WARM WEATHER CONTINUES

Weight: 80 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 3 hours 15 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 31.6 kilometers
Time left: 20 weeks

It's really amazing how warm it still is. Late November and we are enjoying temperatures close to 20 degrees! Great for running of course, but it's getting a bit scary. I mean, which parts of the world will be flooded in fifty years time? And how much longer before we have scorpions in Belgium?

My former favorite author, Max Frisch, once asked, Are you certain you care about what happens to the world after you die? I used to be not sure about the answer. But I find that now I have a daughter (cliche alert!) I DO care. I want her world to be more liveable than mine, certainly not less.

Not that I was plagued by questions about global warming when I went training on Tuesday. I was on the Belgian coast, in the lovely town of Nieuwpoort, and as the days were taken up with meetings and the nights with social activities, the only time left for a run was in the early morning. By Jove, was it cold at 7:30! With colleague Luc, I set off against the wind over the promenade, and by the time we reached the end of it I was dead tired, though only 11 minutes had passed. Then, on the way back the wind carried me over the beach and I decided to keep going till way past our starting point. Meaning - yes indeed, you clever reader! - that I had to finish with a fair bit of distance against the wind again.

It was worth it though. Especially because I like the beach. Beaches are places where, if there's not a big crowd of people around, you can easily get overwhelmed with the force of the elements. It often makes me contemplative, and almost without exception happy. A beach is a place of awe.

Mind you, a good mountain will do that for me too.

Friday's run was in the park in front of the house. Three laps. Today was the same. I've estimated one lap to be 1.75 kilometers, but I'm acually sure it's a bit more. Maybe not quite 2, but close. Many people run in this park and the atmosphere is good. But today hurt. Had a pretty heavy football match yesterday.

Not sure how I'm going to fit in my training runs in the coming week. I have colleagues over from abroad for two days, and I'll have to be a bit of a host in the evenings. As we're staying in the Polygon conference centre, my office running circuit is not at hand. Also, Chui Hsia will be away for half the week, so I'll be doing full-time baby care outside creche hours.

The only plan that might work is to run Tuesday morning very early (before Sanna wakes up), Thursday and Friday lunch, and then a longer run on Sunday. But will I have the dedication?

MADNESS SETS IN

Weight: 80 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 1 hour 45 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 16.8 kilometers
Time left: 21 weeks

I had already heard rumours about the Rotterdam Marathon sponsoring the organisation I work for. On Monday, a colleague from Amsterdam confirmed this and indicated that in his office they's get a group of runners together. True to my character - in my mind I'm still in my early twenties and my body has unlimited potential - I said I'd be there too. Should have thought a bit before opening my mouth. But it's done and there's really no way back without losing face.

Thing is that I had already promised myself to do a marathon before turning 50, in early 2009. I do a bit of running, or I should say that I have been doing a bit of running of late, but as I'm more of a sprinter than a person who can just keep going it takes gigantic determination and stamina to even keep running for 40 minutes. So the 5 hours I'll need for 42+ kilometers is going to be hell. And I don't mean that as a figure of speech; I think the marathon is where people go who have been bad.

On Wednesday and Friday I used my lunch breaks for running a bit over 5 kilometers. The circuit is rugged, with sandy lanes going through the forest around the Chalet de Laerbeek and a kilometer of steady incline about halfway. It took me 33'12" on Wednesday and 31'55" on Friday. Today I went to the gym - it's been raining a fair bit so my outdoor tracks in the park are muddy - and did 40 minutes at 10k/h. Please come back for future postings, which will most likely be weekly, and I promise to bore you stiff with many more of such silly details.

But there should be other stuff as well. For instance, I have no clue how I am going to combine the rigorous training schedule needed for getting ready in time with a demanding job, and with my family life that includes a gorgeous baby girl. Already I don't find time to get the battery in my Polar watch changed; really need to do that as I want to keep an eye on my heart rate while training.