Two New Posts About Blood, Four New Books About Modern Life

Moinsen, everyone! 👋

I hope the recent pre-Christmas weeks have been good to you. In all of the end of year stresses, the days are melting together and time seems to be running faster. Maybe you can make room for a little breather here and there. I, for one, am excited because one of my favorite times of the year is coming up, and it’s not Christmas (no disrespect to any of my family though 😄), but it’s the days right after. Right between all the festivities and the beginning of the next year. 

I love those days. They are quiet. Everyone seems pensive, most people in my country don’t work but stay home in the cozy surroundings of their loved ones and it seems like it’s a collective meditation retreat that lasts about a week. I also found it to be very productive days, if you chose to use them that way. With half the company’s I worked at gone off to a holiday there were very few distractions, meaning I could really get some stuff done.

It’s different these days because during 2023 I have sold my web company and will spend these mentioned days in the sun with my family as opposed to working. That’s very lucky and I’m looking forward to it as much as I would have to spending those days either at home or doing work without many distractions. It’s a good time, no matter the circumstances. 

So what has been new since the last newsletter? First, two new blog posts!

🌡️ I’ve Donated Blood for the First Time Ever and Reviewed the Core Body Temperature Monitor.

Donating blood had been on my bucket list for a while and it wasn’t a question of finding the time, no, I admit it was because I was a bit scared of it. Not great with needles. Whenever a blood sample had to be drawn from me, I closed my eyes and needed to chill for a few minutes afterwards. But, in spirit of personal growth I decided to face my fears and do something good for the community at the same time. I wrote everything down in the hopes of inspiring some of you who have or haven’t donated blood before to sign up for a donation session, too. Here’s the post:

For the second new post, we’re also on the topic of blood, but a bit more indirectly. You might remember my post about the COROS PACE3 GPS watch I published this year. The folks at COROS had seen it, liked it, and sent me more devices to test and write about. Then, the similarly named company called CORE offered to send their product as a testing loaner unit to me as well. Fun! I knew about the device before, so I was interested in seeing the real-life application myself. The result is this following review:

📚 Book Goal of 2024: ✅ Check!

Next up, on November 18 I’ve reached my goal of reading 24 books in 2023. 🥳 This has been a lot of fun. Again, so many great books found their way into my hands and I’m really glad I’ve set this goal because otherwise I would’ve have not been exposed to so many interesting ideas. For me, setting a goal like this helps me achieve what I really want by also making it fun and turning into a little game. 

You would think that after 24 books I would have settled down and were glad it was over – but it’s quite the contrary. I have already finished reading two more books and am almost finished with a 27th book. Reading is great. Here are my most recent bookshelf additions:

It’s been another mind-blowing book which has made it into my Top 3 of 2023.

Next, I finished the newly published race report book “Runhundred” by Chris Zehetleitner (My Review). It’s about his experience at the Western States Endurance Run, the 100-mile foot race in California which is one of my main goals to reach in the world of running.

And there’s the classic “Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (My Review), a highly entertaining book about weird correlations in the world of economics and human behavior. 

🏃 The Running Side of Things

My blog is mainly about running, so I saved this part for last. Three little bits of news there:

1. I managed to tick off my goal of running 4,000 kilometers in 2023 (My Stats Page) a couple weeks ago. 🎉
2. After New York City Marathon and my win at Sülldorfer Feldmark Marathon, I’ve done two more marathon length runs, although not at official races. There aren’t many available and running on my own in winter is nice, too. This brings my 2023 total to 19 marathon length runs. I aim planning to do one more for an even 20, but I won’t reach my goal of 24 anymore. It’s fine, I’ve learned something. Reflections are coming up in my Plans for 2024 post at the end of the year.
3. A new bucket list goal I have copied from Chris Zehetleitner has been added: Running 1,000 meters in under 3:00 minutes. I haven’t tried yet but I’m very curious if I can do that and what sort of training it will take.

Some more news include that my race plan for 2024 has become more concrete. I have put them on the front page of the website, in case you’d like to find out you’re going to one of them as well and would like to get in contact. 

📝 What Else Is Happening

Apart from my annual ritual of the mentioned “Plans for 2024, Review of 2023” blog post, I have one more post planned for this year, and it’s about my morning routine of 2023. I’ve long wanted to share it for posterity because I think it’s interesting to read about other people’s routines, too. If you’re a curious person like I am, you can look forward to that! 

And that’s it for this year’s last newsletter – see you in 2024! Have a great end of the year and enjoy those quiet days as much as possible. 

All the best to you,
– Teesche