Running With Jack

The day was long for me yesterday, I could not wait to pick my running partner up and head for the hilly trails in Weingarten. The weather was sunny and mild (24°C/75°C) and my running partner ready to run as we pulled up at the bottom of the hill. I explained the route that I had in mind and we set out.

First we trotted down a relatively flat kilometer out and back, dogging stinging nettle (Brennnessel) and tall grass, and finally heading up the hill. Our chatter quickly died down as we scrambled up the first steep climb, then resumed as it flattened out a bit. We wound our way slowly upwards eventually reaching the toughest portion of the climb. I could tell that my running partner was working hard, but not once did I hear a complaint.

We cruised over the top of the hill and began running over the rolling hills on top of the plateau. Through our conversation I caught that my running partner likes to run through the vineyards, so I made the suggestion that we head over to the next hill range, which has some vineyards.

I also warned her that we must first cross a valley, so down we went and up the next large hill. This climb I was more grueling then the first, but we cruised up at a pace that I normally would not attempt during one of my longer runs, but I let my running partner set the pace and cruise we did!

At the top we were rewarded with some great views of the vineyards (note to self, bring a camera next time). I found a couple pictures on the Internet:

By this time we had been running for about 75 minutes and my running partner raised the question if would make it back under the two hour limit, which is about her limit as a half-marathon runner. I did a quick calculation and reassured her that we were right on schedule.

We a did short loop around the vineyards on top of the hill and were again rewarded with some fantastic views, including an overview of Weingarten and the surrounding region, awesome! We cruised along on the asphalt road past more vineyards, corn fields until we completed the loop and started heading back the way we came.

As we went back down the mountain I offered three options for climbing back up the first mountain: the steep and winding way that we ran before, a shorter and steeper dirt trail, or a longer, but friendlier dirt road. My friend chose the latter and we headed up our last climb for the day.

As we climbed the last portion I could tell that my running partner was working hard, and honestly I was feeling it in my legs too, but that's normal for me. I reassured her that we were near the top and it was indeed the last hill climb, the rest of the way was flat or downhill. I'm not sure, but I think she was relieved as we head down the last hill. I mentioned that we would be 5-10 minutes short of her two hour goal and offered an optional hill climb that would have us back right around two hours, but she said that was all right, it was enough to head back to the car.

The last mile or so was pretty flat, on a soft dirt road and through dense forest, a truly beautiful trail. We reached the car after running just under two hours, with 18km (11 mi.) and 924 meters of elevation gain (871 loss) behind us (3030/2856 feet respectively). We walked it out for a couple minutes, cooled down a bit and finally headed home. My running partner certainly earned my respect, hills do not stop her! Now if I can only talk her into training for a marathon...

Posted by Jack at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The "Teufelslauf" half marathon in Bad Herrenalb, Germany on September 7th. Teufel translate to devil or hell, which has some significance as shown in the elevation profile.

The website for the race posts the warning that the "beer bellies" and "couch potatoes" should stay home on this one.

Sounds like fun to me!

Posted by Jack at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I find myself thinking that I am addicted to running marathons, I mean five days after running the Koberstadaedt Marathon I find myself going through withdraw, scouring the race calendars looking for my next fix. Forget post-marathon depression, I'm on a post-marathon adrenaline kick! Actually that is depressing because my wife is pulling back hard on the reins, i.e. "Don't you think you've run enough this year?"...silly question really...sigh :-(

On Wednesday night I showed up early at my running club trailhead so I could run 5K before the group run. One of my group showed up at the same time so we ran the 5K out and back together. Afterward I ran a 9K loop, the first 5K with the mid-pack group and the last part a bit slower with one of the ladies who was not having a good day.

Last night I went for a swim on the way home from work, the first time since the winter. I struggled through 700 meters and decided that was enough. I did finally start to get my form back on the last few laps, but felt very much out of my element.

Tonight I am running with my running companion from a couple Sunday's ago. I'm going to introduce her to my hilly route in Weingarten, I hope she likes hills, I did warn her and she didn't seem to be concerned. Maybe she will end up running me ragged, stay-tuned :-)

Posted by Jack at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...for example...container gardening:

A couple flower boxes that I built this summer:

Some new lettuce plants springing to life:

And some spinach (look really close):

Do you see the butternut squash?

Posted by Jack at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last night I took the night off from training and tried to catch up on some odd jobs around the house. As I puttered around my workshop assembling a new display case for my John Deere collection I of course contemplated my race schedule for the rest of the year.

The next big race is the Baden Marathon in nearby Karlsruhe on September 21st. This is the big race for the year for most of the folks in my running club. Currently 23 people are signed up, the most for the half-marathon. We are all meeting at a local restaurant after the race, it should be fun.

I am also looking at several shorter races including a 10K and a half-marathon, I only have to decide which ones as there are several alternatives.

What I am really hungry for is another ultra, but the events remaining this year all require an overnight stay. I thought about trying to find one during my vacation in the USA in October, but my wife is less than understanding, so I am not pushing it.

I have a couple 10K and a half-marathon on the calendar for November and December, but these will be more spur-of-the-moment decisions. So it is looking like the Baden Marathon will be my last long race of the year, I am looking forward to it.

I have lots of ideas for next year, including my first 100K race, but I have to wait and see how busy work and life will be before I unravel these plans.

Posted by Jack at 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...maybe I ran too slow? Really, I have never felt so good for having run a marathon on Sunday. And the marathon was only about 1-1/2 minutes slower than my personal record!

Last night (Monday) I went for a recovery run, just over 5 miles, and felt good enough to walk around the local Home Depot equivalent for an hour afterward.

I am still going to do my legs a favor and relax a little this week, my next marathon is only 3-1/2 weeks away. My next run will be an easy run on Wednesday night with my running club, then probably a two hour run on the weekend.

Have a great week!

Posted by Jack at 6:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Egelsbach, home of the Koberstaedt Marathon, is nestled between Darmstadt and Frankfurt, Germany. The area is highly developed, being only about 10 minutes away from one of the busiest airports in Germany, not your typical setting for a forest marathon.

The Koberstaedt Marathon started at 8:00 a.m on Sunday, so we were up at 4:30 a.m. in order to get ready and make the hour drive to Egelsbach. We arrived around an hour before the race and went about my business picking up the race packet while my wife looked for a cup of coffee. A school friend who lived in the area was going to meet her at 8:30 and give her a short tour of Frankfurt while I was running.

It was a bit chilly (15°C/59°F) as we sat around waiting for the start, but the sun was shining and I knew it would start warming up soon. I decided to run in shorts and short sleeve shirt, as it was supposed to warm up to around 22°C/72°F. There was a cool breeze blowing as I lined up at the start with around 200 other marathon runners. Around 1500 half-marathon runners would join us later on (10:00 a.m.).

The course consisted of a loop around a mostly dirt/gravel forest trail with approx. 150 meter (500 feet) elevation gain/loss with each loop. The half-marathoners ran one loop, the marathoners two.

I really didn't have any specific time goal for the race, I didn't taper at all so figured I would try to at least break 4 ½ hours if at all possible. The race was chip timed, so when the starting pistol went off I leisurely made my way over the starting line, letting the speedsters move on ahead. I then set into a comfortable pace and tried to warm up my legs.

We wound our way through town and into the woods, the sun was shining and the last of a misty fog was rising to meet the day - what a beautiful morning for a run!

It was fairly quiet the first part of the run, the two hundred marathoners were pretty spread out and I was pretty much running on my own. I passed the 10K marker in 56:22, faster then I expected, but definitely not a record breaking speed even for me.

I lost myself in my thoughts over the next hour, passing the 20K in 1:54:18 and the half-marathon point in 1:59:59. My pace was fairly stable, just over 9:00 minutes per mile, I was staying hydrated and taking in isotonic drink at every other aid station. The aid stations were around 4-5K apart, well-stocked, and run by some super friendly people, bravo Egelsbach!

On the first loop the marathoners branched off and took an extra short loop before rejoining the main loop. This left us in the forest rather than looping back to the stadium. Shortly after rejoining the main loop the half-marathoners merged with us, or rather the 200 marathoners merged with the 1500 half-marathoners. Suddenly I was jarred from my lonesome plodding and thrust into the midst of a stampede. My pace picked up as the mass carried me forward, I passed the 30K marker in 2:49:42, about 10 minutes ahead of what I had expected.

The tractor wide forest trail remained full as I fought to climb a wall that was trying to drain my energy. I passed a couple marathon runners, but was still being passed by the faster half-marathoners. I concentrated on making it as hard as possible for these runners to drop me, falling in their steps as long as I could.

With about 5 miles to go I started doing the math and figured out if I could keep the pace going I would be very close to a new PR. My legs were tired, but my energy was good and my spirit high, I plodded forward.

I passed the 40K (25 miles) marker in 3:47:11 and it was clear that I would have to run a 10K race pace if I wanted to break my record of 3:57:14. I did my best, but couldn't get my legs to churn over any faster. As I made my way over the last half-mile I still pushed hard, if I couldn't have a new PR, then at least a sub-4:00 race!

As I made my way through town and into the stadium my legs were screaming with protest. I tried to must some resemblance to a sprint as I made my way around the track and over the finish line, but I felt more like a lumbering elephant. Finally I stumbled over the finish line in 1:58:58, out of breath, out of power, but totally satisfied, thank you lord!

I caught my breath and wobbled my way over to get some coke, I knew I needed a sugar boost. I drank down three cups of coke and found a bench and sat for awhile, stretching my legs a bit. When I stood up an amazing thing happened, my legs didn't complain. I actually could walk comfortably, albeit slower than normal, but without the normal robotic motion normally associated with post-marathon movements.

I walked to the car grabbed my bag, showered and found some food. As I was eating my wife showed up and we sat for a bit, my wife was amazed how fit I was. I guess I was too. As we made our way home the sun was shining, the sky blue, what a beautiful day!

Posted by Jack at 6:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)