Must-Watch

Check it out! I like especially this video. Finally somebody makes it clear!

In 4 Weeks to Ultrarunner

So, here I am, freshly baked ultratunner. ☺Ok, this was a small ultrarun and I wasn't very fast but everybody has to start somewhere, right?

And at the end of the day I'm really glad that I was able to start at all because when boyfriend#1 wanted to drive me to the race at 5:30 in the morning the car wouldn't start and it was pouring down with rain!! I had only 30 mins left to get to the race! My only chance was then to take the bike and I was constantly cursing while pedaling as fast as I could. I was soaked to the skin when I finally was at the start and when I locked my bike I heard starter's gun.

I was the very last runner to start and everyone was looking at me!

But well, as bad as it started it didn't go on - fortunately, I found some nice people to chat very quickly and that helped a lot not to think about the 49k I still had to go. I also ran some time for myself but chatted very lengthy with a woman from Berlin which helped especially on the last 10k when our feet and muscles already hurt very much.

Also my Dad visited me (even before he got his breakfast) which I really enjoyed!

I also have to confess that I'm now kind of a fan of running loops though I first thought it would be stupid and boring. This way you had the opportunity to see all the other runners again and again and we smiled at each other and gave some encouraging words and became like a huge community! It is also a psychological trick to smile all the time. The body can't differentiate between a real smile and a fake smile. 

Luckily, boyfriend#1 found me at the finish when I just wanted to go home again (he wanted to go the last loop with me as it seemed, but went wrong somewhere). Well, I still had to cycle myself but it was still nice he was there. When I came home my doggy wanted a walk of course and so I went out with him as filthy as I was (remember: rain + soil = mud, and I had a lot of it on my legs and clothes) and people looked at me as if I were crazy (maybe also because I couldn't walk properly) so we kept it short. 

After eating a huge pot of lentils (protein) with tomato-sauce I went for another long walk with runningfriend#2 to tell her about the run (of course I also took the dog). But after that I was totally finished and just lay on the bed watching TV (which I rarely do).

At about 3:30 am I woke up and had the idea to go dancing a bit to celebrate my victory over the 50k with a little prosecco or so. So I took my clothes and put on a little make up was almost out the door when the pouring rain started. I took it for a sign and I went back to bed... ☹

Well, maybe it was better like this - at least my muscles still hurt a lot - though I already did some regeneration sport (walk and bike) and also took chlorelle/spirulina + maca in my smoothie.

By the by: had some rice with tomatoes + a loooot of choci the evening before the run, muesli in the morning and lots of water, coke and sweetened tea, bananas and soaked nuts dunring the run. I felt like puking at 30k because my stomach couldn't handle all that food (remember: I always trained without food - so no good idea from this standpoint, too).

Today, I won't do much more: only cycle a bit, eat and rest. Next week I have kind of a rock climbing holiday. I'm really glad to have a day off in between.

Next goal: Magdeburg Marathon 2011!

P.S. Link to results and pictures following.

P.P.S. I am so impressed by those people who ran 100k. It is amazing. There were girls who run at an unbelievable pace and were still smiling at 70k! Of course also the men did well but somehow that wasn't so surprising to me... Though I want to do something similar some time in the not-so-far future I can't imagine how I can ever make that. We'll see.

Torture!

What was my reason for running again? Can't remember - my feet hurt from running, my stomach hurts from eating too many lentils (need protein) and my eyes hurt because of the contacts but because my feet hurt I can't move to the bathroom to take them out and so I have been stuck on the bed for almost three hours. Well, at least I have water and choki - so that helps.
By the by - about the registration - everything is fine - you can even on competition day from 4-5:30am. Wow! But though I like to get up early I'll rather register on friday night. ✓


But after all I must confess I'm not quite sure what I'm doing here. I mean - I must be kind of insane to run that far. My feet hurt today already and it were only about 40k. Well. I told so many people, now I'll simply have to do it. I can lie the whole next day if I must. I only have to walk the dog three or four times. And I can also bike the dog so to say. Let's do it! 

New Shoes

I always told you 'bout running in vibrams, right? Well, surprise! I found really nice Fila-Shoes. 

I just stumbled across them while shopping with my mum. They were so cheap that I simply couldn't resist (and mum did the rest) - only half the usual price. And moreover, are they not just so cute? They are called skele-toes. Though I don't like the name so much I do prefer the design to my vibrams at least (they're blue not pink).
So I used them already for walking and biking - not for running yet though. But soon! I just have to get used to them slowly - otherwise: who knows if I can run on saturday? 
Yes, its only 6 days left. ♥ Tomorrow will be the last long run (about 40k). Then you have to cross fingers that they'll let me take part because - I'm soooo stupid - I missed the registration! You think that can't be true? Yes, I did. 
I thought it would be such a small run that I could even register the day before the run. But - surprise again - you can't! :'( I wrote an email already and will also have to call them tomorrow. Maybe I can register personally. Their bureau only around the corner after all.

Long Run and Biking Tour

Today I also did another long run - about 4 hours. The weather was perfect in the morning. A bit foggy and cool but supposed to become a nice, sunny day. When the outlook is like that I love to run! So I went for a quick walk with my doggy and was off.
This time I ate banana-muesli before I started and also took a bottle of cheap banana-apple-juice with me. Which was no good idea because it was just too sweet. Next time I'll try something else. Maybe a mixture with water but also a different juice. Any ideas? I don't like to take apple or orange juice for some reasons. Any good ideas?
Then I cheated myself again by telling me in the beginning that I wouldn't run all these kilometres anyway. In the end I did of course. But sometimes it's not very encouraging when you know from the beginning that you have almost four hours to run. So I told myself: "Maybe I can take this or that short cut or skip this or that part altogether." But time flew by, I also saw a fox like 5 metres away and he (or she?) allowed me to look at him/her for almost half a minute. Beautiful animal!
After my run I still hadn't enough (also the dog needed to go out) and so we went on a littler biking tour. I wanted to collect some mirabelles from trees I found on the run.

So we were away another two hours. After that I was really weary and so I slept a good three hours. Now I'm quite fit again for another small walk with the doggie.
Then I have a day 'off'. One 2-3 hour run on Thursday, some dancing on the weekend and a really long run (another 10k added) on monday and then I should be prepared...


P.S. Mirabelles are delicious!
Pic Source

Vegan Cheese

Cows (and also all the other farm animals) are treated poorly (as you may remember form last nights video) - and of course most people know. Still, they buy their meat cheep - and don't even honor it. The same goes for cheese. Germans love cheese and eat a lot of it. But most do not even realize where it comes from and how it is produced. 


The question I get the most is: "But why don't you drink milk or eat cheese? No animals die for milk!" 
My question is then: "What do you think will happen to the calves?" 
"Which calves?" 
"Well, a cow has to get a calf first before she can give milk of course!" 
"Really?..." ...


By the way: cheese is not even healthy. It comes from poorly treated animals and can't be healthy for that matter. It also contains a lot of saturated fat which is the bad fat that clots arteries.
Perhaps people need alternatives other than tofu. So boyfriend#1 gave me an idea. Did you know that there is nut cheese? It sounds delicious and it's not only vegan but also raw which makes it to a perfect alternative to normal cheese. We already wanted to by some but couldn't even get nut cheese in our Whole Food Store. I suppose I'll have to make it myself then...There are so many varieties that this will be fun! ☺

So Sad

I just watched this and one or two other videos and now I'm really deeply sad. I mean I'm glad to be a vegan already but still there's so much suffering in this world and so many ignorant people who just don't care about a stupid cow.

Also: how can I even buy food for my dog ever again?