Improving...

2.8K - still in pace 8min per K ... and no problems after soccer practice this week... :-)

Small victory - but it feels great..

Sunday I ran 4.2K with my youngest daugther (42 min) and I have not problems with my knee afterwards..

So yesterday I took a chance and ran 2K slowly and still no problems...

Don't know if I should be glad or worried, but it did create some optimisme

Great race .... again!!

When you get older, you get wiser. You learn from your actions and mistakes. Today I learned something important - I CANNOT just watch a marathon as a supporter !!

Today, for the 11. time, H.C. Andersen Marathon took place in Odense. Perfect conditions - 12C, overcast, and almost no wind. And I must admit when the started the race at 10am, I felt like I was in the wrong place.

My neighbour started in his first marathon and he did a great job, and finished in 3h51m - a great time - Congratulations!!

But he was not the only one - Raymond Kiplagat Kandie finished in amazing 2h10m42s - one of the fastest marathon times ever run in Scandinavia. It was great to see him run the last lap on Odense Atletik Stadion.

In general a lot of good performances today - and I am pretty sure there were many personal victories.

My kids participated again this year in the MiniMarathon (4.2K) - all of them did a great performance, and I think they all had a great day. At least I think they'll have a good day tomorrow when they bring their medal and diploma to school :-)

BUT all the time I felt in the wrong place - something was missing. Being tired, the feeling of victory, the thought why you are doing this?, and the saticfaction of well executed training and competition.

PS Status of injury: doctor believes she has found out what it is - and that it can be solved with a simple surgery - lets hope that will be the case.. I ran the 4.2K together with my youngest daugther (in 42 mins :-) ) but I don't feel a thing and my knee is not swollen..  maybe I can start in the small now..

So I did it

... something I thought I would never have to do. I have postponed my participation in HCA Marathon and Grenå 6 hours until next year.

For some reason I feel guilty. I am not really sure why, but I have a feeling there is something I have to do. I'd really like to put on my running shoes - and take 12 K around the lake.

But my knee have another opinion of this. I still have no pain, it is swollen and doesn't feel right. I am sure I could run, but I fear it will just get worse. So I contacted my medical doctor again, and now we will try x-ray and scanning. I rellay hope it is a quick fix. .. and I am sure my wife hopes for this as well..

When I get back I will start build it up slowly, and I think the reward for a starting again, should be a new GPS watch, so I can track all the parameters :-)

Trying....

Motivation to come back to run is super high - ironic, when you can't run, the motivation increases. My injury is still a challenge and I probably have to realize that I will not be able to participate in HCA Marathon this year. It is simply to risky.

After medication I have tried slowly to build up the strength in my knee, but unfortunately it is still challenging me. And I probably have to get some medical assistance again.

I really miss running again, so I do hope that I can get this fixed....

Frustration

This must be the word that summarizes the last couple of weeks. After a slow build-up of running again, I got rid of the pain in my left knee. Actually it feels great.

BUT sometimes (almost once every day) my knee gets very swollen. And to my knowledge, with no reason. And then running becomes almost impossible.. Funny thing is that I have no pain.

So I went to see a specialist today - she claims I have an inflamation in my knee and I got some medicin to remove it. And no running and exercise for the next 10 days... *sign*

So my HCA MT is in danger. I am not in a great shape anymore and with only a month to start, I am probably looking at running/walking at a very slow pace. I still do intend to do the race - it is the 9th race in a row, so I'd would really like to continue to be there.. Even if it means I will have to do a time around 4.5hrs.

Small progress

After my last marathon I've has some challenges with my left knee, and I have not been able to run. Very frustrating and depressing. I think you can write an entire book about the psykological mecanisme inside a active individual forced to be doing as little as possible. Hopefully they will insert a chapter how you overcome the depressing feeling you get.

Almost a month has passed - and with small improvements every day. Sunday I dared to bike 25K with success. Yesterday I put on my running shoes and went for 2 laps of 430 meters. From 42195 meters to 430 meter in 1 month. But it went pretty well - I could still feel the injury, but there was no pain. And the today again 25K on my bike. Still no pain, but my knee feels weak.

So over the next couple of week I will increase the number of kilometers and hopefully it will be back soon.

I have paid entry fee for HCA Marathon and Grenå 6 hours, so here is my motivation for getting back in the game. But I think I will have to reevaluate my year objective to set new PR on MT and 6 hours.

Small anniversary in Skælskør

A new marathon day - Storebælt Naturmarathon - suppose to be one of the most beautiful marathon's in Denmark, and it is. After only 5K we passed the higest point with a magnificent view over a large part of West Zealand. And hereafter we passed many many beautiful points where it would have been easy to spend a lazy Sunday Afternoon. But for some reason it was more important to sweat, feel the pain and the heat to finsh the 42K.

