Sunday, 20 June 2010
Rabo Molenloop
This must be my most spontaneous race participation ever. Yesterday night, sitting in the sofa waiting for the second half of the crazy match between Denmark-Cameroun to begin, I did a bit of surfing looking for some ideas what to do on Sunday. Then discovered a local 10k race that looked quite interesting. Well, why not (ignoring the fact that I had just consumed both beer and half a bottle of wine, not ideal for an optimal athletic performance!). So, went to Voorburg at 11am, got a registration and a chip. The weather was (as usual) awful with 13 deg C, overcast and a strong northerly wind, but for a race not that bad. No particular expectations for a good result, just wanted to use the race as a test. At 12 o'clock the gun sounded.
Well, 41 minutes 29 seconds later I had completed the 10 km (ok, 9.89 km according to my Garmin) in a personal best time! So, I seem to be fit again after the marathon and my cold. Wonder what the time would have been without alcohol intoxication?
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Copenhagen Marathon
Another marathon completed and with a small improvement of my personal best.
I arrived in Copenhagen on Saturday and stayed overnight at the flat of a cousin on Vesterbro, not far
from the start/finish area. After getting early breakfast and doing all the preparations I walked down to the
starting area crossing two bridges. The first one leading over a wide rail yard formed part of the race course
and was already divided into two lanes by cones as it had to be crossed both ways. The second bridge, a
cycle and foot bridge, lead over the harbour to the marathon area on Islands Brygge, an old industrial harbour area
that has been transformed into a fashionable living area at the water front.
The organiser obviously underestimated the need for toilets as the queues were very long. Found one of
the faster moving queues and after quarter of an hour I could seek my position in the start area. Managed to
push forward to somewhere between the 3:15 and 3:30 balloons (had no intentions to follow any of them).
At 9:30 the start shot (fired by former world 800m champion Wilson Kipketer) sounded and we went away.
I could quickly run at more or less my intented pace but many runners starting further back complained about
the crowding. Obviously the organiser should start thinking about dividing the participants into starting
groups according to expected finish time, as seen at most other large races.
The weather started out sunny and it felt warm from the beginning. Luckily clouds soon covered the sky
and put a damper on the temperature with stayed at 16 deg C or so during the race. Ideal running weather.
The wind was not too strong and refreshing to keep a bit cool.
The race course is certainly the most twisty I have ever
seen, impossible to remember even after having run it. Basically it comprised two loops, a larger loop through the
eastern (Østerbro) and northern part (Nørrebro) of the city center and a smaller loop around Vesterbro (the western
part of the inner city). The first loop had to be run twice with the second loop in between. On the second round
of the first loop we had to do some extra side loops.
The race course led us past many of the city's attractions such as the city hall, Nyhavn,
the Little Mermaid (at the moment just visible on a big television screen in the water,
she is currently on "holiday" in Shanghai at the world exhibition there),
Kastellet (old fortification), Fælledparken (large city park), several famous museums and Christiansborg (the parlament).
The first half marathon was easy but I was fooled a bit by my Forerunner indicating a faster pace than reality due to
poor reception between the high buildings. In the end it showed 43.0 km although I'm confident the race course has
been properly measured. As expected the second half is the real race where you start to feel pain. Good thing, I didn't
hit the wall but my pace gradually dropped as the legs started to feel empty and hurt. Well, at least my fellow runners
didn't seem to be in better shape. The last 7k felt long and that finish line just seemed so far away.
At least we had very nice support from the spectators along the streets cheering us along. Well, eventually
I crossed Langebro ("Long Bridge"), made the loop to go under the same bridge and could finally see the finish line.
On the last few hundred meters we were literaly showered with flowers from the blossoming cherry trees along the
street.
Crossed the line in a time of 3:26:52, a minute faster than in Utrecht last year. Had maybe hoped for a
slightly better time but satisfied with that result. Then through all the "formalities": Receiving the medal, getting
water and fruit, returning the chip (ouch, that hurt to bend down to remove it from the shoe) etc
followed by the slow painful walk back to Vesterbro. Didn't enjoy the stairs up to the flat on the fifth floor!
Today, another race already in the calendar but not sure if I'm going to run it. My legs are ok again but I have been struck by a cold and not feeling too well. It is the local The Hague Royal Ten race (10k) and I'm taking part in the business run with a team of colleagues from work. Still considering.. (the weather is cold, windy and wet!).
Update: I decided to go! However, took it easy and ended with a time of 45:18, my slowest 10k time so far. My heart rate shot up at the start and I took that as a sign I shouldn't force anything today. Participated more for the social aspect together with my colleagues.
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Status
In short: The training is on track and I'm feeling good about the upcoming marathon. No further long runs before the marathon.
