Five Things Running: Issue #24

I had another great week of running. How about you?

Goooood morning! This is Five Things Running, a weekly newsletter about Running where I share five articles that you hopefully find as interesting or useful as I did. I’m Nico, 51 years old, father of four, who lives with his wife, the kids, a dog and a cat in Hamburg and really likes running.

So last week I ran 80 km, which felt really great. According to my Strava fitness level, for what it’s worth, I’m now back at the level I had when I tried to run a marathon with back pain and ended up having a disc prolapse in April. So I did five nice 10 km runs around the Alster in Hamburg, which looks like a lake, but is a river. And on Sunday I ran 15km through the Alster River valley, then turned around, came back home and had done a nice 30 km long run. I also added something really crazy to my weekly training plan, which doesn’t exist, but it sounds much more like I know what I’m doing when I’m insinuating that I have a plan. Anyhow, my doctor kept telling me I should do more for my core stability, either some exercises or I should go swimming. Last week I went swimming four times and swam three times 1000m and on Sunday some relaxing 500m while my kids where on the slide of my favorite outdoor pool of my childhood. So yes, I should have listened to my doctor and done this earlier, but I’m happy I started to incorporate swimming into my training. I pretty much loath swimming. It’s boring and I even though I know how good it is for me, as I already feel better with my back, I really don’t like doing it.

Anyhow, this is my short update, which admittedly sounded a bit like old ladies discussing all their aches and pains in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. I promise that I still healthy for a while and write about other stuff. Oh, and it feels so good to be able to run 30km again. Don’t worry, I won’t overdo it, I’m way to patient for this…

🏃🏻‍♂️

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“Trust is like cement” – Eliud Kipchoge’s special relationship with Patrick Sang

The article about the relationship between Kipchoge and his coach is really insightful. I cannot imagine what it must be like to run and train at that level. So I like reading about the way Kipchoge trains and focuses on just one thing: the next race.

5 Proven Marathon Long Runs You Should Know

The long run, cornerstone of every marathon prep. I always just run, but these five different long runs seem to be a good plan to do a better, structured marathon training.

The Full-Body Stretch Routine Every Outdoor Athlete Should Be Doing

I used to just go out and run, but every once in a while I do listen to other people who know it better and now I stretch. I have to admit that I feel better. And that I should have done it earlier.

Everything you need to know about energy gels

I just had a conversation about energy gels the other day and while I think that the concept is not that hard to grasp, this article is a nice refresher. I still like GU Salted Caramel and Aerobee Honey & Salt best.

Early-morning runners more confident and more engaged in daily tasks, study finds

Ha. I knew it. That’s why I prefer early morning runs. Also, I always fear that so much other stuff would happen during the day and then I would have to skip my run. Also, seeing a city wake up is always something, especially around the Alster in Hamburg. Trust me.

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That’s all for now! I hope your Sunday runs were as awesome as mine!