The preparation for the race was far from perfect. After Copenhagen MT I have had some challenges with my knees and back - somehow I think it is related - so I only managed to train perfectly for one week, where I ran approx 50K in short distances and with high speed. But since my knees and back were still a challenge I did not have great expectation. Actually I just wanted finish the 42K in the least painfull way and with no objective on time.

The race started from the town square in Slagelse. Approx 140 runners in sunny weather. Quickly after start we managed to form a group of 10-12 runners with a pace of 4:40-4:45 per K. Somehow faster than I expected, but the pace really felt nice and relaxing. Almost until ½ marathon we managed to stay together, which was great.

Peer, my training partner from Sorø, entered the race 31K before the finish line and followed the group as well. But the pace was high and we decided to fall back. I think this was good strategy - and later in the race it paid off. (Thank you Peer! - I think it eventually save my race)

After passing ½ marathon I was approx 1 min after the group, but now it seemed some of the runners ran slower, so the group was split, and they began to run in various paces. I could now start to catch up with them, one by one. Great strategy, mentally it was great to overtake them one by one. And by 9K to the finish line I passed the fastest of the runners in the group, and I really had mental surplus.

The last ½ marathon was definately the toughest. Many small tracks with sand, graval path, forest tracks, and very little paved road. And I must admit the last 5K started to be a mental challenge, and on top of this, my left knee started to challenge me. But somehow I got through it, without loosing a lot of time. The last hill: Møllebakken (The Mill Hill) of 15 heightmeters was a tough challenge, and I praised the water supply just on the top of the hill. Hereafter it was almost downhill to the finish line to a great reception in the finish area.

Finish time: 3h28m09s - (Marathon #20),  only 1 min slower than Copenhagen Marathon. The race today was executed well, but I think it proofed my CPH MT time to be slow. The course today was definately much tougher and the weather a lot warmer, so CPH MT should have been faster.

Mental note for myself: remember to bring sunglasses when the weather forecast say "sun"

First run in FiveFingers

Today I did my first run in almost bare feet - 3.5K - with an average of 4m45s per K. Not fast, not slow, but I must admin it was an eye-opener.

Only 3 days after my marathon, I am still a little tired - but I wanted to do my first run to get started again. And why not try something new. I am currently in the midst of reading "Born To Run" - an excellent book about running and why we run.

A fair amount of the book talks about bare-foot running - and I must admit the idea is appealing. So I have borrowed a pair of 5-finger-Vibrams from one of my friends to test if I should incorporate a "feet-strengthening" module to minimize risk of injuries.

Goosh, they look stupid - almost like monkey feet - I was a bit concerned about the comfort and if your toes would be hurt after a longer run.

But they feel very comfortable and it was actually a great experience to run without traditional running shoes.

I definitely understand when Bare-Foot Ted says that you are more present and focused when running without shoes.





The first 10 mins I focused very much on running "correctly" to make sure I did not hurt my feet. This was very tough to run this way, so I started to relax more and find a good rhythm. I had decided not to run very far to push my legs further after the marathon. But I will definitely try to run a longer run (7-10K) to experience the feeling of running more naturally and relaxed.

But I can only recommend every runner who want to try another running experience to put on the Five-Fingers and go for a short run - it is a new experience.

Copenhagen Marathon 2010

Yesterday I finished CPH MT 2010 in 3h26m58s - a little disappointing result, but after a Spring with a lot of disappointments, I think the result is pretty fair. And today I am OK, and is considering to do a small training pass later tonight to see if I can recover quicker.

CPH MT had a new route this year - the marathon has grown to 12500 participants, and they has to find a new starting and finishing area to hold all these runners and spectators. So they redesigned the route and with fair amount of success - there was a couple of sharp 90 and 180 degree corners, but we passed more beautiful areas and tourist attractions and there was definitely more people cheering along the route. The latter could have been due to better weather this year. So all in all Sparta had done a good job in planning this race. Looking forward to next years race - and if you are considering to do a marathon, CPH MT should be on your consideration list.

One of my friends decided a couple of days ago to start in this year's race - she has not been practicing for the marathon specifically, but she is in good shape, so I had good faith she would make it. And she did a great race. Finished in 4h08m and ran a negative split - very impressive for a runner not used to these long distances - I must mention, it is her second marathon, but the last one was 10 years ago. Very impressive - Congratulations Lone !!

Next big event is going to be Storebælt Naturmarathon (http://www.naturmaraton.dk/) on June 20th.

Barefoot running

My neighbour came over some time ago with a book on running: "Born To Run" - he was very hyped about this book and said that I had to read it. Normally I never get very enthusiastic about books recommend by a lot of people - I tend to get disappointed when read these books.

But I must admit that I did get inspired by this book - first by the many interesting people the book describes - runners that are not motivated by money or prestige - runners motivated by the challenge and the search for the "right way" of running and living.

Secondly I found the aspect of barefoot running very interesting. The concept is very appealing. and in the last couple of days I've spend a little time to investigate and get wiser on the subject.

My own experience is that in the past 5-6 years where I've been running, I have been fortunate not to have any serious injuries - only smaller pains in knees, thigh, and feet. But nothing I have not be able to cure by not running as intense for a limited period, and nothing that has prevented me from running a planned race.

But I have had an increased concern about my selection of shoes and running style. In the beginning I ran in "neutral" shoes, but has to select Asics Gel Kayano (slight pronation) and I have a suspicion that I have to select a shoe with more pronation. If something gets worse, it is not a lasting solution. Barefoot running is suppose to strengthen your feet and legs to a more natural running style where heal-landing is not an option and where you run more like fore-foot runners.

It is definitely something I will try to explore over the next couple of months - so if there is anybody out there with some experience or want to try the same, please reply to me, so we can share experience.

By coincidence I found that Bare-Foot Ted is running at Copenhagen Marathon tomorrow - It would be great to have a talk with him tomorrow if possible. But with 13.000 runners at the start line, it is probably not going to be likely.. :-)

Sometimes it just doesn't go as planned

Today I ran Nike Marathon Test 2 in Copenhagen - the plan was to run at 4:00 pace per K through the entire 15K. I had a really good preparation in January and February where I felt I actually should have run a new PR at Nike Marathon Test .1, but only due to weather conditions has to settle with a slower time.

But end of February and March have been horrible. The weather has been bad, but my work has required a lot of me, and I have had to (normally something I never do) cancel training passes to be manage work.

So when I was at the start line for 15K, I felt uncertain if I had set a too ambitious goal.  The first 5K went well - I followed the 4:00min/K pacers for the first 5K - but hereafter I started to get in trouble. I had to slow down to "recover" a little bit, and the next 5K was very tough.

In the last 5K I managed to get to 4:15min/K, but I had lost too much and ended at 1:04:00 for 15K. (Goal: 1:00:00). 4 mins might sound very little, but it is actually a lot, so I am disappointed with my performance.'

I hope I will manage to increase my training effort over the next couple of month so I can still go for 3hrs at Copenhagen Marathon.

Somehow an empty feeling

Today I entered the Nike Marathon Test 1 (10K) in Copenhagen with an objective to run below 40 mins. Unfortunately we have had, for the first time in many years, a real winter in Denmark - lots of snow and ice. The volunteers at the race had done a great job "cleaning up" the track - but due to the weather conditions it was only an estimated track length and there was some uncertainty about the track length except it was for certain longer than 10K.

I felt ok today - the last two exercises had been discouraging, but I felt good, and I has a healthly portion of adrenaline in my body when the race started. The first 5K went well - I was a little disappointed with the 4min pacers, we ran 10 secs behind schedule on every kilometer, so at 5K we were approx 30 sec behind a schedule to finish at 40mins.

But then the pacers started to increase the speed, and I started have a real challenge keeping the pace. And after 6.5K I slowly had to let them go. I had hoped for a little more fighting spririt, but I just couldn't find it.

After 10K I finished in 41m54s - 1 whole min slower than my New Year race - really disappointing.

But I was not the only one - a large majority of runners had slower finishing time than expected. Probably due to the track conditions (still slippery and a lot of snow) and then the "uncertainty" about the track length.

So there was probably something about it, but it is not an excuse.. I want to run faster, so I have to continue and next goal is Nike Marathon Test 2 (15K) in 1h01m - real challenging considering I can't run 10K in 40 mins.

After today I am left with an empty feeling of not knowing if I did run faster than my clock said and did a good job, or I totally failed today..  Well I have to continue and hopefully when the snow melts and we get some better running conditions and a new race is on the schedule, I will know a little more..   until then:

"The triumph can't be had without the struggle.” (Wilma Rudolph)

Set on Fire

What a tough day! It actually started peacefully with 4K (4min pace) on a treadmill in Berlin. After breakfast I checked my mobile and I had received a text message from my good friend, running mate and colleague where he stated that he had finished Dubai Marathon in 3h07m25s .. D… 1m15s faster than my PR on marathon. Quite impressive – his second marathon (the first done in approx 3h40m) and already close to 3 hours.

But then I had to listen to all my colleagues taunting me about his result for a whole day – and even our CEO announced on his company-wide session, pointing at me, that he was sure I was up for the challenge.

The sad thing is he is right – I am set on fire. I want a new PR on marathon – and this time it has to be under 3 hours !!

And on the road there I want to set PR’s on 10K, 15K, 21.1K – and if I can keep free of injuries, I want to hold it and run more than 70K at the 6 hours endurance race in Grenå. And, and, and..

Tomorrow is the first day…