Setting new goals!

My main race this, aka the one I have started training for in November will have to be canceled.
Not becuase of my fitness level, health or any other circumstances. It is due to the fact that I have been reading a book about vikings trying to find Attillas grave somewhere north of the black sea and pictures I have seen taken in the Kaukasus Region and Kasachstan. Those are some of the places most european people will never discover first hand. And then, two days later my friend called my and told me about his vague plan of cycling from here to Istanbul or even from Kasachstan to Istanbul to attend his friends birthday. I liked the idea of just cycling there... after the phonecall, my mind was fascinated by a trip like this. So 20 minutes later I called him back and told him I just have to cancel 2 Triathlons (and lose some money) but will def join, no matter which route to be taken.
So yesterday we have made our plans more precise, figured out two possible starting points (Astrakahn in Russia or Baku in Azerbaidjan), flight dates, etc.
Today we had done our first short training, cycled to the indoor climbing centre , climbed a few hours and cycled back again. I am so so looking forward to this trip!!!

 

This morning I also introduced my friend Marco into the world of alges with a green smoothie with Chlorella and Spirulina. Of course sweet fruits got in as well: Avacado, field salad, spinach, banana, chia seeds, gojiberries, linen seeds with dates, maca powder, agave syrup, sugar beet syrup.

I also like to add alges to soups or sauces:

I also like eating raw beetroot. Once the beetroot is mellow (after a few days) you can just skin it and cut it into pieces as finger food:

Lately I have also made pesto on my own. It is so quickly to be made and so delicious. Try it yourselves:

Pasta with selfmade pesto (spinach, pineseeds, walnuts, vegan cheese, salt, olive oil, flaxoil, herbs f.i. basil), alfalfa sprouts and yeast flakes.

I also did a raw tomato sauce which is also not hard to come by: Tomatoes (dried and fresh if wanted), salt, herbs in a blender. Blend it, ready!

Whenever I find time I also love to bake bread, being inspired by my favorite blog: bevegt.de
Here'smy quite healthy Ciabatta.

Well... just the dough: Buckwheat and wholegrain wheat flur, cashew nuts, lives, olive oil, seasalt, herbal salt, yeast, warm water

I went to my favorite city Barcelona in January to hang out with friends and see a hardcore festival.
Furthermore I finally went up running in the Collserolla mountains. Eventhough it was raining up there it was still a fantastic run!

 We went to this food place I have never checked out before called "Teresa Carles" and it was wonderful!!!
Check it out, espeically the salads and the small burgers!!!

The 2nd weekend of February had been special to me. On the 15th me and my daughter ran the OTVMeile. I placed another personal beston this course and wn my age group. My daughter also won her age group no 4.1km. Here's a link the the newspaper article.

On the 16th I had organised a slagheap run and a brunch. We were 6 people to run and 3 on bikes. It was a about 16km incl. to times up the slagheap. Everybody brought the food for the brunch before we started running, so it was all ready when we got back to our house:

I love this picture. haha!

I definitely want to organise this a few more times!!!


So next up for me: Bleilochlauf (probably 46km)

Mallorca Training camp

So in March I went on a trainingcamp for the first time ever.

Seb, me, Ironmario, Tobi in Petra waiting for coffee and bread, 
on top: Timmi, me and Seb on Sant Salvador

Me and my buddy Seb were happy about having found a nice hotel with 25m pool, spa and a reasonable price. Shortly after we got there we found out it is one of THE Triathlon hotels on Mallorca. Hotel ferrer janeiro

So many freaks everywhere: Pro-Triathletes, Triathletes that booked a full training camp with trainer, etc, county elite teams... 95% of the customers there were aspiring triathletes.

On the first day we only ran, because we got there in the afternoon.

Due to my full agenda on the days before I couldn't really sleep much so I slept 10 hours. We got up around 8 and out of the hotel at 8:15 and were some of the last to leave the hotel for training. haha Freaks!

Anyways... we had a good time, missed the veggie restaurant in Inca 2 times, because of their opening times, had seen 3 veggie restaurants in Palma de Mallorca, cycled 850 km in 7 days on the bike, met nice people, spent hours and hours in the spa and ate probably more than double what "normal" people eat, but still all vegan, much raw and these 9 days felt soo soo great!
We did on guided tour, which was offered from the hotel, with the pro-triathlete Tine Holst. She was supernice to us, showed us new routes and gave us hints for races. She also works a few hours as physiotherapist and since my knee started to hurt, I had an appointment with her, which gave me quite some insight and made me continue training with far less pain. She's one positive, very nice person. You should definitely try to meet her, once you're in Ca'n Picafort!

