(No More Maybe) Marathon Man

2012-02-12T06:02:00.001-08:00

Last big training

Two weeks to go till Barcelona. Just ran most of 20k (my legs hurt so much that I needed to walk for a couple of minutes after 1h46). Not bad, considering I did not load any carbs and it's still too cold to breathe easily. Tapering time now: just little trainings to allow my body to build up reserves. Time also to pay a little more attention to what I eat and drink.

Good music helps big time. My current top 5 running songs:
1. Mira Como Viene - Jarabe de Palo
2. Hi-a-Ma (Pata Pata) - Milk & Sugar ft. Myriam Makeba
3. The Russians are Coming - Val Bennet
4. Cherie Coco - Magic System ft. Soprano
5. Peter Gunn Theme - West End Orchestra & Singers

All of them are instant energy boosts. Better than muesli bars.

2011-12-07T00:36:00.000-08:00

Bounce

I'm pretty certain I used that headline before. Training well, hitting a wall, struggling back seems to be the rhythm of my running.

After the thyroid episode, I am now back at training without falling too much behind my schedule for preparing for Barcelona. Last week Sunday I did 80 minutes along Lake Geneva. This Sunday it was 90 minutes closer to home. I will push for 100 minutes this weekend, particularly since there's no football match on Saturday.

The other bit of news is that Runner's World is interested in publishing Sebas' story, from coming to stay with us five years ago to running the half marathon in Catalunya in February. That will be great, and he certainly deserves that kind of recognition.

Which reminds me: I should check how HIS training is going.

2011-10-20T00:43:00.001-07:00

Big set-back

It started with a sore neck on Monday. By tuesday, the pain had extended to my jaw and left ear, my lower neck was swollen and swallowing became a bit difficult. So I went to see my GP. Acute infection of the thyroid gland, he said. I have only seen this three or four times before. I was less enthusiastic than he was, particularly when my blood pressure proved very high (17 over 10). The doctor took two vials of blood and told me to stay at home for the rest of the week.

Can I still do sports, I asked. Nothing serious, he said. Maybe a one-kilometer walk in the mornings. A 1k walk??? Since when does that count as sports? Have I turned 95 or something without noticing?

I know this particular GP has a thing against exercise; he is more the soft yoga type. I'll obey him until the weekend, but I'm determined to go for a one-hour jog on Sunday. (Well, let's see what his colleague says when I see her on Friday night.)

2011-10-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Consolidate

I did all I planned. Short run on Tuesday, longer on Wednesday, another one on Thursday night, football match yesterday. Today, an easy 50 minutes. Did not lose weight this week. Score: 84.

I have updated my iPod playlist. Best addition: Milk & Honey's version of Myriam Makeba's "Pata pata".

2011-10-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

A brilliant week for running

On Tuesday, along the shores of Lake Geneva, I already did 50 minutes, today's goal. In the course of the week I added another 110 minutes of gentle training. Today, I returned to my old 11k loop and completed it in 65 minutes straight. I am well ahead of my schedule now.

The week's score stands at 96, probably the best I will have (yes, I lost another kilo).

The coming two weeks are for stabilising at this level, with end-of-week targets of 50 and 60 minutes respectively.

2011-10-02T08:43:00.001-07:00

Good stuff (week 2: 94)

Made my target, did all trainings, lost a kilo, felt good... I'm awarding myself with a score that will be hard to beat.

Much travel coming up this week, so no football but extra running along the lakes in Geneva and Luzern.

2011-09-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Done

35 Minutes over lunch. No music as I forgot to bring my iPod. Still fighting off the remainder of the bug that floored me yesterday. 20+ Degrees, so quite warm.

Observation: When my breathing rhythm accelerates from 3 in 3 out, it goes to 2 in 3 out. I need to correct that to 3 in 2 out.

2011-09-26T04:57:00.000-07:00

Week 1: 92

I'm going to score my weekly progress. 50 points for reaching my end-of-week target, 10 for losing weight, 4 for each bout of exercise (running or football) with a weekly maximum of 20, another 20 max for how easy it felt. Over the past week, I made the target, lost 1k, did five trainings (including a football match), and awarded myself 12 out of 20 for ease of running (that needs to improve).

All in all a good week.

Coming up: 35 minutes at lunchtime tomorrow, football practice on Wednesday night, 35 minutes at lunch on Friday, football match on Saturday, 40 minutes on Sunday. I'm not traveling, so it may be doable.

2011-09-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

Four steps forward, one step back

Between now and late February, I will measure my progress by how long I can run comfortably by the end of each week (mostly on Sundays). Each week I increase my target with ten minutes, starting with thirty minutes this week (done that twice already), but after each four weeks of cumulation I go ten minutes back instead of forward. With that rhythm, I will be doing 150 minutes (25 kilometers) two weeks before the Barcelona race, giving me the little bit of extra capacity I will need for finishing comfortably (and preferably in under two hours).

The ideal training week includes three runs, of which one increasingly long, one foorball practice session and one football match. In reality, I will drop bits almost every week to accomodate family life and work commitments.

But at least the spirit is back, thanks to my wonderful nephew Sebastiaan.

2011-09-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

New inspiration

On Sunday, I met nephew Sebas at my mother's place. Of course we spoke about running; he's been pretty active in training over recent weeks. Half jokingly I challenged him to sign up for a half marathon early in the year. Barcelona came to mind, and a little browsing on the iPhone told me the race is scheduled for 26 February. One day later, Sebas texted me to say he registered!

I have signed up too. And to kick off he new training regime I need, I ran half an hour along Lake Geneva on Monday night. There was a light drizzle and a bit of sunshine, resulting in the most gorgeous double rainbow I have ever seen. Running suddenly became a lot easier.

2011-08-12T23:08:00.001-07:00

Bad bad bad

Running things are not good. Not good at all. For about a month now, I don't succeed in running for more than 20 or 30 minutes. So I did not benefit from the holidays, in terms of extra training, and I had to forsake some nice races that were in my calendar.

The focus is now on the Brussels half marathon, on 2 October. Lots of work to be done for that one...

2011-05-30T01:21:00.000-07:00

Another Brussels 20k done

The race, as expected, was hard. I cruised for 10k at 6min/km, then collapsed, finishing in over 2h7m. It was rather hot, much warmer than was expected. High numbers of runners needed medical care; I saw two on heart monitors, many more lying down in the shadow with Red Cross staff tending to them.

But this year's edition was the best, at least for me, when it came to after-race care. Larry, one of CH's colleagues, has a great apartment with two balconies overlooking the finish area. I got to shower there and then was treated to good Belgian beers, nice BBQ food, and even champagne! CH was there, Sanna, Ellie, Soo... Quite a number of my favorite people.

It made up for a bad race. Next up, in terms of biggies, is the Zaventem half marathon very close to home, in mid-August. I have some serious training to do through summer.

2011-05-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hard

Last week's 12k in Kortenberg was disastrous. Okay, it was hot and I started way too ambitious. But still, having to walk after 3.5k already and giving up altogether at the halfway point was pretty hard to take.

Yesterday's race in Veltem then was much better. I chose against the half marathon and for the 12k. With a schedule of 5:25 minutes per kilometer I was doing well; only in the last km I couldn't keep going.

So now I need three weeks of intense distance running, and one slow week, to prepare me for the Brussels 20k. The goal: finish in under two hours.

2011-04-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

Gearing up (a bit)

Yesterday's 11k training was good in that I controlled my pace and ended with a negative split.

Typing a sentence like this makes me feel I'm a running-version of a geek, but as I'm the only reader of my blog that does not matter even a tiny bit. Just as long as I still understand this lingo in ten years.

I'm not doing well yet on my goal for the year. The plan was to run at least three half marathons (including the Brussels 20k) in under two hours. Each, I mean. I'm at zero so far. My first big shot at it will be said 20k in, what is it, five weeks? Much distance training will be required.

Travel has not been helpful, or better: the full work schedules while I travel. I had a chance to get used to running in the heat in Dubai, but only did one lame half hour of sprints and tempo runs. I had a chance for altitude training in Addis Ababa, but again only time to put in one half hour of start and stop jogging.

Dedication is what I need, folks. Dedication. Can I take inspiration from Luc, who did his first marathon in 3:30 in Antwerp last week?

2011-04-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

Slack

I tend to have these bouts of demotivation for running after finishing big races. And so, after the double of Paris and Tervuren, I have been sitting on my bum and not put any significant effort in.

With the big one, the Brussels 20k, only eight weeks away, that needs to change. And as there is some travel planned over the coming weeks with reduced training opportunities, I have to make the most of my time in Brussels.

So I'm sitting at the computer, all dressed up, big mug of coffee downed, leverworst sandwich (with a slight touch of ketchup, yum!) eaten. Only socks to put on, belt with iPod, shoes, and I'll be ready to go.

Get up, stand up!

2011-03-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

Lots of speed, not enough endurance

I finished the Tervuren 16k, a hilly run in the forest, in just under 1:30 (my target was 1:32). Average per kilometer is 5:38, against 5:57 during the Paris half marathon two weeks ago. So that's a major jump.

It could have been even majorer. After 10k I was at 52:15. That speed would have taken me to a time of about 1:23:30. But I could not keep going. A steep climb, followed by a steeper climb, killed my pace and after 11k I had to walk bits.

So what do I learn from this? That I am not back yet to the shape I was in three years ago, in my marathon year. That I need to train for mileage, before looking at speed again. And that I started too optimistically, maybe.

But then, the weather was great (my first short-sleeves run of the season!), the forest was magnificent, the roads and paths, mostly unpaved, were grand, and the crowd was superb (race volunteers, runners and spectators). I should be forgiven for getting carried away - before dropping like a brick.

Next up: the 12k in Kortenberg on Easter Monday. Aim: under one hour.

2011-03-13T01:18:00.000-08:00

Warming up

It's not so cold any more. This morning I only wore two shirts, one long-sleeved and one short, and was not shivering for a moment.

Ran my 11k circuit in 1:01:12. That's 5:34 per kilometer. It indicates that I am getting closer to the shape I was in in 2007/2008.

But my calf keeps hurting. That's a bit of a concern. No football then today (had been hoping to play a game in the park during the St Patrick's Day celebrations). At least I can indulge in a Guinness or two then.

And my weight has come down firmly now to 80 kilos. Would like it to drop further to around 75. Without dieting, ideally...

