I ran a Marathon this year!

Last week I finally ran the marathon! I made it. It was an unbelievable experience. After dislocating my knee last year I was not sure I would ever get there. 

In November last year I was training my leg joints to complete a full cycle on a bike. In January I carefully started running again. I basically started from nothing, and BOOM in October I ran a full marathon!

The last 4 weeks before the marathon I still was not sure it would happen. My calves were tired and tight and I spent two days a week at my physical therapist to try to get them ready. I started training with special socks that compressed my calves, and running felt so much more tiring. 

I was not sure if I should try to run a marathon with these socks if my body was not used to it. I fell into insecurity. I decided to use them anyway and just accept that my time would be slower. As long as I did not run myself an injury.

It was a long and hot run -it was 20C outside- and it took me longer than I expected. It was amazing, exhilarating, scary, exhausting, energising, and I could not have done it without the people cheering me on.

My mind kept telling me I should stop. It was too much. But I pushed through, and with a couple of walking breaks -especially uphill, because socks- I managed to put a little sprint in when I crossed the last 500 metre mark. 

Best medal I ever had!

2nd try || Training for the Amsterdam Marathon || 5 weeks to go

The marathon is creeping closer and closer. Am I ready? I'm not sure. I think so...

Monday I did a morning yoga stretch, which got me ready for the week. Tuesday was an other early morning, with a 4K run at 7am. So, not me to get out so early. But I did and it was amazing! And that evening I was at it again, with a vinyasa yoga class.

The rest of the week it was raining cats and dogs, so I was a little less active. And then Sunday was my first 30K! Crazy!

I participated in the 30K of Noord, which is a run through the fields north of Amsterdam. And it went so well! It was amazing.

But knowing I will have to run 12K further than that in a few weeks is very, very scary.

And, on top of that (or because of that) the last week, I was not so good...And I have all of the excuses...It rained. A lot. Like. A lot. And work was stressful and busy (I know, exercise is especially important when stressed, but you know what, I did not listen to that voice, I'm human). 

But then on Saturday, even when I really did not feel like it, I ran 8K at the Damloop by Night in Zaandam with colleagues. Running my own little tempo, until I reached the 6K point and then speeding up all the way to the finish, finally getting rid of some of the stress of the last week. It was liberating. Just the endorphins I needed. I know. You told me so.

2nd try || Training for the Amsterdam Marathon || 7 weeks to go

Errrr, 7 weeks...More and more the thought of possible failure creeps up. Or, maybe the even worse thought of, "what if it takes me 6 hours, or longer and the sweep car comes pick me up"?
I try not to think of it. It's too scary.

So what did I do the last two weeks, to dull this fear down a bit?

I got back from Bristol on Monday. Tuesday I took a sweet little break from working out. A good prep for Wednesday, when I ran my farthest run yet, 26K. That.Is.So.Far.I.Cannot.Believe.It! Took forever too. It was extremely warm and sunny. But it felt amazing at the same time. On the right track, right?

Thursday I spent the day in the car travelling to France where we had the best slow vacation in a long time. We were sleeping in this cute and luxe studio, on French castle grounds, surrounded by nothing else but woods and farms. And we did not leave the grounds for en entire week!
We did not have to, there was so much to do. Friday we went swimming in the pool, where I did some arm exercises. And we played table tennis.
Friday, swimming again, practising head stands in the shallow end of the pool. And some table tennis. Saturday, more swimming, playing with head stands and balancing exercises. And we went for a 45 minute walk. Sunday I did a 30 minute yoga sequence. And of course, more swimming, and more table tennis.

