forest I must have been dreaming about the next race or something because next thing I knew I was laying face down in the mud after tripping over a root. Luckily I only skinned my knees and bruised my pride. After inspecting the "bod" for damage, I decided that I could continue. So after looking around to make sure no one saw how dumb I was, I continued on my merry way...

I finished my run with an average pace of 5:17/K (8:31/M), a little faster than I had planned, but totally satisfying. As I write my knees hurt a little, I hope they are back in shape for my 20K (12.4M) run on Wednesday.

Tomorrow night I want to stop at the pool and do some laps (if my knees feel better). Have a nice week everyone!

A 3 Hour Long Run and a 14K Recovery Run

2006-04-15T19:22:00.000+02:00

I am a day behind in my training report. Yesterday (Friday) morning was a holiday in Germany (Good Friday) so I didn’t crawl out of bed until almost 8 a.m.. I still managed to eat breakfast and drive to the neighboring town of Weingarten for my long run by 9 a.m. On the schedule: a three hour hilly long run.

I followed more or less the same loop as last week:

- Approx. 6-7 minutes of warmup on a relatively flat forested logging trail.
- A six minute hill climb (about 150 meter elevation change).
- Approx. 20 minutes of rolling hills.
- A rapid decent to the base of the hill.
- A second hill climb, apprx. 4 minutes.
- Another series of rolling hills, followed by a descent to the base of the hill and the starting point.

The first loop took around 70 minutes. The second loop took a couple minutes longer than the first.

I filled in the remainder of the time by backtracking the loop and doing several small hill climbs and a couple loops along a small upgrade near my starting point. In any case I ran for 3 hours and 1 minute, taking a 3 minute walk break approx. every 30 minutes.

To make a long story short: The first loop was fine, the second loop was hard, and the final 40 minutes or so kicked my butt. It was a terribly good workout, in other words it pushed me hard, I was sore today, but not to the point where I was reduced to a vegetable on the couch.

So that was yesterday, today my day went like this: First, I spent two hours wandering around shopping with my wife (I wandered, she shopped). Second, we worked for over three hours in the garden (I mowed the grass for the first time!). Third, I ran a 14K/8.7M recovery run.

My recovery run went well, I was tired, so took it slow and enjoyed the warmer, sunny weather that we had in the late afternoon (17C/63F). My average pace was still 5:52/K (9:26/M), so I can’t complain.

My total mileage for the week 74K/46M, exactly what I had scheduled. Tomorrow is Easter and a rest day. Normally I go swimming after church, but the pool is closed. It is a good day to spend with my wife, so I will do so.

Happy Easter everyone!

A Fast Tempo 20K Run

2006-04-13T07:38:00.000+02:00

It was a humid 9C/48F and windy as I headed out for my 20K/12.4M run. I was a little tired so elected to bring my MP3 player for motivation. But this proved unnecessary as the wind carried me over the first half hour of running. My tempo quickly picked up to a crucifying rate as I sped over my route in the reverse direction. I first came out of my daze after about 90 minutes as my legs started screaming at me to slow down. Shortly after this I changed directions and headed into the wind, paying for every enjoyable kilometer that I had had up to that point. The last 25 minutes were tough, my legs ached from the too high of pace that I had been following, each minute found me struggling to keep any essence of speed. Finally I wound my way back through the village to my house and collapsed on the doorstep – well maybe it wasn’t that bad, but I was pretty well spent by the time I arrived. I walked for 10 minutes after the run to try to loosen up the legs some.

This morning my legs are a little sore, but I am not complaining. It is my opinion that to improve our running we need to push once in awhile. Of course the trick is to learn how to push ourselves without going overboard and getting injured. I have been fortunate so far, but considering the mileage I have been doing lately last night's run was probably getting close to the boarder line.

Tomorrow is Good Friday, a holiday in Germany. Saturday is supposed to be our only good day of weather for the weekend, so I am thinking about moving my long run from Saturday morning to Friday morning (tomorrow), which will allow me to spend the day in the garden on Saturday.

My wife wants to take a drive through the Black Forest sometime this weekend, but I heard they still have snow in the higher elevations. As I just took off my snow tires on the car, as it is spring in our area, this may keep us from making this trip until the snow is gone.

Swim Night and some Strength Training

2006-04-12T08:31:00.000+02:00

Last night I stopped at the swimming pool on the way home from work and swam 1300 meters, mostly breaststroke. It seemed to have taken a little longer than normal, somehow my energy level was depleted.

After a spaghetti dinner I went upstairs in the shed and worked out with free weights for 20 minutes. I banged my elbow against a door at work yesterday morning and it was bothering me during my strength training. It is still bruised and sore this morning. Ouch!