2011-03-07T11:32:00.000-08:00

2:05:33

Not bad at all. Great weather, fantastic organisation, nice route.

I started with a slow kilometer (6:40), as I had to dive into the bushes to take a leak. After that, for a long time my k's were 5:40 and occasionally 5:30. My calf hurt a bit, but I managed to ignore it. At 5k: 29:26 (half a minute too slow). At 10k: 57:16 (three-quarters of a minute under my target). At 15k: 1:25:57 (two minutes faster than foreseen). When I passed the 16k point in under 1:32, I was doing an average that would have brought me very close to two hours flat at the finish.

But then it hit. First, the pain. My calf decided that this was enough and that I had to stop now. From here on, almost every step hurt. Then, the fatigue. I could hardly breathe and all my muscles went on strike. So I struggled on for another five kilometers, bits of walking alternated with slow jogs.

Yet, I finished well inside my target time (2:08) and have reason to be happy. It was the first race since August. No trace any more of the hernia. I can build on this.

Next up, in two weeks, a 16k run in nearby Tervuren. Almost entirely through the forest and very hilly. A good one for testing my strength.

2011-03-04T23:24:00.000-08:00

This is it

I have not run one single step since Sunday. The sharp pain in my left calf was less sharp by Monday and gone by Thursday, but I did not want to risk bringing it back with an innocent training run.

What must have caused it is the increased mobility in my ankle. My osteopath had been manipulating it with great success. But this meant that during my very hilly run the calf muscle got stretched significantly further than it had been in years. Not surprisingly, the pain hit when I started the steepest descent of my training course.

So we'll have to see what tomorrow brings.

My body already felt completely charged this morning when I woke up, ready to go for it. But it needs carbs; tonight I'll find myself a good Italian place in Paris and stock up.

For the race itself, assuming my calfs holds, I expect to be cruising for the first 11 kilometers (up to the first passage of the Bastille) at a speed of 5:40 to 6:00 per minute. After that, along the Seine, I'll hit the first wall but the carb intake should get me through that. Then, at 16 kilometers it will get hard, as I have not been training any further. Also, the last bit has the steepest climbs. By then, my kilometer times will have gone up to 6:30 or 6:40. But back in the Bois de Vincennes, at around k19, I'll know I'm almost there.

Predicted finish time: 2:05 - 2:15.
My target: 2:08.

There's time measurement at different points, so here's what I aim for:
05k: 29:00
10k: 58:00
15k: 1:28:00
21k: 2:08:00

I'd be very happy with that, for my first race after recovering from injury. It'll give me something to build on in months ahead.

2011-02-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

A tear?

After 87 minutes a sudden sharp pain in my left calf forced me to stop running. Hopefully, it's a strain and not a tear. If it's the latter, Paris will be off.

Let's see over the coming two days.

2011-02-26T00:28:00.000-08:00

Last week

The football game on Sunday left my body exhausted for the following days. No running till Wednesday night when I struggled through a one-hour jog (it did not help that I took a turn I'd never taken before and ended up on a seemingly endless mud track along the highway, with a variety of trees and branches fallen over the path I was sliding on).

So, tomorrow morning early is for the final training. Again I will set out on my 20k route, with iPod and little flasks of water (or coke, as a friend suggested?). Whatever comes of it tomorrow, I have no excuse for not going to Paris. I've trained through winter to get back where I am now. I've paid for my train, hotel and registration. I've told people I'm doing this.

And strangely, I know it will be good. I'll get a burst of energy and then, if I can pace myself at 5:40 to 5:50 minutes per kilometer (not faster!) I will keep going for a very long time. And finish in a time not too far over two hours.

It's the first of the season. If I do one half marathon per month, I will be very ready for the Brussels 20k at the end of May. And in the course of the summer I should be able to bring my half marathon time down to under two hours.

That's the plan.

2011-02-20T00:30:00.000-08:00

Stuck at 100

With two weeks to go till Paris, effectively only one week of training and one of rest, I remain stuck at running 100 minutes max. That will not be enough for the half marathon, so I'll give it two more tries this week (Monday and Saturday, I guess), and then just hope that the last 20 minutes will be inspired by the no doubt great atmosphere between Bastille and the finish in the Bois de Vincennes.

I had been hoping for some serious altitude training over the past week in Kenya. But the roads and paths were steep, full of boulders and slippery from the nightly rains. And our mountain overlooking the Rift Valley was so high that I ran already out of breath just climbing the twenty steps to the road. I managed to squeeze in three times 35 minutes of fartlek, but nothing more demanding than that. Still, maybe that bit of oxygen-poor training will have a positive effect.

I'll see tomorrow. First, this afternoon, I have a football match in nearby Leefdaal.

2011-02-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Good one

Last night I had an excellent training run. My legs just wanted to go faster all the time, my breathing was easy and I never really tired. Did my hilly 11k tour in 62 minutes - 8 minutes faster than last time I ran this route - at the speed I would need for finishing the half marathon in under two hours. That is promising. I now need to focus on endurance and put in a first attempt at running for the full 120 minutes (at a lower pace) on Saturday.

After that, there will be a week of altitude training in rural Kenya.

Several factors may help explain the ease of running yesterday:
1. I did not run for two weeks, so my body was eager
2. I played a fair bit of football recently, so my body is fitter
3. The weather was gorgeous, almost early Spring like, and I did not need to wear a jacket and long pants
4. My iPod shuffled good songs
5. I had pasta for lunch

Which was the most beneficial factor? Instinctively, I rank them like this in descending order: 3 - 2 - 4 - 1 - 5.

Paris is coming close.

2011-01-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

Soring success

These are the intense training weeks. I'm trying to break through the 80 or 90 minutes barrier as well as lose some kilos.

On Saturday, I ran 80 minutes. It was hard, and I wanted to stop after 42, 50, 64, 68 and 72 minutes, but I didn't and not stopping did not require superhuman determination. So that's good. On Sunday, I did 40 minutes. And then, on Monday night, a full two-hour football training.

So now my body is in a state of shock and sore, especially my left buttock. But when I went for a walk to the hairdresser at lunch time, I had the strange sensation that my legs wanted to just go and go, as if there was excess energy stored in them. Quite pleasant, I tell you.

This weekend I'll have a stab at 90 minutes.

2011-01-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

Milestone of sorts

Completed my 11k loop this morning. In 67:16, which is slow. But it was 17 minutes more continuous running than I'd done ever since my injury. And only 3 minutes under NEXT week's target. So that is very cool.

2010-12-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

Inspiration

Just back from visiting Luc, who has set his sight on running his first ever marathon, in April in Antwerp. Luc runs easily (I'm sure he disagrees but I know the vast difference between us). He does not really have a training plan for the big 42.195 and was wondering if he should be doing any real long trainings, like over two hours. Thing is, it does not matter that much in his case probably; he'll just get going and not stop until he finishes.

Luc is one of those runners that fill me with envy.

My running got a little bit easier in the meantime. I asked my osteopath on Monday night to look at my left ankle which has seriously restricted movement since I had a skiing accident three years ago in the Jura. My nice path stretched, bent, cracked, massaged the ankle and did other mysterious things. When I left his practice, I almost fell over as I was not used to a semi-normal range of movement any more. And today, doing my regular 8.1k run, I finished 3.5 minutes faster than the previous two times. So I'm trying to schedule two more sessions before the Paris half marathon in early April.

2010-12-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

The lovely madness of it all

It's Sunday morning, 7am. The house sleeps, even the cats did not bother getting up to beg for food when I came down the stairs. The world sleeps.

It's freezing out there. Freezing and pitch dark. Oh, and everything is covered in snow.

I am wearing running gear: two layers on the legs, two on the upper body which will extend to five. I'll be going out there soon, after I finish my wake-up coffee. Have to go early: we're having a large group of people over for lunch, so the morning is for tidying and cooking. After lunch I reckon we'll be just stretched out on the sofa. As lunch includes a wine tasting session, even a gentle jog afterwards is no-go.

So there is logic behind the madness of going out there now for a fifty minutes run. But madness it is. Yet it's a pleasant madness too. While I'm in the cold my iPod will keep me going - K.D.Lang's version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" will be an appropriate part of my Sunday playlist - and when I'm back home I will feel very good. Standing under the shower, feeling my toes return to life from their state of minor frostbite, I'll know there's hardly a better way to start the day.

All I have to do now is put on my shoes and additional clothes, close the door behind me, and get through the next hour.

I think I'll do my Ph.D. on Blogging as an Attempt at Self-Motivation. Any thoughts on that one, my non-existing readers?

2010-11-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

98 Days to Paris

Post-hernia training started two weeks ago. Doing 3 or 4 jogs per week. Today's was the first of 30 minutes straight; I hope to be at one hour by Christmas.

From there on, I should steadily continue to expand until I'm ready for the Paris half marathon on 6 March.

2010-09-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

Full stop

In case you, non-existing reader, were wondering what's happening with my running (which you wouldn't be, reader, even if you would exist), the answer is, nothing.

Short version: back pain after gardening, spreading after ten days into left leg, weekend consultation at GP, hernia, another consult three days later, hernia got worse, CT scan of spine tomorrow morn, osteopath tomorrow night, back to GP on Friday.

I can hardly walk. And not running for over two weeks now makes me very very grumpy.

Thank god for codeine: eases the pain and soothes my soul.

2010-08-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

Today: Vossem

Sanna and I are running in Vossem today. Last year Sanna had a bit of an accident there, bumping into a boy who fell and was bleeding. So she is apprehensive about this one. But the prospect of a medal and or goodies bag will surely drag her over the line.

I'm doing 6.4 km. Would love to say I am aiming for 32 minutes, but the course is very hilly. And last night's dinner and drinks bash, with neighbours, grandma and Soo, will slow me down too. So what shall I say... Under 35 minutes then?

Here's a pic of me finishing last year's race in Vossem.

2010-08-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Super fast (but maybe not)

The bus that would drive the runners in the Zaventem 5k to the start broke down. The organisers improvised an alternative route, with start and finish in the same place.

It rained a bit, but there was little wind. I tried running in a slightly higher rhythm with a shorter stride.

Result: 00:22:25. If it really was 5k, then this would be the fastest run I've done. Ever.

But I think it may have been more like 4.5k, to be honest.

Sanna did the 300m again and finished 6th (in a field of 12). Last year she took 00:02:23, this year 00:01:33. Now THAT'S improvement!

