It's been over two weeks, but I've had too much freelance work and Martha's not in school yet -- on Aug. 1, I did my second 10k, the Berlin City Nacht.

I did my first 10k two years ago with Sabine and, to be fair, those were an important two years both experience- and miles-wise. I was more prepared this time and, at 54:32, pared about 5:30 off my previous run. Still, I missed my goal of a clean 54 minutes.

A couple weeks ago I got a heart rate monitor (more on this some other time) and from watching it during runs I figured if I kept my heart rate around 170 I'd be able to come in at 54 minutes or under.

But there were problems.

I didn't know that the City Nacht is Germany's biggest 10k. I got as near to the finish line as I could 20 minutes before the race started and, once the race started, it took me four minutes to even cross the starting line. Then I had to weed through everyone that was slower than me (the announcer said 7,000 were at the start). This wasn't easy.

Also, although I could see my heart rate fine, I couldn't see the other information on my watch. I usually wear my glasses when I run but I don't like to and figured I could do without the distraction during the race. And, since I'm near-sighted and near-sighted people need more light, the darkness during the race didn't help. Early on I thought I was doing great (when I couldn't have been because of having to battle the slow and unwashed running masses) and didn't push when maybe I should have. Still, though, the graph of my heart rate progresses steadily through the race to finish at 188, which is perfect.

I enjoyed the run (and got the T-Shirt, which in Germany is Funktionskleidung or functional clothing = Adidas running shirt). I came in at 423 of 626 in my age class and 2,727 of 5,559 runners overall (the results stop at 1:30 so I'm sure there were more than that).

Notes to self: Get to starts earlier. Wear glasses (or contacts, though they just seem too expensive and only sort of work).

Here's what I did to my knees in July:

Recently after a long run I found myself sitting at the dining room table with Martha. Having chats is one of the benefits of kids getting older (alongside other advantages such as them being house trained or their being able to fetch a quick beer from the fridge (wine corks remain an as-yet insurmountable challenge, however)).

"So, you run every day now, huh?" she wondered.

"Almost. Is that ok?"

"Well, it's better if you don't run now (in the evening). It's better if you run before we get up or after we go to bed otherwise we don't get to see you so much."

Sure, honey, you can have that pony.

But she had a valid point, not just for her but for my running in general. If I don't get out the door before the day starts, the chances of me running at all that day drops 50%. Life starts to happen and suddenly I'm pushing my run to the next day or the next day or the next day.

Take last week, where I'm pretty sure I battled a slight cold that was compounded by, well, life. I only got out there twice for a miserable total of seven miles. Part of it was my selfish wife who demanded she get to hit the road on Sunday, her only day off.

Imagine!

As a morning Muffel (German for grouch), I used to get nervous realizing that running blogs all had one thing in common – early mornings. But it also gave me an idea since I was also coming to terms with the early morning reality of Martha starting school – she has to catch the bus at seven. In my mind, I’m doing these early morning runs now to prepare for September when I’ll have to be up early anyway.

And Tuesday, frustrated by my performance last week, I jetted out of the house at seven and stopped by the track at Jahn Sportpark. Who was there? A friend who had just dropped his kid off for the bus to Martha’s Nelson Mandela school.

Maybe I’ll be able to combine chats with Martha and early morning runs. Synergies, you know.

What I did to my knees in June (day, miles, time):



If you don't feel like doing the math, that's 63 miles. After running three times a week in May, I stepped it up to four times a week in June. I think that's the magic number for improvement. There was just one exception despite a weekend trip to North Carolina and a six-day respite on the Emerald Isle (which is indeed a very green place). The exception came the week I got back from all that travel -- I got weak one afternoon and opted to stay in the beer garden with bratwurst rather than run.

Although I added a run a week, my training plan only added one mile a week. But I still seem to have run 13 miles more in June than May. I'm guessing this is a calendar issue, not a math issue since Excel does all the calculations. I'm trying to listen to the advice of others about running. Everyone says to add no more than 10%, or about a mile, a week. So I'm not.

I've also begun doing intervals (the blue days -- yellow are distance). There's a good article here from the New York Times on why intervals are important -- and suck.

My goal is to keep increasing the weekly mileage and then fold in a training plan for a half marathon beginning in August. I won't have the miles to match the plan I want so I figure I'll just gradually merge the two. And then finish the season in November with a half -- either here, in Hamburg, or, for shits and giggles, in Mönchen Gladbach, the city nearest to the village where I spent a year as an exchange student.

Now I'm off to do four miles in this summer heat. Below is what my knees went through in May.