January 2, 2011
The last race of the year was a mirror of the last year: Mostly slipping around, not being able to go full speed and not showing the work from the training. But never mind, the race was only training and it’s not the end of the world. The conditions were really bad with icy, uneven ground and several curves plus lapping several runners on a small path.
Our whole training group (Fabian, Falk and me) had a disadvantag already before the start because we had no spikes and the competitors (the first 4 places) were all better prepared in terms of shoe choice. Since it was pretty dangerous to fall or to twist one’s ankle, I decided already early in the race to go out carefully. I pushed only on the uphill part, where the underground was not as bad as on the other part.
Results published here already.
December 14, 2010
Last weekend I had my first race after about 3 months, i.e. after my accident when I twisted my ankle. It was my “home race”, the Adventslauf in Zwickau. As usual I was involved in the organistaion and invited some elite runners.
Unfortunately I could not test myself in a “normal” race against that. Why? Because I missed the start! I can tell a lot stories that happened during the last 20 years in the Adventslauf and this year a new story is added: Never before I misses the start in my race. When the gun went off I was still about to dress myself. That was the reason why I ran without my competition shirt and you can’t see the fabulous red and yellow of my club.
The race itself felt ok. Since I had to run on myself all the time I had to make my way and could push all the time. I caught runner after runner and ended up in 6th place. If I would not have “missed the train” I would have placed even better, but I was more dissapointed about not the fact that I was unable to run with the fast guys Marc Schulze, Clemens Silabetzschky, Jörn Harland & Co). in the first part of the race. Unfortunately the conditions were really poor, with one part being very icy and the rest being approx. 5cm of snow mud, i.e. not the best for my foot. After all it was a good start and the result was not unsatisfying after roughly 4 weeks of specific training.
September 19, 2010
After three 10K-races in the last three weeks it was time for a halfmarathon-test. The course in Karlsruhe is known to be fast so I was aiming for a faster time than in the German Halfmarathon Championships in spring (my fastest HM this year so far). Even though the time of 70:28min is nothing special I made some important experiences in the race.
Most of all I’m lucky about the negative split: 33:32min for the 1st 10K and 33:20min for the 2nd 10K. Running negative splits is something I get a lot of motivation from. Furthermore the kilometers 17-20 felt like real running, a feeling I haven’t had for a long time.
After the race my legs were pretty sore. The cool-down jog was extremely slow and I will have to take some more time off, than after the 10K-competitions.
Also the progress of the race was positive compared to previous races. Until 9K I was running with a 5 men-group but on a short uphill I lost around 15-20m. After that I followed my own pace, which meant I was 10-40m behind the group without making contact. Only at the 16km mark one of the other guys was dropped from the group and after I passed him I had a good “comeback”. With three kilometers to go I found myself leading the group and pushing the pace. Unfortunately two guys came back and passed me in the final kilometer. However, the feeling of coming back gives me a positive sight on the race.
Results can be found from here.
September 13, 2010
Time for a personal recap of the German 10K road running Nationals.
The race was held in Ohrdruf, which is only a 1,5h trip from my home, so we went there on race day because the start was scheduled for 19.00. Already in the first races of the day it was obvious that the course was not very fast and only few runners improved their PB.
The start was crowded as usual and even one guy went down after 400m. Very unusual was the start, which took place on a tartan track. From the start I found the right “neighborhood” and could roll with a group. Between km 4 and 8 I felt pretty ok and passed some guys. The last two km I felt that the freshness was missing a bit. With some more 10km-training I could have done better. However, I have to say that currently I’m not playing in the first league in Germany when it comes down to 10K road running. On the other hand I improved a lot in the last 2-3 months and compared to the spring I could decrease the gap to the top runners.
The recovery after the race was pretty good and I feel that the marathon training is starting to work.
Results of the German Championships were already published earlier.
after 800m it was still a lof of pushingand dragging
September 5, 2010
On Saturday was the 10K race in Halle/S. where I competed against some strong competitors. The course was a 1K-loop with some cobblestones and a bit of up-and-down. Adding the constant passing of lapped runners from the third lap onwards, it was not easy to build, or to keep a rhythm.
