February has been a fabulous month with some tough training in it… I have a quite pragmatic approach to my commitments. Some like to call it stubbornness, I prefer to call it determination. Now that I found my ultra distance coach, I feel much more compelled to train according to plan, rather than running only when the feeling is right. Looking at how the month… Read more →
The day I started running my only thoughts were on getting outside and exercising, one step after the other. I had no plans to do it often and no ambition of becoming a runner. The goal was just to get the body moving and the heart pumping. In those days my professional life took most of my time. Regardless of being abroad… Read more →
I’ve been following The Squirrel’s Hour and the Monsanto Running Team for quite a while now, in hopes that one of my visits to Lisbon would cross such communities. Being passionate about trail running, it only made sense to meet those that title themselves as mad for trail running. These folks run every day at Monsanto Forest Park, the green heart of Lisbon, between 6… Read more →
A recovery run is something I commonly go for after a challenging workout. The wording comes from the idea of giving the body a low intensity exercise that allows the muscles to recover, get rid of any soreness and get the right amount of effort in your body to naturally refuel it in a healthy manner. I do most of my… Read more →
The running community around me keeps positively growing 😀 Colleagues at work join our lunch break runs more often, colleagues become friends, more friends join runs on weekdays or weekends, small family members start joining a few sessions… the numbers just keep growing. I ask myself the question what is it about? Is it really about the numbers? Is it about… Read more →
Summer holidays are around! This is a fantastic time of the year where I seek to enjoy family and friends, spend some time doing absolutely nothing (or whatever comes to mind in the spur of the moment) and ultimately… relax. Pleasure comes from the most simple things in life. The Algarve still feels like home. My family is there, my longest friends… Read more →
Two weeks ago I decided to surprise my older son by asking him if he’d like to join me for a run. We had a few times in the past where I’d run and he’d cycle along. Following my recent adventure on Ultra Trail Lamer Winkel (“König vom Bayerwald”) with a long distance on the trail, I had decided to have a… Read more →
There are occasions in life where I feel my family is inevitably the core of my soul, the constant guiding light which influenced so many paths taken through my life all the way to who I am today. A couple of weeks ago I travelled to Portugal to be close to my parents in a moment where that just made sense. While… Read more →
We all have busy lives, both at work or at home. We live to fulfil the expectations our professional life demands from us and seek to have all time we can get for our family, for our friends and for us. Together we have a plethora of different schedules which influence the time of the day we can do the… Read more →
The alarm clock went off at 5:30 AM…. on a Sunday…. My brain awakes as in any other day, numb, craving for bed after a bad night’s sleep. I get up and start the usual routine, like a week day, until I realise that there won’t be any work today. Gear is waiting for me in the living room and a… Read more →