A Late Start

Stats of the week: run 31K, 1:20h indoor cycling, 3 gym sessions

Germany's new marathon star, Irina Mikitenko, lately said: "Runners have to be patient." She is right I had to experience.



I wasn't able to do any kind of sports for nearly a fortnight due to a very bad shivery cold. And like it often happens - when trying to start running again the knee wasn't really happy with it. I had to throw in some of my stored Diclo pills to get me back to the woods. Finally I am content with my first weekly mileage of the year. But I hesitate to put up a training schedule for London. The regular 12-week-training period will start in early February. Still a little time to get fit again.

Running away and coming back

stats of 2008: Run 1,705K / Cycled 4,527K / Gym 64 sessions

All important decisions I made during my life were wrong. All but taking up running. Initially I didn't expect running to become important but it did - especially as it was my only good decision.

So there were 1,705 mostly happy kilometers last year. And that's where we get to the downside of running: it is limited. There is always a moment when you will have to stop. Even worse you have to come back where you started.

To be able to cope with this makes you being not just a happy runner but a happy man. Enjoy every kilometer in 2009!

Just happy

High spirits after new-years-eve-race from Werl to Soest:

What a day! I call it my one-day-come-back. Because I can't imagine that this kind of performance will last longer. I beat my own bold expectations and ran a fabulous 15K within 1:05:27 hrs. And enjoyed every second. And I was certified 8th man in m55 of 218 who have finished.

One's target can only be to collect happy moments as many as possible. This was one of the most memorable.

This is how I was crossing the finish line: