Home Turf Events are Great!

Hey out there,

the home-games are done now! As I already wrote in the last post, I had two challenges right in front of my door, in my lovely hometown of Darmstadt, Germany. This is always big fun, as many friends and fellows are hanging out here and an essential part of the whole story is the sociality after the races :-) Here are the valuable reports:

Cup da Franco, the Darmstadt City Run

Everything about the history of that run itself has been written already before. I went there with a group of friends, all participating in different runs, as we have female and male - and older and younger starters here. The weather was quite good and everybody arriving to the city had just one comment: "Hell, I'd rather eat a Bratwurst now and drink a beer, instead of running up and down in the city... I really don't feel like sweating now!". Well, at least all of us agreed on that one! Then the different races began and all of us had to run up the stairs and the hill 3 times. Huh-huh, already after the first uphill section to Wilhelminenkirche, the legs were terribly in pain and the mouth was dry. But all of us took the challenge and completed the thing. I was a bit slower than last year, but no worries. I was the fastest to get some recovery drinks, as my older son Finn was standing right behind the finishing line, offering me an ice cold drink. Thanks, dude :-) That was needed. After the race, we had the chance to get a "VIP" view on the champions race - standing on the balcony of my friend and hairdersser Marcus, who's shop is just situated at (better: above) the finishing line. That was cool to see the really fast runners speeding through the city. After that a stop at a Kebap House and some sports-nutrition. Döner Kebap and Ayran. We earned that. Thanks to Ira, Adam, Steffen & Peter from Berlin. Next year again :-)

Merck Heinerman, Olympc Distance Triathlon (1.5/40/10)

The highlight of the mid season, as I am definetely NOT a Triathlete. My swimming skills are pathetic but this competition is a kind a must for every somehow sporty people from Darmstadt :-) Year by year the same dudes are signing in for that one and everybody is bitching beforehand - just to sit together right after the race and enjoy the accomplishment and some good company. Take a look at my face in the pic above. Getting up on a Sunday morning at 5:30 - THAT is sick. And EVERY year, EVERYBODY thinks the same. "Why on earth did I sign in for that shit?! I could easily lie in my bed and sleep now..." My thoughts were exactly that. Getting up was the first discipline. Then my personal horror:

The "Swimming "

I have to write that in quotation marks, as my swimming skills are quite rudimentary :-) But anyway, it's a part of the experience, so I had to tackle that. Luckily I own a wetsuit, which makes it a bit easier to survive. Yes, I have that Bob Marley song in my head "...fighting for survival...". To keep it short, yes - I did survive with a pathetic time something around 35 minutes. Huh. That was the point of time, when the whole thing REALLY started for me. Before the cycling started, I had the exchange challenge. I am not really fast in that, too. But this is fun! 

The Cycling

That was amazing. As I wrote in an earlier post, Dirk from Cucuma gave me Triathlon Time Trial Bike for this event, a Cucuma Veloz Carbon Shimano Dura Ace with really fast Bontrager wheels. What-a-rocket!!! I tested it once bfore on a 140k ride and it was really amazing, what a great bike can do. First time in my life I was in the aero position for almost all the race and it felt literally like flying. I was on the bike (without my poor exchange times) for only 1:14h or so. Not bad at all for a 41/42k course :-) The bad thing was, that many of the contestants were sucking and drafting like hell - so the "real value" of my great bike split did not pay off too much. But you know what?! I don't care, that was so great! Thanks once more to Dirk!

The Running

That was the flipside of the coin - I paid terribly for my amazing bike split. Almost only using the heaviest gear for almost all the ride, my legs were destroyed, when changing to the run. But I didn't care at all, as I enjoyed the cycling so much. Somehow I managed to complete the 10k and I reached the finishing line sub 3 hours, which is and was the target every year.

The post race activities

The event of the year. Thanks at this point to Dirk, Martin, Peter, Andi, Björn, all the SGA'lers, DUC'lers & Citybikers for the great company and hangaround time! I can't wait for next year's edition of the Heinerman, seeing all of you guys again. We were discussing lots of potential new projects... one thing sounded really cool: Dirk and me got so excited about our bike performances, that we are considering to take part in a team time trial on the bikes. Needs to be further evaluated - sounds cool! The other potential project is the participation in next year's "Bike Training Tour" of the SG Arheilgen Triathletes. Since more than 20 years they are cycling from Darmstadt/ Germany to their European Partner Cities all over Europe. In the 90s I participated in the trips to Graz/ Austria and to Szeged/ Hungary. Next year it will be Ushgorod/ Ukraine... sounds good...

