There are way more ideas of what to write here than you could expect from my rare posts but often I don´t post it because it´s half finished or more often I decide that I think it´s too much writing for nothing interesting.. either way I hope this is of some interest.
I really do like training but maybe lately I got a bit too comfortable. It doesn´t mean that I don´t push hard in trainings, it´s more that I forgot a bit about the fact that you need to run races at some point not just to know where you currently are placed but also to some day win them. My mind I guess didn´t move out of winter training mode and into season racing mode.
It´s not the sole or main reason why I didn´t participate at EOC and didn´t even apply for the nomination process. At the time when I had to make a decision everything around EOC did not seem 100% certain in regards to the virus but also the travel restrictions/complications, etc.. and because of all that uncertainty to make a clear decision I decided against it.
Beyond that I actually didn´t feel ready yet, of course EOC was still some weeks away but I wasn´t sure or confident (enough) how well I could run there. It´s simply that I don´t want to start at a race where I don´t think I will even get an “okay” placement – it would feel like starting a race just to finish which can be an acceptable attitude but isn´t for me in elite sports.
So with EOC out of the picture the focus was laying on training till WOC which was soon after I made my decision crossed by a stupid fall in a sprint training (ironic) – apparently it´s not just about being able to run well on flats and hills but also managing the transition in between them. Although I had some problems with my right hip longer than anticipated, it seems to be all fine now. Still it took some mental work also to not think (too much) that my chances for a good shape till July are lost.
I got asked what´s different about living and training in Latvia compared to Germany, so here we go:
Besides the sometimes still Soviet-Union look (not just in Latvia), it´s not really densely populated giving space for lots of fields but also forests with small lakes plus lots of berries and mushrooms to find. I really do enjoy the ‘loneliness’ you can find in the forests but even in or directly at the edges of Riga you have plenty of outdoor space which is just great. Training wise it mostly depends on your way of training which for me is quite running based but there are lots of maps around and usually also organized trainings. I guess my training hasn´t therefore changed too much although finding some longer parts of climb is a bit tricky in Riga. Further am I a huge fan of the summers in the north, I think it´s one of the coolest things to have so much daylight between May and September.
I think it´s also a good thing that I like potatoes and buckwheat, although I am still hesitant on the amount of sour-cream to add.
Maybe a short comparison but I don´t want to just make a long list of funny or strange differences…I am happy to talk more about it in person some day though.
Looking forward to less sleep
I don´t know exactly why but I manage to sleep better and shorter in training camps, of course it could be because of the bigger training load but I usually manage to be awake early while still going late to bed which gives me some useful and most often quiet time. I just have to think about a summer training camp in 2015 in Sweden where I was usually 1h earlier awake than everybody else and was just enjoying reading by myself outside in the sun.
So soon it´s actually time for a training camp again and it will be for obvious reasons in Czech Republic. Almost two weeks of trainings and also few test/selection races – I really hope my shape will meet my own expectations – and also finally seeing lots of friends again. Of course it will be different in times of an pandemic but I think we still will manage some fun trash talk and have some great trainings together!
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