Too Much Exercise…Not!

I have been busy. That’s not completely bad.

I have been busy because I spend all my free time, either commuting to/from work or training.

Ready To Run

I have also been busy preparing a change in my life so I will not waste all that time traveling to/from work, the plan is in motion and it is going forward, by the end of June life things will change.

Last weekend I was sick with a cold, a light fever and the feeling I had been run over by a herd of dancing penguins. Not because I went running in the rain the Friday before but because I sweat like a racing horse when I walk between work and the train station and then the changes of temperature make the bugs happy. Therefore I skipped training the whole weekend and made it go away.

Monday, managed to put in a record 10K under 1 hour (pushing the baby trolley).

Tuesday, did one hour on the bike in the gym and felt very weak… I think the 1K sprints killed the bug (and also a part of me ).

Wednesday, going for the 5K record I totally messed it up and still don’t understand how it went so wrong… 5K in 35 mins.

Thursday, is today, it is raining cats and dogs (no surprise there) as I am still not over the cold I will spend some time in the gym and on the static bike.

Tomorrow some shopping, and checking out the Triathlon club.

I am also preparing a page with my personal records, distance and time along with the upcoming event results and crazy goals, soon…

And now 4 days at home with the girls (and training hard). Yeah!!

No days off, ever!

Back to Training

After a long (two-day) break I could finally make time to put in some K’s and sweat my worries away.

I skipped training on Thursday for family reasons and Friday for professional reasons. It was too much time for me, I usually start feeling “sick” after one day without training and even with my knee complaining I could feel the energy building inside me.

Biking Log - 20090509

I found a nice video on YouTube about commitment and working our way to our dreams, I am not alone!!!:

So, it is possible, I only need to keep proving it everyday, and to everyone (starting with myself).

This morning I went out to the Specialized bike shop here in Stuttgart and I started building up my small workshop to keep my bike in good shape as she deserves, because last week I rode half the way with the gear cable coming out of the housing and it shows I haven’t been treating her right… I noticed today the left “egg-beater” has a big slack and that adds up to the lack of confidence I have right now on my tires (almost lost the front twice today).

I ordered some new parts, they should come during the next week. Two Schwalbe tires and a set of neoprene grips. Next (if not the pedals) I think will be the cranks, I will probably buy me the RaceFace Deus because I am still not good enough for the FSA SL-K Compact with only two rings.

Tomorrow I want to check out the Waiblingen Triathlon, it’s a few kilometers away from here, I was there today checking it out, and I am getting really curious about the disciplin… I already chose the bike (1999€), you got to love this beauty!!

CUBE Aerium Race

No days off, ever.

80Ks And Still Smiling

Great training this Saturday, I made it through the distance, and felt strong all the way to the end. I think I could have ate better and avoid a minor performance degradation around the 3rd hour. Good hydration but three energy/protein bars are clearly not enough…

I have put in some mountains in “Mountain Biking” this time, to make it harder and almost summed up 1000 meters of climbing.

I headed straight to the Hartwald circuit and did 3 laps to warm up, stead pace, just spiking above 140bpm on the hardest climb but never much higher than 150bpm. Don’t understand why the log is now showing the pace in min/km instead of km/h but I made an average of 18.8km/h at an average of 128bpm, not a fast pace, but not so bad pulse. Will be better as I build up more strength on the upper legs and lower my heart rate on longer runs during the week.

I felt really good, no (abnormal) pains and felt really strong on the legs and upper body. My hands felt a bit numb on the flat around half the way through, and my butt was complaining for some time, but I guess it won’t be a problem while climbing over the Alps, my thoughts will be elsewhere .

Here is the log. Got to rest now and prepare to improve this even further this next week.

Biking Log - 20090502

Circuit Trail Running

I have always enjoyed running but my passion for nature came with the mountain biking where I found the most beautiful landscapes. I have it still so clear in my mind that I enjoyed the most beautiful singletrails in Munich (at night!) that I dream about those trails and the Alps every time I go out to ride. Anyway, I now found that running in the trails is as much as enjoyable and starting with a couple of runs in the Schwarzwald I now saw myself driving to another beautiful small woods area where there is this 4K circuit mostly used by runners.

It is great, although I still can’t keep up with “Zee Germans!” pace. I get great beatings by 40 and even 50 year olds… It’s true .

I admire this culture of caring for your health and keeping fit, I still don’t know exactly how it goes but it seems that after 30 a lot of people take the running very seriously. Maybe the fact that in every small population area there are sporting infrastructures like soccer fields (with real grass, and real sized) tennis courts and athletic tracks. I see the young kids filling these fields, fully equipped, boys or girls, training like I never had a chance…

Back to the running, I really enjoyed the trail running and although my shoes are for tarmac I had no trouble on the downhills nor the uphills. The circuit is 4K long and I made two rounds at a comfortable  6’21″ pace. In a couple of weeks I will make it for the third for my personal distance record. It is 8K’s away from my house, so in the future I can make a 20K run going there putting one lap down and returning home.

Here is the log, my goal was completing the hour, ending with a smile and possibly making the 10K.

Running Log - 20090501

One Hour. I’ll Take It!

I had one hour for a quick ride yesterday so I went to my favorite spot I discovered last weekend, Hartwald.

This is 8k’s away from where  live and there is a training circuit in the woods, it is the typical landscape, mostly flat but with a couple of easy hills, it is also a running circuit so it is not so hard to ride with the bike. It is around 3k’s long (not sure, will log it today on a run) and it has some wide singletracks that made me smile yesterday .

Since I had only one hour I pushed it a bit on the circuit which is the halfway point for my quick ride training. I was flying and smiling on the downhill singletracks and got close to the ground in one fast section due to the wet ground and my 1.9″ front tyre… I need to rethink my choice of tires for the races and most important for the Alps.

I have a Schwalbe Nobby Nic I bought some 3 years ago and never had the chance to try it out… So I am thinking about changing tires before hitting the ground hard in another high speed corner in the woods.

Biking Log - 20090430

Update: The circuit is approximately 4K, I did 2 laps running today.