25 April: I took part in the Omloop van Noordwijkerhout half marathon to test my form. Beautiful race course, partly in the dunes, partly surrounded by the flowering tulip fields. This is the heartland of the Dutch flower bulb production. It was warm (22 degree C) and sunny so a good test for a potentially warm marathon at end of May. My goal was not to run a new personal best but to try out my marathon pace or a bit faster than that. It worked ok but due to the heat it started to feel a bit hard at the end after all (but the competition suffered as well and I spend the last half of the marathon overtaking any runner within sight. Ran at a very constant pace of 4:40, a slightly optimistic pace for the marathon but non-the-less the pace that various calculators predict based on my half marathon pace. Goal to finish in 1:38, finished in 1:37:58!!! Results
30 April: Koninginnedag, thus day off. Did a 16k run around Schipluiden, long time ago since I went in that direction for the last time.
2 May: Yirk, what a weather, 8 C and raining all day. Had planned to do the last long 32k training on this day but the weather was simply too bad for that kind of ordeal. Made a shorter round of 14k through The Hague in shelter of the worst weather.
5 May: Liberation day (day off) and the chance to catch up with that postponed long training. Went along the Vliet canal through Voorburg and Leidschendam, headed for Vlietlanden (nature reserve and recreational area), crossed over motorway A4 and entered the green polders between Stompwijk and Zoetermeer, then along the large parks west of Zoetermeer, through the golf course, crossed under motorway A12 and then returned back via Nootdorp and Delft. Quite sore in my legs after that trip. Could still feel it Saturday.
Today: 22k in the dunes of Meijendel, nice to be back here. Did mostly small twisty hilly footpaths, fun stuff but challenging for your legs. Also went on a small loop direction The Hague and passed the Waaldorpervlakte, the memorial site for the Dutch resistance fighters executed by the German occupiers during WW2. All the flowers from the televised memorial service on the evening of 4 May were still there, quite impressive.
Small statistics: Have run 99 km in the first 9 days of May!! Must be a record. From Friday 30 April until Thursday 6 May I completed 85 km, a clear record for a single week. Will have to be careful, this is way more than I'm used to.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
"De kogel is door de kerk"
This is a Dutch saying (literally "the bullet has gone through the church") meaning that the decision has been taken. And for me that means: I have just registered for the Copenhagen Marathon taking place on May 23. It may sound a bit late to register for a big marathon abroad just one month in advance but I have doubted a bit if I should run a marathon this spring and in that case which one. It became Copenhagen, the capital of my native country. My training has already been targeted for a late spring marathon the last couple of months so I should be well prepared. Last Sunday I did almost 30k run in a new direction bringing me almost to Stompwijk between Zoetermeer and Leiden. A lovely day with sunshine, not much wind but moderate temperature around 10C. And no airplanes in the sky! All air traffic in Europe grounded due to the ash cloud from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. So quiet in the sky. The previous Sunday the long run ended up clocking 31k. However that was 3 kilometer more than planned but a closed cycle path forced me to take a long detour. So got a few 'bonus' kilometers.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
CPC Half Marathon The Hague, Sunday 14 March
This is already long time ago. In short, I had a very good race finishing in 1:32:34 just a minute slower than my best result set in Spijkenisse (but the distance at that race was somewhat suspect). The weather was a bit cold and windy but the city provided good shelter on most parts of the route.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Groet uit Schoorl 30 km, Sunday 14 February
Back from a beautiful snow-covered landscape around Schoorl. The race went ahead despite the overnight snowfall.
Some frantic sweeping of the race course during the morning made it sufficiently safe for racing although it still
had a white appearance.
The half-marathon runners and the 30k runners started together, in total about 4000 runners.
I had luckily been granted a start from the front one of the four starting areas, which saved me from most of the crowding.
It was important for me not to start to quickly which you can easily do when starting with a lot of fast runners,
most of whom also only had to run the shorter half marathon distance. I quickly found into an easy pace of 4:30/k,
which I managed to more or less keep for most of the race. We first made a round around the village of Schoorl. After
7 km we entered the dunes by climbing a small hill. Most of the race course lead through wood but
during some parts I also had the opportunity to enjoy the astonishing views of the snowy dune landscape between Schoorl and the sea.
At the 18 km mark we said farewell to the 1/2M runners and continued on a smaller second loop reusing parts of the first large loop.
After about 20 km my legs were not moving as easy anymore. They started to
get heavy and reluctant to move fast. My heart rate never got really high but I found it difficult to move
my hurting legs faster even though I was not really out of breath. The speed dropped to about 4:45/k. In the last couple
of kilometers I managed to gain a bit of speed again before approaching the finish. Despite the sub zero temperature
there was a lot of spectators there, battering the cold. My finish time became a respectable 2:18:47, a new personal best beating
the 30k time of 2:21 from Almere 2008. I had maybe hoped for a slightly better time but the legs were not good enough for that.
