My First Long Distance Swim

The Schwimm Aktiv Club training season has ended and as a nice finish we did a long distance swim. Of course we were divide into 3 groups, me taking part in the longest swim which should be 3.6km. From Krumpendorf along the bank the to the other lake side along that shore and then across the lake back to Krumpendorf. Seeing this only as a social event, although speaking during swimming does not work, I took it easy. Hannes M. as usual did not use a Neoprene, the madman. So on it went and a long time it took. My good, it is really hard but not really physically but mentally, you can not shut of your brain and you can not really drift away into ones fantasy world since you always have to stay on course. It took long and I was really tired and I got hungry. It is just tedious, but at least I know now that I will keep away from long distance triahtlon. It took us 1:30h and as I measure the distance again, it was a little longer..... nearly 5km. What a swim!!!

My First Satisfaction

First off, before the Rosentaler Triathlon I was on third place of the Kärnten-Cup in my age group Elite I. Next year I will be in Elite II which will not be so easy anymore. I know the guy, Markus G., who is on second place and to catch up I need 5 points.

Weather was perfect, slightly cold and some drops of rain. A small 350m swim, which is just to short for me but I tried to get some speed. Since the starting line was quite broad I had a lot of space and no struggle with the crowed. On the other hand I had no one in front of me for drafting. So I got out of the water and I saw in front of me the Markus. Bad news and due to my bad bike riding I will lose him. Nevertheless, I tried to keep up with the other, since drafting was allowed. I had to struggle so hard, and just wave after wave of men overtook me. I just could not keep up and lost one group after the other and therefore had to ride on my own. So I tried to give my best.

Off the bike, super fast transition and onto the run. I had to catch up the guys which overtook me and if really lucky get Markus. I caught up some places very fast, one after another, a brutal but great run. After about 4km I gave up on getting Markus but still wanted my 4min/km. So I ran and ran... but what do I see there, that guy seems familiar, it was Markus 100m in front of me and still 500m to go. I caught up fast and already warned him that I was coming and he should better pick up the pace. But not a chance, I just slammed passed and put a sprint at the finished to make it a sure thing.

Not quite sure what place I am now at the Kärnten-Cup but I should at least keep my position. 3 weeks and the last event will take place at Faakersee with an Olympic distance - my kind of race distance.

I was so dame happy, because for the first time I pulled it through and nice fast race in all three disciplines.

So all in all 0:06:43/0:41:58/ca.24min (350m/32km/6.1km)

(The timekeeping did not work in the second transition)

And a big thanks to Thorsten who checked my bike at a very tight schedule. I rode to often in rain and some dirt got into the bearings. He cleaned my beloved K11.5 Sione-Bike and as usaul did a great job! THX Thorsten.

Vorerst, for dem Rosentaler Triathlon war ich auf dem dritten Platz im Kärnten-Cup in meiner Altersklasse Elite I. Nächstes Jahr bin ich in Elite II, da wird es nicht mehr so leicht. Ich kannte den zweit platzierten, Markus G., der mit 5 Punkte führte.

Das Wetter war perfekt, leicht kalt und ein paar Regentropfen. Ein kurzes 350m schwimmen, was zu kurz für mich ist aber ich versuchte möglichst schnell zu sein. Da die Startlinie sehr breit war hatte ich sehr viel Platz und musste mich nicht mit der Menge abkämpfen. Allerdings auch keinen vor mir um den "Schwimmschatten" zu nutzen. Ich kam aus dem Wasser und sah Markus vor mir. Schlechte Nachrichten da ich mit meinem schlechten Radfahren nicht hinter her kommen werde. Trotzdem, ich versuchte mitzuhalten, da Windschattenfahren erlaubt war. Ich musste kämpfen. Eine Radgruppe nach der anderen überholte mich. Ich konnte einfach nicht mithalten und verlor eine Radgruppe nach der anderen und musste daher alleine fahren. Doch ich gab alles.

