It's been a while but finally I'm back

It's been long long time since I last time wrote here. There are many reasons for that, but mainly I just did not feel like writing the blog anymore.

So why do I write now? Last couple of weeks I have been in flu and not being able to train. I'm recovering but still having problems with my lungs. During the last month or so I have thought a lot why I am running. I mean I like sports, I have always liked to challenge myself and surely I also love the feeling of pushing my limits and seeing where it takes me. But I realise also I need to set myself a goal to motivate myself to do the training. I plan the next race, whether it is a time goal or just a physical challenge, something I need to work towards. I often think I do not need to do the racing, I can just run for fun and enjoy the joy of running outside, the fresh air, the nature, the movement.. But then I always book a race, set a goal and plan my race(s). The excitement of starting a new training period, the progress I see happening in my running speed, the joy of feeling the physical progress whether it is for running speed, strength or flexibility, it is so rewarding.

So why did I decide to write again? Lately I am working a lot, it's going well and I really enjoy it. I love living the mummy life with six year old and doing all funny things with him. Often I feel I have no time to train, there is everything else that comes first. I may skip the training for few days but then I remember how I feel when I do not train, I know it has an enormous effect on my well-being, whether physical or mental. I know I need to get myself moving, to push my limits and clear my head. And I think by writing about it I can remind myself why I keep running, it's my way to follow my route to be the best of myself and maybe I can inspire someone on my way there.

This picture is from my first marathon, just before the finish line. I can still remember the feeling, it is my inspiration for the next projects.

Time for tapering

Another 12 days to go to Hannover marathon and while I am really excited about it, somewhere back of my mind I have a concern if my back can handle it. I have had great time with training, I have done many exciting runs and the 10k test run in Paderborn Osterlauf went well (well I expected to be a bit faster but well enough anyway). So now it is time to relax and just wait?

Unfortunately since our skiing holidays I have been struggling with my back and have constant pain as soon as sitting, standing or even lying down. The good thing is any kind of movement is good, surprisingly all my runs have been pain free. One could say it is the endorphines, I just think I am meant to keep moving :) Because of the pain I have shortened couple of the long runs this month and skipped few runs completely. I have been working a lot with my core, doing yoga every second day and some additional planks, squats etc. It really helps and I feel since I made the decision to really work on that more regurlarly, the back is doing better and as bonus my mobility has improved.

What's wrong with the back then? I wish I knew. I am back at the physio, he is doing his best to crack the right movement to the lower back and legs again and hopefully that will help. If not, there is this chiropractician lady living just behind the corner and what I hear she is comparable to god. Nobody knows if she is retired (Just to note, I am living in a small village and your know everything via grapewine so not necessary all the facts are available) but if the physio does not help, I am desperate enough to just ring her doorbell and beg her to treat me.

So 12 days to go to #runnover and how do I feel? I am sure I will be able to run the half marathon. I give up for any time goals as it depends on the condition of my back on that day. It will surely hurt especially on the last kilometers as I skipped some of the long runs but a bit of pain is part of game I guess. Therefore all in all, I am sure it will be great experience and I just have to not stay relaxed!

Keep on running

It has been a while since I last time shared my training with you. Apologies for that, it has been all about keeping going, make sure the everyday life runs smoothly and even with little motivation to force myself to go out for a run. As despite of all, there is no run I had regretted afterwards. But I sure had if had not done them.

While ago I really lost my motivation to train. I was extremely busy, there were many things going on both work and private and I was tired all the time. I could have slept days long and every morning a colleague was asking how I was doing, my answer was "I am tired." I still today do not know where it came from but I am really glad I feel normal again. And most importantly, I do not need to force me out for a run (or training) but I actually long for it if not regular. 

Last weeks I have been following my training plan for Hannover half marathon, the same overall program every week: Intervals in the beginning of the week, tempo on run on the mid-week and the long run during the weekend. I have actually made long runs a bit longer than recommended by the program I am following. I have still not decided if I will run Berlin marathon this year, I got my place, I paid my participation fee but I am still indecisive if I want to have all those long runs during the summer. Should I? At the moment the long runs do feel good, however I have not done longer than 19km so far. And actually it is more about the time I end up spending on the road that I am concerned, I still need to work, I want to spend time with my family and see my friends. And I wonder if it is possible to have it all. 

It is another 42 days to go to Hannover, training is going well and I feel great. In a one week time I have break from running and focus on skiing, I am sure my legs appreciate the change as much as my mind loves the mountains and full day outdoor activities. So keep on running my friends and of course, follow #runnover in all social media.

Yesterday I run in one of my favourite routes in Solling forest, what a beautiful day and a beautiful run. Just love it.

7 reasons why I love interval training

I used to hate interval training but as I know they are good for my running and will improve my performance, I have introduced them as a regular part of my training program.

This is my list of the reasons why I love interval training. I discussed today with a colleague how mind is a beautiful thing, this is all about it.

1. It is great to see your average pace to go down to numbers you could only dream about. It doesn't matter it is only for 400/800/1000 meters.
2. When in hurry, you make the same effort in a shorter time.
3. It is easier to motivate yourself to run just 4 times 800 meters rather than 10k. You can always motivate yourself for just 800m more.
4. Interval training makes you faster, no doubt about that.
5. It is fun and great change to the routine. There are endless opportunities to build you interval workout and you find the one which suits you best.
6. It is mentally refreshing and gives your mind another focus.
7. You feel great afterwards and are proud of yourself.

The joy of a training plan

I wrote earlier about my lost motivation and it seems to be my theme in the last few weeks. I am still suffering of my back, finally I found someone who can help with it and I truly hope next week my tone is more positive. Meanwhile I am glad I have a training plan which keeps me focused.

You know the joy of a training plan is that it actually tells you what you need to do. There is no way for the typical excuses: "I'll do my run tomorrow." "It is too cold/rainy/dark outside." "If I rest another week, I'll be happy to train again."and so on. No, the training plan says I have an interval training in my program and I head out, step by step I go ahead and after couple of kilometers I am really glad I went out. It turns out to be a good run and I feel so much better afterwards.

Training plan for half marathon

This week I have been working on my training plan for the half marathon in Hannover. I keep following the same principles I used for the marathon training: 1) maximise the benefit with minimum effort, 2) run three quality runs a week and not more, and 3) focus on core and flexibility.

The first point should be obvious but as I have to be realistic with the time I have available for the training, I better make sure what I do will have the most benefit. I still want to run the half marathon fast, I mean my fast with goal time around 1:47. With this plan (including runs, cross-, core- and flexibility training) I train 4 to 5 hours a week, but each training has its very focused purpose.

Three run a week it is and not more. I have now followed the plan from Furman institute few times and I truly believe in it. Especially knowing that I am prone to injuries, I therefore avoid running two days in row (with a few exceptions as you can see in the plan) and prefer to give more focus on the supporting training. I also feel I am better recovered from my previous run and therefore can make best out of the run ahead, which surely has the effect on the quality of the training and allows to keep the relatively high pace (I do my long runs @5:20min/km, tempos @4:55min/km and intervals between 4:15 and 4:33 min/km (depending on the distance)). I know the pace is too hard for me in the beginning and I need to get used to it, however after couple of weeks I should be ok to follow it.

I met an orthopaedic doctor this week due to the continuing back pain and his first comment was that there is no return after one turns forty. Even it was meant as a joke, it was not so encouraging. I realised the importance of core strength and flexibility training while training for the marathon and it is an essential part of my training which I keep doing. I do regularly 1-2 core training (yoga or pilates types of training depending on my mood), proper stretching after each run combined with blackroll massage and at least once a week longer stretch training (up to one hour). Additionally I cross-train once a week (either rowing ergometer or hopefully soon cycling) if my other schedules allow it.

I planned twice a 10k race during the ten week plan. I realise it might be a bit too much, so the first one in end of February is with a question mark. It is a trail race in Bad Salzuflen with high ascent/decent and I aim to do it more as a tempo run rather than a race. But I think it would be fun so that's why I planned it in and depending on how the training goes and my body feels, I decide later on if I attend or not. The second race is a street race in Paderborn just two weeks before the half in Hannover. I wonder if it is too close to the half race but on the other hand it can be a good pace check for the half marathon.

The Furman half marathon plan is actually for 10 weeks but as we are going for a week skiing in between, I decided to start a week earlier and just add one week in between for skiing. Not the ideal but I do not plan to run during the week on the mountains so I have to make best out of it.

So this is it for the next 11 weeks, the moment the training plan is ready it gets easy. Then is just a matter of following it!