I ran into the new week with a 5K run. It was far too warm. I really found it very, very tough indeed. Temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius during the day. Even when running later or earlier in the day, was really too much. I don't know how some people do it. And of course, the daily swimming and table tennis happened. Tuesday we took on the tennis court on the grounds, where I tried to teach my significant other how to hit a ball the tennis way, and not the squash way. Wednesday was a very, very wet day. But I put in a full body work out, doing exercises for arms, legs and my core for 45 minutes to an hour. Think; lifting small weights, planks, dips, push ups, jumping squats, and many, many others. We ended the day with an other short tennis playing session.
And, alas, Thursday, an other day spent in the car back home. Friday was a rest day. Saturday I did my errands, which turned out to be a lot and in a lot of different places across the city. According to the google fit app on my phone I spent 2 hours and 35 minutes on my bike! Thinking back, this is probably about right...

Sunday was another long distance run. 20K, mostly through IJburg and Diemerpark.

2nd try || Training for the Amsterdam Marathon || 9 weeks to go

Monday started with a 5k run, short but sweet. Tuesday was my regular yoga session, vinyasa. Where I sweated through many a vinyasa plank. 

Wednesday was a rest day, and then Thursday I ran through the most amazing sunset over Amsterdam for 8K. Is that pick sky not super inspiring and motivating to get outside?
Friday I smashed out a 20 minute HIIT workout I found on Youtube. And I finished the week off with a 20 K run, through Amsterdam, up to the North and through the fields near Ransdorp.

And back to Monday! Swimming for 30 minutes in the medium lane, brought my heart rate right up. 

Tuesday I was back to my Vinyasa yoga and Thursday I was off to Bristol for the UK Barista Championship finals, sitting on the Tamper Tantrum panel. And we did a lot of walking. A. Lot...

Also...just 9 weeks to go...that is scary!

2nd try || Training for the Amsterdam Marathon || 11 weeks to go

What a hectic couple of weeks it has been. The days are flying by, and as I wrote down 11 weeks to go, I had a little panic attack...just 11 weeks to go? That's officially less than 3 months! Let's recap the last two weeks. I went for a 5K run on Monday two weeks ago. Taking a day off on Tuesday and back to vinyasa yoga on Wednesday. On Thursday I had an interview with a coffee magazine, so that was my day done. I did spend some time walking through Rotterdam. And finally I moved my long distance run to Friday as I was flying off to Lima, Peru on Saturday. It was a lovely run, 18K through the East of Amsterdam. I split it into 3 sets of 6K, taking some energy gels after every set. Overall I was able to keep a stable speed. Then from Saturday till Saturday I was in Peru! It was an amazing trip where I travelled to the North, to the regions of Cajamarca and Amazonas to visit coffee producers. And although I spent some time climbing steep coffee slopes in the mountains, I mostly sat in a car all day. So time to step it up again this week!

2nd try || Training for the Amsterdam Marathon || 13 weeks to go

Monday, I woke up at 6 am. Which is absolutely ridic for me. I am a notorious sleep-in-er. But I went, I got up, and I biked off to a hot yoga class. I've been to a hot yoga class before, and I have really not enjoyed it. It was too warm, too busy, too clingy and honestly a little dirty. But this time I went to a new yoga school, Equal, on the Middenweg in Amsterdam. It was sweaty, dripping from all of my pores. But it was grand. Best feeling ever. Will probably repeat. Tuesday, I wanted to go to my regular vinyasa yoga, however I did not. Because migraine. Wednesday I still was not on top of my game, plus it was 30 degrees Celsius outside. I did go to a yin yoga class on Friday, stretching everything out. And then Saturday I went for a 10K run through Diemen. I closed the week off on Sunday with a half-hour walk along the waterfront near my house. So all in all, an okay week. Next week, the long distance run will be an 18K...not looking forward to that yet. So I will need to put out a neat route, so as to inspire myself.

