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.
Sunday 29 April 2007
Monday 16 April 2007
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.
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.
Sunday 15 April 2007
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.
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.
Saturday 14 April 2007
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!
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!
Friday 13 April 2007
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!
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!
Tuesday 10 April 2007
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!
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!
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...
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...
Sunday 1 April 2007
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.
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.
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