About motivation

It's been a hard week in many ways. I have been busy with lots stuff both mentally and physically and due to that I was exhausted and did not want to think of training. I realised my motivation went up and down, I wanted to train but at the same time also wanted to just crash on the couch. It was dark and cold outside and I felt like using it as an excuse not to go for a run while at the same time really wanted to crab some fresh air and sweat a bit. And on the top of the mixed feelings, my back was hurting again. Finally I did some easy short runs, played tennis with a colleague and started looking for my motivation to train. It is another 12 weeks to go for Hannover marathon, where I plan to run the half.

We went today for sleighing and I decided to run back home from there. After two hours of snow fun and climbing the hill with the sleigh one would not first think of running. However I sticked to my plan and run the 10k down from the forest to home. It was literally downhill running with 400m descent but it was also the forest route in 10cm of fresh snow. Surely it was not the smartest thing to do with my back pain but it felt like powder snow in skiing, you just enjoy every movement you feel and hear the snow. It was lovely relaxing run in all quietness in the forest, just what I needed to refresh my mind and remind me about the joy of running.

With the great feeling after the whole day outside I decided to start working on my training plan for Hannover. I hope to run faster than year ago, under 1:50 would be great and closer the 1:45 the better. The coming week I will focus on finishing my training plan and just enjoying my training, next week it will get a bit more serious. Looking forward to it!

When the kid goes to the movies, what do you do on Sunday afternoon? Strecthing my back and doing my training plan...

New year new challenges

It has been a while I have been writing about my training. Partly because I planned the blog to be a temporary diary of my marathon project, partly cause there was not much to write about. I reduced training quite a lot after the marathon and focused on other things in my life. I did not stop running, only reduced the hours spend on the road. Until half November when I first got a flu, then I hardly recovered from that and I hurt my back.

Finally somewhere between Christmas chocolate and New Years champagne I felt healthy again and started my training. Next goal is set to Hannover, where I plan to run the half marathon. I am also proud to be the ambassador for the marathon, you will hear more about this event in the coming blogs. 

After long long time I yesterday went for a run in the Solling forest. I was just cruising around, doing some hills, some stairs, diving through my favourite routes.. It was really fun and I remembered why I love to run in our area, it is just so beautiful out there in all times of the year. I will certainly spend more time in the coming months.

I am still collecting topic ideas for my blog. If you have wishes you would like to read me writing about, let me know. 

So how it is to run 42 km?

It is almost a week now that I finished my first marathon. I was well prepared, had hardly any problems during the training and was mentally really ready to go. The last few short runs my legs felt tired and heavy, but I assumed it was due to all the training and it should be fine by Sunday morning. I was very confident on Friday morning when we sat on the train to Berlin and was much looking forward to the weekend.

It is absolutely great idea (not) to combine your marathon weekend with a sightseeing tour in a new city. It is exactly the kind of rest your legs are not looking for and after full day walking around Berlin as well as visiting the event expo, my legs were ready to crash on Saturday night. It was too late to regret or change anything, so I just decided to have a nice pasta meal, do some stretching and go to bed. After all, the alarm was set 5:40 next morning, on time to have a breakfast at the hotel and head to the start. I arrived to the entrance area around 7:30, to put my stuff to the storage and to get ready to start. One would think 1,5 hours before start is a lot of time, well it isn't if you end up queuing 30 min to the toilets. Clearly I did the beginners mistake of not reading the instruction leaflet properly, as if I had done that, I would have known there are also toilets at the start area and most likely to be less crowded. Around 8:30 I headed to the start area, just on time to see a warm up aerobics going on in my starting block. Well I skipped that part, for two reasons: I really do not like aerobics and I did my short warm up on the way to the start and decided to do some quick stretches while waiting to get started.

The atmosphere was awesome: the sky was clear blue, air was fresh, 40 000 people were ready to start running, chatting around with fellow runners and listening the welcoming ceremony on 60 languages. As I had no previous marathon time, I was placed on the very last starting block. I could see the starting line was somewhere ahead, but could get close to it only 30 minutes after the first group was gone. The start was done in three parts to split the people a bit on the route. This really made the running of the first 30km more convenient, as the route stayed relatively free to go ahead.

