Race Report - Singelloop Breda 5K & Half Marathon

Yup! I did both! I signed up for the half marathon through my gym for 7.5 EUR (something like 10 USD) including entry, tech shirt (and a nice one too), refreshments and food afterwards, and goody bag... But then, my cousin and her friend decided to do the 5K and I thought it would be fun to join them.

Start of the 5K (from the Singelloop official pictures)

End of the 5K!

The start of the 5K was at 11:00. I picked them up at the train station and we made our way to the start. We ran together, I just adjusted my speed to theirs. I had my camera with me and I would occasionally speed up, find a nice corner, stop and take a picture of them. It was really fun. We finished in 35:51 and got a medal... My cousin and her friend were suffering a bit from the heat as it was already 23C (73F).

We had a drink in town, and then I went home to change (into my Half Fanatic singlet!!!), eat, and DRINK. It was getting really hot out there, and I figured I should get as much fluids in before the race as I could, especially since I did not have enough time to really eat anything serious... Again, my training was pretty minimal, except for that 1 10-miler two weeks prior...

The half marathon started at 14:00. It was close to 27 C (80 F) and we all know (well at least I know) I do not do well in the heat. So I placed myself completely at the back of the group. I must have been one of the last people to cross the starting line... The run consisted of two laps of about 10 K each.

Before, showing off the Half Fanatic singlet!

The first lap went very well. I was being very patient and deliberate with my pace. I think all my 5Ks were within 1 minute of each other. I was really really hot, but I took advantage of every kind person volunteering to drench me with his or her garden hose. I had also taken my Nathan handheld along for the ride, filled with Nuun + salt+ water. Three minutes before the end of the first loop I was lapped by our friendly Kenyans. The pack zoomed past us at an incredible speed. They finished, we started lap #2.

Mile 2: still happy!

Nathan Handheld Exchange at mile 7

The second lap was much harder. It was just too hot! And... I don't do well in two lap courses. It's kinda boring if you ask me... My legs were cramping up, I was running out of water, there were fewer spectators... Fortunately, my hubby was waiting for me with a second Nathan (same recipe). Also, a visiting buddy had found a spot where he could see me every 30 minutes (and document my disintegrating state by taking a picture) and then raced to the finish to see me there. It was a great motivator to keep going.

2 miles to go!

Well... I finished!!! In 2:09:31, so my second worst time ever (after Utrecht which was even hotter) but really, it was fun and I did a great job nutrition and pace-wise.

Done!!

Dam to Dam Race Report - 18 September 2011

I am 3 (!!!) race report behind already, with a fourth one coming on this Sunday... So this will be brief!

The Dam tot Dam is a HUGE race that has you run the 10 miles between AmsterDAM and ZaanDAM. It's a beautiful course, along many small, cute (and very wealthy) villages. I wasn't planning on running this race but a colleague received three Nike sponsored entries and offered me one... How could I refuse?!
Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I was the only one of the three actually running the race. He was kind enough to come to the start on Sunday morning to give me my number.
The race was fun, albeit wet. Thirty minutes before the start it started pouring and it did not stop until we finished. I was (very) untrained for this race (like usual) so I had zero ambitions beyond finishing...Instead, I focused on pacing (and enjoying myself...). I figured I might as well make this race part of my Ironman training...

Best outfit choice!

 Miles 1-3. The first mile was the toughest as we went throught the Ij tunnel. By Dutch standards this was a very long and steep downhill, followed by a very long and steep uphill. It did not really bug me to say the truth.
Miles 4-7. These miles were beautiful, I was having a good time! There was some faraway thunder & lightning!
Miles 8-10. The thunder & lightning got much closer. I was worried that they would cancel the race and I was SOOOO close so I picked up the pace...

I finished in 1:35:33. This was my first 10 miles so this would also be my PR :-) I did not care much about the time, but realized that 10 miles is a fantastic distance. It's like a half-marathon without that last, painful, 5K... Hmm... I guess that also means I should not run 10 miles at half-marathon pace... But you know, it was great training for the Singelloop half marathon two weeks later...

Could it be...?

10K run on Sunday
20M bike on Sunday
10K run on Monday
and now heading for another 10K run on Tuesday...

Could it be? Did signing up for Ironman Zurich (and forking over a fortune) light that fire again?

Still here...

Latest development in bullet points:
I have not trained since the Leiden Half Marathon (my new PR)
Despite that, I ran the Zwolle Half Marathon in June and still enjoyed it.
I ran the Dam tot Dam Loop (10M) untrained and had a blast.
I am gearing up for three half marathons in three weekends (see sidebar)
I am officially (and have been since June) Half Fanatic #1165!
I signed up for Ironman Zurich

Despite what the above suggests, I am still sane...

Happy training!

Zeeland Bike Tour

I never said this was a running blog, did I?
So this (long) weekend, the hubby and I loaded our bikes and took off to Brielle (South Holland). We were supposed to bike from Breda to Brielle, spend the night in Brielle, ride on to Middelburg (Zeeland), spend another night there, and then bike back to Breda, for a total of +/- 285 over 3 days. It did not happen exactly that way. Instead, due to "circumstances" (read bad things happening to good people) we left Breda late (around 2 pm and after 20k made it to Zevenbergen. We stopped there for coffee (and to let a rain shower pass) and decided to take the train from there to Maasluis. We did exactly that and arrived 1 1/2 hours later in Maasluis. We biked from Maasluis to Brielle (including a short ferry hop across the Maas) and arrived in Brielle in time for a (pancake dinner) and a great night's sleep (10 hours +).

After a good breakfast, we biked from Brielle to Hellevoetssluis and then across the long bridges of the Delta werken to Middelburg. Those bridges went on and on and on, and the headwind was pretty impressive. Either way, it was an amazing bike ride and we made it :-)

After a terrible night's sleep (never ever book a hotel without checking the reviews on tripadvisor first) we spend 1 1/2 hour discovering Middelburg. We then biked to Arnmuiden and Goes. In Goes the rain caught up with us and we decided to call it a day, and caught the train home. All in all, a fantastic weekend of biking and sightseeing with my favorite hubby!

Bikes on the Ferry

Hubby's first time on the ferry

Brielle, South Holland

Hellevoetssluis, South Holland

All we saw of Renesse...

Weather turned ugly on the bridges

Veere, Zeeland

Middelburg, Zeeland

The flagpoles that kept us up all night (sounded like machineguns when they shook)

Arnemuiden, Zeeland

Goes, Zeeland

Maastricht to Aachen Bike Tour

I am two race reports behind... Hope you forgive me...

In the meantime, in celebration of the four day weekend, the hubby and I took our bikes on the train to Maastricht, and biked to Aachen through the beautiful landscapes of Limburg and Wallonie (yes, that's right, three countries). The weather was perfect!

Solar tourist bus in Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht

On the way between Maastricht and Aachen

Vijlen maybe?

Diner in Aachen: Flammenkuche

German pastries are the best

And so are Belgian pastries...

Belgian breakfast in Aachen (Germany)

Aachen main square

A little Tea Garden on the way back

Hubby's latest adoring fan

Wallonie Castle

Wallonie Castle

Limburg: cycling paradise

Limburg Castle

The End