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Archive for October, 2009
Half an M: Week III.
Oct 29th
Since I haven’t been able to do my big run the last few days, I did it today. And it was different. It was running on memory lane, if you’ll excuse the lame play of words. I ran from Amersfoort, through Hoogland West to Baarn and back. I ran past old home-to-school-bike-routes, I saw familiar, now older faces, I ran past the houses of old play friends. I ran past the spot where a girl I knew from my old best friends’ neighborhood got killed crossing a road no one should, wanting to buy candy at a gas station. Somehow, I ran past her mother within the next kilometer. I saw the sister of an old classmate. I smelled cow shit and I liked it. I stepped in it too, didn’t like that. I always forget the beauty of the Dutch skies (when it’s not completely cloudy), but running through these flat fields, with a low sun and amazing skies, shamelessly cut into pieces by airplane pollution, I was clearly reminded. I ran where I used to go rollerblading, many times with my father on his bike following me. I saw the bar where we stopped once for a coke. I saw the garden store where we sometimes bought our Christmas tree. A scary thought hit me after 8km, when I was half way, what if my ankle stops now? 8km from home, without a car in sight? But it didn’t. 16km! A new record! I can’t say in what times, since I don’t have the software of my running stickythingy on my new computer (hophop). Maybe I’m writing in a bit of a mess, but I just wanted to write this down, how it felt running through old times. And the fact that I ran 16km!
Half an M: Week III
Oct 25th
The greatest run so far was the 10k race with my brother. It still is, but today came close. I missed my first run of the week two days ago, I had a very uneventful 3k yesterday, and today I had 10k to go. I started off as usual, but on a sunny Sunday I prefer to not run around the lake, since it is too busy there. So I took a turn into a new road. One that I have been watching and not daring for almost a year now. A road called Via Per Brunate. Road to Brunate. This is a little town on top of a mountain that we can see from our place here, pretty high up, and since we’ve been up there with the car, I remembered the road up: hairpin after hairpin after hairpin up up up. My calves were burning, my lungs were exploding, my body was just hurting everywhere, but I wanted to make it at least 5k up before returning. You have to understand, when you run up like that, the worst part isn’t going up, it’s making a hairpin and seeing it’s going to go upper from there. The views were stunning, seeing the lake, the towns, seeing as far as the Swiss Alps. But I could only enjoy these views on the way down, since the way up, I was really busy trying not to puke. I am sure the colors in my face would have made the rainbow envious, and that I was pulling faces that in one picture could’ve ended my career but I made it to Brunate! The way down is a punishment for the knees though. But what a run, what a run. Now, there is not enough ice in the world.
Half an M.
Oct 21st
This thing here somehow links to my NikePlus times etc, not sure how it works but it looks cool.
Half an M: Week II
Oct 20th
Today was the big one of the week, the furthest distance I’ve ever done, and I’ve done it twice before: 14km. All I know is that it’s a long run, and it’s the farthest I can go without water and something to snack. I got so incredibly HUNGRY after 9km! My theory at that point was that the quicker I’d get home, the sooner I could eat. And yes, I am and was aware of how stupid that was. But somehow it worked, the hunger went away, and I had a good run. Tough part around here is that the first 1,5km and therefore the last 1,5km I run is very hilly. Especially on the way back it goes up in two parts in a way you just don’t want to do after 12,5km. I could change the route I take, but somehow it’s become a bit of a tradition to squeeze out the last bit of energy before the end. Just wanted to share that, since I always feel rather bad-ass for doing that 
Summary of the week:
- 8km: 41,00min
- 3km: 14,53min
- 10km: 53,22min
- 14km: 1h10,58
- Total: 35km in 3h00,13
half an M: Week II
Oct 19th
A little piece advice: don’t have a very late night, and then run 10km. Besides that, feeling good! Now a day of rest, then 14km the day after tomorrow.
Half an M: Week II
Oct 16th
8km today, it was nice, and it was cold. First time since April or something that I ran with a sweater on, and I needed it too. In a way, this is great training, since this half marathon will be on the 31st of December in Holland, I’m sure it won’t be bikini-time then either.
Half an M: 13km.
Oct 13th
I was slightly worried about it, especially since my last two runs, shorter than this one, weren’t very spectacular. But today, all went well. Week one of twelve is finished! I know it’s nothing yet, but it’s at least a start. Today, in perfect conditions, it was beautiful. Running next to Lake Como, looking at the mountains, watching the waterplanes take off and land, trying to figure out what was clearer, the water or the sky, it could be a lot worse. Going to ice my legs a bit now though, just in case. So here is week one:
- 5km: 26,15min
- 8,5km: 47,06min
- 10km: 51,49min
- 13km: 1h07,35
- Total: 36,5km in 3h12,45
Vrooom!
Half an M: 10km
Oct 12th
That post is actually already two days old, but it took me a while to post it. Yesterday I ran another 10km, and I have tired, tired legs. I must be getting old, which is strange, since I was young not even a month ago. It must have been because two days ago, we went to get wood for the fireplace (it’s getting that time of the year again, I can’t wait!) and then I went running up and down to our apartment with buckets full of wood. Maybe that was a bit much. But you need to do something for the lumberjack feeling. Tomorrow another run.
Half an M.
Oct 12th
Ever since my laptop went frup (the definition ‘laptop crash’ Â would imply an impressive noise and/or sound effect, and since my laptop just went to bed and decided to not wake up, I will only dignify it with frup), I’ve been kicking myself in the head for not backupping (verb?) more stuff from my laptop. It also contained a diary of sorts I’ve been keeping. But the nice thing is that now I can start another one. I have been running. A lot. I’d say for a bit more than a year now, sometimes taking a break because my ankle is disagreeing with me, but when I can, I have been running. Two weeks ago my big brother and I had a fun 10km race through the center of Utrecht, and now he starting to loosely plan for half a marathon on the 31st of December, and I will loosely plan along with him. The training for it started yesterday, with an 8km run, which normally should not be a problem. Yet yesterday, I was struggling. My legs had cement in them, my breathing was off, I had steek (English translation anyone?), my knees were hurting, my ankle was unhappy, and just to keep me feeling like a stinky bag of potatoes, two flies entered my eyeballs, one in each. The ironic thing is that I have been trying to live so healthily here, and this is what I get. I am trying not to draw any seemingly logical conclusions to let myself return to unhealthy habits… There! The diary has begun. Twelve weeks. 500km of training to run 21,1km. Sounds a bit exaggerated, no? Another 8km today.
