Ich kann laufen, aber ohne Leidenschaft. I can run, but without passion. Lifetime BLT number 95, the 31st of this year. It’s a big city race with a lot of jostling, not really my thing, but even still it started well. Consistent splits for 7 miles, then I found myself in a fog, running 1.5-2 minutes slower, and just going through the motions. My glutes hurt a little, and there’s some other niggling pains, but I just found myself in a blah mood. I tried music, chatting, and scenery to no avail. I reevaluated my goal to 4:30 (which I had already fallen behind) at 30km, dug deep the last 12 km and still missed 4:30 by about 40 seconds. It’s not all about time but it’s a damn fine objective measure. Anyway, that’s over. From the Fatherland (from whence the Kramers came) to the Motherland (literally my mother’s house) next weekend. Fun fact: The official name given by the GDR (East German government) to the Berlin Wall was Antifaschistisher Schutzwall, as you may be able to tell the name implies protection from fascists which were hardly entrenched in West Germany in 1961 when the wall was constructed. In fact, the wall’s purpose was to stem the tide of East German defections to West Germany.
