run tulip run

My 2023 running diary made public
to inspire you to make running
a part of your active lifestyle

My 2023 running diary made public to inspire you to make running a part of your active lifestyle

„What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when we bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen.“ — Henry David Thoreau

While I have been running daily for a while I didn’t feel the urge to run real long distances and kept it at 30 minutes for a bit over 5k. Anything more seemed too much to do. Then I moved to Valencia for 3 month and it hit me really hard – I caught the running bug.

Valencia is made for running. It’s flat, great climate, and it has El Rio – Valencia’s green lung spanning over 8 km of city park with a dedicated path for runners, and there are lot’s of them every day.

Watching the Valencia half marathon and feeling the energy was the last drop – I decided to become part of the running community, with real training and races and all that comes with it.

And above all else, Valencia is a beautiful city with kind people and so much positive energy. I want to come back with a set goal and be part of the Valencia Half Marathon in under 2 hours! Join me October 22nd, 2023 🙂

Running a Half Marathon...

By making my training plan and log public I want to inspire others, especially more mature women like me to take up running as part of an active lifestyle. It does not matter the distance or time…

To me, this is much more than running. It’s about dipping my toes outside my comfort zone because I learned that this is the place where magical moments and encounters happen.

… and it’s a great way to stay healthy, and fit and connect to like-minded people for many years to come. You can run anywhere and find runners everywhere, what you need is health, comfortable cloth, running shoes, and an open mind.

Run with me, share your experiences and maybe we can connect sometime, somewhere at a race or otherwise. Send me an email, or connect with me on Facebook or Instagram.

This It How I Started

Being all fired up, excited and a bit anxious and nervous at the same time I decided to get started with my newfound adventure to run and train for races. To be honest, I have no idea how to train for a race and for a half marathon in particular. So I googled and found out just how big this runner’s world is and how much information and stuff there is to know. Who would have thought to track the mileage of your running shoes… fascinating!

Since I wanted to get started ASAP here is what I came up with to get me going, knowing that making adjustments along the way will be a lot easier once I am at it.

I found a great article at: Runner’s World – How to start running today: a beginners guide. It provides plans for 6 different goals:

Goal 1: Get Motivated
Goal 2: Just Get Moving
Goal 3: Start Running

Goal 4: Run Non-Stop
Goal 5: Run Longer
Goal 6: Get Faster

I decided to go with Goal 5: Run Longer, a 7-week plan to get from 5k to 10k.

7-Week Plan to get from 5k to 10k

My Running Log

Week 01 | Jan 30 - Feb 12, 2023

My Numbers

Total this week: 9 Miles / 14.5 km
Total: 9 Miles / 14.5 km

Weekly Reflections

There is a lot of room for improvement to get to a 9-minute mile and then run 13 of them! The great thing is, I started, have a plan, and it’s fun running along these beautiful orange- and lemon tree orchards in Ojai, California. Will I be able to run the last 6.5 miles of my 7-week training with a 9 min per mile pace? Although the goal for these 7 weeks is just to get to 10k, I want to see now how fast I can get too….

Weekly Inspirations along the way

Week 02 | Feb 6 - 12, 2023

My Numbers

Total this week: 10 Miles / 16.1 km
Total: 19 Miles / 30.6 km

Weekly Reflections

My first interval run did not go as planned. Instead of running my regular pace after each of the 5 faster minutes, I actually ran slower than normal and therefore, had no improvement in the total time. I also started to do a lot of stretching on my running days and even more on my rest days. I realized how stiff I am and stretching should really be part of my daily routine. That will help my running and my back as well. I actually started a 30-day yoga challenge, a friend of mine introduced me to. Never done yoga before….. I started to practice it first thing out of bed. 30-day yoga challenge …it’s in German, but there are plenty of programs on youTube in English as well.

Weekly Inspirations along the way

Week 03 | Feb 13 - 19, 2023

My Numbers

Total this week: 11.5 Miles / 18.5 km
Total: 30.5 Miles / 41.9 km

Weekly Reflections

There is so much more data in my Garmin Vivioactive provides me with every run! I actually can run a mile in under 9 minutes, just not every mile…. yet! Of course, for my 4-mile run, I had to choose an extra hilly run and, since I did not run a whole circle ran more uphill than downhill! Why make it easy, hahaha. Well, I had to mention it since I got myself an average pace of over 10 min per mile. So this week I decided that my first real-time goal is to get my mile average under 9:30 min for every run. Let’s see how long that will take me….

