Holly Zimmermann

When I crossed the finish line in Boston, I was on cloud nine, but the primary emotion was that of relief because I could finally stop running. I was completely, physically empty. Like every other runner who’d just finished, I walked wearily forward and filtered into the mass of exhausted human beings as we wove our way farther up Boylston Street to be greeted and cared for by the B.A.A. volunteers. We first collected water and HeatSheet blankets. I was freezing by the time I’d gotten mine; it’s amazing how fast your body cools down. They were also handing out stickers to bind the front of the HeatSheets closed, but I didn’t have the energy or coordination to take it in my hand and stick it on, so I just stood there like a child and had one of the volunteers attach it for me. I wasn’t the only runner to do this, and a smile was all I could summon as thanks. Then we got our medals, a bottle of Gatorade, and a bag of food. The volunteers handing out these items were so friendly and we...

(See below for the English version) Vor kurzem, an einem eiskalten Wintertag Anfang Februar, ging ich mit Wolfgang Scholz in den Bergen über dem Zeller See in Österreich um eine kleine Laufrunde zu drehen. Wer ist Wolfgang Scholz überhaupt? Obwohl er in seiner Disziplin einer der besten Athleten der Welt ist, ist sein Name nicht sehr bekannt. Denn bis vor kurzem wurde sein Sport mehr in der Freizeit als im Wettkampf ausgeübt.  Wolfgang ist Europameister im Nordic Walking über die 10 Kilometer Distanz und Vizeweltmeister in der Halbmarathon. Mit 44 ist er nicht unbedingt in der Altersgruppe, in der man normalerweise Weltklasse-Athleten findet, und obwohl er für seine Jahre in ausgezeichnetem Kondition ist, schreibt er seinen Erfolg der richtigen Technik und nicht der körperlichen Fitness zu. Nein, ich fange nicht mit Nordic Walking an. Aber im vergangenen Sommer, als ich versuchte, die 85 Kilometer und 5000 Höhenmeter des Hochkönigman Endurance Trail, genau auf der anderen Se...

Vertical Skitour Racing (Source: International Ski Mountaineering Federation) I had a panic attack in the gondola. Just a minor one, where my heart started racing and that feeling of helplessness swept over me. With Luca (right) and Anton Palzer (Austrian ski touring king!)  The race started at 6 pm, after the slopes were free of the daytime skiers, the course could be marked, and the sun set behind the mountains welcoming darkness over the valley. This last point was the instigator for the panic. It was so dark in the gondola that I could barely see the faces of the people sitting just feet in front of me. The tall evergreens zipping by were a blur and the ground below was indiscernible. What if I get lost? What if my headlamp batteries die out? What if I can’t finish the race, have to stop, and freeze to death out here because no one can find me in this blackness?!? Crossing the Finish Luca was with me. My daughter’s 17-year-old boyfriend. He’d also n...

With the arrival of kale season it is time for a recipe with the king of the green veggies. This is currently the favorite soup of my whole family and it usually gets made a little differently each time. I have found several similar recipes on the Internet, and have taken the best ideas from them all and come up the general recipe here. You can also add whatever extra vegetables you happen to have in the fridge or substitute potatoes for the quinoa. Also, feel free to spice it up any way your taste buds desire. Fresh kale plants in my car  A brief nutritional note on kale...  it has nearly 200% of our daily requirements of Vitamins A and C, it is loaded with Omega 3- and 6-fatty acids; plus, it contains major doses of Vitamin K (684%), folate, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium. It puts spinach to shame! KALE, QUINOA & WHITE BEAN SOUP Source: The Simple Veganista Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 yellow onion, diced 2 lar...

(Click here for the English version) Das ist Leni. Sie und ich, wir sind gute Freunde. Sie macht das absolut klar, indem sie total ausflipps wenn sie mich in meinen Laufschuhen sieht. Leni ist eine 7-jährige weibliche Schokoladen-Labrador und wir laufen seit einigen Jahren regelmäßig zusammen. Heute haben wir Bergsprints gemacht. Bergauf sprinten, bergab joggen, wiederholen. Zuerst dachte sie, dass ich verrückt war, aber nach den ersten paar Mal hatte sie den Dreh raus. Angeregt durch das Piepsen meiner GPS-Uhr fingen wir an, stoppen, dann umdrehen. Am Ende hatte sie Spaß mit dem Spiel und wollte nicht aufhören. Aber Leni ist nicht mein Hund. Sie gehört zu unserem Nachbarn, was für meine Familie ein unschlagbares Deal ist. Wir passen auf sie auf, wenn ihr Familie unterwegs oder in Urlaub ist; wir müssen nicht früh aufstehen, nicht im Regen oder kalt spazieren gehen; noch müssen wir sie nicht füttern oder die Tierarztrechnungen bezahlen. Und weswegen liebt sie uns nicht weni...

Leni with my Persian cat keeping her in sight Meet Leni.  She and I are good friends. She makes that absolutely clear by totally flipping out upon seeing me in my running shoes. Leni is a 7-year-old female chocolate Labrador and we’ve been running together regularly for several years. Today we did hill sprints. Sprint up, jog down, repeat. At first, she thought I was nuts, but after the first couple of times she got the hang of it. Prompted by the beeping of my GPS watch we’d start, stop and then turn around and jog downhill. By the end she was having fun with the game and didn’t want to stop. But Leni is not my dog. She belongs to our neighbor, which is an unbeatable deal for my family. We dog-sit her when they are on outings or vacation; we don’t have to wake up early, nor go out in the rain or cold for walks; nor do we have to feed her or pay the vet bills. And she doesn’t love us any less because of that. Dogs are amazing creatures and can be trained easily wit...

Today was the big day. The anticipation had been building for three weeks. Ok, that’s not exactly true. Actually, it’s not true at all. Mmmmm....that was delicious! Since the Landkreislauf Ultra in the middle of September I’ve taken some time off. Three weeks to be exact. And I gained 5 pounds. Of course, I didn’t lie around on the couch and each chips and chocolate (ok, I give in, I did that), but there was some mountain biking with my son, a few short jogs and one easy 5k race, but essentially I did no serious training during that time. My coach recommended two weeks off. I extended it to three, not necessarily because my body needed the extra week, but my mind did. Towards the end of the season I had to force myself out the door to go running or biking. During my strength training sessions, I’d find myself taking short breaks to check my messages and flip through my music. My head was just not in it. This is not surprising, since, according to my coach, I’d done...