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.