February 15, 2009
On Feb. 7th I had my first race in Finland 2009. The race was in Vaajaski, close to my “Finnish home” Jyväskylä and I could secure an “overwhelming” victory. Conditions were typical for Finnish winter: -7°C and quite a lot of snow. Adding the hilly profile of the course, the time is pretty ok and it was a perfect training run. Unfortunately my closest competitor and running mate Miika had a bad day and decided to take it easy after around 1km. So I had to push myself all the way through the snow. Nevertheless, the pace was steady (first 5K in 17:34min) and the feeling was really good. Also the new Air Pegasus (cross country version) did a good job – they had a good grip and it seems they are a perfect partner for the winter.
After all I can say that the 2009 winning streak continues 
two races – two victories.
January 6, 2009
I started my race season only 3 days into the new year on last Saturday at the new years run in Falkenstein, which is close to my hometown. After races in Gera and Trier it was my 3rd competition within 7 days and a good test of my actual shape. I could clearly see, that there is a good base and once I start doing more speed work the shape improves pretty fast.
I could win the first race in 2009 comfortably with a margin of approx. 2minutes. The time of 41:06 for the 11,5km doesn’t tell too much, because the conditions were somewhat icy-snowy with temperatures of -5 to -10°C. The course consists of a 4km climb at the beginning of the race and afterwards it’s almost completely downhill or flat. After 2km I went clear of my closest competitor and went on to run a consistent pace, i.e. not all out but a good tempo-run pace. I also was lucky that I chose the right running shoe with a good profile, because there was not much grip in the forest parts of the race.
The new years race is almost tradition for me: I competed there 13 times. That means I competed there the half of my life! The first time I ran there was around 15 years ago and I only missed few years due to an indoor season or injury/disease (like in 2008).
January 4, 2009
In Germany there are more than 100 races on the last day of the year. After running in Bietigheim last year I wanted to run in Trier this year, because it’s the other biiig race in Germany. In Trier there is much more international competition (this e.g. Olympic 10.000m bronze medalist Micah Kogo) and the German top runners usually run either Bietigheim or Trier.
The course in Trier is a 1-km loop with some sharp corners and a lot of cobblestone – i.e. the race is flat but not super-fast. In the elite race of the competition I had to run 8 loops (=8km) with around 50 competitors. Because of the short round, there are quite a lot of people and a good atmosphere with confetti and thunderer whistles, that’s why Trier is called the “German Sao Paulo”.
The race itself was neither fish nor fowl. I didn’t went out so fast (in fact a bit slow) and caught up other runners all the way after the first round. The km-splits were: 3:13,7/3:12,6/3:14,8/3:15,9/3:15,9/3:17,4/3:14,3/3:05,5. After the few speed work I did in the last training period I couldn’t expect much more and the last km shows that there is a lot of space to improve. Anyway, it was a great experience to run against some of the best runners in the world, to stay in the same hotel and to meet them and have a chat with them. After all you can see that they are also only humans and need to work hard for their success.
December 29, 2008
On the last Saturday of 2008 I participated in a local race in Gera instead of doing my tempo-run alone at home. I just made the decision to compete the evening before the race, so there was not much of a preparation (neither physical nor mental) and for me it was a good training run without going to the limit. The course was a very hilly one, with a lot of forest ways and some single trails with uneven underground. Furthermore the ground was frozen and that’s why I didn’t want to risk any injury. Surprisingly there also were some really good competitors (e.g. Christian Seiler-4th place in German halfmarathon nationals 2008) and I couldn’t match the speed of the two front runners.
More important for me will be the international Trierer Silvesterlauf on New Year’s Eve. I got invited by the race organisers to stay in Trier from 30.12.08-01.01.09 and will race against a talent-loaded field, with e.g. Beijing 10.000m Bronze medalist Micah Kogo and other national and international top-class athletes. I’m already very excited to run in the “German Sao Paulo” as the race is known because of its atmosphere.
December 15, 2008
I’m in Germany for 1 week now and the first competition is already history.
Last Sunday I had a 8,5km race that was organised by my German home club SV Vorwärts Zwickau. As the “local hero” I had quite some pressure to win the race and I could cope with it pretty well. The weather was really good (sunny, around freezing temperatures) but there was partly ice and mud on the flat course – so the time was not an issue for this race.
From the very start of the race I went to the front and made the pace. Until the half of the race I was accompanied by 3 fellow runners but when I continued to run my steady pace, one after another dropped and until the finish I gained 13 seconds to the closest competitor. After all it was an OK-race but nothing too spectacular. I still have to get some speed and leg turnover to my body!
Results of the race can be found here.
During the race (at about 3,5km) with me, Philipp Leipelt, Volkmar Wolfrum and Sebastian Harz (from left to right)
Celebrating victory with my little nephew.
November 2, 2008
I took a lot of time to think about the Berlin marathon and analyze the whole race, the preparation and all circumstances that might have influenced my performance. With the start of the new training season I can conclude my analysis and make the adjustments to improve next time.
After all I should not be disappointed with my 2nd marathon. I improved my PB by more than 2 1/2 minutes and I got 21st in the 2nd biggest marathon in the world (the biggest marathon in Europe). The thing that made me a bit mad, was the fact that I was on sub-2:20h course for more than 37km. After my analysis I think, how I can run a sub-2:20 in the close future.
