Building Up

training stats
week's total: run 49.5K, bike 50K, gym 1 hr
Su 20/05: hilly long run, 27.5K, 2:46 hrs
Sa 19/05: gym 1 hr
Fr 18/05: bike, 50K, 400m, 2:15 hrs
Th 17/05: hilly run, 11.5K, 1:06 hrs

Three weeks to go until the Stockholm Marathon. The oncoming fortnight will be the decisive time of training to enable me to run Stockholm inside 3:40. This would be my best marathon since April 2004 when I set my PB of 3:21 which I certainly will never be able to achieve again.

The first important step was done today when I managed to complete a long and hilly run of 27.5K. And my legs felt good afterwards! The overall mileage is still far too small, I know. But if I can do another long run next Sunday I will start to be optimistic.

Taking up again the habit to go to the gym I had to realise that I got quite stiff during the recent months. I urgently have to come back to regular stretching and moderate strength training. The latter I need to avoid problems with my adductors. Regular strength exercises are a reliable and easy way to keep away this trouble.

You don't need a machine to train your adductors.
1) Sit on the carpet with your knees bent. Place your fore arm across between the knees and press knees together (blocked by elbow and hand). Press for 20-30 seconds.
2) Sit on the carpet with your knees bent. Hold your knees together by both hands at the outside of the knees. Try to separate your knees by moving each knee to its side but hold them in place with all the strength of your hands. Press for 20-30 seconds.

I was told to do these exercises by Wolfgang Münzel, coach of the German hill running team, and since I practiced regularly all problems with adductors were gone. Wolfgang temporarily works for InterAir, too, and we were a team of travel guides in New York City in recent two years.

(perhaps I should take a couple of photos to explain it more clearly - I will show in next posting)



Wiki Foto: Adductors