Nov 15, 2007

A torn Meniscus

Well, it looks like there is a price to pay for the racing season. I tore the meniscus in my right knee. Actually, I tore both the inner and outer front menisci (?!)

8 weeks of physical therapy, ultra sound and stretching, and a 50/50 chance that I thereby avoid having surgery in January. Wish me luck!

Sep 30, 2007

A World Record and a Hurting Knee


Event Stats:
Name Berlin Marathon
Date 09/30/2007
Location Berlin, Germany
Event Marathon
Finish Time 04:00:08

Sep 23, 2007

Jog and What?


Event Stats:
Name Rock and Jog
Date 09/23/2007
Location Bensheim, Germany
Event Halfmarathon
Finish Time 01:56:00

Sep 15, 2007

Sep 9, 2007

Scared of Open Water, Anyone?


Event Stats:
Name Escape from the Gorge
Date 09/09/2007
Location Cascade Locks, OR, USA
Event Olympic Triathlon
Finish Time 03:03:07

Aug 11, 2007

Take my breath away


Event Stats:
Name Crater Lake Rim Run
Date 08/11/2007
Location Crater Lake, OR, USA
Event Marathon
Finish Time 04:58:53

Jul 1, 2007

The A-Race


Event Stats:
Name Ironman European Championchip
Date 07/01/2007
Location Frankfurt, Germany
Event Ironman
Finish Time 11:53:18

Jun 10, 2007

The Goofy, Part 2


Event Stats:
Name Northern Olympic Discovery Marathon
Date 06/10/2007
Location Sequim to Port Angeles, WA, USA
Event Marathon
Finish Time 04:00:55

Jun 9, 2007

The Goofy, Part 1


Event Stats:
Name adidas Helvetia Half Marathon
Date 06/09/2007
Location Hillsboro, OR, USA
Event Halfmarathon
Finish Time 01:45:09

May 27, 2007

Where have all the people gone?


Event Stats:
Name Coeur D'Alene Marathon
Date 05/27/2007
Location Coeur D'Alene, ID, USA
Event Marathon
Finish Time 04:03:49

May 13, 2007

Backing it up :-)


Event Stats:
Name Tacoma City Marathon
Date 05/13/2007
Location Tacoma, WA, USA
Event Marathon
Finish Time 03:48:58

May 6, 2007

Rain + Cold = Fast


Event Stats:
Name Vancouver Marathon
Date 05/06/2007
Location Vancouver, BC, CA
Event Marathon
Finish Time 03:50:41

Apr 28, 2007

There are Trail Runs and then there are Trail Runs


Event Stats:
Name Capitol Peak 50
Date 04/28/2007
Location Capitol Forest, WA, USA
Event Ultra Marathon (50 mi)
Finish Time 11:55:18

Apr 22, 2007

Spokane River Run


Event Stats:
Name Spokane River Run
Date 04/22/2007
Location Spokane, WA, USA
Event Ultramarathon (50 km)
Finish Time 05:50:45

Great weather (dry &cool), an absolutely fantastic course (wide, scenic, flat), run in 2 different loops (which gives you the opportunity to quit after 25km should things go wrong).

For an entry-level trail run, this one is a hit!

Apr 15, 2007

Peterson Ridge Rumble

Event Stats:
Name Peterson Ridge Rumble
Date 04/15/2007
Location Sisters, OR, USA
Event Ultramarathon (60 km)
Finish Time 08:41:26

Petersons Ridge Rumble is a very low-key ultra marathon, officially 60km, although I think I ran a good 5k on top of that, simply because I got lost twice. Running on a trail and looking out for markings to show you the way is quite different from running on the road.

Weather was great, sunny, but not too warm, the scenery around Sisters, a small town near Bend, Oregon, fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed a long and slow run. I didn’t even attempt to get a good finished time, I was way too happy just to be out there. Wide forest roads gave way to some steep trails, and breathtaking sights.

Aid-stations were not only very friendly, but offered something I haven’t seen on road-races. Real treats – Oreos, M&Ms, pretzels and the like – and not just the power-bars and -gels that seem to be the new monoculture in athlete nutrition. Yummy!

Great food at the finish, which I reached after almost nine hours.

