Smile Breathe Run

25/01/2018

4km Tempo Run done! Yes, it was meant to be 5k, but I had a rather bad day so that I didn't know whether I would end up doing it at all, or just do an easy jog. Plus, I was a bit out of training and in the first couple of weeks of taking a break one's fitness declines rapidly. Barefoot on the grass at about 4:20min/km (+/- about 15sec.). Not a very steady pace because I basically ran up and down the same 200-300m line in the park and the turns slowed me down. After around 17min. my legs felt like jelly, so I decided to call it a day.

12/01/2018

Really great article and an easy read. She actually started out running years ago with lots of injuries and it took her many years until she: "finally got to a point where I can train properly for an ultra...". So, patience...

Photo Credit: James Mitchell When professional Ironman triathlete Alice Hector fell in love with ultra-running she set her sights on reaching...

11/01/2018

I've felt instant improvement with my Achilles Tendons after reading this article last night and increasing the amount of the Eccentric Exercise accordingly. That makes me utterly hopeful.

But sadly, my left hamstring this morning got really tight and cramped after me trying to introduce back some movement. I want to try a similar approach to the hamstrings and do eccentric exercises with the help of a resistant band. But the pain already came before I even got there, right at the light warm up...

Achilles tendinitis - The comprehensive guide to curing yourself and getting back to running and triathlon training.

08/01/2018

I filmed myself to try and see if there might be some inefficiencies in my running economy. There's definitely the under-pronation and perhaps also a bit of an overstriding problem (but not entirely sure). The ankles need to be exactly below the knees when hitting the ground. Working on correcting those can take time but well worth the effort.

I would recommend you to film yourself as well at different speeds in order to figure out how to avoid possible injuries.

06/01/2018

Oh no, overweight! I don't have a scale at home but happened to weigh myself today. 65kg! Ok, just joking of course. It's still not much and not really overweight. :) But I would have thought I'd have lost a bit by now. Of course, a little less weight will also make you a bit faster. But I shall lose 2 or 3 kilos once I increase my weekly mileage. All in all, not the best race preparation for next week's 10k, so things can definitely still get better in other races.

06/01/2018

Just saw this fun calculator that compares your race time with US runners and shows a percentage of where you are in comparison. What's your result?

Mine is good but still theoretical since I didn't yet run a proper race here in Vietnam. Eight more days to go! Very little running this week and two days ago my Achilles tendon actually started to hurt. Maybe my 150km motorcycle journey the day prior may be the reason (perhaps combined with my feet-strengthening exercises). So, I have to do some more resting.

Anyway, one should taper before a race, so I don't currently worry too much, as long as I actually am more or less symptom-free on race day. Let's see if a jog tomorrow is okay and if it goes well on Tuesday, then I would do 3x 800m intervals in order to peak on Sunday...

Compare your running time to the time of your fellow Americans. Results are...

05/01/2018

Clip about a recent Marathon here in Saigon, the Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon. Quite beautiful and great team behind it. I hope I can join the next time around.

It also just made me think of my running goals. Even taking under consideration that heat makes runners about 20% slower (a professional runner mentioned this number somewhere), my goal is to still get 'at least' as fast as my past races in Germany. I think it's possible, now that I've been putting a lot more thought into the training etc...

EXTENDED HIGHLIGHT VIDEO - 2017 Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon attracted thousands of participants from 44 countries as they embraced th...

04/01/2018

Smile, Breathe, Run!

I'm drawing inspiration lately from watching interviews with David Goggins, at times dubbed "The hardest man on Earth". Even Rich Roll was once inspired by the man when he read about David Goggins' story while preparing for his own Ultraman over 10 years ago, himself then coming out of a midlife crisis. Rich Roll is also often referred to as the "Fittest man on Earth", which he jokes about and says that it might not necessarily be true, but "it helps when you're trying to sell a book". His book "Finding Ultra", after his Endurance Successes, ended up becoming an International Bestseller.

04/01/2018

Photos of my Achilles Tendon that got operated on over 10 years ago. It was merely an overuse injury, a lasting pain that had started after an underprepared 21km, which I still ran with a personal best time.

I have no doubt that this was an unnecessary intervention and was more due to the doctor's profit-thinking. "If your Achilles tendon pain is severe and/or the injury is severely debilitating, you should seek an MRI to determine if there is a tear. Serious tears require surgery..." (http://running.competitor.com/2013/11/injury-prevention/how-do-i-overcome-my-sore-achilles_17855) and that for me, was not the case.

It still could make problems now 10 years later, because it didn't really improve anything and I hope it's not what prevents me in the end to exceed a certain mileage (the longer I run, the more problems it could make). The tendon even got stiffer from the surgery and it seems it's glued to the inside of the skin. But I'm pro-active now that I'm running again more, adding calf-raises/heel-dip exercises after every run. Then stretch and also massage. Shall see how it goes. But this much you should know: So, be careful with accepting surgery as a solution for simple overuse injuries.