2010-08-04T05:29:00.001-07:00

Okay

With 00:31:38, I finished in the first half of the field during the Kortenberg 6k. So that was good.

I'm now in Nairobi, trying to run every morning in the super hilly botanic garden across the road from where I'm staying. But the high altitude (1700m) leaves me with little air to breathe. I'm not getting far. Today was slightly better than yesterday, but I seriously notice the estimated 10 per cent decrease in oxygen intake. Hopefully, I will benefit from my high-altitude training when I am back in the low lands of Belgium.

Next target is the 5k in Zaventem, and with the good result on Sunday I am going to aim for an ambitious time: below 25 minutes. I know the area well; if the weather is half okay (not too much wind please in the open fields along the airport) that goal may well be realistic.

2010-08-01T00:43:00.000-07:00

Back once more

Not a whole lot of running happened since the Brussels 20k. And most of it was short runs, like 20 to 30 minutes. Over the past week though, benefitting from the freely available child care during our (Sanna's and mine) road trip through Holland, I did 30 minutes on 5 consecutive days (in Sterrebeek, Deventer, Ermelo, Hilversum, and Voorhout respectively). Today, after two days of rest, I'm running the 6k race in nearby Kortenberg, aiming at a time under 33 minutes.

I am going to stick with a regime of many short runs for a while, building up to one hour (or 10-12k) in the last months of this year. The aim is to make my running easier.

Still.... I saw an ad for the Dingle marathon. That must be breathtaking in all senses of the word: glorious landscapes and ocean views, horrific climbs and wind-ridden coastal roads. 2012, maybe?

2010-05-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Still going (though not so strong)

45 Minutes on Saturday morning around Sterrebeek, 75 minutes on Sunday morning around Ermelo. Tomorrow night I should be doing at least one hour around Geneva. The 20k is now only 13 days away. My last long training should be on Sunday afternoon in Sydney, my last short training on the 28th at lunchtime in Jette.

2010-05-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

Timely boost

Wasn't too sure about running in Bruges, as I am far from fit. But with the 20k only three weeks away, I had to put myself to the test.

I finished in just under 1:20, whereas I was hoping for under 1:30. Success factors included the great weather (about 15 degrees and overcast, virtually no wind), the pain killers I am taking for my dental troubles, and Jarabe de Palo on my iPod.

Bonito, todo me parece bonito.

2010-04-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

Some progress

On the last two days of March, I ran one hour each in Geneva. Could it be the altitude that makes running easier there? Hardly, the city is less than 400 meters above sea level. Must be the novelty of the course.

Last night I still did not manage to complete my 11k circuit near home, though I got much further than on Sunday.

There is still a tiny glimmer of hope that I can be readyish for the Brussels 20k. But I will need to work hard and avoid adversity.

2010-03-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Bang goes the plan

No time to run in Barcelona. And now I am plagued by a very painful buttock.

2010-03-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

Work gets in the way

I was called to Geneva, getting on an early flight there on Sunday and working non-stop since. No running. Again. Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh.

Plan is now to travel on to Barcelona on Thursday night. The conference I'll be attending is on the beach. I'll carry my gear. But apparently, Barcelona is covered in snow and temperatures are lower than low.

It's going to be an uphill struggle, getting in shape (-ish) for that 20k in May.

2010-03-06T01:04:00.000-08:00

On track, more or less

Extreme weather conditions last weekend kept me from running in Ermelo. That's a real pity, because I know some nice routes and beautiful places in the local forests, where I used to hang out as a young teenager mainly for spotting birds.

As a result, my third 30 minutes run was on Monday, March 1st, one day behind schedule. It was a nice lunchtime run with Julie. Both of us confessed afterward that we wanted to stop at about 15 minutes but kept going because of the company. I should have more running mates - find me one in Geneva, for instance - as running alone is much harder.

On Tuesday night, in Geneva, I kept going for 42 minutes. It was dark when I followed the unlit path along the Arve river, but I could see the contours of a nice castle ruin high up on the other side and can hardly wait for daylight saving to begin.

Another 30 minutes at lunch yesterday meant that I am well on schedule. Tomorrow I will set off on my old 11k trail, hoping to not start walking till after 50 minutes.

In other news, I did indeed lose 2 kilos in February. Have not touched a single beer in two weeks.

2010-02-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

Targets

I registered for the 20k of Brussels, on the last Sunday of May. Nothing special, were it not for my complete lack of training over many months. And for my weight, which perfectly reflects the previous factor.

Instead of a sophisticated training schedule, I decided to keep it simple. At the end of February, I should have run 30 minutes at least 3 times and weigh no more than 84 kilos. At the end of March I should have done 60 minutes 3 times and weigh under 82 kilos. At the end of April, 90 minutes 3 times, and 80 kilos. And at the end of May 120 minutes 3 times and 78 kilos.

That should get me to the level I had two years ago. Ambitious? Probably, but not doomed to fail.

Tonight I did my second 30 minutes, in hilly Geneva (the first was with Ellen early this month). Weight-wise I think I am fine too. So the start is there.

Mind you, in this schedule (as in The Waste Land), April is the cruelest month. Breaking through the 80 minutes brick wall barrier is notoriously hard.

Buckets of moral support, please!

2010-02-24T01:26:00.000-08:00

Fare pay

My Geneva room is conveniently located along the tram line that also stops in front of the office, about 15 minutes from when I get on. The fare is a bit pricy at 3 Swiss francs or 2 euros, but the ticket vending machines at the tram stops accept both currencies. Which I consider a great plus, being an international commuter myself.

But. The machines only say they accept cards; my entire deck of them has been refused repeatedly. So it's coins I need. Another but. The machines do not give change. If I insert a 5 francs coin, the ticket will say I have paid too much and mention the amount of overpay. Apparently, one can go to the office of the Tram Exploitation Company to get a refund of the excess payment. I imagine piling up little dockets until, one day, I find the courage to queue up in an office building and receive what they owe me.

Funny system.

In contrast, the Flemish bus services have introduced a facility for paying one's fare through a text message. Much simpler, and much cheaper too: for a trip from the airport to home I now pay 1.3 euros instead of 3.0.

Switzerland vs Belgium: 0-1.

2009-05-31T03:09:00.000-07:00

A MISS

Today is the 20k, the famous 20k of Brussels which I've run for five consecutive years. Even though I'm registered I won't be there this year. Things at work (mainly, two abduction sagas and a trip to Pakistan) have made me miss almost two months of training. Trying last week to do 20k in a very slow pace and finding myself unable to continue after 13k, I decided I have to give the big race a miss this year. I feel sad about it, but I know the decision is the right one.

Instead, I will probably sign up for the Brussels half marathon in September. It's held for 95% on the same circuit, and as a bonus has a finish in the historic city centre. But it lacks the standing and atmosphere of today's run.

In the meantime, the idea is to train three times a week (two of which should be 10k or longer). And do a series of races varying in length between 10 kilometers and 10 miles.

2009-05-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

THE WORKS (4): Bounce

The facade, including front door which I still dutifully locked every night, disappeared too. But what comes down must go up, as they say. The first signs of bounce have started to appear; the construction of a new facade has begun.

Today is a public holiday, but two of the builders still showed up for painting upstairs. They have promised that Sanna's new room will be all done come Saturday night. Photos will appear in this space.

2009-05-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

THE WORKS (3): Roofless

Being lately about something else than it used to be, my blog suffers from identity crisis. So here's a quick update on the running:
1. I set up a Running for Beginners group at work and ten people signed up. Seven of them joined for the first training Friday at lunchtime.
2. I ran the Ninove 15k today and got proof of just how out of shape I am. I'm sure I finished last in the "Men Who Still Have Their Own Teeth" category.
3. The Brussels 20k is only two weeks away. I should not run it, but then it'd be my first absence in five years. Also, I may lose my pre-registration spot if I don't show up, which is a big thing as the 20k sells out in just a few hours nowadays. I guess I'd rather make a complete fool of myself than forfeiting.

Back to the renovation. Earlier, the builders started taking the roof of. That same day it started pouring, leaving us with a pool.

The following day, they took away the rest of the roof. The rains did not really stop. Now they will heighten the walls (for the masonry they need dry weather...) and do some other stuff. There'll be a new roof in a fortnight. Hopefully.

2009-05-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

THE WORKS (2): Demolition Day

Did I say demolition?
Of course, this is the stage of the nasty surprises. Some of the support bars for the roof are rotten and need replacement. Such are the extras (not foreseen and not budgeted, I mean) that reveal themselves when the builders start breaking. Emergency meeting tomorrow morning at 7:30.

2009-05-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

THE WORKS (1)

In the absence of anything noteworthy to report on the running front, I'll focus on the renovations instead. There, at least, should be major progress in the coming months.

Today the builders started on the past-garage-then-dining room-future entree hall and lounge area space that separates the old house from the kitchen. They are stripping everything bare before doing some major demolition before rebuilding the place into a grand space. We both (Chui Hsia and I) have images in our heads of what it will be like, though not necessarily exactly the same.

In the meantime, the builders are piling up an intimidating volume of debris in the carport. One day, they will bring in a container, load it all up and ship it out to Eternal Debris Land. I hope much of it can be recycled.

2009-03-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

PROGRESS

Last night I ran, or rather jogged, my 11k circuit again. Took me 68 minutes. Which is slow, but at least I managed to keep going for over an hour.

2009-03-29T09:54:00.001-07:00

MORE TREES

Wilfred donated his two Catalpa trumpet trees to our garden. Here they are.

2009-01-18T13:44:00.000-08:00

THAT AIN'T HALF BAD

Was hoping to finish inside one hour, on the 10.4k in Kortenberg. It was very windy, pretty hilly and at times extremely slippery on the mud tracks. Yet I arrived in 54:46.

That's good, certainly good enough for now. The trick will be to train twice or trice weekly from now on and bring my 10k time down to well under 50 minutes.

It's coming back; I feel it.

2009-01-18T01:33:00.000-08:00

START AGAIN

Okay, enough. I've been not particularly motivated and very lazy since Amsterdam. The odd training was typically short. Twenty minutes on a treadmill in Port Dickson, that kind of stuff. And two days ago finally again the first office training loop, 35 minutes.

So this afternoon I'll do the 10 (point four) k in Kortenberg, a stone's throw from home (for someone with an exceptionally strong arm, but still). It will be hard and I'll finish in a time that will be extremely unsatisfactory. That'll teach me for procrastinating.

Stay tuned.

2008-11-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

TREES

Today I bought four trees. Silverbirches. Four meters high. I bought them over the Internet. Now I need to sort out the logistics of getting them from Herk-de-Stad into our garden.

And my running? I've come to a near-complete standstill.

2008-10-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

WHAT NEXT

It's time to pick up football again. My fiftieth is on a Saturday, and I would like to play a match on that day (though it will be in February, and Belgian climate being what it is games may well be cancelled). So I went training on Wednesday. It was only moderately successful, as my back and upper leg started hurting and I had to leave the pitch before we were done. Still, it was good to smell the grass again.

I don't want my running to go to waste, but am also not motivated to continue training for many hours almost daily. So I am going to focus now on trying to bring down my personal best on the 10 kilometers, from the 50:06 that I have now to something nearer 45 minutes. This will still require several training runs per week. But they'll be shorter and much more varied.

And after February I'll start building up towards a good 20k of Brussels, on the last Sunday in May. Would like to finish this time in under 1:48.

So no marathon for me in Spring 2009. A pity to some extent, as I was already getting a bit enthusiastic for running in either Rome or Barcelona, my two favorite European cities after Amsterdam. But the training regime is too heavy, and there's much work to do on our house and garden.

The 10k first, then. There's one in three weeks from now in Evere, which is close to where we live. I'll take inspiration from this schedule for preparation. The first training is on Tuesday. Until then, I'm taking it easy.

2008-10-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

THE NIGHT AFTER THE DAY BEFORE

"I ran a marathon," I spoke to the guy sitting opposite me on the train home from work. He didn't look up from his magazine, a publication about vintage cars that from the pace of his page-turning he was not reading beyond the caption with the photos. "Hm," was all he could muster. "It was my first. I finished it. I did it." He looked up briefly, then turned to the magazine again. "I'm not into that stuff," he said. I let him be.

The conversation never happened. I made it up while sitting on the train. The guy was there, as was the magazine. But I never spoke. I only thought the conversation. Why? Because, I guess, ultimately running and completing an effort like this one is a very personal experience. To the point of being lonely. Not transferable, not shareable. Mine, only mine.

Here is a feeble attempt anyway: it was great and it was hell. The atmosphere in Amsterdam was superb, the facilities excellent, the organisation impeccable (and the hospitality of Wilfred and Saskia before and after made it even better). I ran the first 10k without checking my watch, on feeling only, and found later that I was on schedule for an end time of 4 hours flat. Continued at that pace for another 10, enjoying the ambiance tremendously, feeling very, very good.

But at around 18k, just before crossing the bridge over the Amstel river in Ouderkerk, my left ankle started hurting. The pain increased gradually. From 22k onward I had to walk bits in between running. A bit later my left shoulder started hurting too. That was expected (I had the same problem during the longer trainings already), but it added to my woe. And then, fatigue hit me as well.

My recollection of the bit between 25k and 35k is not a happy one. Eventually, I ended up walking more than I ran, and feeling increasingly frustrated. I knew one thing for sure: I was going to finish the darn thing. But other than that, I kept adjusting the projected end time in the wrong direction. I can still do 4h15, I thought. Then, later, if I push on 4h30 will still be possible. Then I drifted to 4h40.

Does it matter? The answer, of course, is No. What matters is that I finished. I completed a marathon! I made good on the promise to myself to finish a marathon before turning 50! I need to change the title of my blog! All of that matters more than the pain, the stiffness, the hangover of being disappointed with my 4h 32m 49s. I mean, how many people can say they've done this?

The last bit was quite emotional. I needed to call upon all my powers for the final kilometers. In an effort to take my mind away from the agony, I thought about other people who had done great things. Soon, my father came to mind, and particularly how he had endured horrible pain during the final stages of his illness but never complained. There, then, coming out of the Vondelpark and turning into the direction of the Olympic Stadium, I missed him more than I had done in a long time. I got close to crying, so close that I had to stop running again as I could not breathe properly. He would have enjoyed being there and seeing me finish so so much...

I ran into the Stadium (ah, the relief!) and across the finish line. A bit further I leant over a fence to catch my breath. A woman, finishing just after me, did the same thing. After a minute or so, I heard her sobbing and when I was ready to walk again and collect my medal, I tapped her on the shoulder and walked passed her. She looked up, but in the wrong direction. I'm sure, though, that she understood what I meant to say. "You have done it! You have every reason to be very, very proud of yourself!"

2008-10-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

TWO MORE DAYS, OR NOT EVEN...

Last night I started my carb-loading programme (pasta with mushrooms). At work today, the lunch menu was pasta too: tagliatelle with a rather unidentifiable sauce. Finished off with a banana.

Tomorrow I will stretch my legs for half an hour in a gentle jog, after which the girls and I go to Wilfred's place for more pasta and a good glass of red wine.

Then, on Sunday I may have a last pasta bit for breakfast before heading to Amsterdam.

The weather should be nice: sunny, about 14 degrees Celsius, a moderate breeze. Lovely for the time of year and especially pleasant for the spectators. Also, Amsterdam looks even more gorgeous than usual when the sun is out. The Vondelpark will be heaven.

The marathon starts at 10:30, so I should be there no later than 9:00 for collecting my race number, changing into my gear, and just generally walk around nervously and getting all pumped up.

Then it's go. I hope to get into The Zone quickly enough. The rest is silence. Until it starts hurting like hell, but by that time is should have done the first 30 kilometers at least, and be close enough to the finish to struggle my way home.

Wish me luck. I'll need it.

2008-10-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

SHORT

This week I did not manage to complete any of my trainings. I fell short of my target three times in a row. Not by much, but enough to be ever so slightly discouraging.

Dress rehearsals are like that, or so I remember from doing high school drama. A good final rehearsal meant a bad opening performance, and vice versa. Can I trick my brain into thinking it's the same with my final trainings?

No more long runs to go before M-day, in a week from now. On Tuesday (early morn, considering my work schedule) I do 40 minutes. Then on Thursday 3 tempo runs of 5 minutes only, preceded and followed by 15 minutes at a leasurely pace. And on Saturday a 30 minutes jog, to prevent pre-match stiffness.

Here's my other worry: my shoes are pretty well worn to bits. It's too late to start running with a new pair, so I have no option but to use my current shoes for the marathon...

But maybe I'm just getting nervous. Receiving the confirmation letter in the mail a couple of days ago, with a poster-size map of the marathon track, certainly made it all very real...

Ready or not: Amsterdam, here I come!

2008-10-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

STRONGER, LONGER, FASTER

The last rehearsal for the marathon went pretty well, though it was not much fun. The night before the 3pm start of the jogging in Dilbeek, I was still on a beach in northern Denmark drinking red wine with colleagues around a bonfire. Had to get up indecently early to make it in time to the airport. Slept on the plane and was home by 11:andabit thanks to Chui Hsia and Sanna who came to pick me up.

It was raining. In fact, in Dilbeek it was pouring so hard that the sheet with my number (what's the english term for that? chest number?) ripped from the safety pins less than a minute after the start. The rain never stopped and I felt increasingly sorry for the officials, volunteers who stand around for hours just pointing the runners in the right direction. The circuit - three rounds of 7 kilometers - included some nasty climbing and several kilometers of mud paths.

But I finished, and I finished well. In the first round, several runners overtook me at a speed marginally higher than mine. Three or four of them I kept in sight, only to find in the second round that I was approaching then, overtaking them in turn. Pretty soon, I was at the head of a group of five or six who were trying to keep up with me. Strange, I never ran in such a position before.

I completed the race in three rounds of 37 minutes each: very consistent. My final time, of 1:51 at some seconds, meant I ran at a pace of 5 minutes 19 seconds per kilometer. I'm real pleased with that. It means that in Amsterdam I should consider joining the pacemakers that aim for finishing in four hours flat, and trying to stick with them at least until kilometer 30.

That's less than two weeks away...

2008-09-28T02:48:00.000-07:00

PROGRESS, PROGRESS...

In spite of what I wrote in my previous post, I ran well over three hours on Sunday. I woke up pain-free, and feeling all fueled up thanks to Chui Hsia's magic pasta. Fell just short of the planned 33k (three times my regular 11k loop), but at 32k in 192 minutes there was little to complain about bar maybe the feeling of total and utter death towards the end.

Then on Tuesday, I followed colleague Fabienne (who does triathlons) over the office running circuit. Much to my surprise I completed the 6.5k in 29 minutes only, with an average speed of about 14k per hour. It's the pace one needs for finishing a marathon in three hours.

The rest of the working week was not very good for running. But I picked it up again on Friday (6.5) and Saturday (11, with Chui Hsia cycling along). And then, this morning I completed the 33k in 195 minutes, still feeling like I had something left. I guess I'm getting close to where I should be in three weeks from now.

2008-09-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

Four weeks of training left before I start my marathon in Amsterdam, and the news is mixed. I am not confident at all that I will be ready in time, but I know I have made great progress.

Running three hours non-stop meant a major milestone, two weeks ago. It coincided with a family outing festival called De Gordel, for which occasion many streets had been shut for motorised traffic, and a 25 kilometers cycling route, set up for the day, passed right in front of our house. I ran that route and then some, adding up to around 30 kilometers. It was terribly long, boring at times, and hell for the last twenty minutes, but I did not stop. I guess that's the essential preparation for a marathon.

Last week I joined an 8 kilometers race in Molenbeek, close to our old house, where a djembe band cheered up the participants and spectators at the finish line in spite of the rain. The race consisted of three loops, meaning I passed the band four times. I finished with an average speed of 4:55 per kilometer, faster than any race I had done before. Another milestone.

But it's not all good news. Today was supposed to bring the longest session of my training, a 200 minutes run. But a fierce pain in my left lower back keeps me grounded. I rubbed it with tiger balm last night and it feels slightly better but still is incapacitating. With more long runs scheduled for the coming weekends, I have now decided to skip this one. Instead, next week's 180 minutes will be turned into the 200 of today. Hopefully this decision will help ease the pressure on my body enough to keep going again.

It is a serious setback though. The coming two weeks should be the most intense in my carefully constructed training regime, and starting them with a back pain and cancelation of a key effort is not encouraging.

