Before we drove up to Jacksonville we stopped at daytona beach for a little “break”. The beach is perfect for running. Before breakfast we were running moderate 45′ with faster sections at the end.

We relaxed on the beach and made our way to north Florida. In Jacksonville we went directly to the expo where we picked up our numbers.

I went out for a quick run before we went to bed.

After the heavy session yesterday it was time for an easy recovery run. No big deal just jogging around for 45′.

30′ easy jogging on the beach was my cool down for the day.

to avoid the heat we went out before the sunset. our destination was the “historic Indian trail”, a stunning sand road west of vero beach. we started with 60′ moderate running and finished up with 80′ at marathon pace. nice but tough workout on a really scenic route.

The legs got their deserved relaxation with an easy swim in the afternoon.

With the sunset we went out for a 85′ moderate run around vero beach. My legs are feeling good and the sun is shining on…

I skipped the evening run for a little swim session and “airball” (basketball without getting close to the ring…) beside the local pool. we dropped the standard on the court to a unbelievable low level. no chance for the next draft… we keep the balls where they belong.

This morning was time for some speed. We ran a long warm up with a couple of sprints. Then it was time for 2 x 20′ fast. Pretty tough for me as the temperature was rising fast too. Cool Down was a easy jog home on the beach plus a dip in a cool atlantic.

Again i jogged 30′ around the local golf course in the evening.

I arrived safe in the sunshine state. The flight was alright but the immigration procedure at Orlando Airport took me nearly one hour. Pretty painful after 8,5 hours in a plane.

Uli and i started out today in the warm Orlando morning sun. It was a beautiful morning and we ran our first session on nice backroads.

I finished the day with a easy 30′ jog on a beautiful evenning around our “base” – vero beach.

just watching the rain for the last couple of minutes.. Im waiting for the plane here at Dublin Airport. Im exited to just concentrate on running for the next days. The sun in Florida is hopefully on our side.

One big advantage with running only is the flying. Compare to my journeys last year im really happy just to have on single case full of shoes.

Enough for the moment. Boarding starts right NOW!!!

Forecast for Orlando, FL

Fri
Mar 06 Mostly Sunny 26°/13° 0 %
Sat
Mar 07 Sunny 27°/13° 0 %
Sun
Mar 08 Sunny 28°/16° 0 %
Mon
Mar 09 Sunny 28°/15° 0 %
Tue
Mar 10 Partly Cloudy 27°/16° 10 %
Wed
Mar 11 Partly Cloudy 28°/16° 10 %
Thu
Mar 12 Mostly Cloudy 25°/13° 10 %
Fri
Mar 13 Sunny 24°/13° 0 %
Sat
Mar 14 Sunny 25°/12° 0 %

What the bike is for a cyclist is the shoe for a runner.

It’s more than less THE necessary part for the daily running madness. If you’re not a barefoot runner or an african youngster the shoe is your connection and protection to the surface you’re training or racing on.

It’s a religion what model, what brand, what size, what colour, what type… of shoes people choose. I’m not sure but I think if you try to analyse training conversations a huge percentage of the talking topics would be about shoes.

Before I start talking about my collection of trainers I would like to point out that im not sponsored or related to certain manufacturers.

Since I started with endurance sport I tried several brands. But since around 1,5 years there are only 2 brands in my shoe rack – mizuno and nike. I don’t want to analyse all makes and models. It just seems to be best choice for my legs and foot.

The only type of product I want to highlight is the nike lunar series.

The first impression is just stunning. Just take the trainer as an example. This shoe is super light. Amazing when you see how much material is used to build that hovercraft spaceship. It’s the sole that catches the first attention. A huge brick of yellow something – the lunar material.

As nikes marketing battalion states that stuff is the same material the nasa uses for their space shuttle seats. Anyway – believe it or not – it does the job. And it does a really really good job. The shoe has a brilliant cushion. For some people maybe a bit too soft but for me the lunar trainer does the job for the daily business. Run fast, run slow – the lunar is there with a good response. But if you’re on a curvy route it’s a bit difficult. The width of the sole is just too big to give you a huge flexibility. So you better run straight…

Not so with the lunar racer. Predicted by the name this one is even faster and even lighter than the “slower” brother. The racer weights literally nothing. There are racing models around with the same weight but you definitely cant beat the weight / cushion factor on that one. Pure class. I even tried the racer for some long runs (2.5 hours) and I had no problems doing a moderate long one with this thing. The shoe is not as direct as a natural racer with a “normal” rubber sole but for a marathon distance I cant see any other shoe competing with him.

The only downside for the lunar series is the sole. If you just get one grass or if you have a wet road you’re a bit lost with grip. It’s on a manageable level but I crashed once in a race as I went into a wet corner and had the lunar racer on my feet.

As I recently saw pictures of the new models they’ve adjust that slight problem.

I’m really keen on the “lunar-future”!

the days are flying by. just crazy that week number 9 of 2009 is over today.

in 34 days im running the rotterdam marathon. the training period for this race is going so fast. a good sign? i dont know now.

what i know is that im counting the days to see the sun. next saturday im flying to orlando to face 10 days of training with my buddy uli (he raced today at the shamrocks 5K in NYC – good result!). on the 14th march we finish our little training “spring break” with the 32nd annual gate river run in jacksonville.

this week training was OK again. i felt a bit tired on some workouts but over all i got quality sessions in. weather in ireland is around 8-12 degrees these days, perfect to run.

monday – 6 k. easy
tuesday – 5 k. easy (before football)
wednesday – 22 k. hills
thursday – 15 k. fast (7 x 3″ 10 k. speed)
friday – 9 k. easy
saturday – 33 k. easy
sunday – 16 k. progressiv

EDIT: after feedback from my old mate patrick on THIS post, i have to point out our glorious mountain bike downhill days between 93-96. heuchelberg massive. wer bremst verliert 😉