The Lonely Swimmer

It is cold, so I broke out what I have. And it was really no...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:49:00 +0100

Before

After

It is cold, so I broke out what I have. And it was really no problem. I learn from this: -13 °C (about 9 °F) without wind is not a no-go. Just not very fast.

Edit: there’s one hour of running between these two. Click to see the sweaty glory of the second pic.

I haven’t posted in a while, but I am still alive! Just to...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:31:43 +0100

I haven’t posted in a while, but I am still alive! Just to remind myself that I should get out and train some, here is another shot from Engadin Skimarathon, around the start, where we’ll skate over frozen lakes.

Also in the queue: two 2011 race reports (…), one of which is NYC Marathon, 2011 review, 2012 plans… soon, soon.

(via Big Shots for March 18, 2010 - Big Shots - Boston.com)

I forgot how much it sucks to run with glasses. Now I...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:11:18 +0100

:(

:)

I forgot how much it sucks to run with glasses. Now I remember.

I forgot how much fun it is to run with my Nike Frees. Now I remember.

My new best friends until March!

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:33:11 +0100

Ski

Binding

Poles

Shoe

My new best friends until March!

Because it’s cheaper to sign up before 2012. Now I should...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:36:00 +0100

Because it’s cheaper to sign up before 2012. Now I should probably start some swim training!

Looks like the race was a bit tougher some time ago!...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:06:00 +0100

Looks like the race was a bit tougher some time ago! There’s still a famous downhill passage, “Stazerwald”, where the not-so-adept wipe out in masses. But nowadays, the trees are padded and the place is called “mattress hill”, or so I hear.

Two days ago, I bought my own cross-country skiing equipment...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:04:00 +0100

Two days ago, I bought my own cross-country skiing equipment (Fischer all the way except the poles, but Petter Northug and Dario Cologna also have Fischer skis and Swix poles*, so…) and today I tried it all out for the first time. I liked it enough to immediately sign up for Engadin Skimarathon (see video), the biggest cross country skiing race in the country (about 12’000 participants).

I’m already excited! Now for some training.

*They probably have the $590 pole though.

Went XC ski stuff shopping today (in the popular “Benjamin...

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:42:40 +0100

Went XC ski stuff shopping today (in the popular “Benjamin gets gifts for himself” series). Had a hard time resisting this pole at a very inviting $590.-

Not really. But good to see you can spend more on the poles than on quite good skis!

Finally fixed!

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:14:58 +0100

Garmin has finally fixed the super annoying bug on Garmin Connect where (in the “reports” tab) workouts would show up only under, e.g., “Street Running”, but not under “Running”, which logically is a superset of “Street Running”. Thanks! Now I can bury my plans to start a super sophisticated Excel sheet to keep track of that stuff.

As always, they have managed not to tell anybody.

Maiden run! Nine kilometres of slush, dark and uphill, it...

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:21:16 +0100

Maiden run! Nine kilometres of slush, dark and uphill, it seemed. Obviously, my NYC shape is long, long gone.

Cyclocross was huge in Switzerland. This is about a race in...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:00:05 +0100

Cyclocross was huge in Switzerland. This is about a race in Wetzikon in 1972, with several World Champions competing. What’s not to love! The oh so enthusiastic voice of the speaker, mutton chops, biker hats when they weren’t retro yet…

I recently watched the tricast of the Auckland ITU WC race...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:30:06 +0100

Fisher hands bottle to Dodds

Gemmell and Docherty

I recently watched the tricast of the Auckland ITU WC race (rather late, I admit). Apart from all the great Movember facial hair, I noticed two things: Ryan Fisher (AUS) gives his water bottle to Tony Dodds (NZL) after he took a sip (Dodds didn’t get a bottle); Kris Gemmell (NZL) high fives Bevan Docherty (NZL) on his way to victory.

Go sportsmanship!

…and this one came in close second. Favourite features:...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:05:05 +0100

…and this one came in close second. Favourite features: the guy who “rides the wall” and the trispoke wheel flying around, being effortlessly caught by another guy. Without looking!

Did I mention I want to try track cycling next year? The academic sports association offers one day intro courses sometimes.

I’m usually not posting random videos, but this one is the...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:00:06 +0100

I’m usually not posting random videos, but this one is the result of a short search for the worst track cycling crash video I could find and it’s pretty intense ;)

Today was “cool stuff in the mail” day. I got a...

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:57:31 +0100

New shoes!

Now I just have to run more trails.

Five borough gloves

Warm long sleeve T-shirt

Finisher! (And a bike)

Today was “cool stuff in the mail” day. I got a package from Salomon: I won a pair of XT Wings S-Lab 4, by simply participating in a one question survey on facebook. Thanks a lot!

Also in the package: some NYC marathon merchandise that I either got only now (finisher shirt) or got now in the right size (long sleeve shirt, five borough gloves). Perfect to start training again in a week, after a five weeks hiatus!

This is why wearing your finisher medal is completely not...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:00:05 +0100

This is why wearing your finisher medal is completely not necessary.

By the way, I’m still waiting for the race pics so I can put together a pretty race report. Until then: NYC marathon related tidbits it is!

Greifenseelauf race pic! I now have a series with pictures from...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:45:11 +0100

Greifenseelauf race pic! I now have a series with pictures from the last four editions of that race. Quite funny to look at, will post it sometime soon!

I thought I maybe was this guy (at 42 seconds in the vid), but...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:02:06 +0100

I thought I maybe was this guy (at 42 seconds in the vid), but it seems he’s running sleeveless, so probably not. But I also ran on the curb over the bridge as there were less people. Probably because there was so much pee on the curb.

Note to self: if ever running this race again and crossing the Verrazano-Narrows bridge on the lower deck, stay away from the edge.

Time lapse video of the start of the 2011 NYC Marathon. I’m...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:06:00 +0100

Time lapse video of the start of the 2011 NYC Marathon. I’m pretty sure I can be seen (1st wave, upper right deck when looking in running direction), will have to do frame-by-frame analysis.

26.2 Miles, 46 Sketches - NYTimes.com

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:02:06 +0100

26.2 Miles, 46 Sketches - NYTimes.com:

This guy has been live drawing and tweeting his NYC Marathon experience. Very funny!