My Journey

Arrival in Texas

I noticed something interesting. In 90% of cases I turn to this diary when things are NOT going well. So I guess it is a good sign that it has been a long time since I opened it?

I’ve met wonderful new people in the middle of nowhere and I’m grateful for that.

The training routine is working well. More mileage than before, but it feels good. Not like I’m wearing down — more like I’m improving.

I want to tackle my weaknesses more. Part of that is higher-volume sessions. But I’ve identified many areas:

  • Nutrition: I cook for myself now and totally avoid seedoils, processed food or any of that bullshit.

  • Sleep: Massive progress. I track it with this little band. It has a high priority as it helps mental clarity, recovery and just everything.

I’ve already been at two cross-country tracks — didn’t race myself but did a track session. Feels like Mario Cart in reallife to run on that grasstrack.

Uni is uni — in the nowadays age of information (internet, ai) a long overdue system, but part of the game here.

My first and only cross race was nice.

Unfortunately since then I’ve been feeling a certain sluggishness and fatigue in training and everyday life.

Of course I still sometimes have the question: is the goal of getting a faster 800m runner worth that much? As long as I am not prioritizing something else, yes.

I’ve flown home for winter break and I’m writing to this diary again. Soaking in the familiar surroundings. The fresh green. The moist air. The Black Forest. It’s always something special to come home. The more I am away from home the more I appreciate it.

I successfully finished the semester. Athletically though, I felt the second half wasn’t ideal. I often didn’t recover properly, didn’t get quality sleep, and could only barely keep up in some sessions under high effort.

I got sick after we had a week off, so it took a good three weeks until I’m back again, full of energy and motivation to push forward.

I recently discovered Yoga. I randomly started it for crosstraining but fell in love with it as it connects just so many good elements like strength, flexibility, breathework and meditation. I want to incorporate it more into my week.

Now it’s time to prepare for the Spring Semester. I want to be fit. I’m looking forward to the people. To the competitions. To the training and to paint a new painting of strength every day.