Challenge Accepted!

Post-marathon recovery, Berlin edition:
A lot of walking. A bit of jogging. Some swimming hall tourism. Let’s call it active recovery. My legs, however, would prefer the term post-traumatic shuffle syndrome.

Back home, the Easter holidays offered a golden window to cautiously rebuild some volume. Commuting miles were logged. Luzisteig climbs were sampled. My CTL graph started behaving like a polite alpine slope—steep enough to be proud of, shallow enough not to panic. Everything was trending… decently.

The Vorder Höhi Südrampe Struggle

1st of May. Public holiday. Sunshine. Hope. And then: The Südrampe von Weesen.

10.8 km | 1111 Hm | 10.3% average – with spicy segments tipping well over 25%. Honestly, it’s less “road” and more “vertical suggestion.”

My SWISSMAN supporter joined me, which helped both mentally and logistically. I, being a genius, decided the early May sunshine meant no need for extra clothes. Rookie mistake. The mountain, of course, disagreed.

Two-thirds into the climb, my head felt like it was boiling inside a pressure cooker. Removing the aero shell from my UVEX Aero Surge helmet offered relief—but not redemption. The climb was relentless. But so was the support (and the shared suffering). We made it. Barely.

Red = Regret

Training Load Jenga

After surviving that, I had to rebalance the training scales. A couple of swims, a short test jog to try out new shoes – and promptly rediscovered that my right ankle has… opinions.

Diagnosis: overpronation.
Cause: probably those torn ligaments from a decade ago.
Solution: Apparently none, as both Salomon and Adidas shoes put me in nearly the same biomechanics blender. On the bright side: consistency!

The Risk-Balanced Weekend

Saturday’s longish bike sequence was a Zone 2 experiment – climb without spiking the heart rate. Destination: somewhere near Arosa. Result: passable. My Suunto kept gently accusing me of going too hard, so I promised to back off. Mostly.

It’s tempting to push more, especially with decent weather and a string of days off. But I promised myself to listen more – to metrics, to fatigue, to that tiny inner voice whispering: “Hey genius, this isn’t sustainable.”

Gear Experiments and Existential Doubts

I caved and got the Suunto Race, finally giving me access to HRV tracking. Great! Except that it needs two full weeks of baseline data to be meaningful, and… tick tock. Not the best timing for SWISSMAN prep, but we’ll see.

Still chasing the perfect swim goggles – not too dark (because 5am is pitch black), but still sun-tolerant. Last year, my tinted pair made me feel like I was swimming blindfolded in a glacier lake. 10/10 would not recommend.

I’m also still debating my bike gearing setup. Currently running an 11–32 cassette, which keeps the gear jumps manageable. The 11–34 has better bailout options, but feels like pedaling through a gearbox full of potholes.

As for tire pressure testing for La Tremola… I have plans. I just don’t have time. Or maybe budget. Or both. But hey, dreaming is free.

The Vibe Check

CTL and training metrics look decent. But I’m feeling… off. A bit flat. Maybe lingering marathon fatigue. Maybe the tail end of a mild bug. Maybe just the weight of adaptation. Or maybe the sheer logistics of training, eating, sleeping, commuting, gear testing, and trying not to break something important.

Still:
The big goals are coming.
The clock is ticking.
And I’m still – mostly – enjoying the ride.

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Next up: “Bike to Work” begins. The weather forecast says cold and wet. The training plan says ride anyway. My immune system says …we’ll talk.

Let’s see how this balancing act plays out.