The lap times were 3:15/3:12/3:10/3:10/3:17/3:17/3:17/3:18/3:18/3:14. The first three laps were ok. Running with the guys (Falk Cierpinski, Tobias Sauter and Fabian Borggrefe) felt alright, but it was clear that it was just a “Warm-up” for them. While I lost contact in the 4th round and had to find my own pace after that the trio continued to increase the pace and ended up running 30:52 (Falk), 31:06 (Tobias) and 31:18 (Fabian). Now, the good thing is that next year I will run in the same club like the first three and we will have some good workouts together.
The day after the race we ran an easy halfmarathon (1:31h) together and the legs were fresh again. Right now the muscular strength is not yet there. I feel like I can run faster but have to get used to the pace. Next weekend will be German 10K-Championships and then I hope to run at least sub-32.
- after 2K I was in the lead pack with Tobias Sauter (left) and Falk Cierpinski (right)
- The last kilometers were not rolling … just tried to keep a high pace
- the day after the 10K, we (from left: Tobias Sauter, Falk Cierpinski, Raik Recksiedler and me) used the halfmarathon as a fun run through the city of Halle
August 29, 2010
Yesterday I had a 10K-race in Mühlhausen. which is some 200km away from my home town Zwickau. Instead of doing my fast-paced 10K alone I decided that it would be a good idea to run against competition. Especially after I didn’t finish my fast run last weekend.
The race was on a 3,3km-loop with some small hills and a lot of cobblestones. Starting from the first kilomter I was in front and pushed the pace as much as possible. A great thing was, that I had a competitor for the first seven kilometers because this way I had some pressure all the way. At the end I had a margin of 12 seconds ahead of Michael Müller.
After all it was a good training competition as expected. With fresh legs I should be able to run under 32-minutes. Let’s see if I can do that already next weekend.
Results of the Mühlhäuser Altstadtlauf 2010 here.
August 4, 2010
It was already last Friday (July 30th) when I had my first competition after the summer break. It was a team relay (5x4km), where I actually ran two legs – the first and the last one – because our 5th man had to cancel the race.
Our club team “SV Vorwärts Zwickau” (Stephan Schlenzig, Daniel Trommler, Joachim Knorr + me x 2) smashed the old course record and set a new best of 1:06:51h. Also I set a new course record for the fastest round ever completed. The distance actually is shorter than 4km, but still I’m satisfied with my 11:50min for the 1st leg and the 11:52min for the 2nd.
The legs were very fresh after an easy week with only 150km and the feeling was like flying. I’m coming back to shape!! More about the general fitness will follow in the next days.
June 4, 2010
One day after the 1/2h-run I did a second test run in my home town Zwickau. This time it was the 2nd corporate run, where I started for “Heymann Mineralöle”, my uncles company. I could defend last years title but unfortunately our team (including 4 members) was second this time.
The race itself went pretty ok even though I was on my own after 500m once again. At the end I had a lead of 1:10min (results here). The pace was around 3:25min/km on a muddy ground so I’m optimistic that I’m on the upswing again. With some good summer training I might save this season with some good results in the autumn. However, to do that it’s still a long way to go. The journey will start next week, when I’m going to St.Moritz/SUI.
June 3, 2010
My first test after some time of detraining and it was not too bad. Anything over 8.500 would have been ok, so I was satisfied with the 8.600m. I was running all on my own after 400m and conditions were great (just over 10°C and drizzle rain).
With some speed training the results should get better from time to time. Right now it’s not even marathon pace, but the summer lays ahead of me…
Results (1/2 hour) here.
April 21, 2010
To cut a long story short: My worst placement in German Championships ever plus my worst halfmarathon time in a Championships race.
I felt that the shape was getting better the last 3-4 weeks but still that was not enough to reach my reduced aim of running sub-70minutes. The one and only positive thing I can take from this race is, that I finished it … even if the last 3 kilometers were like jogging and just reaching this finish line.
The first 5K were right on pace (16:32min) and even the 10K split was still acceptable (33:32min) but after that the lights went totally off… there are no excuses or good reasons for this performance except bad training, wrong lifestyle and missing dedication.
I hope that I have reached the bottom now and things will get better step-by-step. I’m willing to get back and I will use this week to think about new ways and adjustments of the current situation.
early in the race
later in the race
post race – sometimes a picture tells more than thousand words
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