T-18 weeks: "Base 1 Recovery Week - Off to San Diego"

Dear Papa, and dear Reader,

This week was a breather in terms of training: Finally a recovery week! And the timing for it was perfect. It was so cold in D.C. that I needed to wear gloves while driving to the gym or the pool because the steering wheel would make my hands hurt otherwise. Every single one of my weekday workouts had to be inside, and you know how much I dislike that. And secondly, I left D.C. on Friday for San Diego, where I’m currently spending a long weekend with my dear friends Christina and Kara, who I traveled the world with for a year in 2017. It definitely wouldn’t have made sense to have a long run or ride on the plan for this weekend, as I want to maximize my time with them.

Me, Christina, and Kara (left to right) in Del Mar

It's so great to be here with the two of them! We've had the best time just catching up, talking about all the things, and celebrating our friendship. I can’t believe it has been 8 years since we met in Kuala Lumpur and started on that crazy journey together! I remember vividly how hesitant and worried you were when I told you that I had quit my high-paying corporate leadership job, sold most of what I owned, packed the rest into storage in Miami, and set out to travel the world for a year. I think your brain wasn’t quite following, and for a while, you really thought I was about to throw my whole life away. Just this week I talked to Steffen about that time, and he told me that when I was about halfway through that year, you had talked to him about how I worked a bit remotely on the side and how that little side gig was funding my entire trip. He said he detected some surprise and admiration in your voice. It was always hard for you to let loose, so it must have been fascinating to watch me have the absolute time of my life, while I reoriented myself, my career, and my direction.

Me, Kara, and Christina (left to right) in 2017 on the ferry back after doing the W trek in Patagonia

Christina was on a very similar journey to my own and had also just thrown her corporate life up in the air as a marketing exec in San Francisco. She was on a mission to reinvent herself during that year, and it was incredibly helpful for me to be around her, being on my own path of transition. Kara, too, was on that path with us. She was also the one to convince me to run my third marathon with her in Buenos Aires, so we did quite a few miles together all around the world in preparation for that. And she invited me into a “vegan challenge” for four weeks and helped me figure all that out, after which I never turned back. I’ve been plant-based ever since. Basically, I owe both my reconnection with endurance training and my plant-based diet to her – who knows where I would be health-wise without all these changes in my life?

Yesterday morning, I went on a run along the Embarcadero. It was in the high 40s / 8-10 degrees Celsius, and for the first time in a while, I was able to go run without gloves, beanie, and thermo-layers. I did a few threshold intervals and otherwise a light Z1 recovery pace, and it just felt glorious. During a strength session on Friday morning, I had pulled my lower back a little bit, so I was a little nervous about how much that would be holding my training back. But as always when my lower back starts complaining, I started using my NeuroMD device for thirty minutes once or twice a day, and the pain goes away! I am so glad I found this little thing a few years ago. It changed my life!

On other news, I learned that I qualified to be an “All Word Athlete” on the Ironman roster last year! That means I’m somewhere along the top 15% of all Ironman athletes in the last year and get a preferred check-in and some other little perks during my Ironman races this year, which will be nice! I’m happy and a bit surprised that I made it, because the scoring takes the total of your three highest scoring races of the year, and as I “only” did two full races and none of them were a full Ironman, I thought I might not have a chance against all the athletes who did at least three races, even if they were a lot slower than me. I’m in the last tier, the bronze one, which really doesn’t do much, but again, only having done two races, I’m quite happy I received it at all. This year will “only” be two races as well, but one of them will be a full Ironman with double the points, so that should for sure get me qualified for the year after. Hard to say where I’ll be with my motivation for triathlons after all this. Will I want a break? Will I be on fire more than ever before? Time will tell.

Quick reporting on this week (although it was, again, intended to be a slower recovery week): 2 swims with a total of 8,900 yds / 5.350m in 1:45h, 3 indoor rides with a total of 65 miles / 105km in 3:30h, and 2 runs with a total of 13 miles / 22km in 2:15h. I also did 2 strength sessions with a total of 2:00h and a hike of 5.5 miles / 9km in 1:45h.

My picture of the week of you and me is this one in our living room in Düsseldorf. I wonder what you were saying to me when Mama took this photo. I was intently looking at your lips - maybe you were even singing me something? It was so fun to go through some of the vast amounts of childhood pictures with Kara and Christina yesterday! They're right: We look so 80s, haha - it's the best! What a gift it is that you had digitized these all for us! Now we have all those memories available at a mouse click, and whenever I feel like it, I can dive back into that universe, find little hidden gems like this one, and appreciate what an amazing Papa you were to me and us!

I love and miss you so much, Papa! I talked with Christina yesterday, and she said that even after 20 years, the grief about her dad's passing is still there for her, even though different. And she said that documenting all my thoughts and feelings like this will be immensely helpful for me in coming years, when other memories start fading. Only one more reason to do this!

Have a wonderful week, Papa! Next time, I'll write from D.C. again. Back in the cold!

Much love,

Kathrin

P.S. Dear Reader, if you have comments, questions, memories, or thoughts to share, please leave a comment (and leave your name in the comment so I know who it's from). I would love to hear from you!

Go to the full list of blog posts or read more about the project Ironman for Papa