My 10th Running Anniversary
Reflections, Gifts, and Cat Photos
Yes, that’s correct. It’s Wednesday, not Friday. Another Das Z Letter which is out of step. I hope you don’t mind.
Running Anniversary
I am writing this unscheduled Das Z Letter because it’s my 10th Running Anniversary today. That’s mind-blowing, I know. Exactly 10 years ago, I laced up my shoes for my first run, and this is how I looked like afterwards:
Willpower hadn’t been founded — yet. Obviously, as you can tell from my fancy selection of running clothes. Or is it even a soccer shirt?
You are also looking at a proud 105 kg live weight. Turning 30, (too) many hours, days and weeks in tour buses, my first proper 9-to-5-job and an alarming lack of physical exercise had taken their toll. No beating about the bush, I was overweight.
Running changed everything. But the true eye- and heart-opener was when I raced for the first time. Three months after I had started running.
It was the 10k of the Munich Marathon, and I literally had no idea what I was doing.
It scared me.
It hurt.
It was confusing.
But my first race was also filled with joy, adrenaline and pride. With a subjectively not-so-bad first 10k PB of 49:57 I knew I wanted more. More running, more racing, more of my new life.
Reflections
Every year, I utilize this special anniversary to reflect on my past 12 months of running. This time, there are only three things that come to my mind:
After Western States 100 I entered a total running void for many months
Training for a road marathon for the first time in 3 years breathed new life into my running
I could write hundreds of pages about these three incisive experiences I made within the last 12 months. In fact, I already did that. Click on the story links above and dive deeply into all three crucial episodes of my recent running life.
Gifts
I told my coach Karim about my running anniversary and got me a nice gift. A ‘free run’. Free run means that I can do whatever I feel like for today’s workout.
Karim sprinkles in those free runs every once in a while as a means to keep his athletes motivated and to break with the somewhat predictable training cycle of a consistent built-up.
I’ve been doing all kinds of crazy workouts as my ‘free runs’ in the past. I remember that I once ended up on the track to run a flat 10k. But there’s also been times when I longed for nothing more than to hit the mountains for a couple of hours. One of my favorite free runs, though, was a progression run, speeding up every 2 km. I came out of a long block of base building and missed running fast dearly. The workout ended with the last 2k at 3:35 pace (that’s fast for me). It felt like flying and absolutely effortless.
I haven’t decided yet, what to do with my free run today, but I’m very much looking forward to it.
Everything not Running
Lisa and I returned home yesterday. Our trip to Finland and Norway was absolutely lovely and full of great experiences (more about this in my next Das Z Letter this Friday). However, to me, returning home is one of the best things about traveling.
The main reason why I love getting home so much are Harry and Toto. That’s our two wonderful cats. Or as Lisa and I call them: our family.
Luckily, we have very dedicated cat-sitters every time we are traveling. It still breaks our hearts to leave them alone for so long. We try not to think about it too much, while we’re on vacation, but we still always miss them very much and secretly hope it’s the other way around, too.
Sprachnachricht
Zurück zu Hause bedeutet auch zurück zur besseren Tonqualität. Hier wie immer die deutschsprachige Audiozusammenfassung dieses Das Z Letters. Sie hört auf den Namen Sprachnachricht #13. Findet ihr auch überall wo es Podcasts gibt. Auch wenn es kein Podcast ist.
Ich lese seit ein paar Wochen mit und freue mich nun immer wieder auf neue Ausgaben! Glückwunsch zum 10-Jährigen. Auf das noch viele Dekaden dazu kommen!