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.

Monthly Tryout II supagolf

It was a cloudy, wet afternoon after a 20K run. I found myself on a big field, surrounded by poles, nets and plastic sheets with rubber ducks on them, swinging around some clubs while enjoying a beer.

Supagolf, its a golf-type game that's in between mini-golf and golf. You get a caddie with 4 different clubs that you roll around a football-sized field containing 9 holes, which vary between 40 and around 80 meters of playing field. And I have to say, it's a lot of fun!

Of course my supagolf partner found his strength in this game, hitting balls perfectly and flying them over the plastic duck water ponds, while I kept struggling, causing me to lose miserably. Let's say it was due to the fact I just almost ran a half marathon...

There are two holes, that aren't really holes, but a game of shooting as many balls as you can into a net, which suited my talents more. Alas, it wasn't enough to make it to the finish line. 

All in all, we had a blast, with one round of holes providing us about an hour and a half of fun with the two of us. 

Supagolf in Amsterdam is a pop-up golf course. They are 'live' until August 28th. Go check them out!

Fore!!!

Monthly Tryout II Stand Up Boarding

The weather out side is getting better and better all the time. And in May I went stand up boarding (SUB) to celebrate. In the North East of Amsterdam you can find city beach Blijburg. A small beach right on the waters of the IJ. And on a bright Saturday morning me and my partner in crime were choosing what paddle length was appropriate for us.

The water was still cold, which was very motivating to not fall off and the soft summery breeze helped us not feel the sun burning on our bodies, no matter that it was so early in the morning.

It was so much fun. I was surprised how much easier it was to stay up right than I thought. And the feeling of freedom, standing on the board, looking into the distance to the high buildings of Amsterdam, in the sun and with a soft breeze...was one of the best feelings I've ever had. However, and maybe this is just me, this did not really feel like a work out. But perhaps I allready had abs of steel :)

Monthly Tryout II Aerial Yoga

A new monthly tryout and it's aerial yoga! Aerial yoga combines aerobatic arts and yoga. Because of the silk drapes you can really extend your stretches. Because you have to use your core to keep yourself steady and not swinging all around the room it also provides a hefty core workout. Plus, because you get great support from the 'silks' you are less likely to get injuries. Plus, plus, plus.

There are not a lot of places where you can practise aerial yoga. In Amsterdam you can find an overview here. But luckily there was a place not to far from my house. At Thrive we spun round, got to hang upside down and swing back and forth. 

Some do get nauseous from the swinging or the upside down hanging, but if you are not prone to getting dizzy, you should be fine. And the best part? Shavasana is spend lying in the silk gently swinging back and forth. So relaxing.

At Thrive tryouts are EU15 euros for a lesson of one and a halve hour, but make sure to get a place well in advance, it gets busy.

monthly tryout - electric February

Okay, so how does this sound: you pull yourself into tight black undergarments, get hosed down with warm water, strapped into some body armour with cables, get hooked into a machine and then get electric pulses run through your 8 main muscles...great right?

Actually it's pretty cool. It's called electric muscle stimulation and according to wiki it: "has received increasing attention in the last few years because of its potential to serve as a strength training tool for healthy subjects and athletes, a rehabilitation and preventive tool for partially or totally immobilized patients, a testing tool for evaluating the neural and/or muscular function in vivo, and a post-exercise recovery tool for athletes". 

The method is also used in physical therapy to loosen muscles that are too tight. The supposedly great thing about it is that the electric stimulation can reach deep into your muscles and give you a hefty work out in a short period of time, while not overstimulating your joints, so no injuries.

Whether or not it does what it does, the work out is pretty fun to do and a lot harder than it looks. After being hooked up we did a 20 minute workout, where we had to squat a few times, do a few lunges and arm movements and ending with a minute long planking session. Not the end of the world. Still, the next couple of days I was totally unable to walk down any type of stairs...it was a real work out in that sense.

So how does it feel? It differs per person. For me it felt a little bit like when your muscles have gone to sleep and then you have to move around again to wake them up. For my other halve it felt like he was sitting in a massage chair, and for my other friend it just tickled, resulting in some good yet strange laughs.

Would I do it again? I don't know yet. It is definitely a work out, it feels safe to do (although you do need to sign a waver, so no complete trust from my side), it does not take long and when you check out the web you mostly only find positive stories. Plus Usein Bolt does it too! But it is also kind of expensive, depending on where you go anywhere between 20-50 euros per session. Perhaps I'll make it a once in a while work out?

In Amsterdam you can get yourself a free (yes! free!) try out at the Body Tec Lounge.

monthly sporty tryout - real high jumping jacks January

In light of my road to a fitter life and body, my significant other and I decided to try out a new sport every month. It's a perfect new year's resolution, my monthly sporty tryout combines trying something new with working out.

And this month we had a great start with a body bounz lesson in a massive hall filled with trampolines. Body bounz is a combination of bootcamp and aerobics all smashed into an hour and a half workout. And boy is it a work out!

The hall we went to is Bounz Amsterdam, in the West of Amsterdam, but they have multiple halls throughout the Netherlands. The place is, for a location in the big city, pretty much still in the middle of nowhere. But the atmosphere is great, studenty and low key. Immediately, as soon as you walk in, you cannot help but grin. And you will have a smile on your face for the rest of the night. 

The last time I was on a trampoline, I must have been 10 years old. I loved it then, and I love it now. Unfortunately the childlike fearless tricks have made place for a stiff, scared 30 year old. But jumping around and carefully trying tricks just lifts your spirit. And it's exhausting. I cannot remember it being this tiring at all. All your muscles ache; your entire leg and glutes, your core, your arms will feel like they are burning off and your shoulders have never had this much movement. Guaranteed!

I genuinely say, go try this out. Whether it is free jumping, most places offer to let you free jump (at a set time, like swimming laps in a pool) for an hour for a small fee, or a lesson in tricks, a bootcamp, go wild! Great for office parties too I would say. Who wouldn't want to see their colleagues filled with glee?

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a tryout lesson at Bounz is only EU5,00

free jumping on workdays is only EU6,50 and EU7,50 on weekends

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In the last week of February the new monthly sporty tryout!