Long training weekend

Took advantage of the Australia Day and went out for a 2 hour run - almost made it back home before the rain but for 1 km - when  I got trenched.
Saturday I went out again a bit late in the morning and suffered in the heat and humidity but still managed 20km in just over 2 hours.
Sunday Denis and I went along the last 1/3 of the trek again running from Randwick through Centennial Park and down to Double Bay - this time we managed to find the turn off along Old South Head road and enjoyed the jog along the Hermitage Walk to Watson's Bay and than back to Bondi and Coogee. My legs were heavy and felt like lead and I had a hard time to keep up and was very happy to jump into the pool at Denis's after 35 km and long 4 hours...all in all a good week with 80+ km. Only 4 weeks to go so next two weeks are important to build up a bit more endurance and fitness. Guess have to stop eating those Swiss Chocolates now for a while.

Coastrek Training Part 2 - Manly to Opera House

Today we ran the second 33km (which ended up to be 35km) from Manly across the Spit Bridge all the way to the Opera House.

Some stunning views along the way compensated for the many hundreds of stairs and ups and downs along the way.

Sam and Denis put on a blistering pace, which I with difficulty, and Andrew with ease, could follow, but after about 15km Katy and Trent unfortunately fell behind.

The long dinner and wine the night before had not helped – the longer and hotter the day became the slower I got, and at the end I had to walk more then I would have liked to.

It was good we did this part of the course, as we got off the track twice and had to backtrack. Something to avoid on race day for sure.

And the other thing is to check and time for the opening times of the Spit Bridge. Would be a tough wait if the bridge is open when you come around the corner, and you'd have to kill (or lose) about 10–15 minutes before you can continue your run!

Denis and Sam had enough of my navigation skills and are ready to head over a cliff ...

I was exhausted at the end, and have to make sure I take more gels and food with me at next run to avoid slowing down.


Denis and Sam having a rest – still 10km to go.


We arrived at the Opera House after 4.5 hours and with 35km under the belt.

Fun Night - Trivia Night for Coastrek 100km

Please join us for the Run 4 Vision Trivia Night on Friday 24 February from 18.30pm, in support of my 100 km Coastrek adventure raising funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Please bring your friends and family along for a great night of fun. You can find details about the event and info on how to book seats on the Run 4 Vision website.

If you are unable to join us for the night you can still help and make a difference to someone in need. Donate for our good cause on the Coastrek website.

I’m looking forward to see you soon in Randwick!

Happy Feet

Markus

PS: And if you are on Facebook make sure to ‘like’ my new Run 4 Vision page.

How much is too much

Wonder if those cheese fondues in the Swiss Alps were too much as it seems they have slowed me down a bit....I struggled big time to keep up with Denis on our Saturday morning training run around the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Eventually I managed to crawl back home after 25km in 2 1/2 hours. Some work to be done quickly in the next couple of weeks to get back on track. Sam is running the Narrow Neck night run in the Blue Mountains tonight. I hope the weather is holding up. No fun to run in the rain and dark.
So, off to some pasta dinner - have another run tomorrow morning
Happy Feet

Winter Training in Switzerland – done

Well, the 3 weeks in the snow went quick, and I am on my way home to sunshine and warmer temperatures. Have to say so that running in the cool winter weather was quite pleasant, and the few long runs over the hills and mountains around my home town St. Gallen were very nice – great, fresh air and views over the alps and all the way to Germany. But to be honest I am glad to put my gloves, beanie, long Skins and wind jacket away for my next run. I was good with food and drink and did not put on too much weight, so keeping up with the guys back in Sydney should not be too hard.

Counting the 7 days skiing in the alps plus the few 25+km runs I did here, I am happy to have kept up an almost uninterrupted training schedule over the last 3 weeks. The skiing was actually quite hard on my knees.  Racing down those steep hills at 60km/hrs was lots of fun but also lots of pressure on the knees and legs.

Off to the airport now. I hope it is open again after yesterday's big snowstorm and wind. I have never seen a snowstorm with lightening and thunder – quite spooky.

Winter Times

After a long 27-hours trip I finally arrived in Switzerland. Getting off the plane in a snow storm gave me a little idea of what will be ahead the next 3 weeks training wise. The first 3 days I simply tried not to freeze to death and stayed warm and mostly inside.

After spending a few days with friends in the French part of Switzerland I drove across the country to my home town St. Gallen. Driving on snow-covered road was a bit like driving on sand... I took my time and visited some friends on the way but arrived save 'home'.

The next day I was ready for a run, and I went with my dad his gym where I clocked up a few hours on the treadmill. My dad kept up for a while but at 84, I was impressed that he kept the speed up at almost same level as myself. I just hope I will be in same shape in another 35 years... After two days in the gym I was ready for an outdoor run, but after 70 minutes I had to turn home. Zero degrees and a biting wind was no fun.

I will give it another try tomorrow as the weather improved somehow, not temperature wise but at least the blue sky seems inviting enough.

Next week will be cross training high-altitude stuff -- skiing at 2000m+ above sea level has to be counted, no?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Xmas, and I wish you all save training and great races for 2012!

Coastrek Training Part 1

Team Run 4 Vision meet for the first time today on the steps of the Opera House for a great run along the coast of the Eastern Suburbs all the way to Coogee Beach. It was a brilliant morning, not too hot, but blue sky and sunshine. I am sure it was a good move to run this section as we got lost a few times of course and had to backtrack to find the right way. The view along the tracks over the harbor and city is stunning, and once we turned South from Watson's Bay we had the ocean on one and the harbor on the other side of us. A nice cool breeze made the last few km more comfortable, and we managed to take cover in a cafe in Coogee just before the nasty cold wind and rain started.

This was a first for Kate, having never run more then 21km in one go, she lead us to the beach in Coogee and after 31km and 3.5 hours still had a smile on her face. Well done, Kate. I think we just found us another ultra runner here...

Next stop Xmas and New Year. Going easy on the champagne and salmon and keeping up the running should make the trick to start 2012 in top shape and ready for the count down to 2 March, Palm Beach to Coogee Beach. Team Run 4 Vision is ready.