Weekly Update (September 4th)
š Moinsen, everyone!
Hereās another weekly update of this newsletter about running, reading, and related matters. Thanks for opening it!
Letās get right into it.
š Training Update for Sub-3
The marathon race in Cologne on October 2nd is just four weeks away. Itās getting serious and at this stage I am struggling to believe I can get fast enough until then. These phases are part of it, of course. They might even be necessary in order to increase motivation and the resulting training effort.
My first three weeks of the eight week training cycle went alright, but last week I got unlucky. First off, a stomach bug I caught on Saturday forced me to reduce the weekly long run from 35 kilometers to about 3. Normally, I am quite resistant to these things, but not this time. Still havenāt figured out where I got it. The next couple of days were going better but I wasnāt anywhere near being able to pull off a set of fast intervals.
Then, on Thursday, another annoying and surprising thing happened to me. I got a sever allergic reaction to something. Still I have no idea what it is. Never had any allergies. But it took me out for a day and made me weak for another. Sometimes, bad luck hits twice in a week and thereās nothing we can do.
Iām glad I managed to do a long run of 27 kilometers this weekend.
A long run with the buddies, even!
And thankfully my helpful friend Micha, who works as a run training coach, gave me some confidence that I can still make it. He says, if I increase the amount of longer weekly intervals, e.g. to 8x 1,000 meters, and do one long race pace run of 20-25 kilometers length per week, I still have a good chance. So thatās what Iām doing now for these remaining four weeks. Fingers crossed!
ā°ļø Templiers Fever
Even more than the fast Cologne Marathon, Iām looking forward to the 108 kilometers long Templiers race in France Iām doing three weeks afterwards. Thatās going to be such an adventure! I spoke to a few ultra running friends on Saturday who were equally excited for their respective runs this fall season. Itās nice to share the enthusiasm with others.
ā ļø Bremen Sankt Pauli 100 Miler
And hereās yet another ultra race. This is a race which Iām not running myself, but rather, helped create and will organize together with Maiken Liss, Till Stehn, Judith Havers, and Michael Mankus. ā100 Miles in a Dayā is our tagline, because itās going to go off at 0:00 midnight and youāll get exactly 24 hours to finish those 100 miles (160.9 kilometers).
The registration is up now, and Iām proud to say we already have 10 applicants ā even though the race isnāt taking place until April 2023, some seven and a half months from now.
Sign up here or please contact me if you would be available to help out at an aid station! We can use every extra hand and itās a remarkable thing to be a part of. Read my blog post about the most recent ultra race we pulled off here to get an idea.
šØāš» Website Update
Last weekend I wrote about some adjustments and additions to the website, teesche.com. This past week, I have put up another new page, and itās this one: teesche.com/uses.
Not unlike the /now page, itās also based on a movement which was created to create connections and help people get to know each other from a different angle. The idea here is that you make a list of all the hardware and software and related devices youāre using for either work or interesting hobbies, and talk about why you chose those specifically. For many people, including myself, itās fun to read through those and come out the other side with a few recommendations or inspiration which is not commercially motivated.
Thinking about extending it with a running gear section. Would you like to see that? Tell me!
š The Reading
Still somewhere around the halfway point of reading through the brilliant āSapiensā, I have put a few other books into the mix.
Now, Ross Edgleyās āThe Worldās Fittest Bookā is capturing some of my attention, and I have recently bought the classic āHow to Win Friends and Influence Peopleā by Dale Cargenie despite its cringy title. But someone I trust (canāt remember who it was) told me that this title was a type of clickbait back when the book came out in 1936 (!) and it should more fittingly be called āHow to Be More Empatheticā. Now thatās something I can get behind and since the book has become such a huge hit and talked about classic, there must be something to take away from it.
Sapiens is still hugely interesting, I just need something a little lighter in between which also works when read in ten minute bursts.
šŖšŗ EU Marathon of the Week
Yes, Sweden is beautiful, the people are great, everything just works. The race was quite unusual, though. Ice-cold rain at the end of May āĀ a bit unlucky. I nearly froze my face off! But the crowds were still going āHeja!ā to cheer for us and the bands along the the course played ocean themed songs because it felt like the whole city was about to become submerged by one. It took a quarter of an hour to regain the feeling in my fingers in the hot shower afterwards.
So worth it.
Thank you for reading this weekās edition and please consider sharing it with someone who might enjoy it as well!
All the best to you and have a great week,
ā Teesche