Dear blog,
I am happy to report that I went running on 5 out of 7 days this past week.
The plan is to replace my daily outdoor swim with a slow jog.
Today I did the 2 hills tour. Starting at Bettingerstrasse, running along the Wiese river, via Sonnenhalde and Wenkenpark. More than 6 km long.
I will try to do the same again this week.
My goal at the moment is to run easy.
I went for a short run this evening. Nothing to write home about. Simply trying to keep up with the regular running system. Nothing spectacular. Except that I saw a deer. A deer. In this urban part of north-west Switzerland.
I went for a slow run up the hill today. Two kilometres on the sawdust track and then further up the hill, all the way to the top. I don’t have any metrics to share because I haven’t jumped on the “quantified self” bandwagon. Yet.
My guess: more than 1 and a half hours and about 10 km.
Due to all the rain we had in the past week and the summer temperatures, it felt tropical. I like.
While running, my mind was busy answering emails and writing blog entries. That’s so weird. It shows: we need movement and fresh air to cope with all the data we’re consuming and processing.
A few days ago, I was searching through my blog and saw an old entry that I wrote about running in San Francisco and the advertising campaign at the time: These hills will chew you up. Run easy.
At the end, I did some stair climbing. There are many outdoor stairs along my route. Better than any gym.
Last Friday I ran 6.5 km at the annual Firmenlauf. Quite a party with over 3700 participants. Took 6 minutes before I crossed the starting line ‘cos of the huge crowd of runners and walkers. Wow. Quite impressive.
I ran slowly and steadily from start to finish. Proud to say I didn’t stop running even though my innermost really wanted to stop.
I think I like taking part in races. (How do you say “Volkslauf” in English? It’s difficult to translate). It gives me a measurable goal to train for.
Next seasonal goal is to participate in a 10 km run. I thought the Birsegg run would fit in nicely at the end of August. Or maybe the 10 km version on Basel Marathon day on 28th September?
I’ve been googling training plans. Things I’ve read:
I’ll need to train longer. 60 mins to 90 mins.
Means more commitment. Sometimes just getting out the door is so hard.
Short 10 minute runs are better than skipping a run.
Include longer, slow runs.
Cycling is good. Swimming and aqua jogging is good ‘cos there’s no impact.
I’ve been thinking about goals and systems. The system in this particular scenario is to get out and run regularly. Even if it’s a short jog before work.
Even though I’ve run 10 km before, I might start a jog log here or on Twitter just to keep track. Writing helps. And ‘cos all the personal blogs about everyday life are gone.
This article continues some thoughts discussed in a previous entry:
How To Motivate Yourself Into an Exercise Routine You'll Actually Stick To.
I like the idea of thinking in systems.
I took part in the Basel Firmenlauf yesterday evening.
Not a very long race at 6.3 km, but for me it was special, since it marked my first running goal for this year. My first public race in a long time. I was very excited.
It was warm and humid yesterday with temperatures around 30 degrees C. Together with over 2600 participants, I set off and managed to keep to my pace. The kilometer between 3km and 4km seemed endless. Maybe because my morning jog before work is shorter? But I just kept going. Kämpfa, Kämpfa. Karbon statt Kondition.
My next goal is 10km. That’s what I decided after the race. Voilà !
I like running cos I see a lot of parallels with work life, building relationships, or even spiritual life. So often I want to stop…
There is a race that I must run. There are victories to be won.