So finally around 9:30 my group could start. We were joking the winner would probably finish soon and if we should congratulate him before we start. By the time it was ready to start due to all that waiting and excitement, I was hoping to find a toilet so I decided to have a short break after first water supply point (which I did)... I managed to get on quite front row of my starting block and easily found a free route to run and could settle to my own speed. The first 10k were a bit faster, then I decided to slow down a bit as I realised I might be going too fast. I had a small bottle of water with me which was enough until 20k, I cannot drink too much while running and I decided to have my own bottle to control I won't drink too much and to ease passing the first drinking points. The next 20k I was focusing on running steady and slowing down the speed a bit, after hearing all kind of horror stories how the last 10k of marathon can be, I was over careful. The whole marathon was like a huge party. The streets were full of people supporting the runners, there was music, dancing, singing the whole way through. You almost forget you have a marathon to run :) 

After 30k I decided to go a bit faster. Or I wanted to. But it was not as easy done as said... Now it was time to realise what it means to start in the last block. And see what "the marathon starts after 30k" statement means in practise. Literally when I passed the 30k line, the biggest challenge was to pass all the runners who crashed. And they were not a few. So the last 10k I wanted to increase the speed but ended up speeding, then stopping and going around people, then speed up again until the next person was in front of me. And it is not easy to pass those people who are suffering and only thinking how to make it to the finishing line, forgetting they are not alone on the route. I'm sure I lost 5-10 sec / km by trying to pass people. I am glad I felt still really strong and focused and had no pain, as it is really hard to do that sideways dancing when you actually want to run! 

Once I got to the 40k landmark, the party just got more intense. One couldn't run anymore, you had to fly to the finish line. The atmosphere was so intense, the crowd supporting was really high, so were the runners. The feeling when you go under the Brandenburger Tor and see the finish line in a few hundred meters ahead, I cannot describe it. My legs were tired, but good tired. I finished the marathon in 3 hours 56 minutes and 47 seconds. Crossing the finish line was amazing experience and I felt so great afterwards. All the work I did for the preparation, all the kilometers I spent on the road wondering why I was doing this, was all worth it. 

So will I run the marathon again? I don't know. Before the race I was sure I won't, all the training is too much time consuming and I couldn't justify the hours I spent on the road for long runs (which I also found really boring). Now I know why people keep running marathons, the feeling afterwards is addicting. So never say never but too little time has gone to say for sure yes. I am really glad I have this experience and I am really glad I hve been able to share it with you.

I know many of you have been reading this blog. I was glad to see so many of you involved with my running, all the support and encouragement I got from you on the way. I really appreciate it and it made this marathon project worth it for me.

It was a memorable day in Berlin :)

Count down time

I have run some 675+ km since first of June, have spent some serious number of hours on the road, have explored many new beautiful sceneries and have gone beyond my comfort zone again and again. And during the last week I have slept. I did not know it is even possible for me to sleep so much, I did not think it can feel normal to sleep on average more than nine hours a night plus a nap of 1-2 hours both Sat and Sun. I truly hope it is my body's plan to prepare for the marathon rather than the sign to prepare for the winter sleep.

There is another six days to go and I never thought I would feel so confident to run a marathon. Even though I took the challenge serious from the beginning, somewhere in the back of my mind I was asking myself if I will succeed. But now I am not anymore, I know I can run it. I know I will enjoy it even though I know it will also hurt. The question is how much and if I should go for more intense pain or longer pain... What do you think? Either way, it is part of the game and it cannot be anything compared to tonsillectomy nor delivering a baby.

So dear people, Sunday morning at 9 am (CET time) it is time to start running. Seriously. And some four hours later, it is time to party. Whatever the reason, party will be good. So please keep your fingers crossed and vote for number F11126 :)

27. September is getting closer

The date for the marathon is getting closer; I have another two weeks to go before the start.

The last couple of weeks have been high in kilometres and relatively high in intensity. I feel my legs being tired, as is my whole body. I am glad the coming days is focusing on tapering and the intensity and time spend on the road is much easier. 

Despite being really tired, I feel good. The training has gone well and it feels easy to run, even the long distances. Thanks to the core and flexibility training I have trained free of major injuries and I have learned to appreciate the balance and stability via the core. When I was rowing, it took it for granted that the core has to be strong, part of it comes automatically when on the boat or rowing machine, but it is not the same when running. You really need to take care of that and systematically add it into the training program, only then you will feel the difference.

So I have another two weeks to go before the marathon. When I started this project, I feared for two things. Firstly, I was not sure my head could handle the long runs. Well, it has not been easy but I made them all. I had my last 25k today and the rest of the runs are easy compared to that. Secondly I was not sure my legs could handle it. Not from the physical exercise point of view but regarding injuries. I have a history of shin splints and all that comes with it and I was not sure how my legs would react for serious increase in training kilometres. Even I had some challenges on the way luckily nothing so serious that it had caused any break in training. So all in all at the moment I feel pretty confident that I can do the marathon, surely I am aware that it is a long distance and anything can happen, but overall I believe I will be fine!

