Boston 2019 was mijn laatste marathon, inmiddels 5 jaar geleden. Het plan was om in april 2020 de London Marathon te lopen en geen najaarsmarathon te lopen in 2019. Door de pandemie werd alles anders. Londen ging (vrij laat) niet door. Afgelopen oktober kreeg ik een mail van de organisatie dat ik voor de 2023…
I ran Berlin twice before. They were two extremes. I made my debut in Berlin and ran well then, so I was well prepared. The last time was two years ago. That day was dramatic. After that race I walked around very disappointed for two weeks. What would it be this year?
The oldest marathon in the world. A marathon of mythical proportions and not just because of the unicorn. The marathon I finally ran last Monday. Is the reputation right? Or is it exaggerated? It's not exaggerated at all. It is the most special marathon I have experienced, but more on that later. Before the start I was bursting with confidence. I had run pretty good prep, I was in great shape, tapered well and stacked good carbs in the two days leading up to the race. In addition, I had done extensive research into the course and developed a good race plan and I was going to stick to it. What could go wrong?
After a good long run we cycled towards the Pijp and we are at Scandinavian Embassy. Their fantastic carrot cake and coffee have just been placed in front of us. The well-deserved reward, but also the first thing we eat after the effort. As soon as the carrot cake has been eaten, the conversation turns back to nutrition, as is often the case. For two years now we have agreed that nutrition is so extremely important that it has more effect than training. You always resolve to do it right and actually do it now and a few weeks later you have the same conversation again. If only there was a Personal Body Plan for runners or at least something that could lead us the way. Would Run Fast Eat Slow be the key then?
Op het moment van schrijven zit (afgelopen dinsdag) ik in het vliegtuig richting San Francisco vanuit New York. Het is een vlucht van 5 uur dus dat geeft mij alle tijd om uitgebreid verslag te doen van de marathon van afgelopen zondag. Tot nu toe heb ik naast de medaille ook nog forse spierpijn overgehouden…
Damloop. The largest competition in the Netherlands with about 40,000 participants. 10 miles (16.1KM) with many an illogical starting grid layout and a therefore much too busy course, but I and most of my friends still run this race every year. This year it was still exciting if I could walk. My Achilles hurt a lot the days before the race. Checked on Saturday during a short round and it felt good again.
Inmiddels is het al een paar dagen september en dat betekent ook dat de hoop gevestigd is op een Indian Summer. Gisteren was het weer een positieve uitschieter met zo'n 26-27 graden waardoor de terrassen en de parken weer waren afgeladen. Ondertussen was ik in de Damstore die zich bevindt in de kelder van de Run2Day op de Overtoom voor het tweede Asics Dynaflyte Damloop event.
Somewhere in the beginning of 2014, I was standing in a pub with two friends and we were talking about what all three of us thought would be really cool: a Running Junkies training weekend! The first time we were so surprised by everyone's enthusiasm that we had to find a bigger accommodation. We are now more than two and a half years further and last weekend it was already time for the third training weekend: K.A.M.P.!