 

2nd try || Training for the Amsterdam Marathon || 14 weeks to go

I had a lot of fun this week. On Wednesday I had dinner with friends. I made my home made whole wheat wraps, filled with all kinds of delicious, from minced beef with corn, to black bean salsa, and fresh tomatoes and bell peppers. On Thursday I had dinner at my mum's. And then on Friday I had a BBQ party with my colleagues plus partners, hanging out side all day, enjoying the beautiful weather! Alas, that also meant that, as I'm usually late to rise, late to run and exercise - meaning I only move my ass in the evenings-, that I did not do that much of movement this week. Ups....All I did was some vinyasa yoga on Tuesday, and then Saturday I went for a 10K run one way and a 10K bike ride back. It was a beautiful run though. Past the Flevopark, along the water. Two bridges, which I took in stride and then I nice 1 K through the North of Amsterdam, along fields and meadows filled with cows. Oh, and I cleaned my entire house on Sunday. On a week like this one, I think that counts...right?

2nd try || Training for the Amsterdam Marathon || 15 weeks to go

It was a short workout week, due to a thunderstorm and some dinner parties. Nonetheless I got some good workouts in. 

Inspired by Sarah's Day, I'm trying to add different types of workouts to my weekly exercise.

Trying to sweat, trying to tone, getting outside to do activities and having a challenge.

This week started off with a 6K run on Monday, where I ran through Diemen, trying to find beautiful green stretches that were not paved. 

Wednesday was a tone day, with a one-hour-and-a-half vinyasa yoga workout. And while thunder and lightning was keeping me from running outside for an interval training, I spent the evening with a HIIT workout.

And then Saturday I spent 14K outside, running along the Amstel river to the centre of Amsterdam, running back past Artis, the zoo, and finally ending up in the beautiful green Flevopark.

Sunday, last day, I still want to do a challenge. I'll probably see if I can run up some stairs a couple of times. 

2nd try || Training for the Amsterdam Marathon || 16 weeks to go

16 weeks to go...

Monday I went for a 30 minute run. And it took a lot of willpower...for the work day was long and stressful. I did not leave the office before 18:45. But knowing that a run would help me put some dopamine against the stress and irritation I was feeling, eventually helped me pull that door closed behind me and got me on a 4.5km run. Blazing through the streets with 2 Many DJs blasting in my ear, using irritation as fuel...until Spotify changed the game by suddenly skipping to Bob Marley's Don't worry about a thing, and I realised, that I shouldn't have a too emotional of a reaction. All bad things will pass. Everything will turn out allright. 

My calves felt extremely tight after all that energy, so I ended with a foam rolling session.

Tuesday, Vinyasa Yoga day! I try to get at least one yoga session in a week. I enjoy Vinyasa because it's a perfect balance of strength and stretch. It helps me align and straighten out, find my balance. But it also strengthens my core, legs, shoulders and arms.

Wednesday I tried something new: calisthenics. Calisthenics, for those who do not know, is a form of body-weight training that uses your own body as a weight. It's intended to increase not only strength and muscle, but also fitness and flexibility trough movements of pulling, pushing, bending, jumping and swinging from bars and rings.

It was given in this old industrial hall, which have it a real rugged feel. And of course, this one week I went, they did an extra intensive training....Where they not only focused on strength, but on endurance. Meaning, where they usually do 3 rounds of 12 pull ups, it was 3 rounds of 20. And where they did 3 rounds of 12 push ups, it was 80-120 push ups in total (see how you get there, just as long as you get there). Needless to say, I was sweating in all sorts of places and for one hour barely had time to catch my breath. Nonetheless, it was heaps of fun. The atmosphere was good and all the people there were really kind, helpful and encouraging of each other and me, the newbie.

But...the muscle pain, is so, so, so horrible. The next day was fine. No real issues. But Friday and Saturday where horrible! I could not stretch my arms for the life of me.

In order to help stretch my muscles I went to a Yin Yoga class on Friday and spent most of Saturday foam rolling my arm muscles.

Sunday was a day filled with garden work, and I closed the week off with a walk.

Back at 10K

Today I ran for 70 minutes. The sun was shining. There was a soft breeze. I ran my way down the Amstel river, past row boats, big white farm houses and past gorgeous green fields. The road was filled with runners, bikers and old men fishing. 