But now to the analysis itself:
general preparation
The preparation was quite good. The 5-week altitude camp went really, really well and I only missed three days during the whole camp because of an issue with my right foot. The last two weeks before the marathon were not as good and after the German 10K road running championships I again got problems with the foot and was never 100% pain free. It was only an odd feeling in my foot but still before a marathon that’s not a good sign. Also I could feel something in my foot few kilometers into the marathon and the I guess the Biomechanics suffered quite a bit because of that.
weather conditions /course
Well, those are the things you can’t change as a run, but both the course and the weather was pretty much perfect. The course is fast: flat, few corners – only the looong straights get endless at the end. There was almost now wind and the temperature at the start was just perfect, even if the sun heated up the streets a bit towards the end of the marathon.
pacing strategy
My 5K-splits were as follows: 16:31 + 16:21 + 16:31 + 16:49 + 16:48 + 16:36 + 16:36 + 17:44 + 8:20 (2,195k). The two halfs were 69:52 + 72:24. Until km 37/38 I was right on 2:20h pace but then struggled a lot on the last 4km.
Until around km 13 I was running with the leading women (at that point those were some Ethiopians), but then I decided to slow down a bit because they were running towards a projected 2:17h and that seemed to be a bit too fast for me. Consequently I had to run on my own until around km 22, when Irina Mikitenko including her 3 pacers came from behind. I settled in this group and we were closing the gap to the women lead group. I was feeling pretty ok in the group – it was a big motivation to run next to Irina and with her pacers around her I had a lot wind-shadow. However, the pacers steadily increased the pace (Irina ran a big negative split) and I had to decide if I continue to hang on or to run my own pace. Around km 34 I made the decision to run my own pace, but this might have been a bit too late. I could still hold the pace steady until approx. km37 but again I was on my own and the Mikitenko-group was drifting away. And then at around km 37/38 I really started to suffer. The tank was empty and I just wanted to make it to the finish. The things I can still remember are, that 1) I was passed by the Ethiopian woman that eventually took 2nd at around km 40 and at km 40,5 I passed the 3rd German, but I should only realise it after the finish that I was 3rd German. All the other memories of the last kilometers are gone. At some point I saw the stars and I guess I was not too far away from loosing consciousness – I can’t even remember how I ran through the Brandenburg gate!!
Of course it’s always easy to say afterwards, but if I would have known before that Irina is running such a time (2:19:19h) I would propably have staid in her shadow for as long as possible from the first kilometer onwards.
fueling during the race
Getting the right fuel during a marathon is crucial for every marathon runner. For my part I only took fluids during the race but there were some problems in getting my bottles in the later stages of the race. On the first supply points I got my bottles without bigger problems and at one point I even got the bottle from a bike official, that stood right in front of the table with my bottle. The problem was to get the fluids at the supply points on km 30 and 35. There were some officials standing right in front of the table and it was impossible to reach the much required carbohydrate-refuel. So, between km 25 and 36 I didn’t get a single bottle (fortunately I had someone at km 36 who could give me a prepared extra bottle). The fact that I was without a proper supply during that stage might be one reason for my slump at the end of the race. In future marathons I might also try to take some carbo-gels to avoid a lack of energy, but I will have to try that in training first of course.
Conclusion
It’s marathon! You learn something in every single marathon. The important thing is to make things better next time and I am now sure how I can improve in the next marathon.
September 21, 2008
On September 13th the time of waiting for the first race was finally over. After a 5-week training camp at the altitude of Kühtai (Austria) and St.Moritz (Switzerland) we went directly to Karlsruhe to compete in the first competition of the autumn. Finally the road racing season started – Yeah!
The race went surprisingly well and I was lucky to run the 2nd-fastest 10K-time of my life. Only in 2003, when I ran 30:04min to get second in the Junior category of the German Road Racing Championships, I was faster. Considering the training I did in the weeks before the race I couldn’t expect to run that fast. The training at altitude consisted of very marathon-specific training and I never really did a 10K-specific build up – the fastest kilometer I ran at altitude was 3:15min. In the 10K-championships I averaged between 3:03 and 3:04min/km. And even better is: It felt pretty ok!
After a chaotic start (the start was only 4-5 meters wide and it took around 5miutes to get everyone back to the starting line) I had at least 50 other runners in front of me because I was only in the 5th or 6th row. I didn’t want to be on the very front of the start, because I thought I would not run that fast and finish in the TOP 20. Anyway, even with this bad starting position the pace went out reasonable fast and I covered the first kilometer in 3:03min. Of course I picked up a lot of other runners who started in front of me and after the first of 4 rounds I was still in about 35th position. So I continued the steady pace and split kilometers of 3:03-3:05 most of the time. After 15:15 I went through the halfway mark (5K) and by that time I started to get somewhat more anxious if I could hold the pace all the way. So I ran the next 2K a bit more carefully and with control. At around 7,5km I realised that the legs were still fresh and I focused on some guys that were running in front of me. I closed another couple of gaps, overtook some more guys and kilometer 9 was already there. At this point a guy passed me, who was running behind of me pretty much the whole race and on the last 500meters I decided not to challenge him because I didn’t want to finish the race with a cramp or some tight muscles. Berlin marathon was/is still to come and the marathon is my main aim. Maybe this way I lost approx. 2-4 seconds but it was not worth it. I rather crossed the line, knowing that there is still something in the tank. Anyway, it was a great time and placing 17th I can say that I am in contention to the best German road racers.
Chaotic start to the men’s race at the German 10K Road Race Championships – the officials don’t have any control. I am deep inside the pack and will have to overtake a lot of guys to find my final position.
At around halfway: I am rolling good and can still catch a lot of guys.
After crossing the finish line: The 3 “Finnish runners” (from left to right): Miika Takala (30:09), Erik Haß (30:34) and Jonas Hamm (31:30).
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