Did I say we also went to Petra, which is the cyclists "Mekka" on Mallorca. I could have easily lived without the experience of hanging out there, but the pa amb olives (bread with olives, for us a vegan version with tomatoes on the bread) was really good. I will most definitely come back next year!!!
Ah yeah.... before I forget: We ate at Temple Natura in Palma. We really liked the mune del dia and they had enough vegan stuff for us. 

So this was the starter plate of the 1st evening

 

This was our second trip towards puig major

Off day in Palma, Cathedral in the back.

The other side of the cathedral site, towards the sea.

Our second to last trip with high elevation climbs. This is Sa Calobra! THE elevation climb on Mallorca!

Me and the Iron Mind Crew ran the Bleilochlauf in Kloster/ Schleiz in Thuringia. It is one of the most beautiful runs I ran and was my first real run, my impulse for starting to train 4.5 years ago, so it is special to me. Jan-Albert, Rene and me went there in one car. We got there late friday night and went into the ship, where we usually stay to meet up with Dominik and Thomas and sleep. Jan-Albert came from the north of the Netherlands to win the race and he did. 1:34h was his finish time. Congratulations!!!

Vegan Power placing 1st! Jan-Albert Venema, Team Iron Mind

I was slower than last year and not really satisfied but still placed 8th out of more than 100 and the run was nice as always. 
 

I had also asked my friend Freddy to put up a show in the evening after the run, which he did. Unluckily my own band had to cancel, so I just helped running the show in the evening. "Final Prayer", "Dogchains" and "Reality Returns" were on the bill as well as "Light it up" who replaced us. Awesome lineup, good atmosphere together with awesome dudes and great food it made a perfect day in Schleiz! I wish a weekend can always be like this. Iron Mind Army!

This weekend we will play 2 shows:

Dinslaken May 10th

Arnhem May 12th

Finally I do own a new bike:

I love to ride this rocket!

Climbing in a former industrial complex: Landschaftspark Nord in Duisburg

Pic taken on my way back home from Herne on my last 30+ run before the Marathon. This is Nordsternpark Gelsenkirchen.

Both these sites on the pics above belong to the Route der Industriekultur (Route of industrial culture)

Check this out if you speak german:
Milch und Kalzium

My daughters Confirmation in her christian believe (not mine!!! haha) took place at the end of april and therefore we had to find a vegan catering service. Luckily Papa Lufu took these duties and prepared several pizzas, african rice meals, pasta, desserts, bread, spreads, a soup, etc. This awesome stuff together with our selfmade cakes and salads made up a wonderful and satisfying meal. I can only recommend "Delicious" for catering but also as a restaurant. Check it out! Organic, vegetarian and 90% vegan.

Next race for me: Vivawest Marathon May 12th

Training March 22nd- May 9th

22nd: Played a show in Saalfeld and therefore did not much apart from ropeskipping and the show
23rd: Landed on Mallorca, ran 15,5k incl. intervals, then some minutes on spinbike, then training power
24th: 8k running, 135 cycling, then coupling run 15 min
25th: 1k swimming, 166k cycling incl. 4 of the hardest elevation climbs (puig major, Coll de soller, etc.) , only spa afterwards
26th: 10k running, some weightlifting, 102km cycling at 29km/h, kneeproblems, 6,5km coupling run (fast), 1,4k swimming
27th: 20 min power and stability training, 130k cycling with Tine Holst, 12k coupling run at (5min/k, then 4.20 min/k)
28th: 2.7k swimming and then off to Palma... Palma... Palma de Mallorca!
29th: 2,4k swimming, 145k cycling up to Sant Salvador with Timmi (our new teammember), just 10 min coupling run, then physiotherapy appointment with Tine
30th: 2,6k swimming incl. 3*400m faster and 4*100 with progressing speed, 135k cycling (Sa Calobra)
31st: 18k running (incl. 10*1k from 3.55 to 3.40 pace), 96 k cycling incl. 1.6k elevation climbs, then power and stability
April 1st:  58 min running, power and stability    in Total: 85k running, 880k cycling and 8,7k swimming

2nd: Yogastretch and stretching
3rd: 1.4h cycling on fitnessbike
4th: 2.7k swimming
5th: 2.8k swimming
6th: 1.4 cycling on my TTbike for the first time, then played a show in Aachen
7th: Olympic Triathlon in Voerde in 1:58
8th: Yogastretch
9th: 100 min running incl. 7*1k at 4:00 pace
10th: 2.8k swimming, later 65 min running easy, then played a show in Essen
11th: Power and stability
12th: 2.8k swimming
13th: 19k running at marathonpace, moshing at a show in Duisburg, later 19k back home slower

14th: 35k cycling with my GF (meaning really slow), then 35 back home at faster pace
15th: 2.5h cycling
16th: running and cycling, but easy. ca 40k cycling, 4k running
17th: 2.8k swimming
18th: Power and stability, then swimming
19th: Restday
20th: Bleilochlauf: 24k run with elevation climbs!!! in 1:41:47
21st: 5 min running with Jan-Albert so show him the Schalke Arena, haha, some stretching
22nd: 2.10h cycling
23rd: 57 min cycling on fitnessbike incl. HIIT
24th: 30 cycling to Herne in the morning, 32k running back from Herne in the afternoon
25th: Power and stability and rowing
26th: 2.6k swimming
27th: 1h cycling on fitnessbike
28th: 1:05 h cycling, 40 min coupling run incl. some exercises (stairhopping, pushups, etc.)
29th: 1h cycling on fitnessbike
30th: cycling, 6.5k running incl. 4*1k at 3.20 pace, cycling, then 30 min cycling on fitnessbike
May 1st: Climbing, 57k cycling, 20 min coupling run
2nd: 1h power and stability, rpeskipping, rowing, 30 min progressive run
3rd: 30k cycling in the morning, 30k back in the afternoon, 2.7k swimming in the evening
4th: 64 min running incl. 3*4HIIT, 1h cycling in the evening at 30.6km/h
5th: 115 km cycling at RTF Velbert with 1700m of elevation climbs, eating at Delicious afterwards
6th: 2.6k swimming
7th: 90 min running incl. intervals, but my body couldn't really... took a break, kept on running slower, stretch Yoga
8th: 2.7k swimming
9th: Yoga in the morning, 35min running

Stair running, heart diseases, next races + shows

 “Don't always walk on the smooth roads, walk ways
that no one has travelled before, so as to leave
behind traces and not only dust…”  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


Hey!
Lately I have tried to integrate stair running in my training plan. After having done a stair run at the Halde Norddeutschland with my training buddy Robert I really got inspired. Fridays is a good day for me to run stairs on the Halde Hohe Mark in Recklinghausen. The view from the top of this slagheap is amazing: You can see the whole Ruhrarea, incl. the Schalkearena and the Signal Iduna Park, the Gasometer and so much more. But as much as it is a nice spot it can be a very high intensive training.
Last sunday we met up with a few fellow triathletes to go running there. My program after the warmup was to run the first 3 flights of stairs and back down to the start, then 5 and back, then 7, then 9, then 11, until the whole way up. One complete way up consists of 595 stairs and 100m height.
It is exhausting but also a very pleasant change from the daily routine of just running the same old route.
The day before I went 15km running in barefeet shoes on snow and trailtracks I have always wished to run when driving past in my car. It feels very good to skip the daily routine and set different stimuli.

There are several benefits from stair running:
stairrunning engl    treppenlauf deutsch
If you're eager you can also compete here: Treppenmarathon

Last week I have also done a 15km trail run with barefeet shoes on snow. I ran tracks I never ran before, some would have not been easy to run on if it wasn't for the snow. It felt great!!! So good when you're leaving your routine behind and search for new ways, explore new tracks, see new parts of the surrounding einvironment. You know this moment, when you see a hill and you know you want to run up there. It was just a very small hill that I have seen, but that was one destination I was heading for. I love to make new experiences, because that makes me think I am not old, because I will still grow. Of course I won't grow in height, but mentally, I can grow stronger physically and yeah... still experience new things, discover new goals in life. I hope for everyone to have this feeling at some point no matter how old you are.

Someone posted an interesting diagram on heart dieseases and its relation to (un)refined food consumption in different countries. Have a look!


I still try to eat 30-50 rawfood a day. Many fruits are the basis of my diet until the afternoon. Had banana, apple and pears + müsli today already. I have bought the Sunwarrior raw protein, so after training my proteins derive from raw food resources.

No, I don't get sponsored, I just think it is really really good.

Sunwarrior is very expensive, but judge for yourself if you think it is worth the money. I certainly do. Also try out the different tastes. I got natural and the taste is not overwhleming, but you can always mix it with chocflavoured milkalternatives and then it tastes pretty good!


The next races I am going to partake are:

Feb. 16th. OTVMeile in my hometown Oberhausen. My team Nordtriathleten is setting for the team championship.
OK... haven't managed to finish this blog entry ealrier, so it is over by now and I finished the 10.1km in 38.35min, which is my new PB! Yeah!
April 20th: Bleilochlauf in Kloster (Schleiz) probably combined with a show of my band Getitdone! on the evening after the show. 24km hilly running and a show in the evening! Psyched!

