We used to joke that if you were too slow for the Olympic triathlon, you’d end up doing the Ironman distance — that was 25 years ago. Today, it can’t be too long or too extreme: “Ultra” has long been a trend — not exactly telegenic, but very Instagrammable.
For me, I draw the line where sleep becomes necessary. Or rather, where “staying awake” improves my performance. I’m no longer interested in that kind of grueling effort — I can do it without the stress and a race number, but not in a race against the clock. And that’s exactly where the first edition of the “Into the World” ultra took place. Cycling around Vorarlberg on a gravel bike — 310 km and 8,000 meters of elevation gain — was the draw.
My goal was to complete the course in 16 – 17 hours — and, for once, not just to design and teach fueling strategies, but to put them into practice myself. Proper carb-loading over the last 48 hours before the start and a consistently high intake of carbohydrates from sports drinks and gels along the way.
In the end, it couldn’t have gone any better. My form, the experience, the adventure, and my performance were all spectacular — I won the event in 16h 28min (net) and 17h 09′ including downtime (biobreaks, refilling water, marveling at the sunset over Lake Constance). Or to put it this way: actions, not just words; execution, not just dry theory.
Photo Credit © Martin Vogel
