Over the hill

A.M. much warmer this morning and all the snow has disappeared. I persuaded my wife to come with me to Lauftreff, then to our disappointment only 2 other runners turned up. Both were too fast for her so I acted as Hase pacing her a 10k round at 6'/k finishing just under the hour. It was extremely windy today and the trees were swaying alarmingly but none down. I finished with a quick 3k at mp for myself which to my surprise I struggled to hit. Total 13k in 1:12:26, averaged out to 5:34/k or 8:58/mi. 

2 events today here, St Martin's day and  it's traditional to tuck into roast goose today but not in our veggie household. Its also the start of the "5th season" or carnivel  at 11:11am, finishing on Ash Wednesday next year. As if Germans need an excuse to feast and drink. 

A.M. The planned long run dips this week to only 28k so I ran this a wee bit faster than easy pace. The km's went by quickly and even the sun showed its face to give a psychological boost, I think I may have even been smiling.  At the end my legs felt like they'd had a good workout. The sobering thought was to break 3 hrs I would have to run 27 secs per km faster and for another 14k. Still, one day at a time. Total 28,3k in 2:12:47, 4:42/k or 7:33/mi.

A.M. slow paced recovery run. Total 12k in 1:04:59 at 5:25/k or 8:43/mi. We're both off this week and so the country bumpkins are venturing into the big city this morning for shopping.

A.M. Our 10th wedding anniversary today and it was snowing when we got up. I decided to drive us to the Breitenauer See, a lake about 20k away with a 4k gravel path around it. It is a lovely spot and more importantly flat. The other side of the hills the temp was warmer and it was only raining so it was perfect to run. I set off for 4 laps round while my wife walked round once. 5k warmup, then 7k at 1/2 marathon pace 3:59/k or 6:25/mi, then cooldown for 4,7k. Total 16,7k in 1:13:48, av 4:26/k or 7:07/mi. Now to celebrate.

A.M. Easy 22k planned, it snowed gently throughout the run and other than slight achilles soreness no problems today. My easy run pace was a tad slower today, I could blame the snow underfoot but more likely the Sekt I drank yesterday. I've registered for a 10k race on Saturday, its a local race and I'd just like to get to know the course. For a Volkslauf it attracts quite a lot of runners and looks interesting. Total today, 22,6k in 1:50:02, av 4:52/k or 7:50/mi.

A.M. Cold icy morning, a quick check of the thermometer -2°C so I wore a light fleece mid-layer. My legs felt sore, unresponsive and heavy today, I thought I would pick up a little after 5k but the run stayed a plod. The winter views compensated a little, when the sun showed its face the landscape was sparkling. Slow rec run, total 12,1k in 1:05:26 at av. 5:24/k or 8:42/mi.

A 10k local race on a bitter cold afternoon. The temperature was about freezing point and I was unsure what to wear for the race. I opted for shorts, long sleeve top and gloves, handing my warm overclothing to my wife just before the race start. It was a small handful of runners that wore shorts but once started I quickly warmed up and in the end rolled my sleeves up. The race was sponsered by a local wine producer and the start was from the winery. A fast course, pretty flat with 2 x 5k loops, the 1st km was narrow for the amount of runners and controlled the initial pace. Through town it took some tight turns with cobblestones underfoot, but there was a good loud band in the center to cheer us on. The timing was by bibchip, my first experience of this. Instead of a mat you ran through gates to give the start and finish time, the start reminded me of penned cattle waiting to run out into the field.

For the first time in a race I used my garmin to record the km splits which were: 3:49, 3:39, 3:37, 3:38, 3:59, 4:02, 3:56, 3:43, 3:48, 3:56. It was a certified 10k course, the garmin measured 10,1 with a last 100m of 3:43 pace. Looking at this I should have pushed harder in the middle kms and I would have wished for a faster last kick, I was just hanging on at the end with ragged breathing. This was a surprising result for me, I set myself up to PR in Oct on a flat 10k course, I tuned up and tapered and failed miserably, now in a workout race I've done far better than I anticipated. 

After the race I drank a couple of warm fruit teas in the finish area and  it started snowing.
My poor wife was chilled through, so we headed straight back home leaving the lure of free wine tasting, Bratwurst and Glühwein in the winery behind us. I've just found out the result now on Sunday afternoon.  There was a total of 569 runners for the 10k, I finished 28th overall, M40 4/88 and got a 2 sec PR. My one complaint from the race is they had 5k walkers that started 5 mins after the runners. This meant they were blocking the way in town on the 2nd loop. Why do they walk in clumps?