u/First-Toe-9115

Hey everyone,

Looking for some scheduling advice for my peak training block. I am targeting my first trail marathon on July 4th (42km, +2,600m / -2,600m) and probably I am overexcited and overplanning. I am thinking of a peak training run to hit around 35km with 2,200m of vert to get approx. 6 hours of time-on-feet.

I’m currently dealing with a scheduling and risk-management dilemma for my upcoming weekends:

Current State: Today is the end of May. I am coming off a lighter, low-mileage "step-back" week.
The Weather Factor: Next weekend's weather forecast looks great so I am torn between two options for timing this 6-hour peak effort:

Option A: Peak effort Next Weekend / 4 Weeks Out

Pros: I am fresh right now to absorb a big effort. The weather forecast is stable. If something goes wrong with the weather, I still have a buffer week to try again.
Cons: Is 4 weeks out too early for a peak run?

Option B: Peak effort The Weekend After Next / 3 Weeks Out)
When: June 13-14
Pros: Follows the classic 3-week ultra/trail taper window perfectly.
Cons: I risk a total alpine weather collapse. I also won't be as fresh going into it if I run a standard long run next weekend, increasing the risk of flaring up my patella knee pain right before the taper.

My Questions:

1. Is Option A too early for my peak effort? Will I de-train?
2. If I go with Option A, what should I do the week after? How much load should I go with?
3. Any other recommendation? I guess two long efforts on both weekends will be a massive stress.

tl;dr: I want some feedback on the idea of using IBKR margin loans for RE investments

Coming from a Eurozone country and having lived 10+ years in Switzerland, I am considering buying some RE in my home country for investment purposes.

Majority of my assets lies in highly diversified, low-cost ETFs with IBKR. I also keep some cash as an emergency cushion and because at times I feel uneasy having everything into ETFs.

I am considering investing into real estate in my home country, but since I don't want to withdraw my ETFs I was considering margin loans. I am very new to this so I am looking for feedback on whether this makes any sense and is reasonable.

* I would be borrowing conservatively against my maximum borrowing capability (e.g., up to 30% of my asset allocation) to make sure I avoid any margin call from the broker if the market crashes.
* In the worst case, I could still use some of the emergency fund to offset a margin call if need be.
* I would borrow in CHF to take advantage of the low Swiss interest rates and invest in EUR. This would give an advantage due to the low interest rates, but has some currency risk if the EUR would collapse against the CHF. Alternately, I could borrow in EUR but at the cost of significantly higher rates.
* As far as I understand, I pay back only interest and not the principal. This would allow me to continue borrowing in the future if my portfolio grows from my salary in-payments.
* As long as the rental yield (minus tax, maintenance, etc...) stays above the interest rate, this should be a reasonable move. Also, I continue compounding and earning dividends, which likely cover the interest rate of the margin loan.

What am I missing? Any red flags in implementing this with margin loans from IBKR?