October 2006 Archives

Last night I took a training day off, I did no training whatsoever. My legs thanked me by feeling fantastic this morning, I feel energized and ready to pick start picking up the training level again. However, as this is the only time of year that I am not training for a specific event, I am going to (try to) keep the pace down and build the mileage gradually.

I have some specific goals for the next few months. My first goal is to get my weight down, something that I have tried unsuccessfully the entire year to do. I want to lose 12-15 lbs., which will leave me around 150-155 lbs. I received unexpected help in this arena, my wife has started her diet! We are now a dieting family, which means we can support each other and won’t undermine each other’s efforts – anyone who has been through this knows what I mean.

My second goal is to build my endurance. I want to move “the wall” as close to the marathon finish line as possible. I also want to run stronger (and longer) ultras. I need to do the Rocky bit and toughen up this old running body. I want to be a rolling stone that nothing can stop. A few things that I will be doing to try to reach this goal include: weight training, hill workouts, and lots of long runs.

I also need to add several long runs on asphalt each month. The majority of marathons and ultra races in my area have a large percentage of asphalt or concrete, there is just no way around this issue, I have to train on the unforgiving surfaces so I don’t get beat up on race days.

I really don't like to set any speed goals for 2007 at this point, somehow this stresses me out. As I build my endurance and get in better shape the personal records will just happen, at least for the longer races. All the marathon calculators that I have ever used indicate that I should be running sub-4 marathons, so I guess I this will be my beacon.

So what about races for 2007? I definitely want to do the local 50-miler in June. I also want a rematch with the marathon that I DNF’d last March, so on March 11, 2007 I will finish the Bienwald Marathon as my first marathon for 2007! These two races are on the calendar and I am working on the training plan. Anything else will depend on my wife’s employment situation and my own workload at my job. We also want to try to visit my parents in Central New York (probably in September-October), so this has to be calculated in as well.

I have a whole smorgasbord of other races that I could do, including my first 100K, a 63K trail run, a couple 12-hour runs, a 101K trail etc., but these require overnight travel and are on hold for the time being. In any case there are enough local marathons to fill in any holes, it's going to be an exciting year!

I found a couple pictures of the 10K race from yesterday. The top one is at around the 2K point, the other two are John and I right before the finish line. This was John's (lower picture) second 10K race, he set a new personal best time of 56:26, an improvement of almost 2 1/2 minutes from just three weeks ago! And he only runs about 5 miles twice a week - awesome!

I arrived at the sports club in Berghausen about an hour before the race. I collected my start number oriented myself to where the Start line and toilets were and sat down and waited for my friend John. John arrived about 15 minutes later and collected his start number.

We sat around catching up on the news of the week, then got ready to race. As we lined up at the start I thought about asking John if he wanted to try to set a new PR, but then thought better of it – this was only his second race, I thought it is better not to put any pressure on him. Besides a new PR needs to come from inside, not from outside pressure, at least this is my opinion.

Anyway as we lined up with what looked to be about 400 runners, I let John pick where he wanted to start. He settled in the middle of the crowd, but it looked like a lot more hobby runners than normal, so I figured this was okay.

When the start pistol went off we let the crowd carry us for awhile. As it thinned out John settled into a steady pace, but after a few minutes I realized he was breathing pretty heavy, so I suggested we back off just a little to conserve energy.

I missed the first kilometer marker, but we passed the 2-K marker in around 11 minutes, a pace of 5:30/K (8:51/M). I new this was much better than the first race that John ran a few weeks ago and said this to him.

The race route was a 5K out and back, with a few gentle hills between the 3K and 5K markers. John lives (and trains) in a hilly area so we actually picked up the pace a little bit after the third kilometer. It was also through here that the front runners started whizzing past us on their way back to the finish line. Somehow this was distracting and John didn’t seem to notice that we were putting in increasingly faster splits.

We came to the turnaround and passed the half-way point shortly after this. I believe our time was around 26-27 minutes, at least 4-5 minutes ahead of John’s first 10K race. I encouraged John to keep a steady pace going, but by the 6K marker we had slowed down to a 5:40/K (9:07/M) pace. I already figured out by this time that John had a personal best in the bag, as long as he kept running – the only question remaining was how much of an improvement.

As we passed the 7th, then 8th kilometer markers I kept trying to reinforce John, letting him know he was had a really good chance of setting a new record and encouraging him to keep the pace going.

Around the 8 ½ kilometer point we saw a runner laying on the ground with two people working on him. I told John to go ahead, I was going to run back a half-kilometer to where we passed some medics. As I stopped to let the two people know that I was getting help they told me it wasn’t necessary they were already on the way and I should keep running.

So I caught up to John just as we passed the 9K point. With a kilometer to go I kept inching ahead of John, trying to drag him a little faster, all the while encouraging him. He kept up a strong pace, I think my comments were probably no longer necessary. As we entered the sports stadium and the last 400 meters I told John I was going to sprint to the finish and took off to let him finish his race. I passed several people as I sprinted at top speed around the track, crossing the finish line in 56:01. John must have picked up the pace too, because he was not too far behind, in 56:26, two minutes and 28 seconds faster than his first race 3 weeks ago!

I am really pleased for John, I think he had the hunger for a better time today - I am waiting for the day when I struggle to keep up with him! As we left John pointed to a poster of a 10K race in two weeks on our way out, his words: “That’s my next race, I’m going to do that one!” Racing is a drug, what can I say!

Yesterday I stopped at the pool and swam a 1000 meters, alternating crawl and breast stroke every 100 meters. The pool was reasonably empty, so it was a pleasure to swim, no bumping heads or terminating little kids.

Today I will probably run with my running club at 5 p.m., if I can wait that long :-)

Tomorrow morning I am meeting my friend John at the 10K race. I plan on running with him again, so it won’t be a speed race (for me), unless John has been training in secret and surprises me ;-) I paced his first 10K race about three weeks ago, we finished in around 58:30, about 12 minutes slower than my best 10K race, so this will be a “recovery” race for me :-)

I let you know how it goes, have a nice weekend everyone.

Just when I thought it was safe to sit down and relax this weekend, I get an e-mail from my friend whom I paced his first 10K race with. He has the fever, he wants to run another 10K race on Sunday!

I thought about it for a bit, I just ran a 50K six days ago, I'm recovering, I’m between race seasons, it’s down time…so I sent him a quick answer “Sure, I’ll meet you there an hour before the race!” I mean it’s only a 10K, right :-)

Last night I ended up working late again, so still haven’t made it to the pool yet. When I got home I went on some errands with my wife. When we got back my wife said she needed 30-40 minutes before dinner would be ready, so I headed out for a quick 30 minute run. It was getting dark as I made my around an approximate 5.5K/3.4M loop. I tried to keep the pace down some, but felt good, so still averaged around 5:30/K (8:51/M) – a little fast for recovery week. Unfortunately I didn’t stretch much when I got home (dinner was almost ready), so this morning my legs are sore. I may try to take a walk during lunch to loosen them up a bit. Tonight my wife has an appointment at the hairfixer, so I am going to finally get my laps done at the pool.

It was bright and sunny when I got off work yesterday, so I decided to go for a bike ride rather than swim. I rode about 30K/19M with my trail bike, in the process mapping out a new 21K/13M running route for the winter. It’s all flat, well protected by forest against the upcoming winter winds and runable in the dark. I will use this route for a medium long run or when the weather is too nasty to run my long runs on my hilly route.

After returning home I decided to dust off my free weights in the shed. It has been months since I used these. I worked on the upper body for about 20 minutes and finished off with several sets of pushups and crunches. This morning my body reminded me just how long it has been since I went bike riding and did weight training, I’m pretty sore.

My diet is going well, I was 76 kg/168 lbs on Monday morning, and have already dropped 3 pounds. I really haven’t done much more than to cut out sweets and take smaller portions. I generally also limit my meat consumption to 3-4 times a week and try to limit fatty foods on a regular basis.

Tonight I’m going to stop at the swimming pool on the way home from work and get my swim in that I missed last night. If my wife doesn’t require my attention I may go for a 45 minute run as well, otherwise I will save this for Friday night.

Yesterday I took a 30 minute walk during lunch with a coworker from my office, it was a great way to stretch the legs out. I also spent 30 minutes last night doing some calisthenics and stretching. For the latter I was looking through a Pilates book that my wife used and tried a few of these exercises.

I also spent some time surfing the Internet looking for potential runs for 2007, talk about a kid in a candy store, I have a looooong list, mostly 50K and marathons, but I also found some 60-100K runs, including a couple trail runs. Unfortunately most of the better runs require extensive travel, so will only work out if my wife remains employed. In any case I now at least know more about what’s available so I can sit done with my wife and discuss the schedule for next year. Most likely I will need to make two lists, one with regional runs and one with runs that are farther away. In most cases if we are unable to travel to a longer race, e.g. 100K, there is a local marathon in the area around the same timeframe. Thus I can train for a longer race, but run the marathon if need be, for me a win-win situation because I will grow stronger in either case.

Tonight I should stop at the pool on the way home and do some laps. Of couse what I really want to do is run with my running club tonight, but I always seem to end up running too fast when I'm around those guys, probably not good for my recovery. I'll see how my legs feel by the end of the day, in the moment they feel loose, but I'm sure they'll tighten up when I get to work.

In the next month or two I will be concentrating on trying to drop a few pounds, work on my core strength, do some shorter fun runs, and basically keep the running mileage down for at least 3-4 weeks. By December I want to start working on a good solid running base for next years activities. I can’t wait, it going to be fun!

He who rests, gets rusty. This is a loose translation of a German saying that I have heard over the years that I have lived here. This seems very fitting to my mood today.

I signed up for this little itty-biddy mountain run last night:

It takes place in Neckargemünd (Neckargemuend), just east of Heidelberg on November 4th. As you might gather from the picture it is 11.8 kilometers long, around 7.3 miles. Oh, it's almost all uphill, sounds like fun, right!

Here is a picture of Neckargemünd that I found on the Internet site for the race:

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments and support, this means the world to me!

I also want to say good luck to all of you who have races coming up, you have all been training so hard, its totally inspiring to say the least. Go and have fun!

Last night I planned on going for a short 20-30 minute recovery run. The temperature was a cool 16C/61F and there was a light sprinkle of rain falling. As I headed out the door I decided to leave my stopwatch home and just run the way I felt. I slowly headed out in the reverse direction of my normal route, but decided to go exploring, taking a different path over the fields to the forest (woods for Jon) behind. As I reached the edge of the forest and began to run along its base, I noticed an animal path that went off into the middle of the woods. I’d never saw the path before, so decided to go exploring. As I headed out over the narrow, soft, leaf, mud and grass covered trail I quickly fell into a comfortable trail pace and next thing I knew I was on the other side of the forest, probably 20 minutes later. I took a shortcut back to the house, but my short little recovery run had turned into a blissful 50 minute (mostly) trail run.

This morning my legs feel really good, I can barely tell that I ran a 50K on Saturday. But I’m going to wait 2-3 days now before I go out again, its time to let my legs heal a bit. In the meantime I want to start doing some upper body free weight training and will probably head to the pool at least once or twice this week.

A major priority for the next couple months is my diet. This morning I was 76 kg/168 lbs. which means I am the same weight that I was on January 1st, and 3 kg/7 lbs. heavier than I was at my lowest weight this year. I want to get this back down again and try to reach my goal of 68 kg/150 lbs. Not an easy task with holiday season on the horizon.

Is anyone else having trouble with Bloglines today? I tried to catch up on the lives of my favorite bloggers today and keep getting timeouts from Bloglines, blah!

I was just thinking to myself what a strange feeling it is to not really have a training plan in the moment. This is like the first time in three years that I don't have a big race on the horizon. I feel naked and very self-conscious.

I woke up Sunday morning, the day after my 50K race, feeling much better than I have ever felt after a longer race. I had a little soreness in the quads and a small blister on each of my middle toes, the latter from crashing downhill on the asphalt “trails”. Other than that I felt good enough to walk around a flea market for 1½ hours with my wife yesterday.

This morning most of the soreness was gone, but the longer that I sit at my desk at work the stiffer I am getting. I think I am going to use the rest of my lunch time to take a walk.

This evening I want to go for a half-hour jog, it has been my experience that I recover quicker if I do some moderate exercise during recovery week. I am going to try to wait a couple weeks before I start up my long runs again. I am already having to remind myself that the next few weeks is rest time – no hard training allowed!

Actually I need a little time now to figure out next year’s goals and any specific training that I will need to meet these goals. As is typical for me after a race I have a huge appetite for the next big race. Unfortunately this time I have to wait and see how my wife’s job hunting is going to go before I start registering. At the very least I will be running the 50-miler and several local marathons. With the exception of the 50-miler, most of the ultra-marathons require more extensive travel, therefore I need to wait and see if my wife has work or not.

This week I am going to spend more time cross-training (XT), then probably 2-3 weeks of lower mileage running mixed with XT. I plan on doing a few fun runs over the next couple months, mostly shorter cross-country runs. I did see an add for a 11K Mountain Run on November 4, it starts along the Neckar River near Heidelberg and ends on top of the mountain overlooking the entire valley. I can’t miss that, right ;-)

View of Schwäbisch Gmünd (Schwaebisch Gmuend) south. Notice the red finish line in the middle of the picture:

A few of the start of the marathon:

A really cool looking drug store:

Another view of the city:

Top left: The start of the race in the market square of Schwaebisch Gmuend.
Top center: 00:01:46 into the race.
Top right: 01:07:34 into the race, soon after the 10K marker.

Center left: 02:22:26 into the race, around the 20K marker.
Center right: Around the 30K marker.

Bottom left: 06:22:32 around the 49K marker, 1K to go!
Bottom right: Jack, finisher!

Pre-Race

We arrived in Schwaebish Gmünd around 5 p.m. on Friday, checked into the Guesthouse (hotel) where we would be staying then drove the 10 minutes to the sport hall to pick up my start number and take a look around. There were a few booths set up in the sport club where they were selling running stuff and other health related articles. We took a quick look through, but didn’t find anything interesting. Next we walked to the center of town, the market plaza (Marktplatz), where the race would begin on Saturday. This was about 10 minutes from the sport club. We also located the Information Center where my wife would be meeting friends of her boss for a tour of the town the next day. After returning to the sport hall we drove back to the guest house and had an excellent meal in their restaurant.

On Saturday morning we woke up at 7:00 and had breakfast at the guest house restaurant. After breakfast we finished getting ready and made our way to the sport club where we parked our car and used the rest rooms. About a half hour before the race, we made our way to the Start in the market square.

The Race

A few minutes before the race began I joined the other participants at the starting line. Promptly at 10:00 a.m. the starting pistol went off and the 1100 participants (50K/25K run and 30K walk) surged slowly forward. We wound our way through the city streets for the first kilometer, then followed an asphalt bike path out of the city and into the countryside.

I concentrated on keeping my paced down the first 4K/2.5M of flat or downhill sections, around 6:15K (10:00/M). Around kilometer 4 we started reached the first rolling hills, but these were gradual and quite runnable, I eased my way over these without thinking much about it. I continued on at an easy pace as the kilometers continued to accumulate. At the 6K/4M point was the first aid station, I grabbed a cup of water on the way through. Aid stations would be located approx. every 6K thoughout the race.

