Canarian performance

stats of week 10: run 52K, cycled 1hr indoor and 73K, 2 gyms

Hi Folks,

greetings from the Canarian island of Lanzarote where hundreds of triathletes meet to get fit for the upcoming season. I am here for a week with friend F to do some biking. We did a 73K and 93K tour yesterday and today and I have to admit I am somewhat proud not to be overtaken by any of these fashionable very fit looking people.

We even managed to run short distances after biking - until my muscels were close to cramp. Unfortunately the hotel has the best buffet I have ever enjoyed so we are not in danger to lose weight. The all inclusive tariff lets us also have some very good vine and cocktails... The eating and drinking performance is developing much better than the biking performance ...

Due to our after bike runs the week's mileage ended up even higher than planned. I hope my good old knees won't complain later.

Longing for Summer

stats of week 11: Run 40K, Cycled 1hr, 2 gyms

I know what I said last Sunday. I promised to go for a week of recovery. Well, finally I was forced to do. After tough workouts on Thursday and Friday my body's defences got so weak that I caught the second cold of the year. Luckily it's not a really bad one so I hope to be back to planned mileage soon. I have to - because from Saturday on I should be able to keep up with F.'s speed. We'll be cycling on Lanzarote and I am looking forward to enjoy summerlike temperatures just for a week.

Too motivated?

stats of week 12: run 55K, cycled 3 hrs, gym 2 workouts

As the graph shows it was a week of highly motivated training. I am slightly worried it was already too much for my body so I will make up for the busy start with a week of recovery.

Even more remarkable is the fact that I continously did some kind of sports daily for the recent 3 weeks, a streak of 21 consecutive days of activity. Of course this was only possible by doing regular cross training like cycling and weight training.

I couldn't hesitate to do a short race today. It was my 26th appearance at this nearby event and I was still hoping to win my age group for the first time here. I like the short distance of 5K as you are close to the finish shortly after the first couple of miles. My time - 21:17 min - was sort of disappointing but I was still hoping for the much sought-after cup. Until I had to recognise that there was one much faster M55 who clearly deserved the victory. So I ended up placed second once more.

Scheduled Reluctance - 12 weeks to go

stats of week 13: run 30K, cycled 5 hrs, gym 2 sessions
(week no. counting down to London Marathon on 26/04/2009)

Reluctantly I have now set up a rough training schedule for my final 12 weeks up to the London Marathon. I have to admit I am still dreaming of 3:30 marathon. The planned mileage does not fit to this target. It can only work with cycling and weight training added and it is not suitable for anyone new to running. Usually one would recommend to do around 70-80K per week and at least 5-6 long runs to be able to run a 3:30 marathon.


On Monday I was out for the first ride on my new hardtail mountain bike. I was really crazy about it and inaugurated it by a fabulous overturn! Luckily I didn't break my arm again... Once more I was reminded of my former motto not to do any cycling before the London Marathon... Nevertheless I will go to Lanzarote for a week of cycling end of February (week 9).

A Late Start

Stats of the week: run 31K, 1:20h indoor cycling, 3 gym sessions

Germany's new marathon star, Irina Mikitenko, lately said: "Runners have to be patient." She is right I had to experience.



I wasn't able to do any kind of sports for nearly a fortnight due to a very bad shivery cold. And like it often happens - when trying to start running again the knee wasn't really happy with it. I had to throw in some of my stored Diclo pills to get me back to the woods. Finally I am content with my first weekly mileage of the year. But I hesitate to put up a training schedule for London. The regular 12-week-training period will start in early February. Still a little time to get fit again.

Running away and coming back

stats of 2008: Run 1,705K / Cycled 4,527K / Gym 64 sessions

All important decisions I made during my life were wrong. All but taking up running. Initially I didn't expect running to become important but it did - especially as it was my only good decision.

So there were 1,705 mostly happy kilometers last year. And that's where we get to the downside of running: it is limited. There is always a moment when you will have to stop. Even worse you have to come back where you started.

To be able to cope with this makes you being not just a happy runner but a happy man. Enjoy every kilometer in 2009!

Just happy

High spirits after new-years-eve-race from Werl to Soest:

What a day! I call it my one-day-come-back. Because I can't imagine that this kind of performance will last longer. I beat my own bold expectations and ran a fabulous 15K within 1:05:27 hrs. And enjoyed every second. And I was certified 8th man in m55 of 218 who have finished.

One's target can only be to collect happy moments as many as possible. This was one of the most memorable.

This is how I was crossing the finish line: