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

Interview with the dutch vegan runner Jan Albert Veenema

Jan Albert and me got into contact through a dutch hardcore messageboard I used to promote my blog and he reads occasionally. We sort of knew each other through HC shows and just found out we got a common passion and the only inspiring, almost cruelty-free (VEGAN) lifestyle. So I wanted to interview him since he's such a good runner and might also inspire you. He definitely has inspired me, since I might try some of his track intervall trainings and we'll be running a race together soon!

Interview with Jan Albert Veenema, questions by me, pics under permission by JA Veenema.

How long have you been vegan?

I have been vegan for about 15 years now. Before that I've been vegetarian for a year, but in that time I started reading a lot about veganism and concluded that I wasn't consistent enough. Also listening to bands like Earth Crisis and reading books like Animal Liberation and Diet for a New America contributed to my beliefs.

I actually became vegetarian through an ex girlfriend who turned vegetarian during our relationship, so I kinda got used to it and started eating more meat-free myself. The actual point for me to turn vegan was made by a friend of mine who stayed at my house for a couple of days and taught me how easy it was to cook vegan. From that point on I basically never ate animal products again. I can still remember the first time I said no to cheese: on my fathers birthday a bowl with snacks was presented to me and I said no. That was the also the first time I had to explain to my family what veganism stands for, and a lot of explaining is still necessary.

Me turning vegan kinda went together with me becoming straight edge. The only thing I did (a lot) was smoking weed and after watching a dutch documentary about animal liberation (Zembla- brandende dierenliefde, in english: burning love for animals) I decided it was enough and stopped my addiction because I thought there was something that needed my attention and that couldn't be done while sitting stoned on a couch.

I'm not straight edge anymore, I'm occasionally enjoying a beer but I still respect and honor the values. I just can't understand why "sell-outs" start drinking like crazy once they drop the edge. For me it stops when the alcohol takes over my concentration or control. I want to keep control over my mind and body and not want a substance to take over.

When did you start with sports. what is you sports biography, so to say?

In my younger days I played a little soccer, but never played a game. It was because my friends went doing it so I had to do it as well. When I quit I've always continued playing soccer in the streets for fun though.

Later on I went on rescue swimming which included grips to get drowning persons out of the water, swimming with clothes on, swimming underwater and also diving to the bottom of the pool to collect rubber mats or a big plastic lifesize puppet.

I always enjoyed the gym classes at school but never took any action to go on another sport. My parents never pushed me to join a sport, but nowadays they're the most loyal supporters ever!

When I was about 23 years old I occasionally went to a fitness centre but quickly figured pumping weights was not for me. I enjoyed the cardio stuff way better, and did a coopertest (12 min run) on the treadmill. I forgot about the distance I ran by the way. Two colleagues of mine did a 7km run twice a week and they asked me to join them and it went really well. After doing that for a couple of weeks another colleague told me about an organised 10km run in my hometown and I ran 41 minutes, on my Air max shoes, so a pretty fast time. Based on that he began writing schedules for me and then everyting went pretty quick. Still I didn't really know what I was doing which resulted in running a marathon half a year after that first 10km race, a crazy thing to do especially since I didn't run any more than 20km in training but still completed it in 3.40.

Totally wasted afterwards but found enough energy to go to a Napalm Death show in the evening.

After about 2-3 years of unguided training I joined the local athletic club where I started doing intervals twice a week, and from then on things went even faster.  

So it's been 13 years now and I don't think I'll ever stop running. An advantage I have is that my girlfriend is also a runner (I infected her with the virus) and if you can share such a passion it's so great you can do it together.

Have you been active in the animal rights movement or in hardcore (the common bond we know each other through)?

When I went vegan I did a lot of flyering, did some distro for Animal Truth (Cindy Frey's foundation) and the dutch vegan society, and ofcourse immediately joined organisations like Peta, both the dutch and british vegan society and also the dutch vegetarian society.

Sometimes I went out at night spraypainting "meat is murder" here and there but never got involved in any "real" criminal activities. I must admit that I used to be more extreme and outgoing, but I will never give up veganism and never avoid discussions.

Maybe it sounds strange if I tell you that I grew up as a metalkid, and am totally into black metal. But gradually discovered lotsa other styles which I loved as well such as grunge, hiphop and hardcore.   

The hardcore "scene" is where I feel at home. The people, the shows, the ideals (although they doesn't seem to be as important as back in the days) and ofcourse the music is what attracts me.

I also go to metalshows because I want to see my favorite bands on stage but I like the atmosphere at HC shows way better.

As far as the HC activism concerns I did a magazine once (in the year 2000, it was called Truce and had interviews with Shockwave, Spirit 84, actually the first Heaven Shall Burn interview and more). Never been in a band but a very regular visitor of shows and buyer of records.

What is your week like? How much, what, when and how long do you train?

That depends on where I'm training for but mostly I'm doing 5 sessions a week, divided in 2 track sessions, a short (8-15km) and long distance run (>20km) and a race or forest/hill training.

The average kilometrage ranges from 60-100km and sometimes even more.

It takes a lot of my time but that's what hobbies or passions do and I couldn't imagine living without running.

Here's a recent week from my log:

mo 12km 58min

tu   track training 6x1000m in 3.35 with 400m recoverytime after each one. Also long warming up with stretching, groundwork (core-stability, push ups and sit ups) and running technique. Total 16km, 2 hrs. I always run to the track and back home which is 3,5km one way.

th  track training 3 series of 400m-300m-200m-100m in 75sec-56sec-37sec-18sec. After each tempo 200m pause and in between series 400m. Again long warming up. Total 15km, 2hrs. 

sat  10km race personel best time 33.27, 8th place overall. Total 16km

sun  32 km long run for marathon. 2hrs 20min.

So that's a weektotal of 91km divided into 5 sessions.

What do you usually eat or what is integral part of your nutrition? Any "secrets" you now want to share?

I'm a pretty conventional eater so to say. Lotsa potatoes, pasta, chinese noodles, curry's, beans and so on. Anything rich in carbohydrates is good. Also any kind of vegetables suits me fine and I try to eat carrots, spinach, sprouts and so on for the necessary nutrition.

I'm convinced that a vegan diet can replace a meat/dairy based one without a problem, as long as you eat healthy and varied. And if you compare the diet of any pro athlete with ours there are way more similarities than differences so that means we're on the right track!

I'm taking some B12 vitamins on an irregular basis, but I've never experienced any sufficiency of any kind and also a sport test didn't conclude in a shortage of anything. I think my body adapted to eating vegan and sporting so much.

The day before a race I always eat pasta, maybe that's a mental thing but it never proved me wrong. During long runs or races I take gels, any brand will do, but lately the SiS ones are favorite here. Also their sportsdrink is very nice.

After racing my stomach can't take too much sweet drinks or food, I've experienced some breakdowns after finishing, once even resulting in first aid help. So I wait until my body is kinda calm again before refilling my energy.

Being not straight edge anymore I really can enjoy a nice Belgian beer, but no more than two, because I just can't handle it.

What are your personal bests so far?

3000m track 9.33

5km 16.33 (during 10km race)

10km 33.27

15km 52.37

21.1km (half marathon) 1.14.36

30km 1.52.58

42,2km (full marathon) 2.49.28

50km 3.45.27

60km 4.58.25

What are your expectations and goals for 2012?

My main focus in the first half of this year will be the "Slachte marathon" overhere in Friesland which is organised only once every 4 year and runs from point to point. It goes over an old in-land dyke and includes a few miles off road and two steep bridges. I'm training for a time sub 2.45 or even 2.40. But that also depends on the weather since it runs from east to west and if you have 42kms of headwind it gets difficult.

I have to say my preparation is going very well, since I ran personal best times on the 10km and half marathon lately so the main thing is to stay healthy, sharp and be in the best shape on june 16th!

This fall I'll probably be running another marathon and the 50km race in Winschoten as preparation for that. Next year I'll be starting for the second time in the "60 van Texel", a 60km race on the island of Texel and heavy as fuck! Last year I made my ultra debut in this race and it was one hell of a debut. The hottest easter weekend in 100 years and I decided to run 60km!

The course included about 12km of sand/beach, dunes, forest and endless-looking roads with constantly the burning sun on your head. The goal was to run 4.30 pace but after 5km when we reached the beach we had to let go of that schedule. Finishing was the most important thing and I managed to just finish sub 5 hours.

The training for it went great. I prepared with a friend and together we did a lot of training including a 4 hour beach run and a trainingweekend in which we ran the whole course in 2 days, so 30km on saturday and 30km on sunday.

The only thing you don't have control over is the weather so hopefully next year it is on our side!

What sponsors do you have and do they also know about your vegan way of life or even support this?

I've been lucky enough to get sponsored for my shoes and clothing by Running Center, a specialized running store, together with Mizuno sportswear. For an almost symbolic low amount of money I get 3 pairs of shoes and a complete outfit every year and lots of discount when I need accessories or sportdrinks. The sponsorship gradually grew since I was a regular customer and running pretty much upfront in races so they decided to sponsor me which ofcourse I couldn't refuse!

They are aware of my veganism but are neither judging nor supporting it. Thing is that if they didn't met me they wouldn't know any vegan, and same counts for my family and colleagues.

At least I'm creating some awareness.

Final words?

Go vegan and keep on running!

The last day before the Cologne Marathon

Last training and last day.
Did a 30 minutes run incl. 3 sprints, did some Yoga out in the woods and a Kneipp treatment for my legs.
Had two big meals with loads of rice today. One at home, one after picking up my racenumber in Cologne at "Well Being". "Well Being" is a full on vegan asian restaurant (http://wellbeing.blogsport.de/).
Try the saigon curry there! Awesome!

Me and Jasmin are going to be the two "Veggie Athletes" (our team) starting tomorrow!
We need more poeple to spread the idea of a healthy and fit vegan lifestyle!

Healthy breakfast to get fit!

Breakfast: Starter: Vegan Yoghurt with: wheat germs, mulberry syrup, agave nectar, lingonberry jam, almond something muesli, and soaked in linen seeds, macapowder (not on pic)
Second: wholewheat bread with ketchup, mayonaise, vegan cheese, smoked tofu, cucumber, tomato, lettuce
Drink: Shake with soymilk, bananas, kiwi, peppermint leaves, maple syrup, agave nectar, mulberry syrup — 

Seize life, enjoy the sun

So this week is going to have loads of hours of sunshine (down here in the west of germany).
Just move your ass out and enjoy the last warm and sunny days of the year! Workout outside, get a tan and get fit!
This weekend was awesome! Didn't do much on friday but gave my body a little rest. Had a nice breakfast with 3 girls on saturday morning before I went off to run 115 min incl. 90 minutes at estimated Marathon pace (ca. 3.10h for the 42 km). 26 km in total. Then my daughter had a Badminton game 40km away so I figured I could go there by bike. Due to being invited to a party afterwards and having to unload my van, I came to the conclusion of not cycling the whole distance but a shorter part of it. Without the exact adress I haven't matched the badminton gym. So I missed my daughter first two games she won, but watched the rest of it and her team winning. After that I wrote back to the place where I left my van. It turned out to be 51km cycling. So running and cycling this day was cool. Enough kilometres and nice weather. Then off to a birthday party, partying til 4, driving down towards Cologne to sleep there. I cannot drive well at nights so I had to sleep somewhere in Wutal in the van and went further in the morning. Got to cologne around 9, slept a little, had breakfast (Thanks, Britta for the scrambled Tofu!), slept some more and went to the fleamarket at "Feuerwache". Bought an "Echo and the Bunnymen" LP and a Joy Division double LP. Then I met up with my trainingpartner Jasmin to train for the Marathon. We went running along the beautiful Rhine with sunshine and nice talks for almost 2 hours including a little stop to dive into the Rhine! Jasmin fed me the "Vega"-Shake (http://myvega.com/) by Brendan Brazier and some other good stuff (Thanks, Jasmin!) and then I went back to get fed some pasta at my friends place. Damn... I will miss summer so hard!

Beach workout

I love working out on the beach as seen here in St. Christina (Lloret de Mar/ Costa Brava):
I did a 3 sets of a workout with my own body weight only plus some exercises with a Thera Band.
Before the first set and after each set I went swimming into the sea for around 10 minutes.
The whole workout lasted ca. 2 hours. Then I tried to chill a little, we took some photos up on the church above the beach and later I went back to Barcelona on my roadbike and due to the traffic I made it there earlier than my friends with my van. It was 70 km along the coast. My average speed was 34 km/h, because I happened to meet a fellow cyclist after two km and together we went down towards Barcelona. Sucha  great day! Later on we went having dinner with 20 of my friends from BCN, Russia, Norway, England and Germany. We have ordered vegan sushi and rice with veggies at some japanese take away in Gracia! It was amazing! Luckily some other dude couldn't eat his whole portion so I got some more stuff to reload carbohydrates and get some protein.

Starting this blog

Why do I finally start writing a blog?
Because I think that communication can inspire. I might be able to spread my ideas and outlook on life to persons totally unknown. They might have a similar mindset or I might just show my totally different way I am living life.
I do live vegan for 15 years now and I am feeling stronger than ever before. I want you to feel and get healthy and strong, too. Everybody can get healthier and more vital with just a few improvements on life.
First off: Base your nutrition on plants, eat more foods raw, workout at least 3 times a week.
Plan the 3 workouts and write them down in your agenda!