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.
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
Sunday, 4 February 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, 30 January 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, 18 January 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, 7 January 2007
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)