According to my Forerunner the race course was actually about 250 meter too long, which make my time look even better.
Then it was time to negotiate the chaos in the much too small tent used for changing, bag storage, information services etc.
Normally the race organisation can use an indoor sportscenter but unfortunately it was destroyed by fire last year. So
I had about half a square meter available for changing to dry clothes (with no privacy of course, men and women together).
Hopefully they get that
sports hall rebuilt before next years race. But except for that little critic it was an excellent race.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
The last days before Schoorl
5 days to go before the 30k race in North Holland. I should be reasonably prepared by now, no significant injuries or other problems.
Just having a small problem with the left knee. It is a light pain felt when I walk or run downhill. It has persisted for the last
few months but has not really been a problem during running. Actually I feel it mostly during visits to the local shopping center
where they have inclined moving walkways.
According to the weather forecasts the race is going to be a cold experience with temperatures below zero all week.
Hopefully it stays dry until then. Snow could cause the race to be cancelled like the Egmond race in January.
I want to run this race so I'm crossing my fingers for dry weather until then.
The training lately has been as if I was preparing for a marathon, that will say long slow trainings on Sundays reaching 25k
a week ago. That particular run was more exciting than I had expected.
At home conditions look ok (a few days with thaw) but
at Rottemeren the melt water had frozen solid during the night making the cycleways more suitable for skating than running (or cycling).
I stayed in control but did see one other runner go down. At least I was warned about that icy spot just across a small bridge!
A month more training like this and I would be ready for a marathon in early April. Just that I haven't registered for one.
Still don't know what to do. A late spring marathon? Or go for Berlin this autumn? Will have to make up my mind.
In late March I'm going on a small skiing holiday with a few Danish friends at work. From previous experience I know that
such a trip is very detriment to any preparations for a race, mostly due to the consumptions of not quite non-alcoholic liquids!
Oh yes, I have started to do fitness! The idea is to get more strength mainly in my upper body and arms. I'm not exactly
muscular in that region and would like to get my body into a bit more balance (the legs are mostly ok due to the running).
We have a nice fitness center at work which we can use for a small annular subscription. So why not give it a try?
Very convenient to go there after working hours. I've only been there three times so far as it has to fit in between the
running (currently 4 times a week). Certain muscles not used to that treatment did hurt a bit after the first session.
But as I saw in somebody's tag line: "Pain is weakness leaving the body"!
Sunday, 10 January 2010
An icy start to the new year
A new year has arrived. What do I expect from it? The old year ended very well with two PR's raising the bar for this year. I intend to run at least one marathon. The planned marathon in Barcelona is off the calendar. I lost too much training over Christmas due to sickness and bad weather. So I'm basically just starting up making long runs now, much too late for a marathon in early March. However, I have registered for the 30 km Groet uit Schoorl race on February 14. Let's hope the weather is not too bad at that time. Today, the Egmond Half Marathon was cancelled due to the wintry conditions (a 'weather alarm' has been in force over the weekend due to strong winds and resulting drifting snow in the northern provinces). The 30 km race takes place in the same general area in the dunes near the North Sea coast. Weather alarm or not: I had my first long slow run of the year today. It was a 22 km run through The Hague to the dunes at Kijkduin and back again. The wind here was quite modest, especially within the city. There was a thin coating with snow which was actually quite pleasant to run on (made the underlying ice less slippery). Some light snow was falling becoming more intense during the last part towards home. Despite temperatures around the freezing point it did not feel that cold. Nice run but a bit tired in my legs as it is 4 weeks ago I ran anything above 15 km. The last week has been a history of extremely slippery roads and paths. Cycling has been almost suicidal. Running is also difficult but if I'm careful in the corners it can be done. Haven't ended up on my buttocks so far.
So what further on this year? I will probably run the CPC half marathon in the Hague in March then look for a late spring marathon (possibly abroad). Alternatively I wait until the Autumn for a marathon (anybody mentioning Berlin?). Otherwise, just trying to improve my results. Could I get down to 1:30 on the half marathon??
Monday, 14 December 2009
Spijkenisse Marathon: A perfect end to the running year.
