12 months of running and audiobooks - Documenting my progress in 2023

I have so many books on my reading list, yet I barely manage to read more than 20 pages per week. That's why I decided to give audiobooks a try and combine it with running.

This year, I want to "read" 12 (audio) books in 12 months while running. I want to document my running journey and keep track of the books in this article.

I also want to significantly increase my running distance this year. In 2022 I ran 159 km (99 miles).

The goal for 2023 is: Run 1000 km (621,4 miles) and listen to 12 audiobooks.

This means, on average I have to run 83,4 km per month (52 miles). Since I'm just beginning to increase the training again, I will take it slow in the first couple of months, but I hope to have multiple >100km months later this year.

Progress:

• January: 75 km | Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
• February: 58,4 km | All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• March: 76 km | Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
• April: 72,9 km | Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Running: 75 km (46,6 miles)

Getting back into running. After one year of very inconsistent running, I managed to do consistent training with 3-4 runs per week. Mostly 5 km and the longest one was 10 km. The average pace was 6:25 min/km (10:20 min/mile).

(4km were not tracked in the app).

Book (finished): Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.

Review: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Fascinating story of Nike’s history and profoundly inspiring.

Running: 58,4 km (36,3 miles)

Funny enough, the average tempo is the exact same as in January. Unfortunately, I am currently slightly sick so I could not reach the goal of 80 km. Hopefully, in March I can catch up 💪 .

Book (finished): All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Review: 4,5/5: I really liked it. For my taste, there could have been a bit more tension building, and I could not fully concentrate and appreciate the beautiful language when listening to the audiobook during my runs. But overall it was a fantastic book.

Running: 76 km (47,2 miles)

Pretty solid month. I increased the average pace slightly to 6:19 min/km (10:10 min/mile). The next step I want to do is to increase the long runs.

Book (finished): Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Review: 3/5: I liked the idea, but it was never really gripping and got a bit stupid in the end. Overall it was a solid thriller, though.

Running: 72,9 km (45,3 miles)

My average pace decreased. The reason was that I spent the month in Thailand and it was extremely hot🔥. Still happy with the results:

Book (finished): Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Review: 4.5/5: The story is about a robot with outstanding observational qualities (almost AGI) who befriends and observes the humans around it. It's a very quiet novel that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator. Great read!

To be continued...

If you have book recommendations, let me know on Twitter under this tweet.🙏