Podium but 18 min slower

stats of the week: run 47 km, gym 3 h

My next goal is the Achensee Run where I want to run as fast as I can. The week before the race is another hill walking week without any running. So I decided to take part in a local hilly 20K race to prepare and see my current performance level.

With an average of 5:36 min/K I was happy with my race until I noticed that 15 years ago when I did this race last time I was 18 minutes faster! 15 years, 18 minutes. Well, I think the next 15 years will make more than 18 minutes...

There were only 4 runners of my age group. 3 of them could enter the podium.

Hot hiking

stats of the week: run 14 km, cycled 63 km, hiked 20 hours
stats of the previous week: cycled 173 km, hiked 20 hours

Due to the heat there was little exercise but almost daily high level hiking. Above 1,500 meters a.s.l. temperature was fine so we preferred to take the cable cars to reach upper levels and enjoyed the summer. We'll see how this helped my future running performance.

A brief gallery, chosen of lots of photos:

Schwemmalm, Ultental

Meraner Höhenweg 

Pircher Hut, Meraner Höhenweg 

Via ferrata Heini Holzer, Meran

On top of Großer Ifinger, 2,581m, Meran

Success and pride

stats of the week:  run 42 km /2,800 am, cycled 125 km, hiked 12 h

I successfully finished the Suedtirol Sky Marathon at Bozen within 7 h 30 min. Very happy about my performance. The time would have placed me second - last year! This year I ended up 5th and the winner of my age group was 1.5 hours faster than me! However, I am still proud of myself. The first 20 km included a climb of 2,000 meters, that took me nearly 4 hours. So this was one of only two marathons where my second half was faster than the first half.