We shall see. I will try a short run again tomorrow (35 minutes, or 6 kilometers) and then take it from there.

2008-08-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

NOT BAD, NOT BAD AT ALL

Halfway into my second week of my twelve-weeks intensive marathon training, things are going pretty well. Last week saw one hick-up: on Thursday my legs would not move at all and the 90 minutes I was supposed to run shrank into a 24-minutes warming-up. But then, I'd just began a course of anti-inflammatory medicine (suspected bursitis in my left shoulder, a bit painful if I run more than an hour). So maybe that explained my yoghurt-filled legs.

I'm doing a total of over 50 kilometers weekly. The big challenge is to find enough variation in terms of where I run. The 11k loop that I've been doing for a while has become so familiar that I expect to be surprised if I find a specific branch from a specific tree has snatched off. There's also the area towards the airport - which accidentally leads me to a village with the gorgeous name of Erps-Kwerps - which is much flatter than if I head the other way and therefore more suitable for longer distances. But that gets boring after a while, too.

Apart from seeking variation, there are three main challnges:
1. Finding time: I am already resorting to getting up at 5:30 (AM, yes) once a week. Football practice has fallen by the roadside completely.
2. Staying motivated: As the demands of the training schedule go up, I will at times have difficulty getting up too, abandoning a comfy seat, putting on them shoes. The coming three weeks should be fine, with the Olympics on telly. Because sports is a bit like yawning: if you see someone do it you start feeling the urge, too. (Well... I do.)
3. Not overtrain: I am, after all, at an age at which in other cultures I would be a respected village elder and have a broad selection of grandchildren. True, in my mind's eye I'm still in my late twenties. But equally true, my body has different ideas. So if I push it too much I may well find myself untrainable for a week or so.

2008-05-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

NOT PRETTY

The last three races were all very hard. In Bruges I took three minutes longer than last year. In Gent, I took more than an hour for 10 kilometers. And the Brussels 20k was disastrous, with a time more than 10 minutes over last year's.

Explanations? All three were run on very hot days, and as it stayed cold for a long time this year I was not really prepared for that. But the main thing is that I have trained less long distances than last year.

So here's the drill for the coming two months: run 30-40 minutes twice a week, over one hour once every week, and build up to two-and-a-half hour runs in the weekends, alternated with races every three-four weeks. Then, from the last week of July onward, I will have tom rigidly follow a twelve-weeks preparation course for the marathon.

I have the ambition, I have the schedules. Now I need the determination and stamina.

2008-05-02T23:37:00.000-07:00

GAME ON

Tomorrow is the Bruges 15k. I'll be running it for the fourth time, I think. Last year I finished in 1h16, a really good time for me. Would like to better it this year, but I doubt I will.

I have this race scoring system, to establish how well I have done in a particular race. It works like this. I take the time of the race winner, multiply it by tow, take off my time, divide what is left by the winner's time, and multiply this by 100. With this system, my score in the Tervuren 16k was 35. In a formula:

(2w-m) / w x 10

with w being the winner's time and m being mine. Theoretically, this formula gives me a score of 100 is I finish in the same time as the winner (meaning, if I am the winner). It also gives me a zero score if I take twice as long as the winner, and a negative score if I take even longer.

Let's see if I can beat that 35 tomorrow...

2008-04-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

GOOD PROGRESS

The day after my previous post, I ran my 11k hilly training loop in under one hour and took over three minutes off my previous best time on that track. That was seriously encouraging, especially as it came only two days after attempting to run 14k.

Training continued at a slightly lower rate than normal, as Sanna and I were driving from relative to relative and friend to friend in Holland, on our own Thelma and Louise road trip. I did get to go for a jog with Sebas though, in Deventer where he lives.

On Sunday, I went to Tervuren hoping to run the 9k race there, advertised on some websites as the altenative distance to their 16k. Once there, I found that the choice was between 6.7 and 16k, and even though I was not trained yet for the longer distance I registered for it, feeling that a run under 7k was not worth the trouble.

My target for the upcoming 20k of Brussels translates into a pace of 11k/h, or 5:30 per kilometer. The Tervuren race was through hilly forests (indeed, there was not a kilometer that was more or less flat), so I did not think that pace was feasible yet. Therefore, my thinking was, in an ideal world I would finish this race in 1h28 (target pace), but I will settle for a time under 1h36 (6 minutes per kilometer).

The first kilometer, slightly uphill, I did in 5:10. Too fast, I had to slow down. But I felt great so I decided to stay around 5:30 for a while, allowing the kilometer times to ondulate with the landscape. They stayed between 5:10 and 5:40, and I passed the 11k mark in exactly one hour. The rest of the race I managed to keep my pace, and I finished in an unexpectedly fast time: 1:27:07.

That is seriously good news for the Brussels 20k. But I'll have to keep training hard, especially at getting through the point where my body will switch from burning sugars to burning fats, a point that typically comes after an hour and a half and which reveals itself as hitting a brick wall.

So, for today I have drawn a 18k track on Google maps. If I manage to keep running all the way, however slowly, I'll be well on my way for achieving my pre-summer goals. They are: the Bruges 15k in under 1:20 (in two weeks) and the grand Brussels 20k in under 1:50 (in five weeks).

2008-03-28T14:33:00.001-07:00

PEEK-A-BOO

I'm back. And running.

After one failed and one aborted attempt, I'm getting desperate to complete a marathon. Promised myself I would do so before turning 50, which is less than a year away now.

I've signed up for Amsterdam again (19 October). This time I have running mates. Sebas registered, so has one of his colleagues, and I'm working on Luc. Nothing like creating a bit of peer pressure for pushing me through the hard bits.

But my first target is the Brussels 20k, on May 25th. I'm hoping to finish in under 1:50. Sebas is joining for that one, too.

I'm currently doing about 30k per week. Not enough, but if I look at my schedule for the near future it's not going to change significantly any time soon...

2007-10-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

MARATHON DAY

It was today, the Amsterdam marathon. I watched it on telly. I felt sad and a bit sick.

The good news is that I have, cautiously, started training again. Nothing big, but half hours on Wednesday, Saturday and today is a nice start.

2007-09-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

SURRENDER

Since 15 November: 120 hours 48 minutes, 1150.8 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

This is a sad post.

Ever since coming back from India/China, I've been feeling particularly not fit. The family's chickenpox epidemic seems to have affected me a bit, too, in spite of childhood exposure. The trip wore me out completely, because of the mad schedule and a horribly irritated right eye. My GP had stuck to his diagnosis of conjunctivitis, in spite of me telling it felt like there was a tiny object in my eye and in spite of seeing me again after his prescribed medication had failed to work. Finally, when I went to the hospital they removed the folded-over wing of an insect from my eyeball.

So I have been spectacularly weak for weeks now. It became fully apparent during the much-awaited 10k in my mother's town which had turned into a family happening: I struggled to get to the finish line in a bit over 56 minutes, whereas I've done a 10k previously in 50.

Also, I've lost the will to run. Knowing that this is the period where I should be doing my most extensive training for Amsterdam, but also realising that it is equally crunchtime for getting the new house in order for moving in at the end of October, there's only one solution possibly. I'm giving up on running the Amsterdam marathon this year. Sad, but necassary.

Instead, I will pick up running again slowly after giving myself a break, and I'll play a bit of football. I can still meet my target of running - and completing - a full marathon before I turn fifty. No need for pushing myself completely over the edge now.

2007-08-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

HARD TIMES

Since 15 November: 116 hours 50 minutes, 1109.7 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

Been out of shape terribly. Since my 23k of two weeks ago, I've managed only 4 or 5k runs, incapable of getting any further. It's been very frustrating. Only yesterday I realised that it's probably connected to the chicken pox virus in our family (Sanna had it, Chui Hsia has it now big time). The ongoing eye infection I've been suffering from is a sure sign that I too have something under my skin.

So today I told myself that if I was not able to complete six laps in the park (11.4k) I would definitely not run Wednesday's half marathon in Zaventem. Which would be a pity, because Zaventem is where we move to in October. I finished my task with great relief, and with a fair bit of breath to spare.

Wednesday it is, then. Provided Chui Hsia is fit enough to look after Sanna for a couple of hours.

2007-07-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

DOWN, NOT OUT

Since 15 November: 113 hours 29 minutes, 1075.7 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

Tuesday's training was good. As was Wednesday's until after 13 kilometers I tripped over a tree root. Mainly to reassure the worried looking eye-witness I picked myself up and stumbled along until I was out of sight. But the fall had broken my stride and scratched off bits of skin on my left arm and leg.

In combination with an infected eye, it didn't make for the best of weeks. But I rebounced a bit today by doing 23 kilometers non-stop in the park in Tervuren.

2007-07-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

GOING STRONG

Since 15 November: 109 hours 9 minutes, 1031.8 kilometers
Weight: 77 kilos

Not much to report, apart from that training is going very well. A good 19 kilometers on Wednesday, a nice 15 on Sunday in Holland through the dunes near Katwijk.

With a weekly total of 44 kilometers, or four-and-a-half hours, I cannot complain.

If nothing unexpected comes up, I will run a half marathon in a week from now, in Bellingen just a bit southwest from here.

2007-07-15T02:47:00.000-07:00

ON TRACK

Since 15 November: 104 hours 42 minutes, 987.8 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

A week ago I went along the canal to Vilvoorde again, and back. This route is more or less exactly 20 kilometers. After 1 hour 45, I had to walk a bit but I still managed to get home in about two hours. A good training pace.

Somewhere along that training I also passed the point where I'd been running for 100 hours since I started logging my marathon trainings on 15 November. And early in the coming week I will reach the 1,000 kilometers point.

The past week started not so good. On Tuesday I ran my normal office track at lunchtime again, but on Thursday I had to stop after 5 kilometers due to a mini-injury at my left ankle. It was obviously time to toss away my old shoes and switch to the new pair of Asics Gel DS Trainer 12.

This weekend has been good, with 2 runs of 14 kilometers each.

2007-07-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

A TOUGH ONE

Since 15 November: 96 hours 27 minutes, 909.9 kilometers
Weight: 77 kilos

Two trainings only this week, of 10.5 and 14 kilometers respectively, which went quite well.

Today's race was the first since the Brusssels 20k. I was ill-prepared. We had a barbecue last night, with the neighbours of our new house. One of them had cooked a brilliant gado gado and I ate lots of it. Alas, it was low on carbs and the beer and wine didn't do much for my race preparation either.