Whats next?! Training, training, training.

So long,

Janne

Home-Matches 2011: Let The Games Begin!

Hey there,

relaxed times coming up - when it comes to travelling to the next challenges, at least. This week, I will face two events, taking place in my hometown, Darmstadt/ Germany. This is always big fun for me, as I am a true Darmstadt aborigine (we call ourselves "Heiner") and lots of people I know will attend the events, as Darmstadt is a very sporty city - whenever something takes place and there are some beer- and bratwurst-booths, people are coming and start cheering. A great and plausible justification to have some beers with friends :D

Stadtlauf Darmstadt - Cup da Franco (5k)

The "Cup da Franco" will take place tomorrow already. It's one of the (I dunno, mabye even THE) oldest City runs in Germany. Running fans all over Germany are calling the race also the "Mother of the City Runs" or the "Pizza Run". Pizza Run?! Yepp, when this run was invented in 1978, the guys organizing it, met in a local italian Pizza Place, called "Da Franco". The owner got the honor to become the "naming Sponsor" for the event  - Franco Zucchetto died a couple of years ago, but his name will stay connected forever with this great City-Run in "his" city. Grazie, Franco!

It's a rather short run of only 5k, but there are some specialties in this event. First of all, there is a stairway (!) in the middle of the race, which the runners have to climb up every round. In my race, we are running 3 rounds, so we have to get up there healthy and standing a few times... I think this is extraordinary and I personally don't know any city run with a stairway included to the course. But that's not all... there is also a long uphill/ downhill session, which the runners have to tackle several times. So this is far away from a flat course, no PB's to expect. It's all about the athmosphere in this race - the whole city is one big race course, it's all taking place in the pedestrian zone. Music bands, crazy people watching and cheering, good food along the course - just great. I am already looking forward to the after-race beer with the lads!

Heinerman Darmstadt - Olympic Triathlon (1.5/40/10) 

The Heinerman will take place Sunday morning in my dear hometown. In the early years of it, the name was "Heinerfest-Triathlon", in conjunction with the big Volksfest taking place in Darmstadt during the first weekend of July every year. After a short break of some years, the Heinerman was born and an absolute MUST for every multisports athlete in the region! Absolute superstars are starting and winning here since years (eg. Chris McCormack) - and hobby athletes like me enjoying the fun of a perfectly organized race. My main target will be to survive the swimming split, as every year. Then biking like hell and trying to run an ok time in the final 10k. But I have some plans with the bike this year... my dear friend Dirk from Cucuma Bikes (Dirk and me last year @ Heinerman in the picture above) promised to put a "hell-machine under my fat ass". Ok. Lets see. Tomorrow I will visit him and we will try to find a suitable machine for me... Maybe something like this in the picture below?! THAT would suit me very well *hahaha*. Just kidding. I will take whatever he has at hand... superlightweight, aerodynamic and fast. What?! I still need to ride the bike myself?! Shoot... didn't factor that in... but I am cool. My personal fuel Battery Hydro will fire me up to a top bike-split, I am pretty convinced about that.

What else?!

I am looking very much forward to these two events. As written before, the social aspect of the challenges is a big part of the experience. And, everything I do is serving one big target: Getting in shape for the Transalpine Run in September. Uh yes.

Cheers, Jan

Almost 70,000 Runners @ J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Run in Frankfurt

Hey folks,

it's mid June again - that's equivalent for one of the world's biggest running events, the  J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge 2011 in Frankfurt, Germany (5.6k run). I am participating in this extraordinary event since many years with my colleagues from Polar Germany - actually, since years it's a question of honor to be amongst the crowd in this spectacular-super-size-event. The basic idea is not being the fastest - the basic idea is to bring people from one company together, participating in a joined sports event. And - as Polar is strongly based in the sports industry and -environment, it is kind of a MUST for Polar to be at the starting line with a strong team :-)

The JPMCC brings together a diverse group of Polar co-workers every year. Members of our team come from all levels and divisions of the company: from our warehouse-team to our back-office staff; from the field sales team to administrative staff and senior managers, right up to the executive board level. During the race, everyone shares the same common goal of running and getting tired legs. It’s just great! During the past years, Polar celebrated some success stories, collecting some top 10  positions in this giant field. This year - due to some injury-dropouts - we will most probably not be able to catch a top position. But, as I wrote before already - the position is not the key here - it's the event and the emotions of this happening for all participants.