At around kilometer 8 (5 miles) we started the first real climb, about 140 meters, but spread over 3 kilometers. I kept running slowly up the hill, my breathing was good and I didn’t feel like I was working too hard. I passed the 10K point with a time of about 1:06:00, about what I had planned on. At the 11K point the path went downhill again for a couple kilometers, but then we started the first major climb of the day, an over 250 meter (740+ feet) climb. I dropped down to a hill climbing jog planning on walking whenever it got too steep. As it turned out it never felt steep so I ended up running up the whole mountain.

Coming down the other side was quite a workout for my quads, but I still felt fresh so didn’t pay too much mind to this. I passed the 20K point somewhere around 2:18:00, still within my estimate. The race continued on along over some small rolling hills until around kilometer 23 (14.3 miles), where it started to gradually climb. Shortly after kilometer 24 the trail suddenly started heading almost straight up, slowing everyone to a slow snails crawl up a side of a mountain and the waiting finish line for the 25K runners.

One important note that I would like to add at this point. I had anticipated the race route only having about 20-30% asphalt surfaces, but up to this point it was more like 95% and would end up being around 80% asphalt for the entire race – I didn’t train on any asphalt all summer long!

I passed over the 25K line at almost exactly 3 hours, which is an average pace of 7:12/K (11:35/M), not too bad considering the two major hill climbs. As I rounded the top of the mountain we went down a steep quad-burning path that I didn’t think would ever end. It finally did after 2 kilometers, only to turn into the third major climb of the day.

The third hill was at least a dirt path, correction, a mud path that again seem to go straight up and again seemed to leave everyone walking. As soon as we got to the top we turned around and went down almost the same way that we went up. By the time I got to the bottom, around the 32K (20 mile) point my quads were aching and worst yet my entire legs felt totally beat up from up to now probably 80% asphalt that we had been running on.

I continued to plod along, again on asphalt bike paths. Around kilometer 33 we went up a smaller hill climb, which I walked, then started a long (7K/4.3M) downhill which pounded whatever was left of my quads to jello-pudding.

By kilometer 40 (mile 25) I was reduced to running for 5-10 minutes, then walking for a minute. My energy level seemed to be fine, but somehow my legs just didn’t seem to want to move. The last hill climb at around kilometer 42 (26 miles) actually was a relief – I ran (jogged) most of it. From around kilometer 43 to the finish line was all downhill and all asphalt – I wanted to run the rest of the way, I wanted to run fast, but somehow my mind and legs couldn’t get it together. My energy was good, my stomach was a bit queasy, but my legs were asphalt-beaten-to-death.

The last 7 kilometers where tough, time seemed to stand still. I ended up running from object to object, taking 1-minute walking breaks when I couldn’t push the legs anymore, then running on. Three runners passed me during this time and I didn’t see or hear any others, it left me wondering if I was the last one. At around the 48 kilometer (29.8 miles) I reached the edge of the city and could hear the crowd at the finish line. I plodded along, taking a quick walk break at kilometer 49, then plodding on. Shortly after this the path rejoined the one that we took at the beginning of the race and I knew that finish line was only about 5 minutes away.

I continued on and soon came up behind another runner. I slowly closed the gap between us, but as soon as he saw the finish line he pulled ahead and finished ahead of me. In any case I passed over the finish line in 6:28:34, at least I made my goal of 6 ½ hours for the race.

I placed 442/464 overall and 83/87 in my age group (M45). I know this doesn’t sound terribly impressive, but this race was one of the races in the Europacup for Ultramathons 2006. The Europacup consists of six ultramathons that take place across Europe each year. Many of the runners were competing in this European championship, so it does not surprise me that I was at the back of the back.

Conclusion

I am very pleased with my finishing time, considering the 1100 meters of elevation gain and the amount of asphalt trails. My goal was to finish in around 6 ½ - 7 hours, which I did. The race route was incredibly beautiful, particularly in the forests where the leaves are changing. I had hoped that I wouldn’t need to take so many walk breaks toward the end, but I’m okay with that, I still had a great race and no one can change my mind.

So my bags are packed now, my packing list checked and rechecked. I have enough running clothes to run in any weather that is thrown at me tomorrow. I took a 15 minute walk around town to calm my nerves, cooked some lunch (spaghetti, sauce and some broccoli). My wife is due home from work in about an hour (12:30 noontime), so all we have to do is eat, throw our stuff in the car and drive 3-4 hours to Schwaebisch Gmuend.

I slept about 10 hours last night, am well rested, full of energy (too much) and just ready to go! So now I think I’ll curl up with my favorite pre-race book (Running Through the Wall by Neal Jamison) and try to space out for awhile.

Thank you for all your positive comments and words of encourage, I have them stored in the back of my mind and will call upon them when the going gets rough. Catch you on the other side!

I went out for an easy 40 minute run last night. I didn’t bother looking at my stopwatch much after the first kilometer or two, I fell into an easy pace and just wandered over some field paths and a couple deer trails in the woods. It was a relaxing run, no thoughts about any particular pace, it left me relaxed and feeling fresh.