It has been a struggle getting here. The past couple of months have been extremely busy and filled with travel, making getting out there and running a challenge. I travelled to Addis Abeba, Nairobi and the Nyeri region of Kenya in January. Then off to Athens, Greece in February to judge their coffee competitions, only to fly out again to North Carolina a couple of days after getting back from that. Then in March I was in Belgium for the weekend for an other coffee competition. 

All this travelling has been hard on my knee, especially when flying. And so I have had to skip some training sessions. And I do feel the knee being a little bit more unstable when running longer than 30 minutes. However, overall, it's been great and the legs are doing fine!

I started doing some private pilates lessons, which have strengthened my core stability very, very quickly. It's quite expensive though, so I might have to find some other activities for the core the next couple of weeks.

As of tomorrow, the training towards 22K starts. As we are increasing the mileage, less sessions can be missed. Wish me luck!

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So how am I getting to 22K? I combined some training schedules I found online.

Training schedule - running three times a week

week 14 || 40 minutes, interval training 7x4 minutes, 80 minutes
week 15 || 30 minutes, interval training 10x2 minutes, 70 minutes
week 16 || 40 minutes, interval training 10x2 minutes, 80 minutes
week 17 || 45 minutes, interval training 6x5 minutes, 90 minutes
week 18 || 50 minutes, interval training 6x5 minutes, 95 minutes
week 19 || 50 minutes, interval training 6x5 minutes, 100 minutes
week 20 || 40 minutes, interval training 7x4 minutes, 110 minutes
week 21 || 45 minutes, interval training 7x3 minutes, 115 minutes
week 22 || 50 minutes, interval training 6x3 minutes, 85 minutes
week 23 || 30 minutes, interval training 6x3 minutes, 22K

Now to find a half marathon event in week 23!

New Beginnings...and Running Schedules

2017 has begun. It marks the end of many things, one of them being the end of my physical therapy. And so it also marks the beginning of a new running schedule!

The plan? Run the Amsterdam Marathon for real this year. So 42KM in October. Meaning, the schedule starts today! 

As I've not run, really, since August 2016, and basically not only not run but not done anything, it's important to start slowly. Minute per minute, to avoid new injuries and the oh so scary shin splints. In order to get to 42KM in the fall, I've split the training into three blocks. Block 1: build up to 10KM. Block 2: build up to 22KM. Block 3 build up to the marathon. 

First up - block 1

I found this schedule a while ago online. Unfortunately I cannot remember where. But I have adopted it into my calendar. It should have me up to an hour of running, or about 10KM on the first of April. Let's see how I go, I'm looking forward to it! And that is halve the work, right?




I'm starting on week 4 in the schedule, so my schedule will look as follows:
week 4 - 6x2 minutes
week 5 - 12x2 minutes and 6x3 minutes
week 6 - 8x3 minutes and 10x3 minutes
week 7 - 12x3 minutes and 6x4 minutes
week 8 - 8x4 minutes and 10x4 minutes
week 9 - 12x4 minutes and 6x5 minutes
week 10 - 8x5 minutes and 10x5 minutes
week 11 - 12x5 minutes and 6x10 minutes
week 12 - 3x20 minutes and 6x10 minutes
week 13 - 1x60 minutes and 1x70 minutes (sounding off the bell for the next round, building up to 22K) 

The Day of the Amsterdam Marathon 2016

It's a beautiful sunny Autumn day. Perfect running weather. It's the day I should have run my first marathon. In stead, I'm on the side line -which is just a few hundred metres from my front door- to cheer. It's a bitter sweet feeling. Bitter, because I wished I had been running. I have to say, seeing people pass me by, it's more emotional than I thought it was. Sweet, because, it is a lovely day to be outside, and because people I know who are running are putting down some amazing times.

It's been two months since I dislocated my knee. And as of this week I'm finally allowed to bend my knee to a 90 degree angle. I say allowed, but really, I should add that even if I was allowed, I'm physically not able to bend it any further anyway.

