Running a marathon is not easy and you should have a solid training plan. Here I am sharing my own marathon training plan that helped me to improve and optimize my marathon training. 
I started running races in 2013. Here is a complete list of my races that I have run - including detailed race reports. I am also listing the races I am planning to run in the near future. 
So, it is now over a week ago that I ran the Bear Chase 50 miler. Yes, you heard that right – I did it. I finished my very 50 mile race in 10 hours and about 36 minutes. I am so happy about it and still cannot believe it actually. The time is slower than expected, but after injuring myself 3.5 weeks before I really don’t care. I showed up and ran the best I could and that is all that matters to me.
The weather forecast for the race was great. It actually cooled down from mid-80s to mid-60s for the day of the race. However, the early morning temperatures were in the upper 30s and I was not ready for such cold temperatures really and so I wore gloves and a hat for the first hour of the race and I was glad I did. After that I slowly got rid of layers of clothing until ending up running in shorts and T-Shirt for the rest of the day. [Read more…]
I am currently nursing an injury, but there is actually a good thing about that. In Spring of this year I decided to change my training method going to use the MAF method. MAF running is running based on your heart rate and a certain target heart rate. But this is not all about it. MAF running is also getting your body to be in the fat burning zone and to tap into your body fat as energy source. Theoretically you would never have the need to refuel during a long run because with body fat you carry an endless source of energy with you – compared to glycogen/carbohydrates. Even if you are not overweight or have barely any visible body fat, you’re probably still carrying around up to 80,000 fat calories. However, most runners don’t use body fat as fuel because their bodies are not used to burn fat for various reasons. 
One and a half week out from my first 50 mile race and I am injured. It happened the Thursday before Labor Day (09/01/2016) at work and I am very frustrated to say at least. I was kneeling down to do some work on a lower level and when reaching out and leaning forward I heard a loud popping noise coming from my right hip. I got up immediately and any type of forward movement was accompanied by significant pain. Since it was afternoon that day I waited until the next morning to see a doctor. She thinks it is probably a muscle strain of some sort, but of course only a MRI would really show. However, following “normal” procedures I was sent to get X-Rays taken first and to also schedule physical therapy. Now that diagnosis does not do me much good, doesn’t it?!