June 21, 2010
Strange but true: Yesterday I woke up and it was white outside. Heavy snow falls in the morning hours covered the environment in white. The morning run felt like spring in Finland, i.e. snow and mud on the trails, wet shoes almost all the way…not the nicest running conditions, but I’m not here for holiday, right?! In the afternoon the snowfall stopped and the trails were runable again. Anyway, I never ran in that much snow at the end of June.
Today there is stil some snow left, especially in the forest. Temperatures are not too high but it will be a matter of time until the snow disappeares.
Now it’s time to get ready for another morning run.
June 19, 2010
Actually halftime was already two days ago but accumulating tiredness is responsible for the delay 
Today I only had a longish run (26K) in the morning and the evening was free. I used this time to have a walk through St. Moritz.
The time here has been really great and I already made some big steps forward. Very halpful is the fact that I do almost 100% of my trainings with some company (most of the German distance runners prepare for the European Championships here).
June 10, 2010
Yesterday I arrived in St. Moritz after a 7h car drive from my home town Zwickau. The first guys I met, when I was driving into St.Moritz were German marathoners Falk (Cierpinski) and Tobias (Sauter). Immediately after arrival I had a shake-out run (2 laps around St.Moritz lake) and when I came back to my Hotel I was surprised to meet my Finnish mate Miika. After all the world is a village it seems…especially when you are a runner
After a not so good first night I did 1h in the morning and 50mins + strength in the evening. The evening run was together with German European Championships participants Tobias Sauter and Martin Beckmann and Swiss Marathon Record holder Viktor Röthlin + 2 of his african training mates. I think that tells enough about motivation.
Weather is great here compared to Germany. When I left yesterday it was around 25-30°C but here it’s a comfortable 15°C. Perfect for running.
June 5, 2010
Just for a change I did a bike ride today. The first bike ride of the summer (yes, summer seems to be here now). Of course a “normal” round of 50K was not enough and I did a 98K ride in hilly terrain, partly on trails. I survived the 4-hours journey pretty well and can even climb the stairs almost normal i.e. without aching quads. Let’s see how tomorrow will feel. Anyway tomorrow will be back to running.
May 29, 2010
It’s Eurovision time this weekend and there is kind of a hype in Germany. The reason for that is a 19-year old girl called Lena, who might bring back some Eurovision-pride to Germany. Bookmakers see her in the top 5 (at least), so if you are in a country that is eligible to vote: Call for the German entry “Satellite” by Lena Meyer-Landrut. Germany: 12points.
How I got interested in the Eurovision song contest? Well, I guess it started when the Finnish metal band Lordi won the contest some years ago and brought the event to Helsinki. In general it seems to me that in the Nordic countries the Eurovision is more accepted and traditional than in Germany. During my time in Finland Eurovision was always a big event and that’s how I started to find out that it’s not only about folk and pop music.
For my part, I’m invited to a wedding today so most probably I will have to watch the review.
May 27, 2010
As an athlete waiting is one of the few things you’re not good in. You always want to improve and take steps forward. However, this is not always beneficial and being patient can actually save you a lot of time. At the moment I’m waiting to get in shape again. I just want to know if everything is alright with my body and after that I want to see how far I can push myself in training and competition to get back to the fitness level where I used to be in 2008.
The first small step is already taken as I’m back to 2 runs a day since monday. I did 15-25km/day with one shorter and one longer run. Speed is very low, i.e. around 5min/km.
Yesterday night I went out for the first time in a long time. There was a presentation of Malaysia and Indonesia from 2 international students in one of the local student clubs. A nice way to meet some international people, even though all of them spoke a fluent, good German. Being around people makes waiting easier, so I guess it’s not the worst idea to go out every now and then to make contacts that are not related to sports in the first place.
May 24, 2010
The last months and weeks have been a continuous downward spiral for me running-wise. Just when I thought I hit rock bottom and couldn’t sink any lower there was another setback.
I spend the last two weeks for a major break and some detraining. Most of my runs I did with some mates to get the fun back to running. Furthermore I went to see some doctors to check if there is something wrong in the system. End of last week I had blood tests but unfortunately I will only get the results next week.
This week I’m planning to start more serious training again. Nothing too special though, just increasing the mileage to something around 140km plus some alternative training. Let’s see how my body will respond.
May 4, 2010
Another week of easy training, i.e. only basic mileage with some general conditioning. At least I got 14 training runs for this week, despite the fact that they are all rather slow and also pretty short.
Last weeks training:
Mo: AM: 30min easy, PM: 60min easy
Tu: AM: 30min easy, PM: 60min easy
We: AM: 55min easy, PM: 55min running including 40min medium effort
Th: AM: 45min very easy, PM: 65min easy
Fr: AM: 45min easy, PM: 20min warm-up jog + 75min indoor soccer (pretty intense)
Sa: AM: 55min easy, PM: 50min easy
Su: AM: 60min easy, PM: 65min easy
April 27, 2010
Last two weeks training:
week 15:
Mo: AM: 85min easy, PM: 30min easy
Tu: AM: 60min easy, PM: 60min easy
We: AM: 55min easy, PM: 1/2-h run: 8.850m
Th: AM: 65min easy, PM: 60min
Fr: AM: 55min easy, PM: 30min easy
Sa: AM: 30min very easy , PM: 40min very easy including 1K in 3:25min
Su: AM: 25min very easy, German Championships Halfmarathon: 72:09min
week 16:
Mo: 135min easy cycling
Tu: AM: 105min easy cycling, PM: 30min stepper+15min elliptical trainer+15min easy running
We: AM: 30min easy, PM: 60min easy
Th: 85min easy
Fr: AM: 55min easy, PM: 40min easy + 75min indoor soccer
Sa: 55min easy
Su: AM: Hamburg Marathon as a visitor, PM 55min easy
April 13, 2010
I can feel the shape is rising. However, it’s a bit late. The mileage (last week around 195km) is ok now, but for an optimal spring, I should have run that some 1,5 months ago!!
Last weeks training:
Mo: AM: 65min easy, PM: 70min with 10K in 37:00min
Tu: AM: 70min easy, PM: 50min easy + 20min gym
We: AM: 65min easy, PM: 15x400m (75,2-70,9; average:73,4sec)
Th: AM: 115min easy long run, PM: 30min very easy
Fr: AM: 75min easy with 8×70-90sec tempo, PM: 65min easy
Sa: AM: 55min very easy, PM: 65min easy
Su: 125min easy long run
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