The last couple nights I have been late getting to bed - Monday because I wasn’t tired, last night because I was doing a backup of my computer files (it’s been over a year – yikes). This morning I had a hard time crawling out of bed at my usual 4:45 a.m. and I have already succumbed to my habit of eating sweets when I am tired. It’s a good thing for my diet that I have a 2 hour run tonight.

Our weather is really crazy this spring. After a warm, sunny weekend we are back to rain and winter jacket weather.

On a positive note: We have a 4-day weekend coming up this week, Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays in Germany! That means I only have to work 4 days this week and 4 days next week. Oh, and did I say that we have two weeks vacation right after that (April 24 – May 5). I love working in Germany!

Pictures from our Weekend Trip

2006-04-11T10:26:00.000+02:00

With a little help from Adobe Photoshop I was able to quickly put together a slide show of the pictures from our weekend trip to Fuerth, Germany. To view the pictures use the URL:

http://www.sniles.de/running/events/fuerth_2006/index.htm

A 14K Tempo Run

2006-04-11T07:39:00.000+02:00

Last night was a brisk 7C/45F as I headed out into the wind and rain to do my run. My goal was to complete my 14K/8.7M loop with an average pace of 5:30/K (8:52/M). My legs were a little stiff from walking on all the cobblestone streets over the weekend and from sitting on the train for 4½ hours yesterday. But I quickly settled into my desired pace and maintained this for the entire run.

This morning my legs feel really good, which is a good thing because I have a lot of miles to cover in the next six weeks. Tonight is swim night, followed by some light weight training.

I started working on the pictures that I took of our travels on the weekend. I will provide the link when I am finished. Have a nice week!

p.s. Here is the first picture to wet your appetite – a view from our hotel, overlooking the market square.

Chocolate Heaven

2006-04-11T06:44:00.000+02:00

Dear Jon,

If you were to die and go to chocolate heaven I think I know where we can come and visit you. It surely would be in this Chocolatier that I found in Fuerth, Germany. I tasted the best pralines that I have ever, ever had in my life time. Of course I haven't had the honor of trying yours yet ;-)

p.s. I don't know what pralines cost in the USA, but in this shop a package of 10 small pralines cost 10 Euro, which is about $12 (US).

A Weekend in Fuerth, Germany

2006-04-10T08:38:00.000+02:00

My wife and I enjoyed a nice weekend in Fuerth, a town just north of Nuremberg, in the Upper Franken region of Bayern. We rode the train from our town (Stutensee-Friedrichstal) to Nuremberg, then the subway to Fuerth. Aunt Sigrid (Siggi) picked us up at the train station and brought us to the hotel. Although Aunt Siggi has a rather large condominium, she prefers that we stay at a hotel and always insists on treating us to a hotel on the market square in the middle of the old part of town.

Our primary purpose for the visit was so that my wife could do her aunt’s taxes. So around 8:30 a.m., after a good breakfast at the hotel, my wife took a taxi to her aunt and I went for a run.

It was a warm and sunny 12C/54F outside as I headed out. From previous trips to Fuerth I new that across the street and down a block was the entrance to the city park, one of the favorite jogging areas for the locals. Sure enough I met dozens of joggers, skaters, bikers and dog walkers and I started looping around the park. A loop around the park took about 20 minutes and I ran about 4½ loops (90 minutes). I had wanted to run for 2 hours, but I hadn’t counted on it being so warm – thirst was becoming an issue. As I didn’t have anything to drink with me, I decided that 90 minutes was enough and headed back to the hotel for a shower. This turned out to be a good idea anyway as we did several hours of walking over hard cobblestone streets in the afternoon.

So after rehydrating, showering and a quick call to the womenfolk, I made my way over to the market square and main shopping area across from the hotel. “The women” wanted that we meet at the aforementioned park for lunch, so I had about 2 hours to kill.

Anyway, on Saturdays there is a small farmer’s market on the market square – residents can buy fresh produce, honey, cheese, bread and such things. As I passed the bakery stand I felt a sudden drop in blood sugar, so purchased one of the fresh pastries from the vendor. They also had coffee, so I sat at one of the benches at the edge of the market and enjoyed the sunshine while doing some people watching. My wife and I both love to sit and watch the people go by, especially in larger cities as you see some pretty interesting people sometimes.

After finishing my coffee I continued on my way. I needed some new shoes for work so looked through a couple shops, finally finding a suitable pair. Of course, I had to check out the running shoes while I was there (too expensive). The highlight of my shopping experience was finding a Chocolatier. I guess you can all figure out what they sell, the prices were sinful, but mmmm.

So after depositing my new shoes at the hotel I walked over to the park to meet my wife and her aunt. As I was a little early I took a quick walk around and took some pictures (coming soon). I then joined the ladies at the café located in the middle of the park for a delicious lunch. After lunch we took a nice long walk around the park and surrounding town. This of course was followed by a cup of coffee at a café afterwards.

After coffee Aunt Siggi returned home to get dressed for the evening activities and we returned to the hotel. Later we met at a favorite Greek restaurant for dinner, then took in a musical (The King and I) at the local Theater. We finally returned, exhausted, to our hotel room about 11 p.m.

On Sunday I had intended on getting up early and do a couple laps around the park, but I couldn’t force my eyes open until almost 8 a.m., which left too little time to run. My wife wanted to go to a flea and antique market across the street in the market square, so we had breakfast and then proceeded to the market. Rain clouds were forming over the market square as we made our way around the flea market. It was a little smaller than we had anticipated, but still interesting. My wife collects old scales, mostly the type used by small shops and businesses in the “old” days. It wasn’t her day, there were none to be found. I collect John Deere toy tractors, an even harder item to find in a German flea market.

As we returned to the hotel the first drops of rain began to fall. We called Aunt Siggi and set up plans for the rest of the day. We had to catch our return train at 3:15 p.m., so Aunt Siggi suggested that we come over to her place for lunch. So after checking out, we took a taxi to her house and chilled out until it was time to go.

All in all it was a really nice weekend, our only regret was not being able to stay longer. On the other side my diet suffered greatly from the massive quantities of food that made it’s way to my mouth. At least most of the food was healthy food! Today I am limiting myself to mostly fresh fruit and veggies in an effort to purge the system.

I took some picture and will try to post these in the next day or two.

So this morning it’s back to work and tonight back to training. On April 30th I have a training marathon and in six weeks a 50K to run!

A 2 Hour and 42 Minute Hilly Long Run

2006-04-07T09:48:00.000+02:00

Yesterday it warmed up from a 0C/32F frost at 6 a.m. to a more comfortable 12C/54F by early evening when I set out on my 2 hours and 45 minute hilly long run. With a little pre-planning and preparation I was able to reach my starting point at the base of our largest hill in the area, located in the neighboring town of Weingarten (11K from our house), by 4:45 p.m.

After a quick warm-up I ran an approximately 1K loop before heading up “the hill”, a 160 meter (525 feet) climb that puts me on the very top of the “mountain”. At the top of the hill I followed an assortment of dirt logging roads and crushed stone paths up and down a number of foothills before heading back down to the base of the mountain. At this point I was about a mile from my starting point, but it was on the other side of the mountain. So back up and over the mountain, this time about a 80 meter (260 feet) climb. From here it was a rapid downhill trot to where I started . The first loop took about 70 minutes.

So back up the mountain I went, albeit a little slower than the first time - over the same foothills, down the mountain, up the mountain - then I tried a new path back to my start. This added a few more rolling foothills and a gentler downhill before return to the start. The second loop took about 80 minutes.

Then it was back up the mountain, at least that was the intent, halfway up my legs told me to take a hike, so I did, walking up the rest of the way (3 minutes). By this time I had about 20 minutes left so I wound my way back down mountain taking a few new trails that I hadn’t been on yet. By the time I reached my car I had run for 2 hours 42 minutes and decided this was close enough to my goal of 2:45:00. I took 3 minute walk breaks every 30 minutes, except for the last one (when I headed up the mountain), which was after 20 minutes. I am really not sure how fast my tempo is, so I can only estimate what my mileage was, I wrote 24K in my journal, but it was probably more.

My legs provided more than enough evidence to the quality of the workout. I felt like I had just done about a zillion squats or something. This morning my legs feel great - no cramps, pain or soreness. I feel like I could go out and run another loop or two around the mountain!

So I just ran 5 out of the last 6 days for a total of 84K/52M (at least). Included in that is a 10K race where I set a new personal best. I am really amazed at how well my legs feel today!

So at 4 p.m. we have to catch the train to Fuerth where we are visiting my wife’s aunt. My running stuff is packed, as is my camera. I will do my best to get some pictures!

A 14K Tempo Run

2006-04-06T08:08:00.000+02:00

Yesterday after work it was a cooler 7C/45F as I headed out for a 14K/8.7M run. My goal was a 5:30/K (8:51/M) tempo run, but I slowed down the last 4 kilometres so ended up with an average pace of 5:38/K (9:04/M). After the roughly 10K point I decided I should slow down a little and save my legs for the 2:45:00 hour long run in the hills tonight after work.