This day is not how I thought it would be. I'm not one to break a new year's resolution. But I've had to. Where I thought I would be running 42 KM this year, I've had to change that to running a marathon in the Spring of 2017. Now, I've had to change my resolution to being able to ride my bike by myself through traffic before the end of December. And it sucks.
Especially as my rehabilitation process is slower than expected, because my first doctor told me to wear a stiff, non-bending, brace for 6 weeks, where all the doctors and physical therapists after him have told me that is one of the worst things I could have done. I've lost a lot of muscle, and my knee is very unstable because of this.

But I'm trying to live in the now and to feel gratitude for what my knee is able to do today. And I have to say, being able to walk to the marathon trail without crutches, feels amazing. 

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II Shattered Dreams?

Shattered. Gutted. Disappointed. One week ago yesterday I was off to a bouldering site with the bae for a new New Monthly Tryout. We have been trying to go climbing since May and every single time something came up. And so I was so excited to finally go and climb my way up a wall.

I went really well, like a little spider I sped my way up all the routes. Until...we went back to route one of level one -yes, it is that stupid, one of one- and I dislocated my knee while swinging my body to a new little orange stub on the wall.

Luckily I fell quite safely on my back, leaving my knee as good as it can get while dislocated. After the ambulance came after a time that felt like forever, they quite easily pushed everything back in place and I spent the rest of the night in hospital waiting for x-rays and a consult and finally left at midnight with a brace expanding over my entire leg -hip to ankle- and two crutches.

All I could think about while laying on the big mat at the bouldering joint, the ambulance and the hospital, was my marathon. Absolutely gutted. Why did I go out and climb up a wall? Why did I try to change my body position this much while hanging off a 'cliff'? Why did my leg not just say no, instead of twisting off my knee cap? Is this the end of my 2016 marathon?

This Thursday I will make my way to the hospital again and get an update on how my recovery will continue. But at that time I will have spent two weeks limping in a brace instead of building up my long distances. So even with a swift recovery, a marathon in 2 months seems unlikely. 

Somewhere in the distance I still have a glimmer of hope, but in reality I do know that the Amsterdam marathon is just not happening this year. Gutted. Absolutely gutted. The marathon this fall was my 2016 goal. My new year's resolution. I have been working towards this for more than 6 months. And it's not going to happen.

I know things could be worse. I could have fallen on my knee, instead of my back. I could have broken something. Or injured not only my knee, but also something else; a hip or ankle. I mean, I could have been hit by a bus on the way to the bouldering site. I know all this. Still I'm absolutely gutted. The glimmer of hope still has her eye on the Amsterdam marathon. My little bit more realistic brain is thinking about the Rotterdam marathon in April.

We'll see. 

I'll keep you up to date on the recovery and all the next steps. Cheers from a girl restricted by a huge brace -aptly from the brand actimove- on the couch, in stead of out side for a 26K run.

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 20

Week 20...almost half way there. And almost half way a marathon, with a long distance run of 20K this weekend. 

With all the rain in August, I decided to do more strength training on Wednesday in stead of an interval training, as I am a little scared to get injured because of cooling off too much between high intensity intervals. 

This was the first 20K run for a long time in my schedule, and I had to think about bringing along drinks and something to energise during the run again. Which is something you need to think about during the marathon as well. 

When running a half marathon I usually just use the water and banana points of the event itself. But is this something I want during the marathon?

Also, there are no water or banana points during a training! So what to do? I decided to bring some gels, and a bottle of water and every 5-6K I had a gel and a few sips. And it kept me going. 

I was kind of spent though at the end. I discussed with a marathon running friend what to do in these situations where you are too spent to keep going. Is it better to run on, or is it better to just walk a minute or two and then start running again after getting your breath and heart rate down? 

She felt it was better to keep running, because it is so hard to start up again. In my opinion it is kind of nice to have a little walk in between. Especially because I do not like to eat gels and run. Or eat anything while moving, really. So often, when I eat something, I don't run. I walk. It works for me. And if I need to extend my run a couple of km, I kind of like to have a little walk and then run another 5k. It helps me take on those extra minutes and get across the imaginary finish line.

