Joined the race again - 69 days to go

scheduled: 64K (40m) / done: 75K (47m)
BMI: 22.6

That's just the way it is when you are your own coach. The trainer knows better and advises: Be careful when recovering from illness and don't make up the missed mileage. The runner is compellingly drawn to the woods and can't be held back. The both of us now hope that this will go well.

On Tuesday my heartrate was back to normal and I enjoyed running again. Unscrupulously I completed the speed session on Wednesday. Thursday saw me running a double workout and Friday I crossed the woods again, hopping along easily like feeling 20 years younger - at least as long as I ran downhill.

Topping all this today I finished the "recovering" week by doing a 15K race where I exactly achieved the target average speed of 4:30min/K (7:14min/m). But how I did! Luckily there was no doctor on the route who heard me coughing. Presumably he would have shown me a red card. Anyhow, after one hour of running and coughing my throat was clear and I was able to speed up on the final mile.

The average of 4:30min/k (7:14min/m) is just the speed for a time of 1:36 hrs on half marathon. This is the time I want to beat on April 2nd in Berlin. And it is the time to be qualified for the New York Marathon in my agegroup M50. Surprisingly one can qualify for NYC by running a half marathon. And even more surprising the half marathon target of 1:36 is less demanding than the desired marathon time of 3:20. I have chosen Berlin because I don't know if NY accepts the time when run at a small race somewhere in the countryside.

The following week's schedule is slightly revised (and I have to admit increased) because I want to take part in a popular run with the neighbour town's running club next Saturday. Sometimes it is nice to do the long run in a different area and with different fellow runners just for a change.

Monday: gym
Tuesday: 7K (4.4m) slow, 5:45min/K (9:15min/m)
Wednesday: 14K (8.8m) medium, 5:30 (8:50)
Thursday: 10K (6m) very slow, 6:45 (10:50)
Freitag: 7K (4.4m) slow, 5:45 (9:15) and gym
Saturday: 25K (15.6m) slow, 6:00 (9:40)
Sonday: 16K (10m)slow, 5:45 (9:15)
Weekly mileage: 79K (49m)

"Runners live longer.
Marathoners don't die at all."
(Matthias Dix, local coach)

happy running, yours
Uli

And else: As my music rack lacks renaissaince music I now prefer "Cello", a beautiful song made by Udo Lindenberg, German rock legend.