To call the course - 14.8 kilometers through the forest - hilly would be a grandiose understatement. The difference between the lowest and highest point was 130 meters. I knew that the biggest, as in longest climb was in the first two kilometers. But I was not aware of the sleep slopes further down, and they all seemed to go up.

At 12 kilometers I was walking when a woman passed me and urged me in french to try and follow her. I picked up her speed and managed to keep it up till the finish line, where I thanked her. That's one of the nice things of such races: you really experience the kindness of strangers.

In the coming week I will attempt a two-hours training run again. At a very slow pace it should be doable. I'll also go shoe hunting; my pair of Asics are ready to retire after 800 kilometers and the sales are on.

2007-06-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

SEBAS WAS BACK

Since 15 November: 92 hours 28 minutes, 870.6 kilometers
Weight: 76

Found out that it was not so much the training volume that ground me to a halt, but more the intensity. So this week I took it easy in terms of pace. Had some nice results with my heartbeat: an average of 131 over 7 kilometers on Saturday.

I should also further increase my fruit and water intake, and not only on training days.

Sebas was here for the weekend, as his little niece Sanna was celebrating her second birthday. It was real nice running with him again.

Tomorrow I should do 10 kilometers. But the heavy rains we see these days may stop me.

And I've still got my eyes set on the race in Auderghem this Sunday.

2007-06-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

WHAT FOLLOWS HAS NO CONNECTION TO RUNNING

I just want to have it on record... I am extremely fond of both Chui Hsia and Sanna. Chui Hsia is a much better parent than I am. More organised and much more creative in finding solutions to Sanna's problems (like her refusing to go to sleep). Besides that, Chui Hsia is an amazingly beautiful woman.

Sanna is, objectively speaking, the cutest almost-two-years-old in the world, by a mile. She'll have a new way of making me fall in love with her every day.

Don't tell anyone about this confession please... I have my masculinity to protect.

2007-06-18T01:06:00.000-07:00

OVERTRAINED

Since 15 November: 88 hours 15 minutes, 832.1 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

I think I overdid it a bit. Six trainings in eight days, just after returning from Oslo where I trained in the mountains twice in three days. It has been good for my speed. In the park, my track record over six laps went down by five minutes. Similarly, my best time over three laps came down from 30m29 to 28m54. So that's all pretty good.

But both on Saturday and Sunday, I was not able to run any longer than half an hour. It sure feels like I have been trainig too much, not allowing for enough recovery time in between. Today and tomorrow are therefore set aside for resting. On Wednesday and Friday I should then be able to do ten and fifteen kilometers respectively.

The big challenge will be to build up to longer distances. I should start working on that soon.

2007-06-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

AND CHANGING PLANS

Since 15 November: 83 hours 28 minutes, 781.6 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

It's always a good idea to check your agenda before signing up for races. The first on my list (Izegem) is on the very day that we have a neighbourhood barbecue party where our new house is. It'll be strange - we won't be living there yet - but we got invited and it's a good chance for meeting the hood.

So I swapped Izegem for a 14.8k race the following day, through the Zonien Forest on the outskirts of Brussels. It'll be a heavy track, but I'll still aim for finishing in under 1h20.

Sunday's training was not good. I struggled to get to 5.5k in a very slow rhythm, and then called it a day. Made up for it though, with 10.5k on Monday night and 10k Wednesday at lunch. Tomorrow I fly to Oslo, and I'll take my running gear.

2007-06-02T01:54:00.000-07:00

MAKING PLANS

Tomorrow I should start training again. I'm planning to go for a leisurely 10k run, to get back into the rhythm. From there on, I'll need to build up to Amsterdam.

Here's some races I'm looking at for the coming months: the Izegemse Kastelenloop (21k) on 30 June, the Zestorenjogging in Bellingen-Pepingen (21k) on 28 July, Dwars door Zaventem (which will be our new home town) on 15 August (21k), and of course the 10k Heideloop in Ermelo (my mother's home town) on 1 September.

Towards the end of September I hope to do another half marathon with Sebas, possibly in Alblasserdam in the south of Holland. Sadly Sebas is injured - we pushed it a bit too fast, I guess - but he has not lost his running spirit so he'll be back on track soon.

In between all of this, I envisage many lunch runs from work (6, 8 or 10k) and longer runs on Sundays (up to 35k by mid-September).

2007-05-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

1:57:41

Indeed, it took me less than two hours. And if I correct the official time for the three-minutes wait before I could cross the finish line due to the runners jam, I've even made my target of 1h55. Reason enough for happiness, no?

Well, no, not completely. I started too fast and then could not keep up the pace in the second half of the race. At 12k I developed a serious pain high up in my right leg. Between 14 and 16k I had to walk bits.

With a better build-up, I could have finished more comfortably and faster. And I should have seen it coming.

I've also learned that in the coming months I need to do many training runs of two hours or over. It still feels like 20k is way too far for me. But if I want to run a marathon in October, I need to have no difficulty with a half marathon by August.

Sebas has now left. He found out that there is a 10k race in Ermelo, where my mother lives, on 1 September. The plan is now to get several family members to participate.

2007-05-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

THE DAY BEFORE

Since 15 November: 78 hours 46 minutes, 735.8 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

Tomorrow's 20 kilometers of Brussels is what started it all. Well, not exactly tomorrow's... More the same race in 2004. It was the first time I took part in this mega-event and signalled the start of what has become a running addiction.

In the first two races I finished in 2h25. Last year, with more training, I did it in 2h12. This year I'm aiming at a time under two hours, say 1h55. That'd be major major progress, but then I'm fitter than I've been at any time in the past 20 years.

Predictions are for temperatures way below 20 degrees C. That's very good. But they also predict rain. And the prospect of standing in the crowd of 28,000 runners for half an hour waiting for the race to start, is hardly appealing if it comes with rain.

We shall see. Tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Amine has suggested he will join my training for the marathon. First time I ran with him was in Cambodia, where we went through (and sometimes over) the Angkor Wat temple complex, early in the morning. A bit surreal, but very pleasant. Amine is considerably faster than I am, so maybe training with him will help my speed develop further.

2007-05-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

AMAZING RACE

Sebas' target on the 5k in Ninove was 31 minutes; he finished in 28:30. Great job! I know he can go faster, but first I hope he'll train at going farther.

As for my 10k, I was aiming at 54 minutes and got to the finish line in 50:06! That's over 8 minutes off my previous personal best on this distance.

We did not see the tourist attractions of Ninove, but we sure had a great time. Both of us.

2007-05-20T03:23:00.000-07:00

SEBAS GETS SERIOUS

Since 15 November: 76 hours 41 minutes, 712.8 kilometers
Weight: 77 kilos

In a few hours we'll be in Ninove, half an hour west from Brussels. Sebas will run the 5k loop through the city once, hoping to finish in around 31 minutes. I'll do the loop twice, trying to better my 10k time significantly. I hope the race will go past the touristic highlights of the town, like the Town Hall and the Koepoort.

Meanwhile, Sebas is just setting up his own running blog, in Dutch. He did not write anything yet, but I'm sure he will tonight after finishing his first 5k race.

2007-05-17T01:19:00.000-07:00

RUNNING WITH SEBAS

My nephew Sebastiaan came over on Friday; he'll be staying for a couple of weeks and wants to run. Sebas use to run a fair bit but that was over a year ago, so we more or less started from scratch. And with good results.

On Saturday we set out to run 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 minutes consecutively, with 2 minutes walking intervals. We ended up including an extra 4 and 3 minutes. On Sunday, Sebas ran a full round in the park (about 1.8 kilometers).

When I got back from Athens on Tuesday, we did another interval run, this time with the sequence of 7+6+5+4+3+2+1 minutes. I pushed Sebas a bit by speeding up occasionally, and he cold only just keep his food in towards the end. But he completed this tough assignment. Yesterday, he did two full Park laps, about 3.6 kilometers.

So we've decided not to waste time (or let any grass grow over it, as we Dutch would say). This Sunday, Sebas will compete in a 5k race in Ninove, half an hour from here. I'll do a 10k in the same town, hoping to bring down my personal best from a bit over 58 minutes to under 54. It'll be a good challenge for the both of us.

Meanwhile, the Brussels 20k is only ten days away. So I set out alone this morning, went down to the city, around the city centre and up to our house again. Took me about an hour.

And tomorrow's training (with Sebas) will be 15+10+5 minutes, followed by a day off on Saturday.

2007-05-10T05:03:00.000-07:00

REMARKABLE RUN

Today's lunchtime 6k was memorable for a number of reasons. First, it marked the moment when I exceeded a total of 500 kilometers since January 1st. Second, I improved my track record on the "big office loop" by almost 2 minutes, signalling amazing progress on speed. Third, and connected with this: I took on average less than five minutes per kilometer.

In the greater scheme of things, this means little. For me it means much. No longer is my long-distance speed more than two times slower than that of world champions. This kind of speed should allow me to finish in the top half of the table at many recreational runs.

But the difference with the ever-so-recent past can be expressed in even starker terms: no longer do I feel as if I am trying to get there I now truly feel that I am running.

And I enjoy it to the max.

2007-05-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Sunday's run in Brugge was highly successful. Though my preparation was less than optimal - painful left knee in the days prior and a heavy football match on Saturday followed by the club's end of season bash - conditions conspired to make it a good day. It was so hard to find parking space that I only arrived at the starting area fifteen minutes before GO, leaving me little time to fiddle around nervously. The weather had changed to a wonderful 16 degrees C with a slight breeze for additional cooling. And all along the 14.3 kilometers circuit spectators were flanking the roads in large numbers, contributing to a great atmosphere.

Of course, with over 5,000 runners on the small roads, the start was slow. Just before leaving home, I had decided to adjust my target from finishing in 1h30m to finishing in 1h24m. That meant an average of about 5m50s per kilometer. As it happened, I did the first in 5m45s and the following four or five kilometers in about 5m30s each.

And then I really got into my stride.

Head down for most of it, floating on the rhythm of my pace and breath and the noise from the audience, I ran lighter than ever before. Not each kilometer point was marked, and much to my surprise I reached the 11k point in 58m40s (that's about the best time I had previously run over 10 kilometers!). I even picked up pace further to finish in under 1h15m. That's 19 minutes faster than a year earlier on the same run.