Weekly Inspirations along the way

Week 04 | Feb 20 - 26, 2023

My Numbers

Total this week: 12.5 Miles / 20.12 km
Total: 43 Miles / 69.2 km

Weekly Reflections

I ran my first 5 miles this week! It might have been the longest I ever ran! I was not fast but it felt like I could have run longer. And somehow I know now that the 13 miles for the Half is totally doable and even soon. The time is a whole other ball game. But as they say…. one step at a time, literally and figuratively. My Garmin watch told me that I ran in the red zone most of the times for most of my runs – heart rate that is- when I try to run fast, so I decided to slow it down a bit and stay in the orange and let my heart rate grow into distance and speed.

Weekly Inspirations along the way

Week 05 | Feb 27 - Mar 05, 2023

My Numbers

Total this week: 15 Miles / 24.14 km
Total: 45.5 Miles / 72.42 km

Weekly Reflections

I increased my distance to 6 miles this week! Since I decided to keep my heartrate in zone 2 most of the time, it was a pretty slow run and I still did not succeed with staying in zone 2. I did some research on this and it seems that slowing down as much as it takes to stay in your 2 zone comfortable heartrate zone will make you faster over time.

I have to take a break for a few weeks. I will use that break to get better at the strategies of good running and especially how to eventually run fast with a low heartrate. My heartrate for now is in the orange and red zone A LOT. It’s not healthy nor sustainable and it turns out the wrong approach altogether. I definitely need a better approach.

But hey, that’s what this is all about. Get going and then learn and figure it out on the way. I will use my downtown wisely. The first few weeks were important to me to get started and hooked without trying to be perfect. And I did and wasn’t…

Weekly Inspirations along the way

Unfortunately, I have to pause for the next 4 weeks. What a pitty! I just got into such a good habit with running, muscle strength training and even a new yoga morning routine right out of bed!

And now… nothing.. I am counting the days until I can hit the road again – which will be April 3rd.

Don’t worry, I did not get injured, I am fine but still need to pause.

In the meantime I decided to sign up for my first “training” half-marathon on May 21st. It’s called the Mountain to Beach Half Marathon. I thought it would be a good idea to get one under my belt as soon as possible with the goal to finish and possibly run the whole time, no matter the time. It will be a fun one too, with the finish right at the beach next to the Pacific ocean.

I love my running routine and I look forward to continue soon. On another note, starting a 10-20 minute mini yoga practice right out of bed has been giving me a boost of energy every morning with an aligned body every single day and it helps me to focus at my work as well… and it reminds me every day just how stiff I am – but that will change over time.

It’s about exploring, challenging and expanding my mind, creativity, and life. It’s about paying attention to surroundings, opportunities, communities and the small things. It’s about my inner energy, the energy around and how both interact. It’s about stepping out of my comfort zone and growing. It’s about living the best life and finding out what that means to me. It’s about serving a bigger cause and the joy of giving back.

A CREATIVE PERSON IS MORE PRIMITIVE AND SOPHISTICATED, MORE DESTRUCTIVE AND MORE CONSTRUCTIVE, A LOT CRAZIER AND A LOT MORE REASONABLE THAN THE AVERAGE PERSON. — Viktor Frankl

COURAGE STARTS WITH SHOWING UP AND LETTING OURSELVES BE SEEN — Brené Brown

Once upon a time there was a shy & insecure girl growing up in the German countryside while holding the world record in eating strawberries, and admiring those who take risk and explore the world.

Then, somehow, that girl grew into an explorer herself and she just yet has launched some new adventures….

Once upon a time there was a shy & insecure girl growing up in the German countryside while holding the world record in eating strawberries and admiring those who take risk and explore the world.

Then, somehow that girl grew into an explorer herself and she just yet has lauched some new adventures….

A CREATIVE PERSON IS MORE PRIMITIVE AND SOPHISTICATED, MORE DESTRUCTIVE AND MORE CONSTRUCTIVE, A LOT CRAZIER AND A LOT MORE REASONABLE THAN THE AVERAGE PERSON. — Viktor Frankl

COURAGE STARTS WITH SHOWING UP AND LETTING OURSELVES BE SEEN — Brené Brown