This year of running got a happy end after all despite some ups and downs. I went down to Spijkenisse west of Rotterdam without too many expectations. No firm plan to attack my PR on the half marathon although the result from the 10k race in November did indicate some potential for that. The weather was cold but otherwise nice for December. Some sunshine and a light northeasterly breeze. This kind of weather with temperatures just above zero always causes me some troubles choosing the right dress. On one hand I don't want to get cold waiting before the start but you will soon regret it after the start if you put on too much clothes. So I went for the two-layer solution with a short sleeved and a long sleeved shirt plus a long tight of course. I did put on gloves and kept them on all the way (they were good at wiping away sweat from my forehead :-) ). This dress turned out to be a good solution although it was a bit cold before the start. In the beginning of the race I tried to keep the pace a bit down, but as everybody raced past me I found myself flowing with the crowd at a pace around 4:15/k. Turned out I could easily keep that pace and until halfway I generally stayed around 4:20 or below that. The race course was more or less an out and back route with a loop on the middle third. The 15k mark (according to my Garmin) was reached in 1:05:03 which is a virtual improvement of my 15k PB time (1:05:59 in Zevenheuvelenloop 2007) and I still had 6k to go. At this time I was smelling a very nice improvement on my half marathon best time. On the home leg we had the wind against us and even though it wasn't strong my pace dropped to about 4:30. My legs were also starting to feel a bit empty. The crowd had basically vanished and I found myself running together with just one other runner which I had slowly caught. We helped each other a bit during the windy parts but approaching the finish he had to let go. The finish at the athletics stadium of the organising club came a bit early according to my Forerunner. It recorded a distance of 20,88 km, which is about 200 meter short of the nominal distance. Anyway, I finished in a dream time of 1:31:25 (gross time, subtract 3 seconds or so for the net time). Even if the distance is a bit dubious this is a huge improvement on my personal best, way better that the previous PB of 1:34:44 set at the Amsterdam Marathon last year. I can only be happy about this result especially after the achilles tendon troubles during the autumn (they seem to be gone now, crossing my fingers).
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Windy
Last Saturday I had contemplated to run the Halve Marathon van Monster but after having a look at the weather forecast I dropped the idea of running 9 kilometers on the beach getting sand blasted by a strong head wind. Remembering last year's version of the race I could easily predict it would be a very tough race. Like last year wind from the south but this year another step up on the Beaufort scale with a strong Bf 7 wind to whip up the sand and suck out the energy of the runners. And tough it must have been. Comparing the results with those of last year I notice that times are in general 5 minutes slower, even for the top runners. Didn't regret I chose to 'chicken' out. I did a small 8k at home in more protected surroundings instead. On Sunday morning I made a longer lsd run in streaming rain. Out to Dobbeplas and back again, about 18 km in total. It was quite mild for the time of year and less wind than the day before. Not too bad running weather actually, except that I was completely soaked due to the rain. Yesterday the Netherlands experienced its first storm of the season with gale force winds along the coast. Some damage and inconveniance here and there as a result.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Under 42!
I have beaten the last missing target of those I set last year: Getting under 42 minutes on the 10k. I ran a super race at yesterday's Laan van Meerdervoort Loop in The Hague. Nothing looked like it would be good conditions for fast running. The weather forecasts had predicted rain and strong winds, not exactly the receipt for making records. However, things turned out quite nicely. The wind was not as strong as predicted and further came from a more favourable direction than expected. It did rain a bit, but nothing like a downpour (not until after the race at least). And the weather was mild making the choice of dress easy, short sleeved dress for fast running. In short, the race went very well. Even though I had forgotten the heart rate breast strap at home, thus no heart rate feedback, I was able to run at a very disciplined pace with help from the Garmin. Except for the first kilometer where I was hampered by the crowd I ran at a very constant pace around 4:10/km. It did become a bit tough on the last part but I could maintain the pace and actually increase it a bit towards the finish in an athletics stadium. Result: 41:45, a result I definitely hadn't expected considering my Achilles troubles during the autumn.
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Fall
Long time, no hear. I've been a bit lazy updating my blog. Here is a short summary on what has been going on.
Most notable, I have been trouble with a latent achilles tendon inflammation. It started to hurt after a normal training run during holiday in Denmark. I could feel a sore point on the middle of the left tendon and decided to scale back on the training. The problem being that I had just registered for the Juelsminderun half marathon a week later. Didn't get many further kilometers in the legs up to the race day but decided to enter the race after all, the tendon didn't feel that bad. The race itself was not anything to be proud of, but that was more due to the temperature, about 25°C than the tendon. In particular during the last half of the race I suffered a lot due to the heat. A time of 1:41 in a half marathon is way too slow for what I'm used to. I don't think the tendon problem got worse by participating, but the localized pain persisted. In all August I trained at a low level, no speed training at all and moderate distances as I felt was prudent. It continued like that into September with a gradual improvement. Could still feel the tendon a bit after training but gradually increased the distance and also started to add a bit of speed training as well. Decided to give it a test at a 15 km race end September. Due to the lack of training I didn't expect too much, was happy just to be below 1:10. I easily achieved that target ending at 1:08 something, acceptable considering the situation (the weather was also a bit on the hot side that day, especially for late September). Begin October I can say that my Achilles tendon seems to have healed again and since middle October I feel no problems there. So except for a bad cold and some lowerback pain I'm fit again. I have entered a 10k race next Sunday hoping to get back to normal performance (still have this 42 minute goal from last year but doubt I'm sufficiantly fit to attack that target just yet).