Apr 7, 2007

Road Race with a Trail Ending

Event Stats:
Name Vernonia Half Marathon
Date 04/07/2007
Location Vernonia, OR, USA
Event Half Marathon
Finish Time 01:53:54

A week aftter the California Halfironman, the Vernionia Half Marahon was certainly to be booked under ‘active recovery’.

Vernonia is a small village about an hour or so northwest of Portland, OR. Aside from 13 (!) churches, the villages greatest feature (for me, who got up at 5:00 to drive there) was an absolutely fantastic coffee shop.

The race course took was basically a loop on a paved bike path, very falt and smooth. Thing were going smooth, my legs didin’t hurt at all, when suddenly, at about mile 10 two things happened.

It started to rain seriously, and the paved bikepath gave way to a – now rather muddy – gravel and dirt road. But it was way too late in the race to seriously annoy me, so I just picked up the pace a little and finished in 1:54 (so much for recovery ,-)

Awesome raffle at the finish!

Mar 31, 2007

Bike Training - What Bike training?

Event Stats:
Name Ford Ironman 70.3 California
Date 03/31/2007
Location Oceanside, CA, USA
Event Half Ironman
Finish Time 05:57:27

 People come to Southern California because it’s always warm and sunny, right? That thought went through my head, when I was standing in Transition at 6:30 with temperatures in the lower 50s, my naked feet on the concrete floor that sucked every bit of warmth out of my body. Waiting for my wave of the swim start was probably the worst part of the whole race. It actually felt warm when I finally entered the water, although it only had 59F.

The swim itself, a short out-and-back in the Oceanside marina was uneventful, and - due to the wave start - not even crowded. A quick transition and off I was on my bike.

I had ordered myself a brand new bike (a Quintana Roo Tequilo). It arrived a day before I started my trip to California, so I didn’t even have the saddle height adjusted when I got to SoCal. The last time I had ridden a bike before that day? Sometime in June last year, I think.

Punishment came instantly. Since I am a reasonably good swimmer (and a very bad cyclist) I am used to getting passed on the bike constantly, so that didn’t worry me. But after about 15 minutes, my hands fell asleep, my back started hurting and I felt ready to quit.

I had more-or-less ridden the bike porting of the race a year before, so I knew that it featured a VERY steep climb in the middle of Camp Pendleton. This year, with this bike, this gear-set and no training, it proved to much for me. When your standing with your full body weight on a pedal, and the bike doesn’t move, its time to step off and walk. Lucky for me, the climb wasn’t very long, so the embarrassment of walking lasted for less than two minutes.

Nevertheless, I got my act together on the run, and although it finally got quite hot and sunny and my legs hurt, ran a (for me very decent) 2:03 half marathon, allowing me to finish in just under 6 hours total, which was my goal time for this event.

Lessons learned:
  1. At night, even in Southern California, the sun does not always shine
  2. A great bike, without a proper bike fit, is a crappy bike
  3. Always pack a pair of throw-away shoes/flip-flops
  4. The pain in your legs at the start of the run really goes away
  5. When that happens, the end of the run isn’t too far away

Mar 18, 2007

The Race That Disappeared

Event Stats:
Name Shamrock Half Marathon
Date 03/18/2007
Location Millersylvania State Park, WA, USA
Event Halfmarathon
Finish Time 01:48:42

Here is what I know: I drove to Millersylvania State Park on April 17, I ran a Half-marathon there, there were other runners there (although not many and I finished in 1:48:42. I also remember signing up (and paying) for this race. 

 It was a out-and back race, rolling hills, on a street through the state-park. Weather was OK, not too cold, some rain, but not bad. I actually ran quite well and I think I finished fourth. 

However, I can not find anything about that race online. It is like it never happened. Strange. Very strange.

[Update 01/13/13 Found the results list]

Mar 4, 2007

Frankfurter City-Halbmarathon

Event Stats:
Name Frankfurter City-Halbmarathon
Date 03/04/2007
Location Frankfurt, Germany
Event Halfmarathon
Finish Time 02:10:12

Small(er) race organized by Frankfurts most prominent running club. Early Sunday morning start means a pretty empty city. Run went OK for the first part, but I bonked pretty hard at about km 15. Good early season race.

Bald geht's wieder los:  Project Olav