Runter vom Rad, schneller Wechsel und ab zum Lauf. Ich musste die Jungs nun alle wieder aufsammeln die mich vorher überholt haben und mit etwas Glück auch Markus. Sehr schnell habe ich einige Plätze gut gemacht, einen nach den anderen, ein brutaler aber geiler Lauf. Nach ca. 4km hab ich es aufgegeben Markus einzuholen aber ich musste unter 4min/km bleiben. So rannte und rannte ich.. aber was war da, den kenne ich doch, Markus war 100m vor mir und noch ca. 500m ins Ziel. Ich hab ihn gewarnt, dass ich ihn gleich überhole und er lieber bissl Gas geben sollte. Doch keine Chance, ich hämmerte vorbei und um es noch abzusichern noch ein Endsprint ins Ziel.

Ich bin meiner jetzigen Plazierung im Kärnten-Cup nicht sicher aber ich sollte den dritten Platz noch habe. 3 Wochen noch dann kommt der letzte Wettkampf, die Olypmpische Distanz am Faakersee - das ist schon eher meine Distanz.

Ich war so glücklich, da ich es endlich geschafft habe alle drei Disziplinen Gas zu geben.

Alles in allem 0:06:43/0:41:58/ca.24min (350m/32km/6.1km)

(Die Zeiterfassung hat in der zweiten Wechselzone nicht funktioniert)

Ein riesen Danke an Thorsten der mein Rad nochmal durchcheckte und das sehr kruzfristig. Ich bin paar mal im Regen unterwegs gewesen und Dreck kam in die Lager hinein. Er hat mein geliebtes K11.5 Sione-Bike gesäubert. DANKE!!!

My first 34 km/h - nearly :)

It is time to summarise the my last triathlon in Gösselsdorf before I get to my next one. I already signed up for Gösselsdorf last year but due to bad weather and no good transportation I had to cancel. This year I could start no matter what. A friend of mine lent me his car and was completely independent. As usual I got there to early, just as I drove into the parking zone I noticed that I forgot my bike shoes - great! So I got my racing documents at the racing office and drove back to Klagenfurt. I could not complain, it was a long time since I drove a car and it was great fun despite the slight shifted position of the steering wheel, or maybe because of that. Back home I got my shoes and off again to Gösseldorf. There was enough time, not because I was there to early but the race starts extremely late at about 5 p.m.. Something special about this triathlon that there are two transition zones and the start- and finish line are at different positions. This may sound nice but has the downside that you need to get your goggles and swim cap after the race. But even worse you have to get to the start somehow, which maybe done by the shuttle bus. But then you still got the problem with your shoes or walk bare foot before the race start... it is just a logistical nightmare. Nevertheless, I got everything set got my a second pair of running shoes and did a little bit of warming up - the first time ever. But still there was massive time and so I sat together with some guys and chilled.

Finally, we prepared for the start, it was already quite full so I knew this would be another fist fight. We started in the water which does not make it easier. The swim was quite short so we were all tightly bunched together and it was hard to get past the others. Then came the water lilies which seemed to scared some of the guys since some started to drop back and I could pass them. I got out of the water and as usual my lung started to burn. I must be doing something wrong during this transition, suddenly all my energy is gone and I do not seem to be able to grasp any air. I got the bike and squeezed my goggles and swim cap into the back of my trousers. Then I ran down the tremendously long transition with guys constantly overtaking me, I just wanted to get on the bike then all will be fine. On I went and tried to go for it. The bike ride was quite good, I did not drop so many places behind and uphill I was super fit. I nearly had a mean velocity of 35km/h but then came the windy part just before the next transition and I nearly stood still, I just could not fight the wind. At the last 500m there was a ban on passing and just before that a guy passed me, I knew he would block me during the last 500m so got some energy together and overtook him. I never saw him again, he would have really blocked me. Into the next transition and the run started. I wanted to keep some energy since they told me that there is a steep hill. A bad decision since the hill part was just about 500m and was not so steep. I got a bad average of about 5 min/km which is just shameful. At the finish a guy sprinted with me to the finish line he pushed me back in a quite unfair behaviour which one can see in the picture. The wuss did the relay so technically he was not even in the same race.

At least a great picture to be laughed at was the results.