Today I enjoyed a long slow run in the area north of Nieuwe Waterweg west of Rotterdam. The route lead me past the Maeslantkering, the engineering masterpiece protecting us from storm surges from the North Sea. Further on, in Maassluis I accidentially ran into a lot of runners in race fit and bibs. Turned out the first of the Opschoor cross races was taking place today and I was passing close by the start area. I was running in some brand new shoes bought just yesterday. Suddenly, I found myself running together with the very shop owner who sold me those shoes. He is himself a very good runner and was warming up for the cross. Small world! I participated in one of those Opschoor crosses in December 2007, my only experience with that type of race.
From there on I continued further inland back to Staelduinsebos where I had parked my car. In total about 18 km in mild sunny weather, not a bad Sunday!
Kadeloop, the knee and a first prize!
Quite some catching up. First the Kadeloop yesterday. This was my second time at this race taking place in the middle of the summer. And summer it was: 24C, sunshine and little wind. This was certainly my hottest race so far and I suffered. My finish time of 52:14 was almost one and a half minute slower than last year. At the first three km I tried to keep the same pace as last year but then I concluded I would probably blow up if I kept running at that pace so I reduced slightly and let the heart rate dictate my pace for the rest of the race. I survived but it was anything but comfortable. At least the competition suffered too. Comparing the result lists the finish times were in general much slower than last year.
My knee problem has disappeared since about two weeks ago, hopefully for good. But the injury lasted longer than expected although I could gradually increase the length of the training. The last two Sundays I have been able to run 15k trainings (in favourite territories Rottemeren and Meijendel) without feeling any discomfort in my knee.
And then this prize I mentioned. Yes, I won a race! Ok, not a big event but non the less. It was the 5k distance of the Plaspoelpolder Classic race held on Sunday, June 14. The race, just a small walk from my work, took place in the Elsenburgerbos forest in which I often do my lunch time trainings at work (and in which the Patentrun (*) is also held). I was a bit aware that I would have a chance of a prize by looking at last years results which indicated that this race didn't exactly attract the world elite. The serious runners would chose the 10 or 15 k distances instead. And so it turned out to be. No real competitors in the 5 km race and I crossed the finish line about 1,5 minutes before the second finisher. I was not running alone, however, as runners of all three distances ran together on a 5 km course. It had been raining all morning but the rain stopped before the start. However, the twisty foot paths in the forest were slippery. One runner (in the 15k race I think) slid out in a sharp corner and ended up in a mud pool. Poor guy. Luckily he was not hurt and could continue in his soiled dress.
(*) Concerning the Patentrun: I didn't participate this year because I became involved in the organisation of the race. Being on duty in the finish area I couldn't participate at the same time.
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Royal Ten Business Run, The Hague
Since the marathon things have been a bit quiet with less running than desired. This is mainly due to a knee problem that appeared at the end of April. I believe it is some kind of runner's knee syndrom that is affecting my left knee. During running I feel some persistent pain at the outer side which for a few weeks made me cut my runs short. And I kind of dropped interval training and other speed training completely. It is getting better and today I dared to start in the Royal Ten race in The Hague. It was as part of a team from my employer (actually the Jogging Club), the first time I try to run in a team. Not that it makes that much of a difference during the race, you just give it full power anyway. But you go there with a number of colleagues and have some chatting before the race
The race itself went above expectations, taking my injury period into account. The knee didn't make any complaints today. It was a little bit busy at the start, even though I could start in the business run starting box in front of all the recreational runners. After a few hundred meters I started to get a free run and made a pace around 4:10. This would put me in line for a time of 42 minutes if I could sustain that pace. The course went into Haagse Bos, then onto a large avenue towards the rich residential enclave of Marlot. After a loop in that area we went back along the avenue, past the entrance to the royal residence of Huis ten Bosch, where the queen is living, into the forest once more along the fence of Huis ten Bosch and then back towards the finish. Most of the time I seemed to be on target for a PR on about 42 clean, at least according to my Garmin. Unfortunately I was not quite at the finish when it beeped for 10k. Another 70 meters to go and got a time of 42:22. That is just 3 seconds short of the 10k time in Leiden last year (but I found that distance to be somewhat suspect, today the distance is most likely at least 10 km!).
Wednesday, 15 April 2009 (updated)
Jaarbeurs Utrecht Marathon
PR: 3:27:38 !!!
The Utrecht Marathon was a great success! I improved my personal best by almost 14 minutes.