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 19

It was a rainy week. And so I spent some more time on muscle work-outs with my trusty kettle bell and the amazing Youtube, than running. And, my word, I got some hefty muscle aches from that kettle bell. Especially in my upper leg muscles. And I again suffered some tight muscles in my right leg, even with ante and post stretching moves.

I did go out for an 18km run on Saturday, through Diemerpark, which is filled with field flowers, wild bunnies, butterflies and endless amounts of birds. It was lovely. There are berries growing everywhere, and as the weather was great there were people with baskets collecting fresh berries all along the route. Plus, bonus, At round 12km the tightness in my right leg was lifted. Pretty scary at first, because it felt as if it was tightening even more, but then with a small little pang it freed up completely.

Additionally this week I listened to the Brain Warrior's Way three free videos. To actually participate in their programme you have to pay a fee. But the introduction videos are gratis. And for that reason there is a lot of blah blah in there, with some marketing talk on the side. However it's still quite interesting as it helps you formulate why you want to take care of yourself. What is your motivation to work out? Eat more healthily? Go to bed on time? And what will your life look like if you continue on, or change to, an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise? Then imagine your life 5, or 10 or even 20 years down the line if you change your ways and look after that one body you have.

It sounds simple, but it is more powerful than you think. Of course it kind of leans on the secret and visualisation as well, but it adds some details as to how to what your brain and body need to be healthy. I probably won't do the entire programme, as a lot of information is not new. Let's face it, we all know the basics of healthy living. Work out, but not to much. Eat fruits and vegetables. Don't smoke or drink alcohol. It's not new, is it?

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 18

Today I ran a 13 plus km run with Nydia, writer of the blog words to run by. We used to be colleagues, but kind of lost touch last year. It was a great, very hot run, through her old neigbourhood. We chatted the entire way, making sure I did not run too fast. Still it was perhaps a little above my personal pace, especially in this heat.

It's been a sweltering week, making it very hard to train, as one already melts when changing into the work out gear, let alone when going out for a run. I did manage to go out for a 6-7km run on Thursday early morning, but the rest just has been too warm. Not being a morning person and not sure how safe I feel running in the big city at night, it's been tough...

But in better news, no more pains after the longer stretching sessions laid down by the physical therapist.

On the food front, I started reading in the book 'the complete vegan kitchen' by chef Jannequin Bennett. And although I do not agree with everything and I'm not sure if I want to switch to an all vegan diet, it is very inspiring all the same. 

On to next week.

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 17

This is one of my favourite routes to run. A rich in nature, lack of traffic lights, windy water-side 10 miles. Running past seasonal flowers. Striding next to wind surfers. It's freeing, makes you feel light.

This week I did alright. Not amazing. But alright. After a monthly hormonal migraine stopped me from running my short distance run and my interval, I did go out for my slightly longer interval and this lovely 10 miles (16 kilometres) run on the left. 

I also made a new vow to stop eating as much sugar, as Oreo cookies are too addictive and make me want other candy as well. So far so good (it has only been 4 days, but still, you know, see the positives).

Additionally I was inspired by an interview on Smart People Podcast with doctor Amen, to eat more healthily and spend some time, not just on my body, but on my brain as well. Although Dr. Amen is against marathons...so perhaps not the best inspirator at the moment...However he does believe in interval training. So perhaps that motivates to never skip that training ever again?

Finally, so amazing, I won the opportunity to run the Afsluitdijk-open. This dyke that closes off the North Sea to the centre of the Netherlands is 32,8 kilometres long and they're closing it off for a run event. At sunrise. This means running 30 kilometres at dawn by the sea, which seems horrible and amazing at the same time. Tickets are still available. Besides getting to run way to early in the day, you also get a once in a life time medal. Awesome! 

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 13 - 16

So, again, alas, a tough couple of weeks. I transitioned into the actual marathon training, going from running 3 times a week to 4 times a week.

Week 13 was great. Three short runs and one 10K run on Saturday. It went great. Then the week after I was off to Dublin for work. I gave a talk at Re:co, which is the Ted talk of the coffee industry. It was scary and amazing, to talk in front of 100 of my coffee peers, about a subject so dear to my heart. And it went very well. But. I didn't go out running...

Week 15 saw me run a short 8K on Saturday, which left me injured again! Bullocks, crap, shit, and more of those words. Fortunately I already had an appointment booked with by physical therapist the following Monday, and after some dry needling, a run through some additional stretches that I need to do for my bigger leg muscles and calves before and after running, plus the tip to please go and check out my magnesium levels, I was off home again.

And then I got sick. Yes. I. Got. Sick...the flu. What can you do...I sneezed and wheezed all week, promising myself I would be better before the weekend. Thankfully I did feel a lot better on Saturday of week 16, so I pushed myself out of the door, after some extensive stretching (no worries, I was warmed up) and ran a quite lovely 14 K. Yeah. But the last 2K I did feel the same injury on the inside of my leg again! Not as bad as before, so hopefully the very time consuming stretches afterwards helped, and I can start training in week 17 without any pains or tribulations. 

Speak next week!

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 7-12

It's been quiet on here. I'm sorry. It's been a tough few weeks. I noticed that even with the new shoes, my legs and hip kept hurting after 6-7 kilometres, forcing me to stop running and walk about 10 minutes before being able to run a few kilometres again.

It was awful and scary. I'm training for a marathon. I don't have time for pain and injury...

I quickly booked an appointment with a physical therapist. One that was, really quite honestly, just a little bit too far away for my liking, but who came highly recommended. 

Lucky for me the issue was quite easy to resolve, as it was just a muscle issue and nothing deeper. So after a couple of weeks of dry needling I was able to run a longer distance again.

And so I did. I carefully started building on my long distance runs and Sunday the 12th I ran the half marathon of Almere. Which is a beautiful run, mainly consisting of parks, running by water and forests. What was also pleasant was that it was not as crowded as most runs, leaving ample space for me to just trot along on a narrow path looking at the greenery and the huge swans flying over head.

And I ran it without pain. Yes I was at the end of my willingness to run after 21km, but no pain, no sores, even no rub marks. And even not too much muscle ache the next day. I felt fit as a bird!

As of next week I move from my half marathon training to my full marathon training, upping the runs per week to 4 times. A short distance on Monday and Thursday. An interval or strength training on Wednesday and a long distance on Saturday. 

Let's keep on running, Amsterdam Marathon, here I come.

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 6

This was a bad, bad, bad training week...but on the bright side it was a really, really good work/private week. I went to CoLab, a three day event for baristas and other coffee professionals from Monday to Wednesday. All days were all day events, from workshops to competitions and so there was no time to go out for a run. 

But I did win the competition! Together with friend B, we formed the Dutch Dapper Duettes and won not only a trophy, but also a Brewista electric kettle, a pour-over system and server. Each. And let me tell you, it feels good to win something that's based on skills in your professional field.

As April apparently is Autumn weather, in stead of Spring, we had rain and even snow and hail on Thursday and Friday I was just extremely lazy. But I did force myself out on a run-walk-run on Saturday. I kept moving for almost 100 minutes. Originally I had 90 minutes in my schedule. But as I had not run enough this week and my legs were tired, I decided to walk every couple of kilometres and it took me longer to finish the route I had set out for myself. It's a great route though, if you're looking for a route in the East of Amsterdam, Diemerpark is great, filled with green, birds and bunnies. And if you run back through Diemen train station, you pass a real life llama. 

Hopefully next week will be better exercise wise, but at least I will be able to make great coffee with my new gear.

photo curtesy of the Barista League

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Next week: a 50 minute short run, an interval training, a lesson in bouldering and a 95 endurance run.