And I wasn't even that tired...

Promising. If I'm fit and conditions are right, I should be able to make my target for the Brussels 20k on 27 May: finish in less than 2 hours. At Sunday's pace, I'd even get close to 1h45m. But that'd really be pushing it, also because Brussels is much hillier than Bruges.

Still, it feels like I've reached the next level indeed. I used to finish my races among the last 20% of the runners. In Bruges I finished number 2,530 out of the 5,000 that started. Pretty soon, I'll rank among the 50% fastest runners.

2007-04-29T02:36:00.000-07:00

BACK AT IT

Since 15 November: 70 hours 12 minutes, 649.2 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

The week after the failed first attempt at finishing a marathon, I did not train. Only in the weekend, when we were with my family on the lovely island of Texel, did I run a few kilometers.

Since, I have picked it up again. I have to, as the 15k of Bruges is now only a week away. And I've set myself a cautious speed target: finish in less then 90 minutes. Last year I took 93 minutes and a bit, so it should be doable.

Secretly I hope to get close to 85 minutes. After all, I'm much better trained than I was a year ago.

2007-04-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

THE MADNESS CONTINUES

Apparently close to half of the runners did not finish yesterday's marathon in Rotterdam. I may not have been in good company, but I was in a crowd. Some other telling statistics: 125 people were put on drips along the track, 30 were hospitalised - runners and spectators - for hyperthermia and heart problems. Reanimation was necessary in two cases.

People like me would still have had to run / walk for over two hours after the race was "neutralised". Eventhough the last bit was more shaded, it would have meant a much higher number of victims.

One thing that many runners do not appreciate is the starting time. Rotterdam starts at 11am, whereas most other big marathons begin earlier, thus avoiding the hottest part of the day. Much be commercial reasons; revenues from live TV take priority over the health of competitors.

It was really sickening to see the organiser on TV claim that there was, contrary to what people say, no shortage of water at the drinking stations. Get real and face up, Mr Organiser! I was there running and the first station, after 5k with no shade, was completely dry. Not a drop. Believe me, we searched every corner of the stalls. At all following stations there were buckets of water, but no clean cups or sponges. I was forced, like thousands of others, to pick up dirty cups and drinks from them.

So that was it, then.

But wait a sec... Are you kidding? I just registered for the Amsterdam marathon, on 21 oktober. Hopefully the weather will be kinder, and at least I'll be able to train for higher temperatures.

I can't just give up, can I? Moreover, Amsterdam is what feels closest to a home town for me. I've never been a fan of Rotterdam anyway.

After the 20k of Brussels, on 27 May, I will start working on a training routine that'll get me through my second attempt in better shape. Again, there'll be almost five months to prepare. And that's on top of what I built up for Rotterdam already.

2007-04-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

NOT

The title of this blog stays.

Just my luck: today was the hottest April day on record in the Netherlands. They measures 28.7 celsius in the home town of the Meteorological Society, De Bilt. Beat the previous high by almost a full degree.

Running (and sometimes walking) along two-thirds of the track, I found no shade from the ruthless sun.

The race organisers were smart and brave enough to stop the marathon after a bit over three hours. There's a point in the circuit, at about 28k, where you are very close to the finish. From this point, they now led all runners traffic straight to the recovery area after the finish line. I got there at 3:13.

So now I still do not know whether I can do a full marathon. Need to think a bit. It's tempting to schedule another attempt in autumn (Amsterdam or Brussels).

Pity, though. Been training for it, off and on, for five months.

2007-04-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

TOMORROW

They predict temperatures of over 25 degrees! Normal marathons start at 9am, and then these temperatures are doable. But Rotterdam, with a 11am start, is going to be sheer hell.

I won't force myself too much. If I cannot finish, then at least I'll have tried. And I'll try again.

Would save me the trouble of having to rename my blog, too.

Good luck, me!

2007-04-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

THAT'LL BE IT THEN

Weight: 76 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 63 hours 50 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 588.2 kilometers
Time left: 2 days

I'm done training. Nothing left but being prudent with food and drink stuffs, trying to sleep well, relax, stretch a bit. I don't feel well prepared, but maybe that comes with a first marathon. And I should stop comparing myself with people who brag on their blogs about rourinely running 160 kilometers weekly. Even if it's true, at least I still have a life.

My train leaves at 6:44, so I'll have to get up real early for the two-hours-plus ride to Rotterdam. Once there, I'll have to pick up my numbers and other stuff. Then get changed, and then... Wait, dribble a bit, wait, find my Pacing Team, wait some more, get nervous, try not to get too nervous, and just generally wait impatiently for the thing to start.

The start is at 11am. They predict real warm wheather (compared to recent weeks), seriously over 20 degrees Celsius, and I'm not trained for that. I'll drink as much as I can and protect my skull with a pirate hanky. But still: assuming I take between 4 and 5 hours for the marathon, the hardest part will come at the hottest time of a hot day. Not looking forward to that...

(Note to myself: bring sunblock!)

My strategy is simple: try to stay with the Pacing Team as long as possible. If I manage to stick with them for the first 30 kilometers, I'll have enough time left to finish at my own pace: 1 hour 35 minutes for the last 12 kilometers.

That does not take into account the 195 meters that lie between the 42k point and finish. But then, if I get there this last bit will be heaven. It'll hurt, like all of it beyond the halfway point. But finishing must be pure bliss.

And then I get on a train back, try to make it home, collapse but with a good and well-deserved Leffe Brune. Followed by two days of extreme pain in my legs and back, slowly morphing into stiffness.

That's how I imagine it to be. If I finish.

Alright then, bring it on!

2007-04-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

TARGETS

Forgot to mention my targets for the coming three races. Here they are.

The Marathon I originally set out to do in under 5 hours (~7 minutes per kilometer), but I'm hoping for 4.45 (=6min45 /k) and the Pacing Team I joined goes for 4.30 (=6min23 /k).

Then, three weeks later in Bruges, the idea is to run 15k in 90 minutes (=6min /k).

To top it off, the 20k of Brussels on 27 May (which is actually 20.7k) should see a real improvement of my previous best (2.12). It'd be lovely if I can finish that one in under 2 hours (=5min48 /k).

Dream on? We'll see.

And oh, yes... We bought that house I wrote about earlier!

2007-04-10T04:52:00.000-07:00

READY OR NOT...

Weight: 77 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 63 hours 28 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 584.7 kilometers
Time left: 5 days

With only one, short training session left (tomorrow), I know that I'll have reached roughly two-thirds of my training targets by Sunday, aka Marathon Day. Almost 600 kilometers (instead of 900) and almost 65 hours (instead of 100). Travels and a long-lasting flu are the culprits. Does this mean that on Sunday I'll be able to do the first 28 kilometers but not the last 14?

Mind you, the distance I trained is not that much short of the crow's flight from Brussels to Berlin. And as for the total time: If I'd started on a Friday night at 7, I'd not have finished before midday on Monday.

Meanwhile, my weight has gone up again. Last night's barbecue at Tanja's place certainly did not help. And with only minimal running this week, I doubt I can bring it down to 75 kilos.

It all matters little. There's no way back for me, and nothing I can do still to improve my readiness beyond eating and sleeping well this week.

And reading some motivational stuff, like the site of Alexander Vero. It includes a quote by Theodor Roosevelt, which is just what I need now to feed my unjustified confidence:

"It is not the critic that counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Not sure whether my madness qualifies as a worthy cause, but apart from that...

2007-04-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

UPS AND DOWNS

Weight: 76 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 61 hours 2 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 560.9 kilometers
Time left: 14 days

The post 25k week started with downs. I had to go to Rome for two days, which in itself is hardly punishment but it meant leaving the family behind and the running. Just as well, as I should not have run anyway following The Race. The real down bit was the owner of the B&B, a not too chirpy guy who speaks nothing but Italian. On Tuesday morn, when he brought me my breakfast, all of a sudden his face lit up and he started rambling about... Mick Jagger!

I have this often, especially when I'm tired and the fatigue has both deepened and multiplied the lines in my face (wish I could still call them mere wrinkles...). People look at me and see the lead singer of the Rolling Stones. I hate that. Had it for at least fifteen years, but I still cannot get used to it.

But Mr Landlord was happy, bless his soul; he gets to see me... sorry, him in real life in summer when he's playing in Rome.

No training Wednesday, but there was good news. I went to the hospital and did a cardio endurance test. There's heart trouble in my (mom's) family and I have a tendency for high cholestorol (under medication) and high blood pressure. But the results were perfect. Nothing to worry about.

I ran a bit on Friday and then again today, when I was hoping to put in 21 kilometers. Only got to about 17. And it WAS my last major training; the rest is downhill to Rotterdam.

But then, to finish on a bright note, I discovered that in the marathon they have groups that run, lead by an experienced runner, at a constant pace. I signed up for te group that goes for 4 hours 30 minutes; my target time is a bit more than that but they don't do slower groups.

And... In the midst of all this, Chui Hsia and I put in an offer for a house just outside Brussels. If we get it, it'll be grand... Wonderful house with lovely garden house - to be converted into guest accomodation; start placing your orders now - and a most delightful garden. Pear trees, walnut tree, plum tree, grapevine, a massive and rather wild field of grass, vegetable garden, and all of that bordering on agricultural land.

It may be hard to fathom, but there ARE more important things in life than running. We really hope we get the house. May the gods smile on us.

2007-03-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

DONE!

Weight: 75 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 58 hours 39 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 537.9 kilometers
Time left: 21 days

So... The Race, as the organisers call it. 25 kilometers, at least two-thirds of them through forests and fields and including many mud tracks. With devilish steep climbs; the one after 17 kilometers killed my stride completely and forced me to walk a fair bit before resuming my running.

The good newses are that A. I made it and B. I made it in a time 7 minutes faster than my target. 2 hours 38 minutes and 20 or so seconds. That is an average of 6 minutes 20 per kilometer; at the marathon I can afford an average of 7 minutes per kilometer.

So it looks good then? I'm not really convinced, seeing the difficulty I had between kilometers 17 and 25 (well, 23: the last two are never hard). Rotterdam is 17 kilometers longer...

I will take it easy during he week; my body needs time to recover. On Sunday I'll go for a long training run; from there on I'll have to scale down in order to be in the best shape I can be on 15 April.

Oh yes, I did not even finish last... Heheh.