After the troubles with my heel injury during February I had severe doubts about achieving my goal of 3:30 at this marathon - or even running it. Luckily my foot behaved well from begin March and I was able to do some long slow runs peaking at 30k and 32k with a very much adapted training programme. In February I lost about 100 km of training but did manage to get almost the desired amount in March by increasing the weekly amount fairly steeply (taking the risk of further injuries but it went well). Did the tapering as recommended during the last three weeks and felt quite well. So I was already quite optimistic about reaching my goal.
I decided to pick up my bib on Easter Sunday at the RunningXperience in Utrecht in order to have a relaxed start to the marathon, otherwise I would have had to fetch it at least one hour before the start meaning getting up earlier and worry about possible train delays. The train was on schedule and I actually arrived about an hour before the 10:30 start. The weather was pleasent with sunshine through a thin cirrus cover, temperatures rising to an expected 18 degree C and not much wind. I managed to spot a colleague also participating in the marathon and we did some chatting before the start.
The marathon itself went very much according to plan: Letting the heart rate dictate the pace and trying to put a few minutes "in the bank" for the expected difficult last 12 km. The plan succeeded, crossed the half marathon mark in slightly less than 1:42 (three minutes in the bank) and could still keep a pace well below 5:00/km. The race course took us around the old defences of the city, up to a roundabout and the same way back to the start/finish area of the Jaarbeurs convention centre. From there we continued to the western outskirts of Utrecht, crossing the big canal connecting the Rhine and Amsterdam over a bridge forming the only significant hurdle on the otherwise flat course. We continued along some cosy residential areas along canals with a lot of enthusiastic people around, then through some boring new developments and some open landscapes with fruit tree plantations. Between 31k and 37k we had to do some doubling up having the advantage that you could observe both faster runners before yoe and later on the slower ones. On this part we had a lot of spectators, many of them cheering me with "olé!" as my name like that of all runners was printed on the bib. Nice support!
It became apparent that a number of runners were starting to have problems alternatingly walking and running. The dreaded man with the hammer was starting to seek out his victims. So far I still felt quite ok. After 30 km I myself had to let the pace slip a bit to prevent the heart rate rising too much. From 35 km onwards things weren't really fun anymore - but I had expected that based on my last experience in Rotterdam. The legs were hurting and heavy and I just started longing for the finish line. At this time I knew I could reach the 3:30 unless the infamous man with the hammer should unexpectedly strike hard. But I didn't feel like this happening, only the legs were tired. However, the heat (18-20 deg C) and Sun started to become an issue and although I drank at each refreshment post I was probably starting to dehydrate a bit at this stage (according to my scale at home I lost between 2 and 3 kg during the race). Surprisingly, not everybody seemed to suffer. At around 37km I was overtaken by a small group of runners happily small-talking with each other like they were doing an easy 10k training! On the last few kilometers we had the weak wind in the back providing absolutely no cooling. The last two kilometers were terrible but the approaching finish kept up my mood. Never felt like walking unlike several of my fellow runners. Finally the finish meters turned up lined with an enthusiastic crowd. Crossed the line in 3:27:38 well within my target. Although I didn't feel that terrible after the finish I did get the attention of the First Aid people located there. They cooled me with water and kept an eye on me for a couple of minutes before they let me go.
As expected my walking style afterwards was less than elegant and I didn't hurry to get back to the train. Took my time to get something to eat and drink and to dress to some dry clothes. Even though I spent some time looking for him I failed to spot my colleague. However, it turned out that he had finished in a very respectable 3:54, well within his target of 4 hours. I got a bit of a temperature shock when returning back to The Hague where it was foggy and below 10 degrees! Such a big difference to the summer-like conditions in Utrecht.
Sunday, 05 April 2009
8 Days to go
Now just eight days to Utrecht Marathon on Easter Monday. I'm almost through the training and I'm going to take it easy this last week. Only doing shorter distances at marathon pace and maybe one moderately fast interval training. Today I could enjoy a 14k training in nice spring weather at 14 degrees and some sunshine. It was actually pretty hot despite running in only short garments. The foot is fine and no other significant physical complaints. That should be the perpetual blister on my left big toe. It is regenerated every weekend during the long training run. NOt that it hinders me a lot, just irritating a bit (it is on the outer side, not under the toe where it would have been much more of a nuisance). Oh yes, I've got a cold. Hopefully only a mild one and I haven't had much symptoms today. Hopefully, I've killed it in its beginning.