30/12/2017

Muscle Soreness Fail. Don't make these mistakes!

Here's how 'not to' get rid of that muscle soreness - and ways you can get rid of it...
Sadly I just made two (or at least one) major mistake(s) when dealing with muscle soreness.

Mistake #1. I didn't cut down on the training when the soreness set in last week. I believe that in my 20's I could just go out with muscle soreness and train it away just like that. It doesn't seem to work that way (anymore), or at least not this time. Light exercise, yes, can be beneficial. So, no need to stop totally, but avoid any hard exercise similar to what may have caused the soreness. Unfortunately, I kept going just as hard as before for about 7 days now. Until finally today I looked into it...

Mistake #2. Massage? This also seems counterintuitive, but Massages also don't seem to be a good idea and can even worsen it. At least that's what I read in a German-language article. However, in other English-language articles I just found, they actually recommend massages. I did use my massage roller particularly two nights ago for quite a fair amount of time and still saw no improvement. So, perhaps stretching, hot-cold therapy and light running should be the way to go and massages it probably would depend. On the dietary side, ginger, pineapple, magnesium and others should be beneficial.

After all those tons of articles and videos I came across and looked through over the last weeks and months I don't recall having seen anything on muscle soreness (or I overlooked it, since it seemed so trivial). So, if you're like me and go out on harder training runs, be aware!

I just hope I'll get away with it as a bit of a warning this time around and no serious longer-lasting damage is done (as one article suggested that could happen) and that it will have improved within the next 1-2 weeks so that I can still join the race on the 14th! Even if then after a reduced training program. Actually tomorrow I planned to go all out running long "intervals" of a combined 10k, which is my upcoming race distance. Maybe better to chill then and go into the race without any ambitions.

29/12/2017

Two days ago I felt kinda tired towards the second half of the day and I wondered about whether I actually consumed enough calories, which can quite easily happen with a lifestyle that doesn't usually include a high-calorie foods (like on a plant-based diet). Turned out I probably didn't, especially considering that I just did a hard workout that day. And after taking in some more calories this tiredness subsided.

I didn't have peanut milk, but yesterday I got me two bottles of Elior Naturally Peanut milk and it's awesome. Somehow peanuts don't have a great reputation, though they are everywhere, but looking a bit into it, it actually sounds great. Peanuts nutrition:

- High-calorie from almost 50% fat
- High Protein content: 25%
- Cholesterol-Lowering Nutrients
- High in Magnesium

So, excellent after a workout in their original form or as milk. Though the milk should be better post-workout, due to the excellent hydration benefits. Again, I love the milk and it works amazingly well as a Smoothie with banana and cacao! :)

Another link for more info on nutrients here: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/peanuts

Peanut milk is one option to try if you follow a casein-free diet because, contrary to its name, it does not contain real milk. This beverage is made by blending peanuts with water and adding sweeteners or seasonings such as cinnamon. Peanut milk provides some nutritional benefits you won't get from...

28/12/2017

Some thoughts and background info...

1. I didn't run Races for about 10 years due to my injuries. So, just did simple jogs over the years and sometimes took breaks. I especially saw the knees as a reason for doing so, because doctors would usually say that once the ligaments of the knees are really bad, they cannot heal. But that turned out not to be true...
2. I used to run 10km around 37-38min., Halfmarathon in 1.30h and Marathon in 3.18h (which was my second Marathon within 2 years of training). So, if I end up running an Ultra-Marathon I also would have ambitions and it shouldn't be just about finishing only. I intend to work on my speed first, run 5km, 10km and up to Marathon within this year. Then towards Ultramarathon perhaps towards end of 2018. Depending on how it goes.
3. Since I also have this small (and amazingly lovely) dog called Bella, one goal is to figure out a carrier or trailer that I can attach to me with a belt. When I run around here it's not a big deal to leave her somewhere, but if I run somewhere else it will be much better to be able to just the trailer to me and once she doesn't wanna run anymore let her sit.

4. I plan to post photos and put together more simple videos of my training and of course write about my workouts. Maybe some of you could get inspired by that to increase your mileage or intensity a bit (not that intensity is always good).
5. I also have researched A LOT, read loads of articles and watched videos and intend to share some advice here. Of course, I should always include a disclaimer that I'm not a health professional or coach, but if questions are being asked I might be able to track down the article or video I have the info from (a couple of things might be from my personal experience, and in that case I will write when that's the case).
However, regarding food, I actually have a completed food-related job training (with a degree) and in terms of sports, I once studied to become a Gymnastics Teacher (unfinished). So, I do have a little bit of a professional background as well.