RUNssel

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Februar 9, 2014 / Keine Kommentare

Assessment Centre

Shoes
Brooks – Ghost 6
Brooks – PureGrit 2
Brooks – PureDrift
Brooks – Adrenaline ASR 10
Brooks – PureConnect
Brooks – T7 Racer
Ecco – Biom Ultra GTX
Haglöfs – Gram XC
Haglöfs L.I.M Low
Haglöfs – Gram Comp II
Altra – Adam
Adidas – Adizero Adios Boost
Salomon S-LAB Sense Ultra
Skechers – Go Run 2
Skechers – GoRun 4
Dynafit – MS Feline Superlight  
Dynafit – Feline SL
La Sportiva – Anakonda
Nike – Streak XC 3
Scarpa – Minima
Mizuno – Wave Catalyst
Mizuno – Wave Rider 19
Mizuno – Wave Kazan 2
Hoka One One – Vanquish 2
Hoka One One – Speedgoat
Hoka One One – Clifton 2
Hoka One One – Huaka
Merrell – All Out Crush Light
Merrell – All Out Charge
Merrell – Bare Access 4
Nike Zoom Terra Kiger 3
2016 Running Shoe Highlights
New Balance – 1600V2 Spikeless

Gear
Anton Krupicka Signature Collection Short and Vest + Headband
Philips SHQ3200
Jabra Sport Wireless+ Bluetooth Headset
Oakley Frogskins
yurbuds Ironman Inspire Pro
GoPro Hero3
Limar Ultralight+ Road
Ass Savers
SKINS – A200 Compression Long Tights
Haglöfs – Essens III Hooded Down Jacket
My Tour du Mont Blanc gear
Bellroy – Elements Sleeve
Thoni Mara
Norrøna – fjørå flex1 Shorts and aero100 Jacket
Norröna – Bitihorn dri1 jacket
New Balance – Ultra Hooded Jacket

Books
Steve Chilton – It’s a hill, get over it!
Sean Kelly – Hunger
Paul Kimmage – Rough Ride
Charlie Spedding – From last to first
It’s the limit (Fanzine)

SwimRun Wetsuits
Zone3 Evolution SwimRun wetsuit

Februar 7, 2014 / Keine Kommentare

Nuthin But A Jog Thang

I think I need to line out the pending season a bit. What do I have scheduled other then this Swim and Run thingy up there in Sweden?

♣ Rome Marathon 23.03.2014 Yes. A marathon. On a street. On a cemented lane in a city. How conservative. How tedious. I’m exceedingly looking forward to struggle it out with a bunch of my best dudes on that trip to the Tiber.

♣ Hammer Trail Bornholm 03.05.2014 Yes. Meeting the noble lads up there in Denmark for some hammer trail jogging around the Island. Glad to get the chance to run this unique 50k race.

♣ Zegama Aizkorri Mendi Maratoia 25.05.2014 Yes. Again. This race deep down in the magic Basque county. If you read this blog frequently I do not have to write anything. I’m just stoked to go there again.

♣ Triathlon 78 Ingolstadt 01.06.2014 Yes. My 1st Swim-Bike-Run competition since approximately 5 years. For a reason. This will be a friendly Bromance battle with the boys. Goal is to finish fast and tick all the boxes when it comes to the oldskool equipment and body hair. Expect the unexpected.

♣ Engadin Swimrun 12.07.2014 Yes. I do miss some upper-body muscles. To look decent throughout the summer season I need to opt this swimming thing again. Fabse and I will be hitting Swiss beaches and mountain trails to get into shape for the biggie in the north.

♣ ÖTILLÖ 01.09.2014 Yes. I already wrote about this one. Nothing to add. Just pure stoke!

♣ GFNY Italia 21.09.2014 Yes. And so YES! Finally in Europe. Ultimately in Terracina, Bella Italia. This one is a must. Cannot wait to get on the infamous Gran Fondo organized by my good friend Uli!

♣ Pentland Skyline 12.10.2014 Yes. This contest is on my list for a quite a while. The hills around Edinburgh are just made for running. The “Skyline” features one of the finest routes around that area and is a picture-perfect reason to go up to Scotland for some hiking and friend visits.

I did not include the infrequent local competition. There will be more to follow. Again another season to look forward to. Some great journeys are lined up and some great goals are on the horizon and make training even more fun.

Tune of the day: Shaquille O’Neal featuring Rakeem & Methodman – No Hook

Februar 4, 2014 / Keine Kommentare

It’s a hill, get over it!

At this point Richard Askwith’s “Feet in the Clouds” must be a household name and a long representative in every good (running) book collection. But there is a new addition to your “Fell Running” segment in the book shelter – “It’s a hill, get over it!”

I received a press copy of this hardcover a few days ago and just finished it. Straight from the start of this piece I was addicted, hooked and captivated. Fell running and it’s humble exquisiteness is just thrilling. Steve Chilton, fell runner himself, comes up with a well worked out piece about a very distinct and British part of the sport of running.

The long-lasting tradition of a sport that builds his own charisma and shows people the spectacular spaces the British Isles have to offer is all covered and presented in a very direct and revealing fashion. Having raced in the feels and hills myself I can relate to so many written tails. Working Class heros were formed and World Champs where revealed. All by competing up and down the hills. If you never experienced these races yourself you will definitely get more than a notion by reading through this book.

Chilton just begins straight at the start of this sport. He covers the rich history, talks about the renowned races and presents the unique challengers and challenges that are on offer when you talk about “Fell Running”. You might have never heard of names like Sarah Rowell, Jeff Norman or Rob Jebb? This book shows you what it is all about, why this hype is lasting for so long and how many great athletes started their career in this genuine and untainted sport.