So my bags are packed and I’m ready to go, well almost, I at least have my packing list finished. I am not sure what the weather is going to do on Saturday for my 50K race, so I will probably bring half of the running cupboard with me and make a final decision an hour before the race.

We are going to try to leave around 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, which will hopefully put us in Schwaebisch Gmuend around 5:00 p.m. After checking into our guesthouse (hotel) we will probably scout out the large sports center where I can pick up my start number, check out the other pre-race activities (sports market etc.), and eat. The race starts at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, I’m already pumped and ready to get started – it’s going to be a long two days…

I'll let you know how the 50K race went sometime on Sunday afternoon. Have a good weekend!

Last night I spent some time catching up with some work at work and at home which was good for my tapering, i.e. no training. This evening I want to go for an easy 30-40 minute run, then its two days of rest until Saturday’s 50K race.

I have been reviewing my race strategy, if you want to call it that. It’s really a no-brainer, start out slow, power walk the steepest climbs, fuelup along the way and don’t forget to smile when I see a camera :-)

Actually I am anticipating this being my hardest race to date due to the elevation gains, even harder than the 50-miler that I ran this year. I’m not really concerned about when I come over the finish line, I just want to try to look my best when I do. So I’m going to keep the pace down over the first three mountains and see what I have left for the last third of the race (mostly downhill).

It does look like its going to be significantly colder then I am used to, probably around 5C/41F when I start and up to around 14C/57F by the afternoon. The weather forecast also calls for some wind and a chance of rain, so I need to carefully consider what layers I need to wear.

We are leaving for Schwaebisch Gmuend, where the race will be held, on Friday after lunch when my wife gets off work (I am taking a vacation day). It’s a good 3 hour drive if we don’t get caught in a traffic jam, but there is almost always a traffic jam around Stuttgart so it could easily take 4 hours. We found a lower priced guesthouse (hotel) about 20 minutes north of Schwaebisch Gmuend.

My wife is meeting friends of her boss on Saturday who live in Schwaebisch Gmuend. They are going to keep her busy during the 6-7 hours that I will be running. In any case I am really looking forward to my second 50K, I am confident that I can complete it, I just need to make sure I race smart.

Last night I went for an easy-paced 8K/5M recovery run. Although the sun was shining, it was slightly windy and only 17C/63F outside. With the wind it felt much colder. This morning it was only 5C/41F, I guess winter is rearing it’s ugly head. I checked the weather for Saturday for my 50K run, it is supposed to be 15C/59F with a chance of rain. This morning was only 2C/36F in Schwabisch Gmund where the race will be held. I am seriously wondering if I should mount my snow tires on the car before the weekend!

I found a couple pictures of my 10K finish yesterday. The young lady in the blue shirt is Sabine from my running club, I never knew she was so fast until she left me behind :-)

Here are the results of from the 15 people who ran from my group yesterday:

This morning at 10:00 a.m. was the annual Hardtwald (Hardt Forest) 10K run. I ran this run before in October, 2004 (50:35), so was familiar with the route. The course was approximately 40% asphalt-covered, the rest dirt forest paths. The morning was a sunny 15C/59F and windless, in other words just about perfect for running a race.

About an hour before the race I met some of the members of my running club in the big parking lot from the Karlsruhe soccer stadium. The small sports club that was putting on the race was fortunate to border the same parking lot. After chatting for awhile we got read to run.

The start was located at the edge of the forest. I new from experience that the path is narrow and you had to line up in the front to avoid a bottleneck at the start of the race. I seemed to be surrounded by running club members (15 of us ran) as I lined up. There were close to 500 runners participating in the race.

As the starting pistol went off I surged forward with the crowd, but there was still a bottleneck. I did my best to creep forward, but the first kilometer came (5:05K - 8:11/M pace) and went and I was still penned in. Finally, we made our first left turn and were rewarded with a wider dirt path. Here the fast runners took off and I did my best to pick up the pace. I was rewarded by finishing the second kilometer in 4:05 (6:34/M) which left me wondering if the maker was off, because I don't think I ever ran that fast before!

I was breathing pretty heavy by this time, so slowed down slightly to correct my breathing. I finished the 3rd kilometer in around 4:30 (7:15/M). The crowd had pretty much dissipated so I had room to run. I seemed to be the slower runner by this time as people kept passing me. As each one passed I tried to run with them at least for a few seconds. I missed seeing the 4K marker, but passed the 5K marker in 23:01 (4:36/K or 7:25/M), probably the fastest first half of a 10K that I’ve ever run!

I tried not to think about my potential finishing time as I plodded on. I could feel myself slowing down and fought to keep the momentum going. The time seemed to stand still as I passed the 6th, 7th and 8th kilometer markers – it seemed to take so long. Around kilometer 8 (mile 5) I caught up with one of the guys from my running club. He was trying to break 47 minutes, so I knew I had to stay ahead of him if I wanted to do the same.

With that in mind I fought to pull ahead of him. With sheer determination I slowly crept by him. After a few hundred meters I could feel the effort and knew I could not hold the pace for long. Just then Sabine from my running club flew by me, which totally caught me off guard as she normally doesn’t run so fast. Somehow this shock got my competitive juices flowing and I passed her! Now this lady is determined and as I started to waver just after the 9th kilometer, she passed me again and kept up a brutal pace.