My band will also play in Hamburg on March 2nd, so get there!

Training Jan 18th- Feb 16th
18th: 2,2km swimming
19th: 70 min cycling
20th: 85 min cycling, 1h power and stability
21st: Restday
22nd: 73 min easy running incl. 3 sprints, then 90 min cycling on indoor trainer
23rd: 90 min easy cycling on fitnessbike
24th: 75 min cycling on fitnessbike
25th: 73 min running on a slagheap (stairruns), later 1,9km swimming
26th: 1.30 h cross country sking on Halde Hoheward with my girlfriend
27th: feeling sick, but had to go to a swimming course to better my technique
28th: sick, resting
29th: sick, resting
30th: 1.10 h cycling, a very short run of a few mins and a few exercises
31st: 1h cycling on fitnessbike, then 35 min toning and stretch yoga
Feb 1st: 1,8km swimming (still ill, couldn't do more)
2nd: 1.05h running and stability exercises
3rd: 2h cycling inl. 3*5min with hard resistance, then power and stability exercises
4th: short cycling warmup, then 33 min running incl. running exercises and 5 sprints
5th: 1h running incl. 3 sprints
6th: 2,65km swimming, then 18 min stretchYoga
7th: 45 min power+ stability exercises, later 70 min cycling on fitnessbike incl. hill intervals
8th: 3km swimming
9th: 1.50 cycling, 80 min trailrun incl. 3 sprints with barefeet shoes
10th: stairrun at Halde Hoheward, later power and stability exercises
11th: only a few power and stability exercises
12th: 2,8km swimming
13th: 2,6km swimming,  later exercises for coordination and 18 200m intervals with 200m slowjogs in between (after warmup of course and cool down at the end)
14th: 20 min cycling, 15 min running, 10 min rowing and some power and stability exercises
15th: 2,6km swimminf, 38 min running
16th: 10,1km race in 38.35 (new PB), a few minutes on fitnessbike later on

Show, Link, Bleilochlauf

So this is the next HC show that I am putting up.

Apart from this I have enjoyed reading this inspiring and nice blog, which also deals with nutrition and sports, but only in german, sorry!
Apart from that I have placed third at the Bleilochlauf in Saalburg-Kloster in Thuringia. It is a challenging 24km run with about 17km of trails and some elevation difference. My bro Seb thought it was too much climbing. Last year I have placed second, but this year I was 2.20 min faster. It is a real nice run and always awesome to hang out there with my fave dudes from the Team Iron Mind. I have also driven there with my fellow vegan runner Jan-Albert Veenema and his girlfriend Tessa (who placed 3rd woman on 12km!!!). He brought me some sportsfood and the gel and bar really tasted amazing! Too bad he broke his foot a couple of weeks ago and couldn't run himself. Good for me though. If he had competed I would probably have not placed third, but fourth ;-)

The TEAM IRON MIND

We had 4 cakes, thanks to Tobi and Freddy!!!

 

I have placed 3rd!

 After the run we have basically chilled out with soup, cakes and a little nap in the boat "Helga".

"Helga" was our mainbase. We slept and ate there and sorted our equipment in there. Nice!

Training April 5th (Still in France)- 15th
5th: I ran with Hagen for 20 min, then we grabbed bikes and went quickly to the boucherie. I have climbed 4 routes and we ran back from the rocks to our guesthouse (37min).
6th: Just 25min running, then cycling to the bakery in the morning and only climing afterwards, nothing else!
7th: Got back home so I have cycled 70 min on my fitnessbike incl. endurance strength
8th: Ran 24km around Langenfeld in 103min incl. 83 min at halfmarathon pace.
9th: Regeneration
10th: 2.8km swimming in the morning, cycling to the gym, 30 min workout, 2h fitnessbike, Sauna and back home on the bike
11th: 3.1km swimming in the morning. Short 13 min run instead of aiting in front of the indoor climbing centre "Bergwerk" in Dortmund. Climbed there and went to the Sauna which is included there afterwards.
12th: swimming 3km, 62 min easy running in the evening.
13th: 3km swimming in the morning
14th: Cycling with Teammate Florian towards Wuppertal to take photos for team. Pretty hard cycling to Wu-Tal fourth and back. It is very hilly!
15th: 80 min running incl. 3 sprints and some exercises.
16th: running ca. 10km and got my  lactat levels tested.
17th: 3km swimming, 40 min kettlebellworkout, 40 min of Yoga