Emmersdorf to Loitzendorf

Tuesday morning. 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) uphill run from Emmersdorf to Loitzendorf. Weather: ~5 degree C. No snow but sometimes a bit windy, especially when I came out of the forests and ran along the wide open areas. Elevation gain approx. from 200m to 500m. Not bad! :-)

Running around Simmering, Vienna

Monday morning run. Ran about one hour. Distance was around 7.5 miles.

The weather was cold again, around 2 degress Celsius.

At one point I noticed that it's only 5 kilometers to Schwechat. Maybe I do that run once before I fly back to Seattle.

Es lebe der Zentralfriedhof - running in Vienna

I am now back in Austria, staying in Simmering, the 11th district. So that's where I ran as well. Did a ~5 mile run last Saturday. It's about 2 degrees Celsius, so a little bit colder that I am used to. The track of the run was actually a little different.

For those about to rock....

As I am reflecting the things that happened over the last couple of months I start to realize how important running has become to me. It's certainly a positive change in lifestyle.

I recovered pretty fast from the marathon. The day after I had no pain, besides a few sore muscles. No problems with the left knee at all. :) Still I took it pretty easy this week, my first run was on Saturday morning. 4 miles to Volunteer park and back home. Feels damn good. Weather is great. A bit cool and fresh. On Sunday I added another run a bit longer 5.25 miles.

For those about to rock, we salute you!

Distance: 9.25 miles

Reflection....

Although I have the gift to be athletic and in good shape, it wasn't until this beautiful summer in Seattle that I got that special kick out of endurance events and the desire to run a marathon.

So I started running... I ran in Seattle, around Capitol Hill, Leschi and along Lake Washington. I ran on the San Juan islands. I ran in Austria, along the Danube. I ran in Vienna around the gorgeous Schönbrunn palace and in the tiny village I grew up. I ran when it was hot and I ran when it got cold. I ran in the Seattle rain and enjoyed sunny runs with beautiful views of Mt. Rainier.

Overall I ran more then 300 miles in the last couple of months. That is about the distance from Vienna to Venice. All leading up to last Sunday's successful completion of the Seattle Marathon.

Now I can brag about it for the rest of my life! :-)

The truth is that about anybody can successfully participate in endurance events. The human body is amazing. You just need to get your mindset right. There are folks in the 50s and 60s who run marathons, I saw them on Sunday. My goal is to be one of them.