It will be the same procedure as every year: We will travel the 30k to Frankfurt all together with a bus transportation - the bus will drop us somewhere in Frankfurt, from where we will walk over to our meeting point in Grüneburg Park. Our team captain Danni and André will wait there already for us runners with a corporate tent, seats and food & beverages. Then the waiting time starts, everybody gets the bib number, gets organized and the closer we will get to 19:30, the more excited everybody will be. 70,000 (!) people will walk to the two-channeled starting line then. Imagine: When the first runners will cross the finish line, there are some guys, who will still wait for more than 45 minutes to even cross the starting line! Amazing!

The amounts of bananas and drinks is just amazing in this event. When passing the tables with all the post-race refreshments, you really get an impression, how big this thing really is. Sidenote on those tables and offerings... I am participating since years in that event and I NEVER got anything from those tables! The lineup of this offerings is just not on our route, when we are walking back to our gathering/ meeting point :-) Buit every year we pass it, when walking to the starting line. Impressing.

Well, well - then everybody is just running, walking, crawling or whatever the distance in whatever speed - and at the end, everybody is gathering at the meeting point again --> meaning Grüneburg Park in our case. There, our non-running team members will wait for us and serve us some food. And, hopefully some ice cold beer :-)  Oh, no ice cold beer :-( But there are many, many companies around, which DO have ice cold beer: Special thanks to Sigma & Software AG at this point for saving my life :D. It is traditionally very hot in Frankfurt and the thirst will make an ice cold beer necessary... After hanging out in the park, we will be shutteled back to the office and arrive in our beds around midnight then...deadtired, most probably.

My personal strategy is an ice cold Battery Hydro before the start - I am listening to my personal special coach Heidi :-) - and that will help me to avoid the cramps this time, which made me drop out the Niesen Run. Hmmm... maybe this will not be that tough, though. But anyway - I will take care that a decent portion of Hydro will keep me running . And, I will take care to get some pictures with the Hydro positioned in the right way! We will conquer the sports world together, I am absolutely convinced about that!

The picture above shows me after the run, together with my colleague Wolfgang "Wolle". He is a pretty wicked guy, taking place in some sick competitions, too. He did the Fisherman's Strongman Run several times, Ironman Competitions and now he is looking forward to the ultimate race for every weirdo: He got a slot and qualified for the "Toughguy" - they claim their race to be "the safest most dangerous event in the world", taking place somewhere in Northern England. Cool. Hmmm.....well.....sounds....interesting.....

Hey, Wolle: "All the best and kick some ass!" Ah, and - as you can see, I am showing off my "organized" beer from my buddies from Software AG :-) I earned it.

Oh, you might wonder, why I am wearing a red Polar shirt and not our racing gear with the Hydro/ Gore print - pretty simple, as this is a corporate run and only corporate teams are entiteled to enter the run. I am working for Polar, so I have to wear the Polar outfit. Which is not bad at all :D

So. That was that. I am very tired now, thi pic shows me on the bus-ride back home. Ah, there was a race, too. The time was not so good, it was too crowded in the streets of Frankfurt for any serious racing ;-) but as I mentioned before already. It's not about the competition here, it's about being part in something unbelievable big. Meet you in Frankfurt next year again!

Good night :-) Jan

Battery Hydro Trailrunners: Niesen Run Part III

Me again, I put some pics of our Niesen adventure together with some music. That was it then for this year. Next stop: Increased training efforts and some small stuff :-) I will keep you posted...

Battery Hydro Trailrunners: Niesen Run 2011 – Part II

Sometimes it just doesn't work.

Damn. And sorry for the two day delay of this report, but I had to digest my shitty performance in the 2011 Niesen Run. To make that part short: I had to go out of the race at roughly 1400m of altitude, not even reaching the middle station :-( My thighs were completely sore and cramped every single step, so I had to take the tough decision to step out. Not an easy one, but smarter than losing control somewhere, where it might have been more painful - and dangerous. Honestly: This event is a pretty tough and demanding one. Just to wrap the result part up: Martin suceeded, it took him a few more minutes than 2 hours. And we were talking about 1:30 to 1:40 finishing time...greenhorns we are! But, I said it immediately after meeting Martin again: "I am not done with that sucker (--> the Niesen stairs). I will come back next year and kick some ass."

Hotel Aeschi Park: The Place to Be - Or Maybe Not

The hotel we stayed at was called Aeschi Park in Aeschi - a cute small village 5 minutes away from the Niesen mountain. 4 Stars. Yahoo! But... nojoo, 4 stars for what?! The rooms were ok, the personnel... lets say "awkward" and the food ridiculous. And.... our room was having a beautiful view with some nice cows with the typical bees around their necks living their swiss dream, directly under our window. "So what?!" might be your reaction - well, if you want to sleep and you just figure out during the night that cows obviously NEVER sleep ("ding-dong-bladong-dong-ding-geling-....")... I did not feel to fresh and happy in the morning at 5:15 when we had to get up. Ok. I stop complaining. And it was NOT the cows, why I had to quit.

Pre-Start Activities: A Bit Different

That was cool. No sponsor show. No Bands. No light show. No super-bargain sales stands. No Super-Duper-Supervisors in yellow jackets, telling you what you have (must!) do and, even more important, what you must NOT do. No computer timing. No nothing. Just 300 weirdos, waiting for their timeslot to tackle the stairs. Impressive :-) The signing-in session, also very basic and easy. No ID cards needed, no permission from you mum, doctor or whatever organization. Say your name and take your bib-number. Cool. Ok, easy to have a relaxed procedure and surrounding in this event, as there were only 300 people. But, nevertheless...I have seen comparable events with a lot more ballyhoo and dog-and-pony show. It was really nice to witness and participate such a cool and basic event.

The Start: The OnlyWay is Up

The starting order was pre-set by the Halfmarathon times of the participants. Always three runners were let off the leach at once every 20 seconds. A few meters were something like running, then the "real climbing" started and I thin that only maybe 10% of the participants were running more than 5 minutes. From that point onwards it was a fast hike. Sounds simple... welcome to try it out yourself :-) Well, then I had my personal waterloo and had to go out of the race, as written before. Shit happens.

Martin reported, that it was really, really tough to make it up there - but respect: He did it. But I think he will join me again next year :-)

After Race: Sightseeing & Great Company

After the race, we went back to our super hotrel and took a shower - and decided to drive to Rapperswil, where the Ironman 70.3 Switzerland Triathlon takes place Sunday. As usual, there is a big show around that race. The EXACT opposite of the roots event at the Niesen Run :-) But we were only tourists, passing the breathtaking scenery of the swiss alps, passing Thuner See, Vierwaldstätter See and more. Wow. At the end of that trip we arrived in Rapperswil and hung out a bit at the show... having a talk here and there and being happy, that we do not have to make that race tomorrow :-) At the show we met Michael from x4cross, a great X-Sport project, based at Zürichsee. Michael invited us to his home, where we met his wife Simone and their great baby-girl Zoe. We had big time fun, exciting talks, great company, excellent barbecue food and I had the chance for some frustration beers :D Big thanks to Simone, Zoe and Michael for their hospitality and friendship. I am convinved, that x4cross is a great concept and you will succeed! Whenever you are in the Rhein-Main region, let me know. You are all warmly welcome!

Great Company?!

Ah, jaaaa....there was that other guy, Martin. My teammate. My psychiatrist. My nanny. My driver. My trash-bin. My chief-organizing Kruschtler. My friend :-) Thanks for that one, Martin. Looking forward to the next silly activities :-)

High Altitude Planking: Too Dangerous in my Condition

Well, that was crap. I had thoughts and motivation for anything but planking, when I had to give up the race. But Ånund...I can assure you that I will strike back :-)

Alright, friends. That was the update. Cheers, Jan

Battery Hydro Trailrunners: Niesen Run 2011 – Part I

Grüezi Everyone from Switzerland!

Tomorrow will be the big day, when my teammate Martin and me will tackle the ultimate challenge: The ”Niesen Run”, an epic run up the longest stairway of the world (according to the Guiness Book of Records). The stairway is running the length of the Niesen Funicular (a kind of railroad) with 11.674 steps. I am not sure, if I will count and double check that in tomorrow’s run… It will be our first competition as Battery Hydro Trailrunners - cool :-)

We were driving down south to Switzerland already today, as the start of the run will be pretty early tomorrow. Martin will start at exactly 7:58:40 and I will follow 1 minute later at 7:59:40. The starting line-up will be one-by-one with a 20 second gap between each contestant.