She was about 10 paces ahead of me by the time we saw the sign for 400 meters left. I knew if I was going to pass her it had to be quick. I slowly started closing the gap, 300 meters, 200 meters, then finally we broke out of the woodline and onto the running track and the last 100 meters. She sprinted, I sprinted, she beat me by 2 seconds!

I barely dared to look at my watch as I crossed the finish line. I set a new personal best this past April with a time of 48:18. My goal today was a sub-48 minutes. After congratulating Sabine on a great race, I looked at my watch…a new PR…whoohoo!

My official time was 46:37, one minute and forty-one seconds faster than my old PR! I finished 189/474 overall and 42/73 in my age class (M45). My average pace was 4:39/K (7:30/M), my fastest pace for a race yet!

Running club member Sabine finished 2 seconds ahead of me and ended up in third place in her age group (W40). What I find really cool is that Sabine’s husband Uwe finished just 3 seconds and 1 place (overall) in front of her!

Anyway it was a fantastic race, I had a great time visiting with some of my running club members afterwards, and even my wife asked me if I got a new PR when I walked in the door when I got home!

Last night I tried out some new trails in the same forest where I have been running the last couple years. Instead of staying on the main gravel logging trail that circles the parameter of the forest, I weaved my way through the center of the forest on some of the dirt logging trails. I ran at a nice easy pace covering around 16K/10M by the time I made it home again. I am guessing I ran at around a 5:50/K pace (9:23/M), based on a couple kilometers that are known to me.

In any case today my legs are feeling good and I am looking forward to a good 10K race tomorrow morning (10:00 a.m.). I let you know how it goes!

Last night I biked the 4K to the trailhead of my running club and took off with the hares for some tempo training. I want to run a good 10K race on Sunday morning, so I thought it would do me good to stretch out the legs a bit. The three hares that I ran with did not disappoint me, they quickly picked up the pace to my (up to now) 10K race pace. We continued along for about 4K/2.5M at this pace until two of the runner’s dropped back and left me to the mercy of Speedy Gonzales. I held my ground for another few minutes until he stopped to pee (I never saw him again). I slowed down a notch knowing that if I continue my legs would damn me in the morning. A few minutes later one of the original two that dropped back flew by me and kept going – he is trying to break 40 minutes at the 10K race on Sunday – I think this will not be a problem!

I continued running around the 11K/6.8M loop, gradually decreasing my speed as I went. I actually felt pretty good, my legs weren’t burning, I could have held the original speed much longer. I ended up finishing the 11K in an average pace of about 4:59/K (8:02/M), pretty good for me.

I am hoping that I will have a good day at the races on Sunday and can break my personal record of 48:18 for the 10K. The course is flat, through the forest, and 80% asphalt. If I can avoid the bottleneck at the beginning of the race I have a pretty good chance.

I stopped at the pool last night on the way home from work and swam 1200 meters, half with the breast stroke, half freestyle (crawl). The pool was not as busy as normal so I guess I was more relaxed, the swimming came easier than usual. For anyone new to my blog, I am a relatively new swimmer, having only one swim course (breast stroke) under my belt from last winter. I more or less taught myself some resemblance of the freestyle. I wanted to take a crawl/freestyle course this year, but the courses are few and fill up almost immediately (first come, first serve, no waiting lists). So basically I’m not fast, but I get the job done.

The Diet

I continue to half-heartedly try to lose the last 7 kilograms/15 pounds that would leave me at my dream weight of 67 68 kg/150 lbs. I was down to 73 kg/161 lbs. for about five minutes this summer, but have been fluttering around 75 kg/166 lbs. for most of the rest of the year. Following my marathon in September and the vacation right after this I shot up to 78 kg/172 lbs. and it has taken me until this week to bring it back down again. This morning I was 74.5 kg/165 lbs. and hope to drop another pound or two by the middle of next week. My goal is to still be under 75 kg/166 lbs. the days following my 50K race in ten days.

For the rest of the year I want to decrease running slightly and add more crosstraining, including weight lifting. I hope that, together with a serious diet plan, that I can lose make a serious dent in my weight loss. Pretty ambitious during the holiday season, right!

I was thinking about my post from yesterday, and a couple comments that some of you left. I think for me there are several factors that add to a decline in my performance in the autumn.

I have been running races for almost three years now and each year I have had a longer event in September or October. So I hit a peak in training at the end of August (or September) and really don't have any major races again until March, so I guess this is the end of race season if there is such a thing.

It is also the busiest time of year for me at work, so this also has an influence on my training, mostly due to getting less sleep and being more stressed out I guess.

I also think during I tend to slow down and enjoy my running more. I guess this is more mental than physical. I really enjoy autumn, the changing leaves, the cooler weather, and the fresh air. I find less reason to rush through my runs, rather I take my time and try to take in all that my trails have to offer (before the freezing temperatures of winter force me to speed up again).

I guess lastly I choose the November/December timeframe as my “rest” time. There are very few longer races in my area during these months, so for me it is a good time to slow down and let the body regenerate. I think we all need to do this, but confess that my ideal of “taking it easy” is probably not everyone else’s. On the other side many train harder during their “rest” phases than I do during my peak race training. I guess we all need to know what are bodies need, I’m still learning, and will continue to do so because I am not getting any younger either.

Usually around Christmas I start worrying about the holiday weight gain and have more time to browse/drool over the upcoming year’s race schedule, so start getting serious about my training again. Most of the longer races (marathon and above) in Germany fall between March and October, so my training cycle usually kicks off right after Christmas.

So what about you guys, do you have a rest phase during your training year?

No, I’m not talking about setting the clocks, unless you want to consider the biological one. I have noticed over the last few years that I have been running and racing that my speed and endurance seems to decrease rapidly around the October timeframe. This is the time when my race times go through the floor.

Due to the latter this is also usually when I take a step back and take it easier for a couple months until after Christmas. I really hadn’t planned on a break this year, but my body seems to be telling me otherwise and I tend to listen. I do my best running and racing between March and September. With that in mind I am thinking about making my first major event for next year a marathon in March instead of a 50K in January. But we’ll see how my 50K goes in 11 days.

Last night I explored some of the trails that I rode over with my bicycle on Sunday. The trails are all flat (the nearest hills are 12k from our house), the surface varying from gravel to dirt to soft forest paths (from wildlife). Of course I have to run 2K of asphalt before I reach the first gravel path.

I started out at a nice comfortable pace, around 5:45/K (9:15/M). After about 10-12K/6-7M I started feeling the 32K bike ride from the day before and the 10K race on asphalt on Saturday, my legs not being used to bike riding or asphalt lately.

I had intended on running almost 3 hours, but decided to run just two – no need to push it during my tapering. I guess I ran around 20K/12.5M, give or take a little.

I found a couple pictures of last years Alb 50K race, the race that I will be participating in on October 21st in Schwabisch Gmund, Germany:

Here's the elevation profile again if you are just tuning in :

Shouldn't be too bad, or?

After Saturday’s easy-paced 10K race I was left with overabundant energy, so put it to use yesterday in checking out some new running trails with my mountain bike. This winter I don’t plan on driving to the neighboring town of Weingarten every weekend to run on my hilly trails, so I was looking for an alternate route in the forests around where I live. I have also been running the same 14K/8.7M trail on my shorter runs for almost 2 years, so am looking for some new scenery.

Anyway I rode my bike the 4K/2.5M to the trailhead of the Graben Running Club trails and started exploring some of the narrower logging and game trails that weave through this wooded area. I found several possible alternatives and will probably try the first one this evening. In any case I managed to accumulate around 32K/20M on my bike by the time I got home, a good portion of the mileage on muddy forest paths.

This week I am tapering for my 50K that I am running on Oct. 21st. My tentative training is as follows:

Monday (tonight): 14K/8.7M easy pace run
Tuesday: Swim night
Wednesday: Running with Graben Running Club – 11K at faster pace.
Thursday: Easy-pace run
Sunday: 10K race

Yes, that's a 10K race on Sunday - I decided to run a 10K race next weekend as well. Hopefully I can channel my tapering energy into a new PR and still survive my 50K race six days later. Stay-tuned!

Yesterday I met my friend John in the neighboring town of Durlach for his first 10K race since he was on the high school track team 20+ years ago. This race has a flat looping course around the town and offers lots of fans for support. A few of my running club were also running the race, but my priority was to make sure John made it to the finish line in good form.

John is in the U.S. Army reserves and runs on occasion and works out regularly at a fitness studio, but rarely runs more then a few miles at a time.

As we lined up in the rain at the start at 4:00 p.m. we decided to try to finish in under an hour, a goal that John felt like he could handle. We took our place near the back of the 600 racers and waited for the starting pistol.

As the race began we crept forward, taking at least 30 seconds to get over the starting line. For the first 6-7 minutes we had to keep the pace down due to the crowd of runners, but then it began to thin out. This was probably better anyway as it kept out pace down, which was good for John’s first race.

I tried to keep us at a pace that would bring us home in under an hour – for me it was almost my marathon pace, so I had lots of time to chat with John and encourage others that we passed.

We passed the 5K and halfway point in around 28 1/2 minutes, well within our 60 minute goal for the race. John was breathing a little harder, but seemed to be running a pace that he could maintain. By this time the rain stopped and the sun came out, so at least we had some nice weather to motivate us.

Around the 5 mile mark I could tell John was working hard to keep the pace going, but he had a lot of courage and kept his feet moving. As we passed the 9K point I suggested that we pick up the pace a notch, but I could tell from John’s lack of reaction that he was already red lining, so I just tried to keep us moving at the same pace.

Finally, we heard the cheering crowds, John struggled to pick up the pace some as the finish line came into view. We crossed the finish line together in 58:53, although they read my barcode first, so he was a second behind me officially.

I congratulate John on a great first race and want to add “See John, you weren’t the last one!” He came in 462nd out of 633 runners, respect!

Last night I headed out for an easy 10K run. I decided to spice up the run a little by criss-crossing through the forest that is part of my normal route. So for about half of the run I took every horse or animal trail that I could find, it was really delightful, even having to traverse through the middle of a berry path! I finished the 10K in 56:17, a comfortable pace at my current fitness.

On Saturday I am running a 10K race in the nearby town of Durlach with an American friend of mine (John). I believe this will be his first 10K race, so I don’t expect to be going too fast, although he could surprise me. It should be fun anyway! Have a nice weekend.

Hey, I just realized that I met this year’s running mileage goal – 2500 kilometers (1553 miles) on my last run! Guess I can sit back and relax the rest of the year ;-)

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you know I could never do that!

Last night I decided to stay away from the running club speedsters and went for an easy 9K/5.5M run. It actually stopped raining and the sun came out for a couple hours in the late afternoon as I laced up and headed out. The ground was still wet and spongy as I maid my way around the field and forest ways. The air was fresh and cool, but the sun beamed down on my back as I completed my loop. What an awesome run, I loved it!

On a sad note, one of the marathon runners collapsed at the race on Tuesday around the 16K point. Despite best efforts to revive him, he never recovered – he was 55 years old. I passed by as they were working on him…

As I rode the train to work this morning I was thinking about the rest of this year’s running/fitness goals.

My last long race is coming up on October 21st, a 50K. It is going to be a challenging race, with all the hill climbs I think even more challenging than the 50-miler that I ran this year. I’m going to have to run smart the first half or it will be a long way to the finish line. My half-marathon race yesterday was a practice run in maintaining a steady pace. With most of my races I start out way too fast. Yesterday my pace did not waver more than 10 seconds/kilometer for the entire half-marathon – mission accomplished, bring on the 50K!

For the rest of the year I am going to be slowing down with the running and concentrating on more cross-training such as swimming and weight lifting that will help improve core strength for next years activities. I also want to try to get rid of a few more pounds that are still hanging around.

I was planning on a 50K race at the end of January 2007. However, this would require me to keep training at the level that I have been, thus never really having a “fall back and rest” time for this year. I have noticed that my body is starting to complain, so I probably will postpone a 50K race until May. The new plan in my mind is to go back to Kandel in March 2007 and take care of unfinished business, namely the Bienwald marathon that I DNF’ed in 2006. If I decide to do this, I won’t be alone, several members of my running club are already signed up for the marathon! The only negative point is that it is a 100% asphalt course – my legs will curse me for subjecting them to such punishment :-(

Other race plans for the next several months include a couple cross-country races (8-10K), a HM in December and a New Year's Eve 10K race. There is also a 15K race and a 10K cross-country race in January. February is pretty quite race-wise, but in March the new race season start running full steam. Lot's to look forward to, it's only hard to figure out which races to participate in.

Today is a German holiday, so yours truly decided that it would be a great day for my last long run before my 50K on Oct. 21. I had planned on running a bit longer than normal, somewhere between 4-5 hours. Of course what better way to do that than to run a marathon, right! So I showed up at the Rhine Marathon about an hour before the event, which took place about 20 minutes from my house. It was raining, as it did all night and most of yesterday. We are not talking sprinkles, we are talking a steady, relentless rain that leaves you soaked in a matter of minutes.

As I stood in line to sign up for the event I already had my doubts on whether I really wanted to run the entire marathon, especially at a slower then normal tempo. So as my turn in line arrived and they asked me whether I wanted to run the half or the full marathon I answered with “I don’t know”, which kind of surprised them I guess. I went on to say that in this weather I wasn’t sure. They said if I signed up for the marathon I could decide a 100 meters before the end of the half if I wanted to finish or do the full (the marathon was 2 loops). The price difference was only around $3.50 (4 Euro) so I signed up for the full.

So the rain continued to pour down as we lined up for the start. I wore a running shirt, jacket and shorts. My shoes were already getting soaked before we started, an indication of the amount of rain we were getting.

I set off at a comfortable pace, about 5:45/K (9:15/M), which I maintained the first 21K/13M. The course was flat, 100% hard asphalt, and angled – in other words a terror to run on!

It continued to rain and rain, then it rained some more. By kilometer 19 my legs were starting to disagree with the asphalt and sloped path. I could feel it especially in my left knee. This never happens when I run on trails! By kilometer 20 all I could think of was my 50K race in 2½ weeks and how, if I continued to run the full marathon, how messed up my legs would be by the end of the race.

So as the 21K/13M marker showed up I decided that it is more important for me to be fresh for the 50K race, so I ran over the finish line, completing the half-marathon in around 2:03:00.

After showering at the sports center, I drove home (in the rain of course) and pondered if I had made a wise decision or am just a wimp. Arriving home without an answer I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon chilling out with my wife who was surprised to see me home so soon.

At least tomorrow night I can run with my running club.

By the way, it’s still raining outside…

It was an extremely busy this past week, something had to give and it was my blogging. I’m trying to play catch up today.

Anyway I went for a 9K/5.5M recovery run on Thursday night, easy pace about 6:00/K (9:39/M). Friday I relaxed and took the day off from training.

On Saturday morning (yesterday) I drove to the nearby town of Weingarten and ran two hours on the hills on the edge of town. I follow part of my normal route, but added some extra loops with some up and downhills to make it more challenging.

This afternoon I took an hour bike ride, looking for a new trail to use over the winter. I found some nice forest paths which I can try out this week, it will be a nice change. Tuesday I want to go on a longer long run, somewhere between 4 -4 1/2 hours. Have a great week.