Meeting Carl Lewis again in New York, Oct. 2009 (He is wearing the same T-shirt under his jacket!)
During a short visit to New York to honour the Mahasamadhi anniversary of my teacher Sri Chinmoy on Oct. 11th, I had the good fortune of meeting once again Carl Lewis (“Athlete of the Century”), who has been a supporter of and spokesman for the World Harmony Run since its inception back in 1987. Carl has launched a new project FitForever.com – the ultimate online fitness tool and community – and everyone is welcome to join!
Back to running
Running is fun again now that temperatures are beginning to drop. (I basically hadn’t run since my slow 12 hour run in Basel in May.) I love running in the crisp autum air, with brightly coloured leaves all around, and even now, in misty, slightly depressive November. But with my extra kilos now, I have become quite slow. Kastura, a friend, has given me some tips how to get faster again. Next goals: Heidelberg half marathon end of April, then 6 hour-race in Nuremberg (March) and 12 hours of Basel in May. For swimming: 12 hours, Zurich indoors, on March 1st, 2010.
Back to the Neckar
Since our English Channel relay I hadn’t been swimming at all. The indoor pool is still frightening me with its warm temperatures, but I will have to start training for speed, technique, and endurance soon. The first cold dip in the Neckar this season was on Sunday, Nov. 15 – must have been way below Channel temperature already.
Today (Nov. 17th) an article about our English Channel relay appeared in our local newspaper. Feels a bit out of place for only 3 hours 21 min. of swimming in my case, but it was a great adventure with a lot of oneness in our international team – which may be much more important than just doing great things for yourself! And if anybody gets any inspiration from it, I am very happy!
The Neckar in November
Crawl in the Neckar is reserved for Heidelberg-Man-relays (the water is not too clean)
(The article says I was the first German woman – but the truth is: just the first German woman in the annals of the Channel Swimming Association (CSA). In 1938, during the Nazi-regime, Dr. Bruna Plarre swam the Channel in the “Daily Mail International Channel Race” – not sure if it was according to current Channel swimming rules. And the first German male swimmer was Ulrich Haevecker in 1982, 4 min. slower, but breaststroke!)
“Just silence the mind.
Lo!
Cosmic energy enters
Into our entire being,
And tremendous energy
Flows in and through us.”
– Sri Chinmoy –
Hi Vasanti
Always enjoy reading your blog. Congrats. on the English Channel relay success! After a short holiday in Phuket, I am ready to tackle the swim training again – pencilled in EC solo for 2011. Third time lucky! I am enjoying retirement and have commenced Yoga again.
Hope you are well. Are you still swimming a solo in 2010? Someday our paths will cross – until then keep training. Good luck with your running.
Kind regards
Carrol Wannell
Hey Carrol! So nice to hear from you! And particularly to hear you are still going after your dream! I am sure you will do it – hopefully in less than 7 attempts, unlike one of the wise Channel men 🙂 And then you will definitely be hard to beat, agewise!
Well, I am hoping for 2010 – still have not booked a pilot, the relay cut another (smaller) financial hole in my pocket! But if it is to be it will happen – just have to get the deposit together soon, the rest will come. Tomorrow hot water training will start – indoor pool 🙁 .
All the best – and I am almost sure we will meet again, either in Dover or Varne Ridge, or else down under!
Vasanti X
(and regards to Max)