Marathons

About

Running

September 2, 2007: Faxe Kondi Half Marathon

I am participating in Faxe Kondi Half Marathon.

August 22, 2007: 5km in Odense

I participated in the 5km DHL Stafet in Odense together with a group of collegues from Interacoustics. I completed in 20 min and 25 sec. Dispite of a heavy thunderstorm we had a great race!

May 21, 2007: The Copenhagen Marathon Challenge 2007

This Sunday I completed the 42,195 km Copenhagen Marathon distance in the time 03:38:56 - that was 1 minute and 53 seconds from my time in 2004 where I did it in 3:37:03. I set a realistic goal to complete this year's marathon in less then 4 h, but I also knew that on a good day, I should be able to do it in 3:30 h. My training started seriously back in September/October last year (after about 3 months running pause) and since then, my average weekly running distance was between 20 and 50 km (usually three days per week) and the longest distance was 30 km (two weeks before the race-day). My training was, however, not as consistent as it was back in 2004, so I also knew, that it would be difficult to improve my time from 2004. On the other hand, this was my 2nd marathon, so this time I knew what kind of challenge I was facing, and my training had actually been going on for a longer period.

The marathon started and ended at the Black Diamond (near Raadhuspladsen) in the center of Copenhagen and went through most of the main areas and attractions in the city center. On the actual race-day morning I started out in the area that aimed for a time between 3:30 and 3:45 and the first 30 km I felt really good and comfortable and therefore I aimed for around 3:30. The weather in Copenhagen was great - clear skies and about 18 to 20 Celsius and almost no wind. All over people was cheering and laud samba music rhythms were in the air allover. Every 3-4 km there was lots of great refreshments: cold water, energy drinks, banana- and orange-pieces. At this moment, I experienced the special state of so called "runners high". This state of being can be difficult to explain, but is some sort of calm well-being or even euphoria where the body and mind are both highly stimulated and seem to elevate a person's senses. See some explanation of runner's high here or here. Neurologically the runner's high can be explained by the brains production of endorphins during and after exercise, see Endorphin. After the first 30 km I had to slow down my pace some what, mainly because I stated to feel some cramps (see marathon cramps) in my leg muscles. Now I had to pay the price for being a bit to optimistic and confident the first 30 km. The runner's high was put on a hold and the fight between body and mind began. The last 12 km was tough and there was moments where I thought: Why do people do this (again and again - and even pay money for it :)?

I think there are many reasons why people engage in a marathon challenge and after having completed two marathons I can just say that it's a really great experience, both physically and mentally. But, be careful: It's a truly addictive challenge!! As one of the best long distance runners, Emil Zatopek said: "The one who wants to win a sports competition runs a 100 meter. The one who wants to learn something about life runs a marathon". From Hovedlos (a philosophical danish article about marathon).

December 03, 2006: Training

The last two month, I have been running 3 times a week, about 40-50km/week:

October 15, 2006: Joining Copenhagen Marathon 2007

I am planning to join Copenhagen Marathon 2007. I will post some information about my training program here soon.

About Running

Running is a great and very cheap way to get into a good shape. In fact its properly the most inexpensive way of exercising. All that is needed is a pair of comfortable running shoes, some light clothing, a place to run and a plan!

Some people live with the misconception, that because running is so simple, it's a boring sport. Of cause, for a large part, this view depends on your interpretation of what is boring or not. But I would make the daring claim that running is actually not as simple as it seems, and very far from being boring. Here are some arguments for this view:

  1. Meditation: Running is a great way to relax, off-stress and meditate, especially after a long day in the office. After an hour on the road, you feel like after a small vacation.
  2. Nature: Running is a great way to experience and explore nature at different times: Rain, sun, snow, forests, lakes, city, etc, and animal life. Some of the most beautiful things I have seen in nature are while running.
  3. Planning: It takes some preparation to reach a certain goal or level, e.g. a half marathon, a full marathon or an ironman. How often to run, when to run, where to run, etc.
  4. Equipment and Technique: Like in all other kinds of sports, the more you get into it, the more you realize that proper equipment is essential for reaching the planned levels, e.g. a old pair of shoes may be ok for 5km one time a week, but probably not if you are going for the 42,2km distance (without injuries).
  5. Diet, Food and Nutrition: A proper diet and the correct food and nutrition are an essential part of any running scheme. Anyone knows that eating a big portion of potatoes and meet is not good if you plan to run short time after the meal. You may also need to add new things to your diet, e.g. more protein, to build up new muscles. Or eat more small meals during the day, instead of 2 huge meals. And drink more water, because running (especially during the summer) can be quit dehydrating.
  6. Social Life: Although it's common to run alone, it does not mean that it's a sport for egoists. You can look on the web for the running club near you, I am sure there is one. It's also possible to join with one or more friends or colleagues sometimes, especially if you have common goals and levels, e.g. running Copenhagen marathon 2006.
  7. Great Rewarding: Running is a very directly rewarding sport. Week by week you can see how a certain distance gets easier to run, both in terms of time and difficultness. Once you get past the first hurdles, barriers and difficulties (1-2 month) you will start enjoying the great rewards.
  8. Synergy: Finally I will mention the advantage of running in conjunction with other sports, whatever they may be. Many more sports will suddenly seem accessible and easier once you start to enjoy running regularly. Or whatever you are doing in life for that matter.

How to Start Running?

Put one leg in front of the other, then switch position while making a small jump….no seriously: You can find a lot of great material about starting to run. I can recommend the site called "Do U Run": www.dourun.dk. On the follow page, they have lots of different beginner programs: http://www.dourun.dk/prg.asp

Generally it's best to start running a given time period, not distance, 2-3 times a week. It's also recommendable to interchange slow running with walking and to start on a soft ground, like in a forest road. To much hard 'asphalt' can easily lead to start-injuries that may take a great deal of time to get rid of again. You can read more about running injuries here: http://www.dourun.dk/skadergen.asp Take it easy in the beginning and listen to your body. Follow the plan even if you think you can advance faster; usually you can't.

Before you start running, make a few warm-up exercises. A good way to do this is to start by biking 10-15 min. Then you can also use this opportunity to bike to your favorite running area.

Finally remember to stretch your legs every time you finish running, 5-10 min.

How to advance? The Ultimate Goal: Completing a Marathon (42km)

Once you have reached a level where you feel comfortable about running 2-3 times a week 5-10 km, then you may start to plan how to advance. Or maybe you are happy with your current running level and have no ambitions about continuing; that's also perfectly fine.

However, I felt that once I reached 10km, my body and psyche wanted more! Almost like watching a movie and then leave the theater just before climax! (I will stop making any more comparisons now). So, why not continue to the next level? So what is the next level? The first natural goal would be to run a half marathon, 21km, or simple just plan to go for the whole Marathon distance: 42km.

Deciding to go for the whole marathon distance is, in my view, a big decision. I look it on one gray and rainy day in January 2004 (last year). I had reached the level where a 10-12km run was comfortable and easy and I was running 5-12km, about 3 times a week and I did 10km in about 38min. I was talking with one of my colleagues at work that was at about the same level as I, and one day he mentioned Copenhagen Marathon. I had previously thought about running a marathon, but never dared to complete my thoughts and set it as a realistic goal. Probable mostly because of fear of not being able to complete the whole distance (without injuries). But this time, for some reason, was different. A few days later my colleague and I had decided to go for Copenhagen Marathon on May 16 2004, i.e. we had about 3 month to prepare. This was about the minimum time required for a person on my level to safely train for a Marathon without major injuries.

This first thing I did, in collaboration with my colleague (in the coffee brakes at work) was to make the right training plan, i.e. a weekly running schedule, targeting 42km after about 12 weeks training. My plan was basically the one suggested at Copenhagen Marathons own home page (this is a pretty generic marathon running plan): http://www.copenhagenmarathon.dk/dk/traenprog.htm I decided to follow the conservative training plan, i.e. going for about 4hours. This was a 16 week plan, so I had to do some work to fit myself into it. After that, things got fairly simple: Follow the plan, week by week. That also meant running a Sunday afternoon in poring rain and a great hangover! Or a dark Wednesday evening in 5 degrees after work. After a while it became very easy, probably because of the addictive nature of running, you simply want to endorphins created by running longer distances.

Also, once I came passed the 12-15km, the nature of running seemed to change: The body simply kept in going to a point where I sometimes forgot what I was doing and where I was. But I still at high alert and absorbing all my surroundings. You can call this for a kind of meditative running state. After 1-2 hours on the road or in the forest I felt like a newborn.

Once in a while I started to experience some pain in different parts of the body, knees, back, etc. In order to avoid a possible injury, and thereby eliminating my changes of completing a Marathon, I tried to correct and adjust my training in accordance with these problems, e.g. changing route to a more soft ground like forest, slowing down, shortening the distance, doing interval training (i.e. combined walk and run), going to the gym and finally optimizing my diet.

After 3 month hard and consistent training I stood with my colleague among about 10.000 other runners in the middle of Copenhagen, on a shiny day May 16, 2004. It was going to be the warmest weather the whole year, and this did not make me feel any better. But I had done almost everything I could do, both physically, mentally, food and equipment wise, so now it was just about running and getting all the worries out of the head.

Bang! Wilson Kipteter started the race. I choose the 4 hour area flag to start conservatively. Then I could always advance later, once I felt more comfortable. 3 hour and 37 minutes later I crossed the finish line at the Diamond Building without any injuries. I was more then satisfied about the result, since my goal from the beginning was to complete in 4 hours without injuries. Everything faster than that was a great personal victory. I can truly recommend this experience to everyone.

For more information about Copenhagen Marathon see: www.copenhagenmarathon.dk

And Aarhus Marathon (I plan to do this in 2006 if I am not on holiday): www.aarhus1900.dk/marathon/default.shtml

Or Marathons around the world generally see: www.marathon.dk

I was very happy after completing the 42km Marathon distance.

See my Running Galleries.

I Did a Marathon Already, What Now?

Now that I did a marathon I wander what my next goal can be? I think I would like to continue my marathon training and do 1 or 2 marathons each year; I would like to do Berlin, Boston and New York marathon some day; see www.marathon.dk for more. I would also like to get less than 3 hours some day.

Another thing I have been thinking about is going into Triathlon (Ironman) and Adventure Racing.

I find Triathlon very challenging because it companies 3 great sports: Swimming, bicycling and running. This makes everything more complicated of cause, both in terms of planning, physical training and equipment. But I think the reward of completing a triathlon would be equally great. The ultimate goal would be to complete an Ironman, i.e. 3.8km swim, 180km biking followed by a marathon, 42.2km. This is of cause a long term goal since it would take tremendous combined training in all 3 disciplines, maybe 1-2 years. See some great Triathlon program suggestions here: www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/trainingplans-list.asp Another goal could be to start with a ˝ Ironman distance. Or to do the Olympic Triathlon distance: 1,5km swim, 40km biking and 10km running. This seems to be within more realistic reach, say in like 4-6 month. A great way to do this could be to join a local club like Aarhus 1900, see: www.1900tri.dk/. Make a plan, buy the right equipment, start training. See more about Triathlon here: www.beginnertriathlete.com

Finally I will mention Adventure Racing as another great sport. The term Adventure Racing is used pretty broadly, but generally it stands for a combined outdoor race, often in mountainous areas. Sometimes it just includes "running in mountains", and other times combining more activities like a triathlon, e.g. canoeing, climbing, swimming, rappelling, etc. See for example:

Where to Run in Aarhus?

Aarhus is a great place to run. There are three places where I especially like to run, each giving different levels and types of challenge: