off season 2017

Shadows become longer and last competitions are done here in CE. after "time trial" to BCN, well, there had not been so many corns left to be fired, few corns, which had been blown in the mountains (alps). 

The article added is about freeletics in the vertical. For encryption use smart-phone application, please. 

! Happy training and see you soon !

From Nuremberg (Germany) to Barcelona (Spain) – 1800k or 14 days with flip-flops only

Dear readers, like frequently mentioned on this blog IRONMAN became lifestyle, posing and exaggeration of personality. It is not that those “iron-clowns” are idiots, more it is money-business they follow.

So for many years already I hoped to do something else as a hobby or as a semi-pro. The idea to go cycle to Barcelona with flip-flops has the origin in my fiancées family live there. Flip-Flops are the shoes on the Philippines. So I simply put it together and started with an old trekking-bike bought by my dad in the late of the Eighties.

For the route I used airplane-navigation mode (on sight). So I followed the Franconian lakes to the river of Danube, followed Danube to its source to go South from there until to the river of Rhine. Then I followed the Rhine till Basel, where I swam through the city and had an alcoholfree beer at the Suisse military base there after. From Switzerland I headed the French and not the Swiss Jura. French Jura is farer in kilometers but less in maximum altitudes. Following the river of Ain I by-passed Lyon in the East in order to south again at the river of Rhone, surrounded Montpellier in the North to break through to the French coast at Lespingon. From there I headed the Pyreenes having had the Mistral as a companion.

All the trip the weather was good but subtropical and sometimes tropical heat in degrees of temperature in the Mediteranean. Finally I arrived at Costa Brava for the final kilometers at tourist area, easy pace to Barcelona, where me I myself was welcomed very warmly. Thank you for this this way on here and friends also.

arrival in Barcelona (central)

here, this is the tours data:

M 31^st  of July: 131k / 7:14 hrs

T   1^st  of August: 148k / 7:53 hrs

W  2^nd: 133k / 7:31 hrs

T  3^rd : 137k / 6:51 hrs

F  4^th : 48k / 2:48 hrs (half day off / swam through Basel)

S  5^th : 128k / 7:02 hrs

S  6^th : 134k / 6:55 hrs

half-time at the region of Lyon, sum 1^st week:  859 k

M 7^th : 115k / 5:44 hrs

T  8^th : 61k / 2:55 hrs (half-day off  / struggled with thunderstorm)

W  9^th : 134k / 6:02 hrs

T  10^th: 124k / 6:10 hrs

F  11^th : 150k / 8:02 hrs

S  12^th: 127k / 6:31 hrs

S  13^th: 147k / 7:44 hrs

M 14^th : 81k / 4:04 hrs

sum: 1798k

All the navigation has not been done by any electronical devices. I asked soldiers, policemen, locals, travellers, tourists or let's simply say just people for routing. My map was not that much detailed, so in some areas compass (a compass with a needle made out of iron...) was useful to switch to. The loadings on the bike had been 20 kilogramm. The route was hilly mostly and flat areas had been very seldom. I slept in the open nature, four times at a camping-place. Meals were prepared by a simple cooker, sometimes I joined the good kitchens of Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain. Best kitchen in my humble opinion is the Philippinian...- like I had in Barcelona.

If you are wanted to be given an adivce, well, just do. All you need are three things: food, shelter and fuel… - and beer! 

Now back here in Germany paperwork is waiting to be done and also preparation for the marathon in Frankfurt on the Main late in October. My leg's muscle is ok now, so proper training should work again.

Challenge Roth 2017

This year yeah again Roth was host for the world to be in Roth. Also in 2017 the world biggest event in triathlon was celebrated at 9th of Juli. There had been athletes from 97 countries and also jetset-people stepped in for to party together with 250000+ spectators on the swim-start, the courses especially solary hill, where 30000 people gathered, and also in Roth central, where the marathon had been executed. A big event, and like every year the fireworks had been started when the last finisher crossed the finish-line in the stadium after the magical of 226k. 
What about local heros? What about top-professionals? Well, there are so many stories to be mentioned that actually even pictures are not sufficient to get fetch impressions. The only way, I am afraid, is to come to Roth next year 2018, when the world 36 best triathletes on ironman-distance also join-in.

swim-start. for more pictures match Challenge Roth...

This year I was invited by Don Indi (CEO at hardtseemafia.de) for be an active athlete in one of his relay teams. My job was to start at 8:50 AM and go make result along the 3,86k in the water. Surprisingly our biker could not start, and even more surprisingly we got an a-amateur to do the most long time trial 180,2k. He was supposed to be even more fast. So also for runner Alex, who needed to run the full marathon-distance 42,2k there was a little pressure on us as sub9 and top-ten result seems within range.

Rather nervous I got on Saturday. Biker Flo made it to the peek and checked in his bike some very few minutes before bike check-in closing time. Sure, we had been there on time and Flo needed to adjust his Scott Plasma, an oldie but goody, to perfection. So after our equipment was all in position by the help of relay-manager Pat, and mission briefing again done by Alex, we, our team, we all went home to sleep well.

The next day was perfect, but humid. Cloudy, otherwise it would be a hard race. Surprisingly when me, I myself Micho, went to the start, biker Flo wasnt within transition-zone 1. However, not irritated, i started clocking 1:32 min/sec the first k, took out speed a little and accelerated again the last 1,5k, before I sprinted to Flo, who was waiting in full aero-jacket to take off my transponder-chip and motivated to cause surprise!!! After a 1hrs 4min swim-split, Flo managed a bike-ride of 4 hrs 14min and even now, according to my systems, it was the fasted bike-ride done on Sunday. As you can see here:

We made it! sub9! The four of us! relay-manager Pat, swimmer Micho, biker Flo and runner Alex.

As you can see it was not much time left. Flo and me had been allowed to escort Alex the final 400m onto the red-carpet. After a hard and hilly marathon we pushed him to full-sprint to make result reality. Unfortunately there are no good pictures and livestream available. If, sure, it`ll be edited. It was a great finish. Alex in the middle, followed by Flo carrying the supporters back-pack to his right and me to his left in flip-flops holding the national flag of Thailand in order to greet Jürgen Zäck, former Roth champion and friend of Don Indi and thus Hardtseemafia, who married and lives in Thailand/Phuket. A good adress for late season action and training-camp.

Later the athletes gathered for food in a big tent and celebration together. Happily we can say good bye to Roth and see you again next year. Thank you to all the 7000 helpers who made 4500 active athlets go rocking, thank you to Don Indi this way also, thank you to all the spectators, regards to my team-mates from Franconian-Club, who did party also, thank you very much to all the nice people there, an international audience of the triathlon's best people, fans, friends, family, who bring our sports to its peek one time a year. 

*more stories and pictures might follow