Tag: sports

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in germany just life

races, before and after

i might have mentioned this once or twice or thrice before… the boy runs. he runs a lot, and he runs fast, often doing pretty well in competitions. me? i stay on the sidewalks by the finish line and cheer for everyone that goes by, clapping for the kids, the old people, the fast ones and slow ones, the ladies, the skaters, the guys running in suit & tie… pretty much everyone, until my fingers hurt or the boy arrives – at which point my clapping is all for him :)

i also take the opportunity to steal away his phone and take photos with it! we have a little project going on, documenting the races with before-and-after photos… here are the results so far.

asics 10:

barcelona’s half-marathon:

tierpark lauf:

berlin half-marathon:

airport run (which was cold and wet and miserable):

curiously, after every single race the boy gets this bulging vein on his head that looks suspiciously like something out of harry potter…

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just life

he runs, i bike

i cannot, for the life of me, run. i’ve tried, motivated by the boy’s good performances and general encouragement, but it just isn’t for me… after the first few hundred meters, i get tired and start feeling miserable, regretting ever putting the sneakers on. i never got runners high, and the only place i feel at ease exercising is underwater :)

so, we have a sort of deal: he runs, i bike. he usually runs for 10km, in about an hour – which feels strenuous to me, even though i’m the one sitting… but following him across parks and through garden communities, discovering a different bit of the city every time, it also gives me a sort of serenity, and time to catch up on podcasts and itunes lectures, which i quite like. all in all, a good compromise, i’d say! :)

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in germany

roller derby!

yesterday we saw the berlin bombshells playing in a roller derby match – our first ever! i wasn’t sure i would like it, since sport events can be rather dull to watch, but i ended up having a blast! the game is fast, and the girls are so fierce!

it took me a while to grasp the idea, but by the end i was already appreciating their tactics and cunning moves. to me, it’s certainly more enjoyable to see than football or other sports played in big fields, which often have boring stretches of time when nothing happens. roller derby on the other hand has a bit of everything: action, lots of speed, cool pseudonyms, spectacular falls and girls roller skating in colorful uniforms! :D
and since “watching a sport event live” was another item on the list, it’s now 23% done! :)

Categories
just life

the boy who ran

last year, the boy decided he would pick up running again. he set a goal of 500km for the year, which he completed, and also ran the 30km path of remembrance (above) around ljubljana for his birthday. this year he decided to up the ante and run a total of 1000km plus real races, like he used to do in high school. he ran the 10km race on the brand new brandenburg airport (now late on its opening), and two weeks after that, he ran the half-marathon from the olympia stadium, finishing it in 42th place (out of 600 participants).

he’s still quite good at it, and i’m bursting at the seams with pride. :)

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in slovenia

world cup ski jumping in planica

almost a year ago, in march 2010 we went to planica, in the kranjska gora mountains, to see something we had only ever seen on tv: ski jumping!

according to wikipedia, it’s even called ski flying since the ramp line is at 185 meters (normal ramps are at 80-100m and large ones at 120-130m).

in a nutshell, it was amazing!! i don’t think pictures can really convey how huge the ramp is, but anyway, i tried! you can click the images for bigger versions, and i’ve added some arrows to help locate the jumpers :)
someone jumping......jumping......jumping......and done!

planica is known for having the perfect conditions for really long ski jumps: the current world record was set here in 2005 by bjørn-einar romøren from norway, an incredible 239m! unfortunately, it is also known for making jumpers walk stairs almost all the way to the top – thought i’ve read on several sites that the government has plans to modernise the place by 2013.

we were there on the qualifiers for last years world cup, and despite the cold, the atmosphere was really vibrant! lots of flag waving, songs shouted around according to the jumper’s nationality, and just general enthusiasm in each jump! another day well spent :)
crowd @ planicacrowd @ planica