Over the hill

A.M. 10k easy pace down the valley, then 10k back just short of marathon pace. Runnning purposely later both days this weekend to try to get my body to acclimatise to the heat. It was 30°C/86°F when I got back home. Total 20k in 1:29:57, av pace 4:30/k, 7:14/mi.

A.M. Really struggled to get out of bed this morning. Binned a longer run, legs had no snap at all and ran a slow-easy hill run in the woods. Sticky warm weather again. Total 17,7k in 1:29:51, av pace 5:05/k, 8:11/mi.

A.M. Thunderstorms last night with heavy rain/hail that has caused much damage in BW. Notably cooler this morning and an overcast sky made for more comfortable running conditions, but plenty of mud in places. Very steady pace with each 10k split in 45:xx. Total 30,1k in 2:15:37, av pace 4:30/k, 7:15/mi.

A.M. Slow pace hill run. Total 13.1k in 1:07:59, av pace 5:11/k, 8:21/mi.

P.M. Chalk me up for a goose egg. Thunder storms with heavy rain meant I binned the planned run.

A.M. Still raining this morning, nevermind, out and up the first hill. Legs felt tired and I was a minute over my normal time at the top. Kept it slow and easy, then 10k into the run I starting to feel comfortable and the pace naturally picked up. What started as drudge ended up enjoyable and I finished wet, muddy but happy. Total 25,5k in 2:04:12, av pace 4:52/k, 7:50/mi.

A.M. Dry and sunny today and man did I have great fun on the trail today. 5k warmup, then 10k fartlek with everything chucked into the melting pot, short sprints, hill sprints, downhill strides, tempo pace, marathon pace, jogs... Best run of the week. 2,4k cooldown to finish. Total 17,4k in 1:18:32, av pace 4:31/k, 7:16/mi.

P.M. Recovery jog, legs sore but better now than tomorrow morning. Total 7,5k in 38:42, av pace 5:10/k, 8:18/mi.

A.M. Steady and easy pace, mix of asphalt and trail. Total 17,5k in 1:22:21, av pace 4:42/k, 7:34/mi.

The Euro 2008 kicks off tonight with the opening match between Switzerland and the Czech Republic. For weeks it has been hyped up by the media. It is difficult to find a product in the shops that has not got a football somewhere on it, and everyone seems to be the 'official' supplier to the German team. We've been bombarded with reports on the players training, health, eating habits, stool consistency, well you know what I mean. A vast number of cars are flying the German or Turkish flags. I enjoy football but I will just be glad when the competition finally starts, and no I'm not that sour that England didn't qualify, I think long term for England it was the best thing that could have happened.

A quick contrast back now to the London marathon in April. Irina Mikitenko won the marathon in a personal PR time of 2:24:14, and she broke a 9 year German record set by Katrin Doerre-Heinig. I watched the main news on ARD that night and I could not believe it - it was not mentioned at all, nor on the other channels. For a supposedly mass sport in Germany that is the value the media places on the top athletes. Whinge over.

A.M. Warm and sunny again, left the run until late morning to force myself to run in warmer conditions. It was only 27C/81F according to our thermometer, but in full sun it felt warmer. 5k warmup, then 15k at marathon pace, 5k cooldown. I was wilting towards the end and nipped into the gents in a tennis club, gulped down some water and splooshed some on my head. I can forget any notion of running the Marathon des Sables. Total 25k in 1:48:09, av pace 4:20/k, 6:58/mi.

A.M. Nice and slow pace trail run, feet and tendons sore after yesterday's asphalt run. Beautiful early morning, sunny but a comfortable 14C/57F, the woods were brimming with birdsong. Total 16,4k in 1:27:29, av pace 5:20/k, 8:35/mi.

A.M. Easy pace 10k in the woods in 48:38. Cracking sunny morning with a great view, ribbons of early morning mist snaking below in the valley.

Evening - slow jog, again in the woods, very warm and humid. 7,4k in 39:36.

A.M. Along a bike path in the valley, 5k easy, 5k M.P, 5,3 easy. Total 15,3 in 1:10:11, av pace 4:35/k, 7:23/mi.