So all in all: 0:09:09/0:56:37/0:33:17 (480m/32km/6.7km)

Es wird Zeit den letzten Triathlon in Gösselsdorf zusammen zu fassen bevor es zum nächsten auf geht. Zwar hab ich schon letztes Jahr mich für Gösselsdorf angemeldet, doch schlechtes Wetter und schlechte Transportmöglichkeiten brachten mich dazu den Triathlon ab zu sagen. Dieses Jahr konnte ich starten egal was kommt. Ein Kumpel hat mir sein Auto geliehen und so war ich unabhängig. Wie immer, kam ich zu früh an doch sobald ich auf den Parkplatz fuhr hab ich gemerkt, dass ich meine Radschuhe vergessen habe - na super. So holte ich mir schnell dir Wettkampfunterlagen und ab zurück nach Klagenfurt. So schlimm war es aber nicht, da ich lang nicht mehr Auto gefahren bin und es hat richtig Spaß gemacht auch wenn das Lenkrad bissl schräg war, oder vielleicht genau deswegen. Zuhause hab ich schnell meine Schuhe eingepackt und ab zurück nach Gösselsdorf. Es war sowieso massig Zeit, nicht nur weil ich zu früh da war, sondern weil der Triathlon sehr spät startet um ca. 17h. Ein weitere Spezialität des Triahtlons ist, dass es zwei Wechselzonen gibt und Start und Ziel weit von einander entfernt sind. Hört sich nett an, allerdings muss man nach dem Rennen seine Schwimmbrille und -haube abholen . Doch noch schlimmer ist, man muss irgendwie zum Start kommen, was mittels des Shuttle-Buses geht. Allerdings hat man das Problem mit den Schuhen und darf dann Barfuß herum laufen... ein logistischer Albtraum. So hab ich alles bereit gelegt und hab mich mit einem zweiten paar Laufschuhen zum Start auf gemacht und zum ersten mal aufgewärmt. Doch es war immer noch sehr viel Zeit und so hab ich mich mit den Jungs irgendwo hingehocht.

Endlich, wir haben uns für den Start vorbereitet, es war so schon sehr voll also wieder einmal ein kleiner Kampf im Wasser. Der Wasserstart machte das ganze noch schlimmer. Da die Schwimmstrecke so kurz war, lockerte sich das Feld nicht richtig und ich kam schlecht an den anderen vorbei. Als die Seerosen dann kamen vielen ein paar zurück, das macht wohl bissl Angst. Raus aus dem Wasser und wieder ging es mit der Lunge los... es brennt. Irgendwas mach ich da falsch während dieses Wechsels, die ganze Energie ist weg und ich kann einfach keine Luft schnappen. Ich holte mir das Rad und steckte Schwimmbrille und -haube mir hinten in die Hose, ich wollte nicht nochmal raus fahren. Dann lief ich die ewige Wechselzone runter in der mich alle überholten, ich wollte nur noch aufs Rad denn ich wusste dann geht es wieder. Also rauf aufs Rad und ich wollte schön Gas geben. Das Radfahren lief ganz gut, so weit viel ich nicht nach hinten und es ging mir sehr gut. Fasst hatte ich eine Durchschnittsgeschwindigkeit von 35km/h allerdings kam kurz vor der Wechselzone der windige Teil und ich stand still. Gegen den Wind konnte ich nicht ankämpfen. Während der letzten 500m war überholverbot und kurz vorher hat jemand mich noch überholt. Ich war mir sicher, dass es besser wäre wenn ich ihn wieder überhole und so sammelte ich noch bisschen Energie und schnappte ihn mir. Ich hab ihn dann nicht mehr wieder gesehen, da war ich froh denn er hätte mich garantiert blockiert. Rein in die nächste Wechselzone und zum Laufen. Ich wollte es ruhig angehen, da mir gesagt wurde es kommt eine starke Steigung. Ein schlechter Entschluss, denn der Hügel war nur 500m lang und nicht so steil. So kam ich fast auf 5min/km wie peinlich. Am Ende noch ein Sprint mit einem Waschlappen. Der Held hat die Feigehit gehabt mich fest zu halten und zurück zu stoßen, wie man auf dem Bild sieht. Dazu kommt noch, dass er Staffelläufer ist, also nicht einmal in der gleichen Disziplin.

Mindestens gab es so ein schön witziges Foto.

Alles zusammen ergab sich: 0:09:09/0:56:37/0:33:17 (480m/32km/6.7km)

My First Rainy Triathlon - Mein Erster Regentriathlon

The day before the triathlon in Velden it started to rain, normally not so dramatic since it would surely stop after about three hours. Quite exited I woke up the next day and wanted to pack my things - meanwhile for me routine. The first glance out of my window showed it was still raining and it did not seem like it would stop in the next six hours and it was a heavy rain. I was too exited to cancel another rainy triathlon and I needed to learn to start in bad weather. Well my colleague Jonas called me and wanted to here from me, that I will not be starting and will chicken out. Well not this time and he had no other choice than to come along.

With a big bang from a gas cannon the triathlon started and it was brutal in the water, kicks and punches. One punch right into my goggles - outch. After about 500m out of the water a 100m run and back in again, that was painful since my lungs started burning. Out of the water again onto the bike and a 3 lap course. The first lap was super slow since I really was not used to riding in the rain, but it got better lap by lap. But still I was to slow and at the last lap Jonas overtoke my. That was really hard to swallow for me. He screamed at me and I increased the pace and I noticed there is still some loads of energy left. Into the transition, I saw Jonas a couple of meters in front of me and just screamed on top of my lungs that I will get him. I screamed so loud the audience got scared. It took some time but I caught up and wanted to pull him, but he was really fighting with stitches and I had to let him go and just go for it. I had to do a lot of catching up to do from all those guys who passed me on the bike course. And most important I wanted to have a under 4min/km run. And I did - YEAH!!!

Great fun Triathlon but not a special time with 1:14:22 (750m, 20km, 5km - 0:11:25, 0:41:12, 0:19:39 - swim, bike run).

Ein Tag for the Velden Triathlon fing es an zu Regnen. Normalerweise kein Problem da es sicherlich nach drei Stunden wieder aufhören würde. Sehr aufgeregt bin ich am nächsten Morgen aufgewacht und wollte meine Sachen packen - mitlerweile ist es schon bissl routine. Der erste Blick aus dem Fenster zeigte, dass es immer noch regnet und dass sicherlich noch sechs Stunden und das ziemlich heftig. Ich war zu Aufgeregt um wegen des Regens ab zu sagen und ich musste es auch lernen bei schlechtem Wetter zu starten. Mein Kollege Jonas rief mich an und wollte von mir hören, dass ich absage und den Schwanz einzuieh. Diesmal nicht und ihm blieb keine andere Wahl als mit zu kommen.

Mit einem großen Knall aus der Gaskanone ging der Triahtlon los und es war brutal, Tritte und Schläge. Ein Schlag voll auf die Schwimmbrille - aua. Nach 500m aus dem Wasser und 100m laufen und wieder rein, das hat in der Lunge gebrannt. Wieder aus dem Wasser und die 3 Runden auf dem Rad. Die erste Runde war ich sehr langsam da ich mich erst an das Fahren im Regen gewöhnen musste, aber es wurde jede Runde besser. Trotzdem war ich langsam und Jonas hat mich in der letzten Runde überholt. Das hab ich nur schwer verkraftet. Er schrie mich and und schon konnte ich schneller fahren und merke auf noch, dass da noch viel Energie ist. Rein in die Wechselzone, ich sag Jonas ein paar Meter vor mir und Schrie mit voller kraft, dass ich ihn noch erwischen werden. Der Schrei war so laut, dass die Zuschauer es mit der Angst zu tun bekommen haben. Es dauerte seine Zeit aber ich hab ihn eingeholt und wollte ihn auch gleich mitnehemen, doch Seitenstichen plagten ihn und ich musste alleine weiter. Ich musste noch viel aufholen, die ganzen Jungs die mich auf dem Rad überholt haben. Und am wichtigsten, ich wollte einen Lauf unter 4min/km. Den ich auch hatte - YEAH!!!

Riesen Spaß der Triathlon mit eine nicht so guten Zeit aber 1:14:22 (750m, 20km, 5km - 0:11:25, 0:41:12, 0:19:39 - swim, bike run).