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Tapering
Finally, I can start to see an end to the very long training runs. Yesterday, I did the longest training run in my modified scheme, 32 km in three hours (and a minute). A bloody long distance, to be honest. The run went to the east/southeast to the area norths of Rotterdam Airport and to Pijnacker and I visited some tracks and roads I have never seen before. The great advantage of doing long runs, you learn to know your wide neighbourhood very well. After the run my legs were quite sore, but that's why you do this kind of training, to prepare the legs for the marathon distance. Today I did a 10k recovery run at very low speed, that went well but I had no urge to run fast. From now on the training amount will be reduced towards the big day. The foot problem over the last two months means that I have lost a lot of training kilometers. It probably will cost me some minutes at the marathon. My target time is still 3:30 but I'm getting a bit sceptical about reaching this goal due to my training backlog. Maybe I will redefine the goal to just go faster than my first marathon (3:41)?
Sunday, 8 March 2009
20 van Alphen
Today I ran the first race of this year (I had to skip the 30k Groet uit Schoorl race due to my foot). The chosen race was the 20k "20 van Alphen" in Alphen aan den Rijn in the "Green Hart" of Holland. It is considered to be the traditional start of the Dutch road racing season with several international names on the starting list. For me it was mainly a test of my current form. Due to my heel problems I didn't have too high expectations for today. If I just did better than my best 1/2 marathon time from last year I would be satisfied.
The day started not very promising with rain but around noon the sky cleared and the race took place in sunshine. We had some wind and despite the temperature of 9 degree it felt rather chilly. I planned to start in short sleeve shirt and short tight but redressed to long versions before the start. The race course mostly stayed within the town limit so the wind only became a factor on a couple of short stretches. My heel is apparently still not completely healed as I could feel it from the beginning of the race. It never really became a problem, however. I tried to keep a pace slightly slower than my Amsterdam 1/2 Marathon pace from last year. From about 2/3 through the race it became difficult to sustain this pace and my pace started to drop. Definitely not quite as fit as last autumn. The result is 1:32:25 which is ok (especially since my Garmin tells me that the real distance was 20.11 km!). The pace (4:35/k) is comparable to that of the CPC race (1/2M) in March last year indicating my fitness is similar to that of the same time last year. Not bad considering the lost training in February. In top shape I should be able to get below 1:30 on the 20k distance, however.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Heel is improving
Today I managed to get the first long training for quite some time. 20k LSD training in Rottemeren. The heel is feeling better although I still felt a slight irritation during much of the run but nothing that obstructed my running. I definitely hope that the end of this injury episode is near.
As is evident I didn't run the 30 km Groet uit Schoorl race last Sunday. It was simply not prudent to do so as I had too much pain in the heel. Instead I did dare to do a quiet 14k in the neighbourhood. I still had some pains and it was clear that I made the good decision to stay at home. Last Friday I did also get the first bit of quality training for a few weeks, 4 x 1000m interval at around 15k pace. Only minor complaints from the heel. Good signs.
The big problem is now of course that according to my marathon training scheme I should be running about 60k a week with a long run approaching 30k at this time. Well, the last couple of week I have been doing only about half that and I doubt it will be possible to fully catch up with the scheme. Currently, I will gradually increase my training intensity at a prudent rate to at least get 60k a week and a couple of 30k+ runs during the peak in middle of March. But, whether this will be sufficient to achieve my goal of a sub 3:30 time in Utrecht, that only time will show.
Saturday, 2 February 2009
Heel problems
In less than one week I'm going to run the 30k Groet uit Schoorl run - maybe. The trouble-maker is my right heel. For the last couple of week I have felt a pain localized to a spot on the inner back side of the heel. Although I'm not quite sure about the exact diagnosis is I suspect it relates to part of the achilles tendon attachment. I have scaled back the training quite a bit. Some days I don't feel anything but the pain tends to come back when I start running. If it doesn't go away during this week I will probably stay at home not risking anything. A pity if that should happen as I have really been looking forward to run this big event in the dunes in North Holland.
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Chilly times
The Netherlands is in the deep freeze - and people love it!
For the first time in 12 years it is possible to skate on the major water bodies here, an opportunity
the locals are not ignoring. I also found my old hockey skates and went to Rottemeren, an area I already know well
from my Sunday runs. This time on the water though, not around it. I was far from alone on the ice - there must
have been tens of thousands of skaters there. That could also be seen on the ice surface. In many places it was
very worn. Combined with some deep cracks it made the skating a bit hazardous and it was essential to watch out for trouble.
I made a complete (but unofficial) round of the 'Molentocht', almost ten kilometers on the lakes there. It took a bit
to learn the technique, considering I last skated 12 years ago. A sneak training yesterday on a local pond did help a bit.