A.M. Easy paced trail run, no worries. Total 12,1k in 58:12, av pace 4:49/k, 7:44/mi.

A.M. Easy pace trail run, finish with 8 x 100m strides. Total 6.20 in 48:32, av pace 4:51/k, 7:49/mi.

Last entry for a while, we have a 2 week holiday and from tomorrow we have rented a holiday house in the Schwaebische Alb for a week. It is a beautiful area that we've been meaning to visit for a long time. Wooded limestone crags overlooking the young river Donau. We plan to do all day hiking tours, cycling and even some running. Catch up with you guys later. Good racing, happy training!

P.M. Slow jog with Johanne along the Donautal bike trail. 5k in 28:46.

Workout holiday marathon.

Donautal marathon. Time 3:07:42. 1st half 1:32:54, 2nd half 1:34:48.

Posn overall 14th, M40 6th.

Beautiful point to point course along the young Donau river on a cycle trail. Very wavy, constant up and down, but inspiring scenery. This is the best I've felt so far running a marathon, I really enjoyed myself. I experimented taking 2 gels for the first time in a race at km 29 and 39 and also tried a gel chip which lasted from km 21-25 slowly dissolving. Being made in Germany it was wheatbeer flavoured. Started slowly and overtook throughout including a few places at the end which was sweet. Ran most of the way on my own which has made me decided to run a big city marathon in the autumn instead of another small countryside marathon.

A.M. Very slow jog with Johanne along the Donau, 12k in 1:16:52.

P.M. 2:15 hrs hill walking. ~ 6k.

A.M. Slow and steady run by the Donau. 20k in 1:44:43.

P.M. Hill walking ~14k.

A.M. Long hillwalking day in the Schwaebischer Alb. ~20k 

A.M. Slow paced run, 19,1k in 1:43:00

P.M. Hill walking

P.M. Drive home, then easy paced trail run 17,4k in 1:24:51, av pace 4:53/k, 7:51/mi. Very hot day.

A.M. Very hot day again, the plan was to run 32k, I drank all my water and the refills, I was getting slower and suffering so I cut the run short. 28,5k in 2:28:52. av pace 5:13/k, 8:24/mi.

A.M. 2nd holiday week so the plan is to get the run out of the way early then day trips out for us. 18,6k trail run, av pace 4:44/k, 7:36/mi.

Chinese/Japanese buffet lunch deal, great chow but 3 platefuls was all I could manage.

A.M. Slow-easy pace trail run, got caught out with the weather, heavy rain storm on the return leg. Total 20,1 in 1:41:46, av pace 5:04/k, 8:09/mi.

P.M. 1:05 cycling down the valley.

A.M. 15k hill run, hot again. av pace 5:01/k, 8:05/mi.

P.M. late evening 10k, nice and slow in 53:32.

Indian veggie Thalis for lunch - delicious.

A.M. quick short 1 hr hill sesson, Total 13k in 1:00:10. av pace 4:38/k, 7:27/mi.

A.M. 2 hr run in the countryside and partly round a very inviting looking lake. Why didn't I bring my bathers. Total 25,1k in 2:01:20. av pace 4:50/k, 7:47/mi.

A.M. Aha - finished catching up. Couldn't sleep so out the door extra early for a slow pace hilly trail run. (Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back breakfast) Total 25,3k in 2:10:44. av pace 5:10/k, 8:19/mi.

A.M. Very warm and sunny. Brisk short run along the valley cycle path. 16,5k in 1:13:39. av pace 4:28/k, 7:11/mi.  

P.M. Cycling with Johanne to a Strassenfest and back, ca. 1:45 hr.

A.M. Very warm & humid, felt good initially but my legs felt trashed on the hills at the end. Easy pace, total 35.3k in 2:51:09, av pace 4:51/k, 7:48/mi. I've registered for Frankfurt marathon end of Oct. Plenty of easy long running planned for the hot summer months of Jul/Aug. I'm still dithering about entering another small local 'Landschaft' marathon on the 7th Sep.