My First Triathlon 2010 - Mein Erster Triathlon 2010

Season 2010 has started and I did my first sprint Triathlon. The swim was awesome, I really tried to keep up and give my best. My lungs were burning and I was struggling as you can see on the picture. I got out and the air just hurts. Onto the bike and really tried to not loose too much. I could not keep up with the first pack and an average of 39 km/h. The next pack was also too fast (38km/h) but then came some guys who I could keep up with. But they were not really the best in keeping the pace constant and drag racing was a real pane with them. Downhill they suddenly had a speed of 25km/h and I could not get pass to lead because they were blocking the way. It was a real pain but on the other hand I was happy find a group with my kind of speed/slow. But at the end I had enough and really pushed the pace. A small very hill came and I lead the group with 40km/h and some, over the hill and onto the next hill into the transition. A great transition and into the run. I could keep a 4.10min/km pace but still not happy with it, I know I can go faster.

Well all in all a great start and as it seems my best part in triathlon are the transitions, I overtook 6 guys in the first one and 5 in the second ;) (750m/20km/5.4km - 0:12:25/ 0:31:12/ 0:22:01)

Die Saison 2010 ist gestarted und ich habe mein ersten Sprint-Triathlon absolviert. Das schwimmen war einfach nur geil, ich hab mein bestes gegeben und versucht mit zu halten. Meine Lungen brannten nur noch und ich hab ganz schon gekämpt, wie man im Bild sieht. Raus aus dem Wasser und die Luft hat geschmerzt. Aufs rad und versuchen nicht zuviel zu verlieren. Doch mit der ersten Gruppe konnte ich nicht mithalten bei 39km/h. Die zweite Gruppe musste ich auch vorbei lassen (38km/h) doch dann kamen paar Jungs mit denen gings. Allerdings nicht gerade die Besten wenn es darum ging das Tempo gleichmäßig zu halten und Windschatten fahren mit denen war echt nervig. Bergab hatten sie dann auf einmal eine Geschwindigkeit von 25km/h und ich kam nich vorbei um zu führen. Die Gruppe war wirklich anstrengen aber ich war froh welche zu finden die meine Geschwindigkeit/Langsamkeit hatten. Doch am Ende hats mir gereicht und dann musste ich das Tempo machen. Einen kleinen Hügel bergauf mit 40km/h und gleich den nächsten bis zur Wechselzone. Ein klasse Wechsel und ab zum Lauf. Ich konnte ca. 4.10min/km halten doch glücklich damit bin ich nicht, ich weiß da geht mehr.

Alles in allem ein klasse Start für die Saison und meine beste Disziplin scheint der Wechsel zu sein. Ich hab 6 in der ersten Wechselzone und 5 in der zweiten überholt ;) (750m/20km/5.4km - 0:12:25/ 0:31:12/ 0:22:01)

My First Bike Ride In 2010

So finally the weather was getting better an I could get my dream bike out for a ride. The training said 90min but I wanted to go out with the guys and Thorsten already had a nice tour planned. I was fit and in a good mood, after 30min very slow warm up as we were picking up Thorsten in Pörtschach we started the tour. It was the first time I was in a group of four, normally riding on my own or Jonas. A new experience, because you need to be more focused keeping up if you are in the slipstream or keep the pace if you are upfront. Furthermore, there is not much space to manoeuvre. 90 min was the plan, but I knew with these guys it will be longer. But after 2 hours and 30 minutes we were suddenly at the Gerlitzen, a Mountain I usually go skiing or touring and 30min by motorway from home. My energy reserves were depleted and I was kinda bushed. Turning around was no option, I just had half an energy bar I gorged down and my drink was nearly empty. We stopped for 3min to get the rhythm out of our system and then on it went. Now hunger struck really hard and so I kept myself at the back and was just trying to keep up. Jonas who also was having trouble suddenly got a push of energy and lead the group from now on - no idea how he did that. A small photo session in Reifnitz (the fourth bike rider already left us in Villach) and then the last km back home. A quick shower, protein shake and meet with the guys again at a birthday party to fill our stomach. The host already knew what was needed and there was plenty and delicious food (meat fondue and raclette).

... a great tour and a great day.

Fourth Ski Tour

Thorsten found it a good idea to take me to Goldeck, a black piste which we need to ascend. My first thought was "great idea". It went quite steep up from the start and already after a couple of hundred meters I was sweating from head to toe. At the steepest part I slid done and I really had to fight the urge to just call it a day. And this was only 30min in.
Thorsten needed to wait every part of the way but he is great sportsman an took me up. It seemed that the trail had no end but after 3h I finally reached the summit. It was hard and we instantly went into the nearest hut for refreshment. The way down we tried our best but we really were worn out, but we made it.