The Stairway, the Mountain, the Place

After checking in to our fancy hotel in Aeschi, we took a ride down to the valley station of the Niesenbahn in Mülenen (elevation 693m). And the first thought was “Huh-huh…I am not so sure if this was a clever idea to participate here…”, also Martin looked a bit scared. But we managed other challenges already :-)

The Fact and Number Sheet:

Funicular built 1906-1910

Valley Station Mülenen altitude 693m

Middle station Schwandegg altitude 1669m

Terminus Niesen Kulm altitude 2336m

Summit with viewing platform atitude 2362

Technical specs/ 1^st section/ 2^nd section

Length of installation/ 2118m/ 1388m

Gradient/ max. 66% /max. 68%

What Else?!

Nothing much. We will prepare our stuff and make sure that we have enough drinks and food. We are planning to finish that thing tomorrow between 1:30h-1:40h… Let’s see. If we do so, we will be done (oh yes, good expression!) before 10 am. This is pretty cool, because we can hang out on top of the mountain then and enjoy the view. If the weather will be good… actually it doesn’t look too promising. Last year – they told us – there was snowfall on top of the Niesen. Whatever. We are here and we will do it :-)

Planking Switzerland!

Oh, almost forgot. As I am having that neat competition with Ånund from Norway, I have to deliver a great plank after tomorrow’s competition from the top of the Niesen. So I told Martin immediately after entering Switzerland, that I have to test the Swiss environment for an initial plank here… an easy one. Name of the position: “Light Swiss Highway Rock Planking.” Be assured that I will deliver radical stuff tomorrow!

Aloha, Janne & Martin

New Extreme Sports Sensation: Planking

Hey folks, you are tired of doing the same stuff every day?! Need a new challenge?! Facing the death and showing no fear?! Welcome to the new extreme sports sensation, the scary world of Planking! What's that?! I will steal the major part of that explanation from the Planking Facebook page - that you understand the facts. "'Planking" or 'The Lying Down Game' is the latest extreme sport to go viral, just watch out for the 'Jackass Effect' that psychologists are warning you... The picture above shows me doing my Planking Debut. Name of the figure: "Office Planking". Not too spectacular, but very dangerous :o) Thanks to Tepe for the arty photographical work in this magic moment.

The rules

One can't just go around lying down willy nilly, There are a few rules that need to be followed. When performing a Plank:

1. You must lay face down or on your back, ensuring your face remains expressionless for the duration of the Plank.

2. Your legs must remain straight, and together with toes pointed.
3. Your arms must be placed by your side, held straight and fingers pointed.
4. Your safety should always be considered. Properly thought through Planking procedures should always go to plan. Never put your self at undue risk, unless you are a seasoned Planker.
5. First Aid should never be far away. Ice, Bandaids, Cast Plaster, needle and thread, emotional support and a quick escape route need to be on hand.
6. Every Plank that is captured.

How did I get infected by Planking?!

Funny story: I saw that a couple of times in Facebook and yesterday Ånund, a Battery friend and -fan from Norway posted some of his latest Planking sessions. With the appropriate namings, of course. Check it out:

Pole Planking, Trippel Planking, Basket Planking, Stair Planking and another Pole Planking.  

I thought "Cool, that's something different..." and decided to enter the world of Extreme Planking, too. This weekend, I will run a Half Marathon (just for exercising) and dedicate a major part of the weekend for some Planking activities.

What else?!

Yes, the Half Marathon in Oulu, Finland. I am not in the best possible condition and thought about cancelling the whole thing. But I am here in Oulu and I have nothing better to do, so I will do it :-) I will try to achieve a very modest Sub 2h time together with my workmate & friend Kimmo. Let's see how this will work out. I feel a bit weak, as I am already under the weight-loss program for the Niesen Run in two weeks. No idea, how much weight I lost already, as my magic Tanita scale is living in Germany. Monday morning will be the judgement day for that project. I had a spectacular 94.1kg on there a few weeks ago... should definetely be below 90kg now. The numbers don't lie, I will see.

Ach so, the Half Marathon in Oulu. I participated in the full Marathon in the past two years already and it is quite a cool event. Completely different from those events I am normally participating... very basic, I would call it a "No-Frills-Event". Nobody is making any fuzz about anything, people just get there, run and go home. The "sponsor show" is less spectacular than any charity fleemarket in an old people's home - BUT: It really has a great charme! I love it. I will take some pictures there and put them in a Picasa Web-Album, if you are interested, HOW basic an event can be :-) And, once again - "basic" doesn't implement any negative opinion, I really like that event and the people who are voluntarily organizing it!

So. Enough for today. Let me finish with a REALLY nerdy quote: "May the force be with you!"

Janne