As always try to skip the depraved A-dudes and get it straight at waterstones.com

Februar 1, 2014 / Keine Kommentare

Racereport 2014-03: Baden Württembergische Crossmeisterschaften AKA County XC Champs

Some shocker of a performance. I just cannot listen to my body. Would I have listened he would have told me to stay on the sofa. Way to tired and without any power I jogged home a shocking routine. Just felt like trash. Rest up and onto the next one.

Influential, scientifical power
My mental violence will shower
Afu Ra

Tune of the day: Scred Connexion – Partis de rien

Januar 31, 2014 / 2 Kommentare

Jabra Sport Wireless+ Bluetooth Headset Review

Earphones without a cable? Well, that is certainly interesting. Bluetooth apparently is the connector between your device and the pieces in your earhole. Jabra, equal with Bluetooth expertise, designs numerous earpieces for all instances. They came up with this behind-the-ear shape piece for sport a while ago and just released an update, which I was able to exam throughout training.

Several of my runs I do with headphones, as I like to listen to podcasts or radio. On easy runs it is the best entertainment and a good time to listen to noteworthy shows and interviews. Since I run I use headphones. Usually I find it hard to find the real pair. I tried heaps and never was 100% on the fit. Currently the fit is more essential for me then the sound. Nothing is more frustrating then correcting the earphones while jogging.

A massive problem with the earpieces is the cable. Nowadays when you need to wear some layer to cover yourself against rain and the cold the movement of the cords tend to pull out the plugs. When I received the Jabra headset this was my first concern that got off the table. When I saw the pack with seven different pairs of ear gels I was pretty stoked. Fixing these things in the ears should be possible. Yet I wanted to go out without any of those additional plugs. I craved for the run and I just took the pre-installed peace. I took my time to adjust the earpieces around the ear. Stopped after some minutes to slightly rearrange and that was it. Now that I know how to put them on, they never fall out. And after a test phase of a couple of weeks they never did. No matter if I run trails or if use them on the mountain bike – Rock solid without being annoying or unpleasant.

The play button as well as the volume control can be found on the right ear bud. Once used to the buttons and the menu that is very easy to understand you will enjoy the control of your synced device pretty easy. What sounds delicate and complicated (…pressing some buttons behind your ear) is a task that can be done with light gloves and also through light headwear. To control the sync process and to change FM stations is stress-free. The rubbery material provides a good, controlled feeling and makes is an exercise-friendly headset.

Apparently these bits offer “military grade resistance” against dust and rain and whatnot. I ran them heavily throughout rain and took them through pretty soaky mountainbike spins. No problem there. The military seems to be right. The whole piece feels pretty durable and long-lasting. The mini-USB (to charge the battery) entrance is placed nicely and the cover solution is pretty well thought out. The radio antenna sits in the earpiece and provides OK coverage. Do not expect too much. Once I entered the forest it got a bit doggy sometimes.

I synced the headset with an Iphone 5, an iPad, a Samsung Galaxy S4 as well as with my car. I do not need my phone while I run but I wanted to try the microphone that is in the left earpiece. The connection to all mediums was easy and fast. Talking on the phone was good but I never tried it while running. I don’t believe in this anyway.

Lets talk sound now. Not the very best to be exact. I expected a bit more power and better sound characteristic. As everything on those headphones is high quality you also want to have a decent bass and well as a composed sound nature. In my option the excellence of the sound is not really there. It’s a bit muffled and does not have the pressure I would like to get even from such a small headphone. As you probably got from the text so far, I really do like the Jabra Sport Wireless Plus for the extremely good fit and the superb usage. The sound is a minus. Not a major one but definitely something that can be amended for the next update. If that can be sorted out these pieces are hard to beat.

Battery & Power

Talk Time: Up to 4 hours
Talk Time is the maximum time you can talk before a device runs out of power
Standby Time: Up to 120 hour(s)
Standby Time is the maximum time a device can remain powered on

Connectivity

Wireless Technology: Bluetooth
Supports Bluetooth™ for wireless connectivity
Bluetooth version: 3.0
Supports Bluetooth® version 3.0
AVRCP: Yes
You can control your music from this device when it’s streaming from another device, such as your mobile phone
Music Streaming: Yes
Device can stream music from a source, such as a Smartphone, Bluetooth enabled laptop, tablet, or MP3 player

Tune of the day: Samy Deluxe feat. Die Fantastischen Vier – Halt dich gut fest

Januar 27, 2014 / Keine Kommentare

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

Januar 23, 2014 / Keine Kommentare

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

Januar 21, 2014 / 1 Kommentar

Island to island – ÖTILLÖ

It was just too mesmerizing, too baffling and way to appealing.

What started a few years ago with viscous interchange of video clips and articles terminated in a simple and to the point merit application to Anders Malm and the Utö brothers. Since yesterday we know that we are a part of it in this years edition. Team number 35 “German Sparkle Party”!

“Take it easy, but take it.” Woody Guthrie

We extensively discussed this appreciation through training sessions and over certain beers. We both agreed that this is simply outlandish and absurd. But we eternally knew – This one is particular and highly motivating.

On the 1st of September 2014 we eventually will reach Utö MÅL. After 10 kilometers of swimming and 65 kilometers of running Fabian and I will know what it means to be part of “one of the toughest endurance races in the world” – the ÖTILLÖ

Picture: ÖTILLÖ

Januar 19, 2014 / 1 Kommentar

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