I love to run. It’s that simple. But lately I’ve been losing some of my passion, running (especially the road runs with a running group) felt like a chore and more often I caught myself running my usual routes without mindfully experiencing the nature around me. Consequently, I haven’t been running as much as I should have to be well prepared for the 63km trailrun with 3000m elevation gain; the Salomon Zugspitz Ultratrail.
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Running
THE FIRST WEEK OF 2017
For this year I didn’t come up with any New Years resolutions because, well you know, they just don’t work… At least for most, including me.
However I felt that this year is going to bring some changes. There’s something forming in the back of my head – a feeling that I have to do something meaningful with my life, something that not only brings me real pleasure, but is for a greater benefit.
Is It Spring Yet?
For the last couple of days I felt pretty down. My stomach was really upset (which used to be a problem quite often in the past and caused by me stressing out about things) and the super grey, snowy-rainy, cold weather wasn’t helping neither. I’m not sure if my upset stomach was caused by me being sick of the depressing weather or if I actually ate something wrong.
Anyhow, I didn’t even feel like exercising – all I did was taking my bike out for a short 10mile ride after I installed a new, wider back tire. A nice change to my setting; I’ve been planning on doing some changes such as the new SRAM NX drivetrain, but since I wasn’t in the mood for biking at all I postponed it for some point in the future.
A Weekend of Crosscountry Skiing
Winter Arrived – My First Actual Snow Run of 2016
In Preparation For The Swiss Snow Walk&Run on Saturday 
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Hello 2016 – Let’s Get It On
It’s already the third day of 2016 and the first day of me running this year – so much about good intentions…. Haha. It seems like winter has finally arrived in Germany so I was able to run through a few milimeters of snowmud this morning. Temperatures around freezing point and very slushy rain. But my first kilometers of 2016 felt great.
Let’s Go Trailrunning
Even a short run counts – 4 miles in a wintery scenery
After posting something about my weekend activities the last two weekends I didn’t have anything to write about the last one, but I also don’t want to go back to only writing an article once a month or even less. So I thought I’m simply going to share my little trail run today with you.
Hüttenurlaub
Because there ain’t no better English word for it
There are some German words in the English language that are being used untranslated: Gemütlichkeit, Hefeweizen, Sauerkraut and Hüttenurlaub – or at least it should be one of those words. While it’s probably hard to find an equivalent English word for Doppelgänger one might find one for Hüttenurlaub: Alp (Inn) vacation…. But this is where the Gemütlichkeit comes into play: Staying in one of those chalets in the Alps is gemütlich and not just some kind of vacation. In the summer time folks from the cities close to the Alps hike up the mountains and stay in those chalets for a couple nights; mountaineers use them as base camps for tours to the peaks, families take their kids to have some back-to-the-roots time and others just do day hikes to a Hütte and enjoy the delicious, local Bavarian/Austrian/South Tyrol cuisine: spinach/bacon dumplings with Sauerkraut, Kaiserschmarrn or simply an ice cold Hefeweizen.
Golden Fall Weekend
I haven’t been posting for way too long. First I never really knew what to write about and second I thought that there ain’t anything special going on in my life that’s worth sharing. Well, at least the second point was wrong – there’s always something going that’s worth talking about; it’s not about the big events, but rather the small stuff (I think I mentioned that before already).
Last month I decided to rent a flat in a nice residential area in Hamburg; I was excited as I felt that it would give me more freedom and independence, but I was also insecure about how to decorate it. I could never just buy furniture at the big stores (eg. IKEA) and make that my home; I wanted it to be more personal. I didn’t get this far – I got some nice things like a bed and table with chairs and an area rug, but then moved out (or at least cancelled the lease) after sleeping in it for one night. It made me anxious; I didn’t know what to do with myself at that place when on vacation – next week I’m off and knowing that I’d be “stuck at my place” made me really uncomfortable. So I told the landlord that I’m gonna move out again. This made me feel better; not only do I safe a lot of money each month, but it also gives me the freedom to go wherever I want to and do whatever I want to. Nonetheless I do want to have my own place (decorating and baking cookies for Xmas sounds fabulous), but it wasn’t the right place, the right town…
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Double Workout: Mountain Biking and Sprint Training
Yesterday after work I went to the gym with my buddies – we’re a group of four and make it to the gym two to three times a week. The good thing about not going alone is that there’s always at least one who’s motivated enough and drags the others with him; it usually ain’t me as I’m more of an endurance typ, but still enjoy the gym once I’m there. So after our usual workout (Mondays are shoulder days) I kinda felt the desire to go for a short run. My knee didn’t hurt for weeks and the latest Runner’s World arrived this weekend. In this month’s issue was a flyer for the Zugspitz Challenge Trail Run which I really want to attend – a really challenging trail run (hence the name). I still have three months until then, but giving my pain-free knee maybe I can attend a couple more shorter runs this year and slowly build up on that?!
