Sort of come back

stats of the week: run 9 km, cycled 237 km
stats of the previous week: cycled 393 km

The Santini Gran Fondo Mont Ventoux is a professionally organized event for more than 2,000 participants. There is an option of two routes you can choose during the race. The decision comes after 42 km. My own option was clear in advance. No more than the short route of 78 km and 2,400 altitude meters should be possible for me. The long option had 130 km and 3,300 am, including the far more challenging ascent from Bedoin to the top of Mt Ventoux.

My short route went to Ventoux from Sault what was a surprisingly easy ascent with grades of not more than 8%. Only the final 2 km to the summit were tougher with 11%.

My goal was to ride with a sub 130 b/min heart rate. I successfully kept to this strategy and enjoyed the whole day. There were no problems with my repaired heart, I even felt stronger than before the incident. However, I hold back myself in respect and kept a gap to my limit. Surprisingly this performance was strong enough to finish in the middle of the pack (450 of 860) and within the first half of my age group (17 of 41).

Still recovering

stats of the week: run 16 km, cycled 152 km, gym 1 h

At the Gran Fondo Mont Ventoux next Sunday I will have to stick to the short route and take it easy. I will aim to keep my heart rate below 120 b/min and enjoy the ride. It definitely is not a competition for me.

The area around Mont Ventoux is a wonderful region for cycling. Many quiet and challenging roads, friendly car drivers, many other cyclists, good but very expensive ice cream. Not to mention the wine. Alas - for vegetarians it's a sparse place. I reckon this is valid for the whole of France.

Cautious life

stats of the week: run 12 km, cycled 170 km

Having in mind that I had this serious heart issue the week before it is surprising that the stats show  no week without any training. After the medical interference I started with senior like walking and after 5 days I jogged 5 km at a rehabilitation pace. Also cycling is done cautiously still.

Sadly I had to cancel my start at the 4trails that take place in 5 weeks. Too early for me. My hope is to be back on the roads for the Bochum Halbmarathon in my home town in early September.

Sudden change of life goal

stats of the week: run 8 km
stats of the week before: cycled 326 km

My Nove Colli experience which was in fact a quatro colli for me turned out to be a very special experience. Not only I had technical problems with the rented bike but after 100 K a torrential rain started and soaked the cyclists to their skin. I made it to a decent finish after 6:30 h only to disappear to my hotel room, have a hot shower and an immediate nap.

Back home my world has changed. My secret goal to become the oldest London Marathon finisher some time has to be cancelled and adjusted. The new target is to survive for another five years and set up a bucket list to realize within this period. A sudden and unexpected heart attack opens my eyes to a very different view of my little world. I will have to work on this for a while.

Official excuse

stats of the week: run 19 km, cycled 181 km, gym 2 h

Some flat cycling in the Netherlands to get fit for the Italian hills!

Next stop: Nove Colli, Cesenatico, that calls itself the "Queen of Gran Fondos". Some 13,000 cyclists gather in the home town of Marco Pantani to tackle 205 km and the famous 9 hills. For me, it is only 4 hills and 130 km. My excuse is that cyclists from 65 years on are not allowed to go for the long distance. However, with 180 km of training so far, I am not really prepared for a full Gran Fondo.

Fading age groupers

stats of the week: run 9 km, indoor cycled 2 h, gym 2 h

I studied the London Marathon results and figured out how the numbers of age group participants develope. The message is more than clear:

M50 2,536
M55 1,400
M60    764
M65    290
M70    160
M75      52
M80      15

This is just to confirm that I have to be very happy still to be part of the running community. My next target is to add another 5 years and to complete a quarter century of London Marathons. Every five years one has to be one of the surviving 50%.

Grateful at 66

stats of the week: rest! recovering!

(photo by Isaak)

I am so grateful for being able to run my 20th consecutive London Marathon at the age of  66! Already before race day I thought about donating based on my finish time. The faster the pace the higher the donation - some special kind of motivation.

I selected a well known charity that I have been supporting several times in recent years. Amani Childrens' Home in Moshi, Tanzania, does a gorgeous job to rescue kids from the streets around  Arusha and Moshi. They deserve any help any of you can afford however small the amount might be.

Amani Childrens' Home     German Friends of Amani