I found my new love

I have been writing about my training from different perspectives, complained about the boredom with the long runs, joyed the success of strength and flexibility training etc. However one thing I paid very little attention are my tempo runs. I first introduced them to my training plan when I started following the training program for the half marathon in Hannover. And it was not a big success, I was really suffering every time I had one in front of me and I was far of the speed I was expected to do them.

The program I am following recommends to do those runs relatively high speed, in my case the speed completely out of my comfort zone. And it is one thing to go for an interval which takes 6-8 minutes than to run 13k on a speed which really does not feel comfortable. But with the time, I also saw the benefit of them, every time the tempo run got easier and easier and finally I was able to keep the recommended speed, even go comfortably under it. Today it is my favourite run of the week and I am actually looking forward to Thursday mornings, when I can after few minutes warm up build some speed and just go.

So what did I learn? One very basic thing every athlete knows and which I also knew but just ignored. Training is all about getting out of your comfort zone. If you want to increase speed, you need to run faster. Sounds kind of obvious, but when you are there in practice and it just does not feel good, it is easy to excuse and tell yourself you are "going too fast". But it is not just running faster, it is more about increasing the speed in such a way you even after 10k feel like you can keep going for another while. That you can still build another couple of kilometres and you still feel ok. And that is such a great feeling, when you feel you run fast but you can still keep going. All those kilometres you conquer in such a short time, or a clearly shorter than you used to. And I am sure those trainings are not only fun and satisfying but will certainly pay back during the marathon.

This weeks trainings scenery was in Gothenburg and it felt like home to run along the lake in the sunrise.

Strength and flexibility

Another week training behind and one week less to go to the marathon. Last week I was not on the top of my mind, every part of me was tired and aching and I had a sort of half way training boredom. Few days with just get over with it and keep training -attitude has helped and I am motivated and inspired to keep training. Surely it helps my foot is not hurting and thanks to the physio, I have no problems with walking anymore.

When I started training for the marathon and knew my weekly running kilometers increase significantly, I promised myself to do regular strength training as well as stretch properly. I know I am prone to running injuries, whenever I previously have run more, I tend to get injured (especially on chinsplins). And I know how important strength training and stretching is to avoid that, though neither of those is my strength and something I like to do.

I am still not a big fan of strength training; I keep doing it as I know it is good for me and helps me to stay healthy with running. I have always been stiff as an iron bar, but during the last ten weeks I am surprised by my flexibility. I am still far away to qualify the Olympics in gymnastics but I have reached a mobility in my body I did not know to be possible. Thanks to Tony Horton and P90X Yoga and Dynamics I discovered completely different side of me with more core strength and flexibility and most importantly, I realised I actually enjoy doing the trainings. And most importantly, I feel my running is more focused and stabile, my body feels lighter and happier :)

 Family training session for stronger core.

Pain and all that comes with it

I passed the half point of my marathon training, this week was the ninth week out of my 16 week training plan. So far I have run 382 km and I have spent about 35 hours on the road since I started this project. I still enjoy the most of my intervals and tempo runs, but surely there are mornings when I would prefer to just stay in bed and sleep another hour before going to the office. The biggest challenge I have with the long runs, knowing myself it was anticipated that those will be the hardest part of the project and I am still not complaining about it. I know I just have to get my head over it and I will get there.

But what I was not prepared of was the pain I have for whole Sunday after spending three hours on the road. Or the pain I have in my feet after the long runs for couple of days (until the next long run is scheduled) or the pain of walking the stairs down in the mornings. Or the pain of falling toe nails and the fact that wearing sandals does not feel like a natural choice when the temperature outside is over 30 °C. Still so far I consider myself lucky as I have no issues with blisters or any kind of chafe, falling toe nails came from my own thoughtlessness and will slowly heal, and I found a physiotherapist who seems to be good (I only met him once so far). The cause for the pain in my feet (especially the right one) seems to come from a nerve which is pressed by a tight muscle and with his miraculous hands it seems to get much better. I am so glad that probably for the first time in my life I realised to look for help before it was too late and it seems I can continue training as planned as I have no pain during the running and as I have at least one rest day between runs, I normally have no issues with the recovery. 

So once the cure for the pain after the runs is there, I only have Sunday afternoons to suffer and hopefully those get also a bit easier when the heat is less.I have another 7 weeks to go with the training and if I keep myself together for the next five long runs (as I trust I do), I am going to be very fine for the marathon :)