Big thanks to Thorsten for taking me up and waiting for me, he could have done it in half the time.

My First Ski Tour

After I went up with ski shoes I needed to get me some touring skiies. The same week I went shopping and bought them. I could not wait to get on top of these lovely mountains surrounding me. But I still had to wait 2 weeks since I was away on business. But yesterday was finally the day. Thorsten and I made a great tour on the Verditz. I was awesome.
The whole day was kind of wicked. I got up ate breakfast, slept half an hour jogged 12km to Pörtschach were we drove to Verditz for the 2h30min tour. Getting back from the tour another half an hour sleep and went to the one hour swim training - some easy technique training. Was a great way to finish the day but then I was bushed.

My First Skishoes

Actually, I wanted it to call it: My first Ski Tour, but since I did use Skishoes it would not be quite correct. This weekend (28th of February) I went up the Gerlitzen together with my friend Thorsten who owns the greates bike shop. It was great but very windy, they even had to stop the lifts due to safety reasons. We got to the peek anyhow and it was worth it, as you can see from the picture.
The next day Thorsten drove me to the sports sop and I bought myself some touring equipment... can not wait to get up the mountains again.

I got a trainer

I friend of mine, Thomas Wolkerstorfer, who I already new for over a year is now my trainer. He is a great physiotherapist, which came in handy after he massaged away some pretty awful cramps - after the massage they were gone as if never there. From now and then we talked a little about training and training plans and noticed he was well informed. Well I am not a pro but I try to read a lot about training and compiling the right training plan. After we sat down he was not just good informed but a pro. He has great consolidated knowledge of right nutrition, body physics and specific training for different disciplines. He pointed out that I should change some parts of my training plans and also change my types of trainings, like the interval training which I did much to intense. It did not take long to convince me that he be making my training plans from now on. After a lactate test he will individual fit my training - I can not wait for it.
A photo of him at a camping trip we did last summer with a bunch of friends.

Skiing

A great skiing holiday in Maria Alm. The Alps are just beautiful in summer, in winter actually at all seasons. I took a 1 week vacation to go skiing and relax like here on the picture were I am on one of the huts eating Kassnocken and drinking Weissbier.
The skiing was also a great training for the upcoming season. Last year we had the best powder snow ever. It was up to my hip and even deeper which was one of the greatest skiing experiences. This year I did some mogul pistes and it was bloody exhausting - just what I wanted. After seeing more than one good skier going down those mogul pistes I had to learn to ski them down. Well it was no great success, it felt like being thrown around in a washing machine and I thought it must have looked like it as well. My brother promised me that it did look quite cool, but I know there is still a lot to learn. My brother the madman still skiing on his old 2.07m skies, also went down the mogul pistes - big respect! When it comes to nice, rapid ski-swerve he is definitely an ace. On the new skies he would be unstoppable. Here he is taking a snap shot of the landscape.

24h swim - Bad Radkersburg

So this friend of mine convinced me to take part at a 24h swimming contest in Bad Radkersburg. No idea how he made me go along. Well I said yes so I had to go.
My plan was to swim about an hour, make 3km and then make a pause for 15min. Funny thing was that I actually was quite fit but swimming in a 50m pool gets to your head. It was quite dull and after 4 hours I had to get out. The pause was quite long but I just could not swim any more it was too boring. Physically everything was fine I was not exhausted, the monotonicity just got to me. Nothing happens in the water and try that one hour long. The only thing one had to do is to overtake the guys in a lane, the only change. If it was not for that I would have gone completely mad. Back in the water after another hour my right shoulder started to hurt like hell and I had to stop. That was it, I already had to stop after 12km. I thought the event was over for me. So I went to bed and slept for 9h. I got out and my friend already did 25km so I really wanted to get back in and try how my shoulders would do. It still hurt but changing my stroke style helped perfectly. Another 14km in about 6h. This day went much better and I started to enjoy it.
Sadly it ended but with my bad shoulder I was happy about getting out of the water.
I just was sad since I only made 26 km (522 laps, each 50m) with a pure swimming time of about 8h30min. Maybe next time? Not yet sure.

update: A picture of me and my friend Hannes after about 20h of the event... still having fun and yes he had no neo and still did 10km more than me.

Kosiak Löwe - chickened out

So I am way behind with writing, but not much to report. I just chickened out of the Kosiak Löwe. I already signed up for the race, which was a 13km bike ride uphill (mountain bike) and then about 3-5km uphill run. The run did not bother me but I am not much of a mountain biker. So the week before I tried it with a friend of mine and the first 8km were normal road and were no trouble. Then it got little bit off road but still no trouble. But the last 3km were horrible, they put rubble on the road and I had real trouble to keep a straight line and the handlebar under control. I got up with just falling off the bike twice, since I had clicks and did not get out of them fast enough. I think that is nothing for me.

Downhill the rubble part was even worse and my natural chickeness of biking did not help so I fell onto the rubble and grazed my leg. But the normal road downhill was great fun, the cars could not even keep up - it was super.
At the bottom I noticed that my leg was hurt worse than I thought and small stones were underneath my skin like splinter so I washed that out. Well for the kosiak it was not fun enough so I cancelled that race.

Faakersee Triathlon

Finally, my first, and as it seems only, triathlon this year. Due to some bad planning of my Marathon I skipped some triathlon, which I regret. Well, now was the time to see what I learned on the bike.
The weather forecast was contradictory, some said it would rain other said it was going to be a sunny day. Never trusting the guys/girls doing the weather forecast I trusted my instinct and prepared for bad weather. I bought arm warmers, since I thought it was going to be cold after I got out of the water. The arm warmers helped Daniela ryf a lot in Hamburg so I thought I give it a try. All my stuff, shoes, helmet, glasses.. where put underneath a plastic bag just in case.
Into the water, I started way back and had to fight my way to the front which was hard work and caught up with the lead group. I did not believe it and it went well. All went good to 750m of swimming. Then I looked up and it rained, which is no problem in the water except for the sight. I looked up again to see the next buoy but it was too far away and the rain drops on the lake blurred the vision. As long as the guy in front of me knew where we were going everything was ok. Well nothing was ok, my goggles started to fill up with water and I could not see jack. Damn, if I empty them now I will lose the group. I flipped on my back and emptied them, as soon as I turned back again the goggles filled up again and I had real trouble concentrating, finding the right direction and keeping up. I just wanted to get out of here. For the next 600m I had to empty my goggles 5 times and I lost a lot of time. Furthermore, since my eyesight is not the best I nearly mised the swim finish line, if it had not been for the crowd who yelled to get me into the right direction. So out of the water, off with my goggles and the cap. I lost the goggles on the way, but who cares. The rain had stopped and due to the plastic bags helmet, glasses and sleeves were dry - onto the bike. It was quite lonely, two people passed me, but that was it. But since it was a 4 round race, the second round got crowed and even more with the next rounds. The slippery roads and 700 bike riders on a 10km stretch needed a lot of concentration, but all went well. Off the bike and into my running shoes. I started slowly but got up to a pace of 4:05, which was not too good.
Result was a great triathlon, it was super fun, even if the swimming part was a struggle. I had an overall time of 2:17:36 h (26:56 / 1:05:25 / 0:41:23 - 1.5km / 38.4km / 9.6km). As usual, I have to get better, especially my bike time needs some polishing. And here I am on my way home, happy about a great triathlon.

Kärtnen Läuft - Carinthia Runs

This was my first half marathon an since I was so disappointed with my marathon I needed a proper time. Worse than 1:30h was not an option, but not too easy. The day before it rained so it was nice and cold, the perfect weather for me, so no excuse there. I was in a good mood an confident, warmed up a little and then went to the start. With about 3200 starters it was cramped. In between all these runners the usual question arose: "why am I doing this again" and as usual there was no answer, that just came later. Well lets get going, which was not easy since it was so full. I needed about 2km to get out of the masses of runners. And then I saw the official 1:30h runner he stayed about 200m ahead of me and I could not get him. I was hungry and still not warm enough, damn. With about a 4:20min pace I was just too slow. But then came the first food station and I got a banana. I squeezed it into my mouth and like a hamster kept it in my cheeks pouches. Slowly I could then eat it which was not quite easy due to the heavy breathing. So the hunger was cured, after 5km I was finally warm and so I could finally start running. I picked up the pace and got to the 1:30h runner. Everything was going well so I stayed at about 4:07min but then I noticed there is still some energy left and only 3km to go. So I went for it. I had troubles with my watch, but it had to be a pace under 4min and it was going great. Why did I not start earlier with this speed. Well with a nice sprint I got to the finish line at 1:28:04h which is ok, but I knew I could do better.

