Start of the Training Plan

Yesterday I began the ten-week training plan for the Berlin Half Marathon on 28th March with a 9.5 KM trott along the Landwehr Canal. Despite the icy conditions and occasional flurries of snow, I enjoyed it. It was not possible however to stay within the 70% of my HFmax (maximum heart frequency) which the plan demanded. To run so slowly is hardly possible, so I kept to around 80%. Even at this pace I would take considerably longer to complete a half marathon than I did last year. I'm going to give the plan the benefit of the doubt and trust in the cumulative effect of the training.

On Sunday I led the first event in the new premises of the Buddhist Gate Berlin in Kreuzberg, when around 35 members of the Berlin Sangha celebrated the first ground-breaking ceremony (Erster Spatenstich in German). We dedicated the event to the Buddha Ratnasambhava. The event lasted three hours and included a dedication ceremony, walking meditation, mantra-chanting, as well as chanting the Ratana Sutta. The ceremony concluded with a seven fold puja and finally we had hot chocolate and cake in a coffee shop nearby.

The start of the year

I spent a very pleasant few days with Claudia in her weekend cottage in Luckenwalde over the new year period. Berlin can be a wild place at this time of year and we prefered to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside to the constant din of fireworks spread over several days that Berlin usually offers.

This year we had heaps of snow. I went for a run through the woods on January 1st in six inches of snow, which was very hard work, comparable Iin my opinion to running over sand dunes. The following day we had another six inches of snow and I haven't been running since. Even Berlin, to which I returned yesterday, is covered by a considerable coating of snow and ice. Tomorrow I'm off to Dhanakosa in Scotland for a meeting of European Buddhist centre Chairs. We'll see if the weather is any better there. When I return in a week's time, training for the Berlin half marathon on March 28th begins in earnest.

New Year Approaching

The end of the year always feels like the appropriate time to take stock and reflect a little on the past, and maybe also to think about changes to introduce in the future. 2010 marks my tenth anniversary of having moved to Berlin as a result of an intuitive decision I made on waking up a few days after my ordination into the Western Buddhist Order in Guhyaloka in Spain in 1997. I was 40 and it really feels like my life began then. Because I had never been to Germany before, and being of a naturally somewhat sceptical nature, I visited the city a few times before following my intuition and actually starting a new life in a new country.

I have never regretted that decision. Although there have been periods where life has not been particularly easy, I have never seriously wanted to leave Berlin. Indeed, within a couple of years of my arrival, it was clear to me that Berlin would probably be my home for the rest of my life, however long that may be.

Registration

I arrived home rather late this evening at midnight after a very pleasant end of year dinner with some of my English students, and having already decided to check on line whether registration for next year's Berlin marathon had opened, I was delighted to discover an e-mail inviting me to do just that. So now I have paid the 60,00 € fee and am registered. Immediately afterwards I registered for the Berlin Big 25 in May, which finishes in the Olympic stadium. I had hoped to participate in this year's run, but less than 24 hours before the start I became ill.

The Order Forum

Yesterday evening I arrived home after a long weekend at Vimaladhatu in Sauerland. The event was the annual Central European Order Forum, a mix of retreat and convention, and was attended by around 30 members of the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) living in Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Poland and Russia. Very harmonious and inspiring, the event gives us all a chance to catch up and appreciate each others' endeavours. Being set among wooded hills, the weekend gave me a chance to do some hill-training, something I'm not at all used to, since Berlin is very flat.

On Monday I stayed in Essen and spent the day with Jnanacandra, the Chair of the Essen Buddhist Centre, discussing issues of common interest.

A Weekend in Luckenwalde

When time allows I often spend weekends with Claudia in her weekend cottage on the edge of Luckenwalde, a small town just a half hour train journey south of Berlin. This weekend we pruned a couple of fruit trees that had clearly grown too large, enjoyable and challenging work, which undoubtedly helped build up my arm muscles. It is remarkable how much wood accumulates from a few hours pruning. I totally enjoy working in the garden, something I have done on and off for many years.

On Friday I introduced some Fartlek into my training, which means occasionally increasing my pace for short periods, followed by a period of recovery. Today I ran 12.7 KM at a gentle pace.

How it all began

I used to run as a child. My dad has been a runner as long as I've known him. Even now at 75 he runs 10KM faster than I can. Until I was 11 or 12 years old I used to run with him sometimes. I was a child member of Blackheath Harriers running club, occasionally even running in club events, including the 100 x 1 mile relay in 1969 to commemorate the club's centenary. In September 1967 when I was 10 years old, during a family caravaning holiday in Scotland, dad ran in a race up and down Ben Nevis. This photograph shows me running around the caravan site in Fort William. Around 1970 I stopped running. As a teenager it was no longer cool!