after a (weather-wise) deadly saturday i was happy that sunday stayed dry.

I went out for the wicklow200. roughly 2.500 cyclist made their way from DCU Dublin around county wicklow.

my personal “discovery of the day” was the freebie from PowerBar – the Ride Shots, so deadly. i think i ate 4 packs…

Brilliant day out!

After wins at Milan-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Giro di Lombardia , Gent-Wevelgem, Vuelta a España, Paris-Nice, Tour de Suisse and many more, sean kelly and his (very stylish) principia also made the way to wicklow…

The “heatwave” is in full effect.

cycling again today. 6 Hours around dublin’s “bike park” – the wicklow mountains. clear skys and sun right from the start. what more can you ask for?

today i went out with a group of three. aisling and rob who are preparing for ironman switzerland alongside the almighty liam. good craig at all…

also i have to give credits to my bike. since 2,5 years im riding a Canyon Ultimate CF Pro 7.0 and im still very happy with this reliable piece of koblenz carbone.

“soup break” with nick.

On top of Glenmalure or the “Shay Elliott”

what can i say? the summer is here.

out for 4,5 hours around the mighty wicklow mountains. i rode parts of the upcoming wicklow 200.

looking forward to that one next weekend.

The weather was insane today. rushed to get out of the office and went out for 3 hours on the bike around county wicklow. the blessington lakes were just stunning in the evenning.

finally the latest paul kalkbrenner album, berlin calling, found the way on my ipod. the record was the perfect soundtrack for the little cruise. especially “sky and sand“…

more sun please, ireland can be so nice…

my calfs best friend at the moment is the almighty DEEP HEAT.

Im warming up my weakest body part constantly with that creme. its working. there will be running soon.

weather is brilliant at the moment so im really back in the bike mood. i really enjoy the spins. it keeps the fitness and doesnt hurt the calf.

low gear and high frequence is the key. keps the legs spinning…

Still resting. I feel better but i prefer to not run at the moment. My right calf is not back to 100% so i try to recover completely this time.

To maintain a certain fitness it´s biking and swiming only at the moment.

I dont rush things. No big races are lined up in the very near future so i can relax and wait for the calf to get back to 100%!

The main thing that keeps me motivated is the outlook to the 1st of november – New York City Marathon. The spot is safe. The flights are booked.

Im so keen on running new york – state of mind!

warszawska nike

Hay Fever still slowing me down. I can´t train as my nose and ears are fully blocked.

it´s the heaviest reaction i ever had and my head is still aching. i have no problems here in ireland but the reaction from last week in germany is still there and heavy. It´s getting a littlebit better day by day. currently i´m sleeping the fever away…

hopefully i´m back in training next week with easy running.

maybe the little break is good as my calves get a bit of a down time and can relax again. they weren´t really smooth the last week´s.

there is always a positive side – you just have to see it.

1:30:36. Thats the sad turnout of this sundays 21k around my hometown heilbronn in germany.

and it´s all about a allergy thats in me and i havent paid attention – hay fever.

i was over in germany since friday. the weather was very “irish”, pre-race training was fine and gave me the rest of motivation for the race on sunday. the legs felt great and relaxed. i was waiting for the battle.

my target was to get my half marathon PB down to sub 80 minutes. after this years rotterdam marathon with a very defensive half marathon split of low 83 i was confident to reach this target. i know the course as it was a regular training route when i lived in heilbronn.

when i went to bed on saturday evening my body reminded me on a infection thats in me and i havent had since i live in ireland – hay fever. my nose was blocked and i had the usual symptoms. sleep wasnt great but i didnt really thought about the problems. i was looking forward to run.

race morning saw 30 degrees celsius (=86 fahrenheit) and no clouds. at the start area i warmed up and reached my block just wright for sound of the gun. the run started and after a couple of metres there was a big group. this group splited after 3k and i was running with the second group. the pace was fine but i started to get problems breathing in. the problem got bigger and bigger. my eyes started to get itchy and i couldnt breath in as normal. the grasses had me and slowed me down. i couldnt really relax and just fought on. it was impossible to hold the speed i wanted to run.

my dad was waiting with the bike shortly after the 18k mark. when i saw him i walked a bit and had something to drink. i was frustrated and disappointed. the midday sun was hitting hard aswell and i continued my little “jog” to the finish line.

what a silly mistake – lesson learned. again.

this should be an essential part of (running) training.

diana & trey show it in perfection.