My New Bike

Finally, I got a proper picture of my new bike. The bike is just great and makes bike riding much more fun. My old bike started to flutter at about 45km/h which was quite dangerous. With a bad surface even earlier. There was something wrong with the weight distribution. Once I had a big backpack on my back, at about 14kg which made the bike much easier to ride.
Well that is all history and I can enjoy my Sione bike.

Marathon Fürth, nearly DNF

The Fürth-Marathon was already a couple of weeks ago but I just could not write this article. It took some time until I could write this down. I just did not achieved my goal and failed by far....
Well lets start with the beginning. I was confident, I was in good shape, everything was going well and Jonas, a friend of mine even accompanied me on the bike, which was great.
So what happened. After already 1km my stomach told me that he is not joining the run. Well since I was running on my feet I said, well this is not going to be fun but I will manage. At about 10km my thighs stop working, they just cramped up and they were stiff. After 10km!!! this was not good this meant pain, no way I can get a good time. Just running with my lower legs I at least made it to 20-25km but then the legs just stopped all together and pain was all I could feel. Something was wrong, very bad. This was not how I planned it. Jonas who accompanied me on the bike helped me by supporting my willpower which was real close to giving up. My brain even stopped working. I tried to figure out the speed I was running but I just could not remember the time when I last passed the last km-mark - my brain was totally fried.
There was no chance in getting a good time, this was just to know my limits. The body stopped, can I still manage this. Well it went on and as last time, at about 35km the guy with the hammer came, and he hit hard. But now there was no way I would give up, I just kept running.
At the last meters a guy wanted to sprint against me and finish before me. This was not tolerable, I had to give everything and I did. I could not bend my knees anymore so I kept the legs stiff and sprinted over the finish line as if I had casts on the legs.... later I found out that the guy was no marathon runner, he did the relay.

Well I finished 31st with 3:10:05h, little more than 1min less than my last marathon. I was devastated. I had real troubles physically and mentally for quite some time. Only after 1 week I could walk properly again and after 3weeks my head started to get over the big loss.

Big thanks to my fans Ines, Pilz, Kathi and Gunnar from Erlangen. My parents who drove the long way from Prague.
And especially Jonas who came along from Klagenfurt, big thanks I owe you!

Well this just means... this was not the last marathon.

My first Aquathlon

So the next competition I can call "my first". 750m swim and 3.3km run. It was one week before my marathon, but a short distance should not hurt. Wetsuit was allowed but it seemed I was one of a few to put one on. Most of the others started without one, which was weired since it was a cold day and the water was not much warmer. Well nothing special happened, since I had quite some trouble with stitches. In the end I could at least put in a nice sprint.

I came in third in my class, which was not astonishing since only 4 in my class started. Most of the others were not older than 22 and all much better than me - this was not too good for my ego.

The other side

So today I planned a long run. But were should I run to? It was going to be a very hot day so I thought it was a good idea to make short stops at my flat to refill on water and maybe get a bite to eat. This would have meant to run back and forth to the Wörthersee which would have been a little boring. Kathrin, a friend of mine, offered to join me by bike and carry beverage and my energy bars. Well this made it much more interesting and I could satisfy an ambitious of mine to finally make it to the other side of the Wörthersee, to Velden. It was great and I felt great, back and forth with a nice 4:53min pace.
The view along the shore was beautiful - Lake and Mountains what does one want more? The top of the mountain was still covered in snow making it even more impressive. And afterwards I just relaxed at the beach and cooled down in the icy water.

Big thanks to Kathrin for the support!

Special Guest in Erlangen

Due to my work I am back in Erlangen for two weeks. Since I am still a member of TV48 Erlangen I went to my old swim training. I was standing at the pool and who was there, Faris Al-Sultan. I could not believe it, I was training with him. After a hard day it really ended in a nice surprise.
Well to be precise he swam in the next lane with my training colleagues who are in the faster group, but lets not split hairs ;).