This was August 2022 - Marathon Training

It is done. I made the decision to continue with my marathon project. 

Not necessarily that I aim to do a marathon every month. I am more up to enjoying a marathon once in a while.

It must also not be a full marathon distance at an official event. During the pandemic, many event organizers have set up virtual marathon runs that aspiring marathoners can do whenever and wherever they want.

Let's get things started.

In August, I completed 176 Trainingskilometer and am aiming to run the first full marathon next year in Vienna in spring.

Wrap Up July 2022

 In July 2022 I made the decision to train for marathons again. 10 years ago I ran 17 marathon in about 3 years, and afterward had other goals.

After 18 days I got a brief insight into where I stand. In simple words: I have to treat training like beginning from scratch. 

What is the first step?

Cleaning up nutrition habits. Back in the days when I ran marathons my nutrition plan consisted of:

- Porridge

- Vegetable Soup

- Salads 

- Green Tea and

- Water

The first goal in August 2022:

Buying only ingredients for the above list. Since I don‘t like throwing food away, it also means cleaning out the house of all food that isn‘t on the list. Cooking and eating garbage basically. :-)

For the running it is getting back to 10-15 k runs with a run/walk regimen. Getting in the distance first, and working on details later.

Happy August. Enjoy Summer.

Training Day #13 - Life Without Goals is Boring - Running Ultras

 It's been over 10 years since I've done my longest run in over 40 degrees celsius on a small race track in southern Styria.

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team organized the 6 hours race in the small town. I participated twice. Sweet memories.

For somehow reason, I stopped running Marathons after Number 17. It was a run in the Styrian mountains in 2014. 44 kilometers uphill and downhill in a mesmerizing environment.

Why did I stop?

I enjoyed doing a few relays with friends in Vienna until 2017 and had amazing business opportunities that I didn't want to miss out on from 2018 to about 2021. I have traveled the world for business and have been to countries like the United States, some European Countries, Canada, China, Taiwan, and South Korea, just to name a few. You can't have everything at the same time. Although I always enjoyed running/walking through the cities and countryside of countries I visited, I didn't want to make time for a solid marathon training schedule.

In 2019 I had a ski accident that made proper running challenging. On top of that, a small thing called a pandemic happened. The official story.

The truth is that I stopped training for marathons and am out of shape. I walked over pictures from my marathon runs of the past and felt the spark again.

Now that the pandemic is ending, Marathon and Ultramarathon Runs are coming back. And I want to be part of a few. 

There is still the 100 Marathon Goal I set over a decade ago. I dreamed of doing 100 marathon runs between 40 and 55. Still some time to go and move the needle forward.

The thing with goals is that they are a Northstar to guide you. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower, sometimes with interruptions.

I felt the spark again a few days ago, wanted to know whether I can start the fire in me again, and started training 12 days ago. Today is Day #13, and a long way back to completing a marathon distance in under 4:30 hours.

Let's start with a first minor goal: Running the marathon in Vienna in April 2023. Just another marathon.

The current training regime is getting the distance in with running/walking.