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Checked: Rezlo (Zeno Shorts & Theros Shirt)

Tune of the day: The Cinematic Orchestra – A Caged Bird/Imitations of Life (feat. Roots Manuva)

Racereport 2014-02: Dirty Race

To cut it short – I just love this competition. Such a fine format for early season multisport bashing. Run 5k, mountain-bike 17k and close the Reece with a 4k scamper. Quite some suffering integrated.

Like last time the Dirty Race was a sellout. This time it was not as freezing as last year so everyone who signed up also raced. This year it was just muddy. And there was some proper sludge. Definitely the muddiest contest I ever took part in.

Basti and I arrived early enough to cycle one loop of the bike route. We just couldn’t hack it. Deep and damp Natural-Porridge all over the place. When we finished the Reece we already looked soaked and set for a clothes change.

Life is made up of marble and mud.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

The first run was just to warm up for the foremost fun of the day. So I took off in a pleasant pace on the tarmac road. No mud there but some overly motivated participants. Looks like the off season was too long for some. Sooner or later all the sprinters got caught and it was mountain bike time. I tried to move as smoothly as possible. I knew that once the main pack got through the first of two loops it will get even more tricky and additional power is required to surf these waves.

I tried to stay away from groups of riders as triathletes are not know for their bike handling skills. In the middle of the first loop I eventually crashed as a guy in front of me stopped abruptly in front of a pond. Well… After that I found the rhythm and the line. At the end of the loop I paired up with the eventual women’s champ Kathrin Müller. She struggled a bit with the circumstances but we kept on sailing nicely together through the mud ocean.

T2 came a bit later than last year. My bike form was not as good as last time (4 minutes slower…) but the track was hard to compare. I entered the transition area with the keenness to finish up strong and possibly run the last part with Kathrin. A couple of minutes later I met her at the finish. My shoe adjustment took a bit longer and she was flying through the transition zone in best triathlete approach. I’m not used to that anymore. So I ducked in and gave the PureDrift’s a solid spin on the finishing 4k (Strava).

The chase after the race was getting all that lawn and dirt of the racing bike and devices. Great service by the organizers as they set up a area to clean the bike. A fun end to a enjoyable day of racing. Until next year.

Pictures 1 / Pictures 2 / Video

Tune of the day: DJ Zinc – Live at Deviation Carnival Session

Pic: Michael Raubold Photographie

Hunger

The most successful Irish sportsmen ever was never a man of many words. Sean Kelly’s skill was to ride bicycles. Triumphs were his speech.

In a time were people transcribe autobiographies in their early twenties, Kelly took his time. He retired from professional cycling in 1994 and just now released his book.

The man from Carrick-on-Suir in South Tipperary, Ireland is know for his introversion and for him to open up in a book seems to be a slight spectacle. The 70s and 80s cycling area charms me and since I appreciate the classics and the era that surrounds those races, I have appreciated Kelly.

For me the most fascinating part was reading about his childhood and training in Ireland. I passed through Kelly’s hometown several times when I was living on the isle and I was always intrigued by his aura. Having met him once all my pre-made up clichés and expectations seemed to be true.

The man who took seven straight wins at the Paris-Nice, just to name my personal highlight, delivered a book that is entertaining and not self-promoting. Insight into cycling’s heartland, several team mangers and mates and agreements that were “made on the road”. Don’t expect a book that debates about “juice” and what happened in the hotel rooms. As Kelly states: “I’m not a great one for reflecting or reminiscing”. Give him that and enjoy a book that’s talking and delivering the beauty of road cycling.

Skip the A-slaves and get this book directly @ pelotonpublishing.co.uk

Racereport 2014-01: 48. Fleiner Cross – Serie

Straight at it. Initial competition of the season. Some true classic – the 48th version of the Cross Series at the Haigern. A ‘lil highland just outside my hometown.

Some formats are in place as the organizing TV Flein 1895 take the fields of kids, seniors and juniors through 525 m, 750 m and 1075 m loops across the forest alleyways and trails. No better way to get used to running hard and legitimately fast.

I selected the 6k possibility and was content with my 23:42 time (Strava). I knew that I miss some leg pace and a bit of strength but nonetheless it was some proper testing. You never kick as solid as you would in a racing situation.

Completed a 115km week with some cool-down shaking, sausage, Frankenmeister burden and proper home-grown Glühwein with the lads. You got to love this kind of winter contesting. Handsome atmosphere.

Tune of the day: Ladi6 – Diamonds

Ethiopia

Seems like this part of the www was on holiday. It unquestionably was.

Shortly after Christmas eve I ventured down south to spend a few weeks around the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia together with two friends. I like to head to the Horn of Africa at that time of the year. Perfect temperatures make this place even more worthwhile and fascinating. Following a number of stints in Kenya and Uganda I headed even further north to travel to one of the oldest locations of human life.

We spend some days in Addis Abeba and then travelled further south. We went to the “Town of Runners” – Bekoji and spend some time in the running capital before we went back up north to the Simien Mountains National Park for some striking hiking.

“I wanted the world to know that my country Ethiopia has always won with determination and heroism.”
Abebe Bikila

I’m heading back home genuinely impressed by a very friendly and calm nation. Ethiopia is the only African country to defeat a European colonial power. The feeling of independence and pride is still evident. The energy and positivity of the people was inspiring and very motivating to get back down to explore even more parts.

Pictures say way more than words. Just head over to my tumblr to observe a number of shots from the trip.

Slipping. Stumbling. Skating!

In the hunt for some powder and plenty of leisure skating miles, I drove down south to the town of Oberstdorf. Remarkable weather matching the snow and a satisfactory amount of slopes are serving the starvation for some long anticipated cross exercise.

Stay tuned for more pics and Nordic Skating awesomeness.

Tune of the day: I’m totally into David Hasert’s stuff theses days. Go and check his soundcloud!

#shoeporn: Salomon S-LAB Sense Ultra

#shoeporn: Brooks – Adrenaline ASR 10

It is not an easygoing mission to find the accurate shoe for this kind of damp and rainy climate. You never really know what to expect when you go out for a run these days in the middle of Europe. The day-to-day training bounces amongst dull roads, misty forest paths, muddy farm-tracks and your splashed home-grown single trail.

Most of the time I’m just so impatient to go out running that I simply do not want to think about the shoe I’m going to wear. Unquestionably in summer it does not really matter what you wear. The difficulties and undergrounds do not ask for to much during daily exercise. Suddenly in wintertime this changes. Not only to the best.

So when you jog along in the early morning or evenings you need some comrade out there. You need somebody who can do it all. Someone who is an “a jack of all trades”. Just call it an “a jack of all tracks” – the polymath of running. Let’s call it: Adrenaline ASR 10

It is not the first time I run this shoe and it surely wont be the last. In this kind of season he is man. The Adrenaline comes with a humble but efficient and well positioned „MoGo“- cushion that still give you enough sensation for the environment your leaping past. Together with the new outside that features the well-known Gore- Tex Membrane nothing really speaks against this shoe.

With the 10th version Brooks still opted the game for this role-model that set the standard. Merged with this new ADR sole. Well, they created a true polymath for daily running training.

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