Stefan's Insights: May 2009
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Einstein was right - time is relative.. weekends are never long enough :-)

Summary of the ‘runnings’ of the last two weeks

 

a bunch 193Again, it is a wonderful Saturday morning, sunny and – along the lakeside – a little chilly. There we are – about 60-70 people, all dressed up in running gear, at 7am on a Saturday morning, and – while my wife is thinking of me as she turns around in bed one more time – we are preparing to run 7 miles on a 4-1 schedule today. 4-1 ?? Four minutes running, one minute walking, a program developed by a famous marathon runner, used by the AIDS Foundation choaches to train us for the different marathons this year.

running group for maui marathon 2009

This morning we are ‘guest-running’ at the Foster beach area, because there is another race going on down at 31st street, where our usual weekend-long run  location is.

It has been a bit of a struggle to keep up with the mileage (at least 45 minutes every day while I was on vacation visiting my parents in Gernsheim, Germany  (including a little ‘secret’ side trip to Cinque Terre in northern Italy(Pics, Info) . The picture to the left is from the area around my hometown. It was great to run alongside fields of strawberries, asparagus, corns, and through old german forests.

Cinque Terre was a short stop on the way to Germany, five little villages where – due to the lack of touristyMap of the Cinque Terre, Italy attractions – one is forced to enjoy drinking espresso, eating three hour lunches and a leisure hiking along the ocean. A place to let one’s soul hang loose. Vernazza is the place we stayed, and may be for that reason my favorite. Running ? Well, stairs instead. About 2000-3000 total during the day, since everything is IMG_1372connected by stairs :-).

Day by day runs – the right equipment makes it a lot easier. I got new running shoes (which are feather light and provide noticable better support for my knee), a belt with water bottles and bags to transport keys, money and other necessities, as well as a headband. The daily runs combined with the relative ease of a 4-1 interval, the equipment and the short time required (45min. only), are beginning to form a habit that makes it easier to follow.

I run whenever I can find one hour of time. Morning, noon, afternoon, evening. No excuses. I am on a mission. I want to help fight AIDS. I want to set an example for others.. and for me. It is a goal that I will reach and I will be proud of. If you would like to SPONSOR my efforts click here.

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Online Peer Support

twitter logo map 09

Image by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten via Flickr

Part of my personal strategy to achieve the momental goal of running a marathon and raising funds for the Aids Foundation is to communicate about my steps to achieve this large goal using social media.

The Aids Foundation provides a secure and easy website that I can use to allow family, friends and colleagues to make contributions towards the fundraising goal. Click here if you would like to contribute.

I also set up a social networking site for the people that are preparing to run the marathon in Maui this year, to connect to each other and share experiences, thoughts and lessons learned.

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Its’ worth it !!!

Dawn at Taritari (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela)

Image via Wikipedia

This week ran by fast ! LOL, nice play on words.. the week RAN by fast..  Sorry, corny german humor.

Every day of the week (except for Friday, as per plan), I was able carve out 45min. to an hour to run. Either inside in our training room on the treadmill (convenient and saves about 10min. but the scenary doesnt change), or outside (with the running group from work or by myself).

Per plan I am supposed to run 2 times 45 minutes and work out 2 more times. I ran 45-60min every day except Friday, trying to stay a little ahead of schedule.

Its the second sunday and we did our 4 mile run today. The other members of the running group picked me as their running group leader. While running for 4 minutes and then walking for 1, we continue to talk and get to know more about each other. Definitely a great team building exercise.

I had purchased a watch specifically on advise of the running coaches. Really great watch and very helpful for the intervals of running and walking (sidenote: one has to set it correctly.. not 4 hours and 1 hour LOL !).

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