During my run last night I could feel that my legs have not totally recovered from my long run and race last weekend, but I don’t think this will be a factor in my long run tonight. Worse will be the mental fatigue from working all day and then running so long. But this will be good training for the mental battle of my first 50K run in May, right!?

p.s. For you geeks who like table and statistics, I created a couple tables with my personal best times and all the races that I have run. You can either click here or on the link "My Races & Personal Best's" on the right link bar. This page also includes links to all my race reports for the races that I ran (at least since I started blogging). Have a great day!

Tuesday Night Swim Night

2006-04-05T07:41:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I took a 25 minute walk with a coworker during lunch, this worked wonders in loosening up tired legs muscles. After work I stopped by the swimming pool and swam 1300 meters in laps, mostly breaststroke, but with a little “attempted freestyle” mixed in. By the last lap I was slowing down and getting pooped, I guess all the running over the weekend caught up to me (note: I swim my laps without any breaks).

This morning I feel a little tired and fat (swimming makes me hungry), but my legs feel good. Tonight I want to run a 14K easy pace run. Tomorrow night I am going to run my long run up and down the hills of Weingarten (a neighboring town). According to my training schedule the run should be two hours and 45 minutes, so I may need to bring my flashlight with me. I am a little skeptical about running a longer run after a full day’s work, but we’ll see how it goes. On Saturday I need to make up my mid-week 20K run. As we will be away visiting my wife’s aunt in Fuerth, near Nuremberg, this will consist of several loops around a large park that is nearby. It will be a nice change of scenery anyway!

Stormy Weather and a Recovery Run

2006-04-04T07:11:00.000+02:00

Last night after work it was a cool, windy, rainy, 11C/52F degrees as I headed out for a 14K/8.7M recovery run. My legs were a little sore from the satisfying workout at the race on Sunday, so I ran at “Jack’s interpretation of a recovery pace”, or a pace of around 6:00/K (9:39/M). The weather was crazy during the almost 85 minutes that I ran. First it rained, then it was sunny, then it rained, then sunny, then rain, then sunshine – all in the 85 minute timeframe. But I was fortunate, 15 minutes after I finished the wind picked up, it rained HARD, we had a hail storm, and then it poured again! One of my neighbors came straggling in shortly after, from walking her dog, looking like a half-drowned cat.

This morning I still feel a little soreness in the legs, but they are better. I’ve slept like a stone the last two nights, I think the house could have been wiped out by a tornado and I wouldn’t have noticed it ;-)

We are going to one of my wife’s aunts in Fuerth (a suburb of Nuremberg) this upcoming weekend, so I have to adjust my runs for the rest of the week:

- I need to move Saturday’s hilly long run to Thursday night.
- I need to move Wednesday’s flat 20K run to Saturday (in Fuerth).
- I need to move Thursday’s 14K run to Wednesday.

I have to take a day vacation on Friday to take my car in for inspection and to wait around for the water company to exchange our water meter. We have to head to the train station at 4 p.m. in order to catch the train to Nuremberg.

We will be staying at a hotel in the middle of the older section of Fuerth (my wife’s aunt doesn’t have a guest room). On one side of the hotel is the old Market Square were they have a neat farmer’s market every Saturday morning. Across the street is a large park with lots of running trails, so you KNOW my running shoes will be packed! I’ll try to remember to pack my camera too!!

Picture: Jack on the run!

2006-04-03T12:53:00.000+02:00

My coworker surprised me with this picture this morning. I believe this was right after we came off the bridge and passed the 8K marker. We were just about to turn right and head out of town again. The tall dude directly behind me kept trying to pass me, but somehow I managed to stay ahead. In the end I wore him out and left him in the dust. Yeah, I'm gloating ;-)

It's official, I shaved 49 seconds off my PB

2006-04-03T07:03:00.000+02:00

So the results of yesterday’s 10K race are finally in:

My official time: 48:18 (new personal best, yahoo!)
Ranking (men): 106/215
Age class ranking (M44): 22/37

First place male: 33:19 (age 27)
First place female: 36:37 (age 29)

The total number of runners was as follows:

Men: 215
Women: 70
Students: 66
Bambini’s (Under 10): 58

This is far less people than I thought were present. The organizer’s were expecting over a thousand people, so I guess they were disappointed. But the sad thing is they still ran out of T-Shirts! Can someone explain this to me, I come in 106th place and they don’t have any T-Shirts left, what is wrong with this picture?

Anyway it was a fun race, my muscles are a little sore today, but I know that I can still complete my training run tonight – so mission accomplished – and a new PB too!