2007-03-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

HERE WE GO HERE WE GO HERE WE GO...

Weight: 75 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 56 hours 1 minute
Distance run since 15 November: 512.9 kilometers
Time left: 22 days

Tomorrow then. The ultimate test. 25 kilometers over hilly and partly slippery surface.

My aim is to finish, and preferably in under 2 hours 45 minutes. Mind you, that is close to the time of last year's slowest runner in this race. I may be the one after whom they turn out the light.

Wish I could say it will be fun, but I have a hard time convincing myself...

Stay tuned.

2007-03-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

GOING, GOING...

Weight: 77 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 54 hours 55 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 501.3 kilometers
Time left: 28 days

The 500+ kilometers I've done since starting my training for the marathon show my dedication. But they hide the fact that I've never been able to run further than about 20 kilometers in one go. The My Asics site, where I have a personalised training schedule, prescribes my longest run for today: 32 kilometers. Instead, I did only 5.5, and that at a leisurely pace. Yesterday's football match (a 10-2 win!) was still very present in my leg and back muscles.

This means that I have no idea how well or badly trained I am. In a week from now I should find out. The 25k from Wavre to Auderghem will push my maximum distance a bit further, on a course that includes long stretches of rolling hills. The first 9 kilometers go down to the lovely Genval lake and should be a breeze. But from there on the track goes more up than down while my energy level will move in opposite direction. I'll be very glad when I see the town hall of Auderghem.

So here's the idea. Take it easy this week (only short lunch runs on Tuesday and Thursday), skip football on Saturday, and then try to complete the 25k. After that I have to again take it easy during the week, but try for a 30k training run on April 1st. From there on, the last two weeks before the marathon I should not be doing any serious training any more.

Getting all pretty real now...

2007-03-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

ROAD TO RECOVERY

Weight: 76 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 46 hours 18 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 440.6 kilometers
Time left: 6 weeks

Finally I'm doing some serious mileage again. Today, in Tervuren, I managed an over two hours run (2h11m). It had been a long time. Mind you, according to my training schedule I should be doing four-hour runs by now. This means that I'll arrive in Rotterdam half ready. Also means I have to stay very focused for the rest of this month.

Here's my race schedule (well... ideally):

25 March
A 25k run from Wavre to Brussels (Auderghem)

15 April
The big one: my first marathon, in Rotterdam

6 May
The 15k run through the historic centre of lovely Bruges, which also last year was my warming up for...

27 May
The wonderful event that is the 20k of Brussels

That would add up to a bit over 100 kilometers of races.

But for now, I'll focus entirely on that 25k. If I get through that one alright, then I should have a fair chance of finishing the marathon.

2007-02-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

I WISH I WERE WELLER

Weight: 76 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 37 hours 16 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 356.4 kilometers
Time left: 8 weeks

That bug is still there and the only thing that's on track is my weight loss. So I may not be ready in time for the marathon, but boy will I look good in a bikini this Summer!

It is Chinese New Year today. To all of you out there, I wish you a wonderful and prosporous Year of the Pig.

Sanna and I celebrated with a simple lunch in the lovely city of Leuven. In Chop Shoy restaurant we ordered fried chicken noodle and kroepoek. Sanna charmed the entire staff (and most of the clientele) into sheer adoration. She did this by just sitting at the table and eating, while looking everybody straight in the eye, one by one. The kid is so incredibly gorgeous...

Now I know nothing more to write.

2007-02-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

BUGGED

Weight: 77 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 35 hours 29 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 339.5 kilometers
Time left: 9 weeks

Okay. So I have some kind of bug that ruins everything. My muscles hurt the moment I set off training, after two minutes I start sweating ferociously, my heart rate jumps to gigantic levels, and after three kilometers I am dead. So to speak. There goes my schedule. No option but to take it real easy until the bug is gone. And then go all-out during March, hoping that by the end of that month my fitness level is... well... more or less okayish enough?

No need to depress you though, my dear resillient readers. Or maybe that should be reader? Let me, instead of more moaning about a hobby that you don't get anyway, list some of the things Sanna, now 19 months and a half, can do.

Sanna can say "jiujiu". She said it several times tonight, clearly pronunciated, with gusto (lips curled and all) while we flicked through the photos from China in her album. For the uninitiated: jiujiu is uncle and refers to Ching Wern who accompanied us on the big trip to the far east, almost half a year ago now.

Sanna can now say mama and papa at the right moment. She used to say papa when meaning the parent not present (yeah yeah, I bow my head in shame) regardless of who it'd be. For instance, sitting downstairs with her she'd look up and say the p-word when hearing Chui Hsia upstairs. But I don't think she's ever said mama while referring to me.

Sanna can kick a ball. In fact, Sanna could kick a ball before she could walk. I know, we're getting dangerously close here to the stuff that ABBA songs are made of. Having said that, I would not mind if she quotes me on this when, at 23, she's the female version of Johan Cruijff, bending it like Beckham but better, and is voted football playeress of the year by her peers. By that time, women's football will have really taken off. And Sanna, MY daughter, will bathe in the glory that I only know from dreaming about it. Worth holding her up and moving her foot against the ball any time. Of course, now she can kick a ball unaided. This weekend, if it rains enough, we can start practicing her slidings. Yee-Haw!

Sanna can really make me feel welcome when I come home. She'll jump up from whatever she's doing when she hears me open the door, run towards the hallway and great me with a giant smile and a loud "hee hee hee hee!" Ten seconds later she's nagging me for food, but still, it makes for a great reception.

Sanna can spot a plane in the sky. First she'll recognise the sound, put up one index finger and say the very useful word "Uh!" Then she'll scan the skies and get very excited when she sees the plane up there. I wonder whether there's any connection with her own travels.

Sanna can eat the food I cook. That, I tell you, is a real achievement. Not every grown-up person masters this delicate art.

That's just some of her many ways of making me happy. For more, check out her blog any time. There's also some great pictures there of the two of us, taken by the multi-talented mama person.

2007-02-04T12:26:00.000-08:00

HERE COMES THE TOUGH BIT

Weight: 78 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 33 hours 23 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 318.8 kilometers
Time left: 10 weeks

Ten weeks. Or eight weeks of serious training, as the last fortnight before the marathon should be spent sparing myself from strain and taking it real easy. The clock's ticking louder now. And I'm not too happy with my progress.

Wednesday was fine: 90 minutes in the park across the road, or 14 kilometers, or one-third of a marathon. But today my legs did not want to move. I should have run 130 minutes. Instead I struggled through 80 minutes in the forest, and some bits of it I even walked.

Mind you, the weather did not help. It was sunny. It was warm, too warm with the wind in my back; it was freezing cold against that same wind.

But I think the main culprit must have been yesterday's football match. My legs and back simply did not recover in time. So maybe I have to switch my long long runs to the Wednesdays and take the afternoons off, and do the shorter long runs on Sundays. That way football would interfere a bit less.

2007-01-30T02:39:00.000-08:00

GETTING BACK ON TRACK

Weight: 79 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 29 hours 24 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 281.2 kilometers
Time left: 11 weeks

Bit by bit it becomes clear that my training goals (100 hours / 900 kilometers) are way too ambitious. All the more so since my trip to Malaysia brought my running to an almost complete standstill, and I have a fair bit of trouble since to pick it up again.

But I'm getting there. Sunday was okay with a two-hours run in the forest to the east of Brussels' city centre. Yet, I did not make my training target of 170 minutes, partly because I got complete lost on dirt tracks among the trees and found myself, after 124 minutes on my Polar watch, ankle deep in the mud with no indication of which direction my car could be. I managed to find it back half an hour later.

Had a nice beat on my iPod. I found this PodRunner site that offers one-hours downloads of music mixes in which the beats per minute are constant. I ran with 135 bpm, which was slightly too slow but still helped me get into the mythical Zone for at least 40 minutes or so. It made the pain of the effort more bearable.

Back home, many of my muscles hurt badly, particularly in my lower back, upper legs and ankles. And, for the first time with my Asics trainers, I had grown a blister on the inside of my foot.

Two bits of good news though. One is that proof of my registration for the Rotterdam marathon arrived in the mail. I seem to be number 7830 (if on April 15 you watch the marathon, try to spot me. It may be tough though as I guess the cameras and race officials and most spectators will have long left by the time I come stumbling towards the finish line). The other bit of good news is that Vincent has signed up as well. He is faster than me, but at the very least we'll be able to share our stories of heroic pain with someone who understands.

2007-01-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

INTERMEZZO

No running update this week. With my trip to KL the running has taken a seat far in the back, I would say almost inside the trunk. I've squeezed out 27 minutes yesterday, but that's been all in a week's time. And it actually feels good, this little break from my ambitious training programme.

Instead, here's what I bought this evening at the Cold Storage supermarket, across the road in the Bangsar Shopping Centre:

- A pack of sushi (9 pieces)
- 8 plain buns
- 2 cans of Seasons soy bean milk
- a 6pack of Tiger
- a piece of Old Amsterdam cheese
- a piece of Metaghini Taleggio cheese
- a liter-pack of Goodday fresh milk
- a liter-pack of Fruit Tree Fresh sorsop juice with nata de coco
- today's Malay Mail

It cost me 97.51 MYR.

Back to running, and boring you with stories about running, next week. I promise. Really.

2007-01-07T13:18:00.000-08:00

NO WAY BACK?

Weight: 78 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 22 hours 27 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 211.8 kilometers
Time left: 14 weeks

This week I have to be brief. It's late Sunday night and we just came back from Ermelo where we celebraetd my mother's birthday. And tomorrow I have to catch a 7am Eurostar train to London. I should sleep.

The big news is that I have signed up for the Rotterdam marathon! I postponed the deed many times, but on Friday my training schedule said "100 days to go" so I thought I should commit more firmly. I committed by credit card; if I don't make it I'll have lost a fair bit of money.

At a later stage I have to work out the logistics. I don't know anyone in Rotterdam, so there's no place for me to leave my stuff. Also, how will I travel? The train may be the safest option, as I'm not sure I'll be fit to drive an hour and a half after completing (or not completing...) the full 42 kilometer by foot.

Oh well, that's for later.

Meanwhile, my training is not going brilliantly. This week I ran less than 30k in total. As of Friday, I'll be in Malaysia for work and I doubt I'll get around to doing long runs there. I will try to do some, but the hard yakka will set in again in two weeks.

I should be able to write though.