Monday, 15 December 2008
Chilly StartbaanRUN
Brrr, that was cold. The good news: It was dry and the Sun was even shining a bit. The bad news: Temperature around zero and a strong southeasterly wind. And that on a runway where there per definition is absolutely no lee. All logistics took place in a big hanger (unheated of course and with one end wide open as the finish line was there). But there was a cosy atmosphere with about 2000 runners etc gathered there. I was quite in doubt what and how much clothes to wear but ended up in three layers, a thin shirt beneath, then a long sleave shirt and finally the white t-shirt (size XL!) everybody got together with the bib. I also wore a long tight and gloves but was freezing my fingers anyway. It helped to do a bit of warming up but my fingers were still ice cold and feelingless. I was a bit late getting to the start area meaning I had to suffer a 20 second penalty at the start since we ran without a chip thus only gross time was recorded. The first part was along a taxiway against the wind but with some threes around so it was not too bad. Then after about one kilometer we reached the runway which had all the lights switched on. With the wind in the back I almost reached take-off speed clocking a fastest lap of 3:58/k. My body also started to heat up and at least I no longer froze my hands. Reaching the other end of the runway 3 kilometer further up we turned around and had the strong wind straight in the face. The pace plummeted and the fun was definitely out of it at this stage. Then after 2k against the wind we turned up along an abolished runway (only a taxiway still there). This time it was 2k with the wind in the back (nice) and the final 2k against the wind (terrible). At least I managed to stay in a group on the last 2k thus getting some shelter. At last we could head for the finish line at the huge door of the hanger. I clocked 42:21 on my Garmin but the official result is 42:43 although I didn't feel it took more than 20 seconds to cross the start line after the gun. Anyway, no official personal best on the 10k but considering the wind and chilly conditions I'm more than happy about the result. After changing to some dry clothes I enjoyed some traditional Dutch pea soup and an 'oliebol' to recover a bit again.
Monday, 8 December 2008
2000 km this year!
On the last day of November the odometer turned around and showed the magical 2000 number. Ok, I'm not running around with a physical odometer like that although the Forerunner will record accumulated distances. I maintain a running log in a spreadsheet where I record all my runs with various parameters and among many other things this allow me to monitor the distance made to date.
That particular run (in Bergse Bos) on the last Sunday of November was also the first run of the season where I encountered winter condition. The training started dry but then went through almost all kinds of precipitation starting with rain and ending with snow. At the end of the run I was running through a lovely white landscape. Last Thursday during the Run4Fun training the weather was very similar. Sleet that turned into snow. The wind made it somewhat unpleasant, however. As the snow didn't settled on the ground the conditions didn't get dangerous.
Monday, 24 November 2008
Winter!
This weekend we got a first touch of winter. On Saturday some severe hail showers hit us at temperatures just above freezing. I was away all Saturday attending a meeting in the astro-photography association which meant I didn't get my usual training on that day. In the evening on the way home I experienced a very bad hail storm covering the motorway with a couple of centimeters of hail, quite dangerous conditions, especially considering many drivers didn't slow down much. I got home safely, though. The cold weather continued Sunday with the first real snow of the season, see picture above. The snow came during the afternoon and I had already made sure to complete my long Sunday run before that happened. It was cold, just above freezing, and I had to wear gloves for the first time this season. In some spots, especially on foot bridges, some half-frozen sleet from the previous night was still covering the ground. Thus extreme caution was required. I went on a 16k run to Delftsehout and a bit further at lsd pace. As usual got some gps data for OSM use, this time mainly some cycleways and footpaths along the east side of motorway A13 at Delft, but also fixing the access roads to IKEA!
Short notices on the recent training: The previous Sunday made an 18k run in Lage Bergse Bos (Rottemeren). Then it was much warmer and I could almost had run in short dress. I was soaked in sweat with just two layers when I returned back to the car. That despite running at slow pace. Last week did a tempo run (7k at 4:26/k or a bit faster than half marathon pace). On Thursday I decided to join the Run4Fun group (Cécile) despite being just one group including slow runners. Went ok, since we did a relay run on some hills thus providing the opportunity to do fast sprints.
Sunday, 9 November 2008
A real MONSTER run
I survived but it was tough. The Rabo Robuust Run (Halve Marathon van Monster) is not without reason counted as one of the most demanding half marathons of the Netherlands. No less than 9k of the race course is over the North Sea beach where runners have to fight wind, water and loose sand. This year it lived up to its reputation with a very stiff head wind from the south.
I arrived by car an hour before the start but then had some difficulties finding a place to park the car. In the sportscenter I got through the registration and got my bib. I was in doubt whether to run in long or short dress as the temperature was only 11 degree C together with a strong wind. But the Sun was shining and I decided it would be sufficient running in short tight and shirt, a decision I didn't regret. About 20 minutes before the start I moved up to the start area in the town center next to the church. The start area was already well filled and I had to start quite far back (a problem since there's no chip timing).
The race started with a "round around the church" passing the start/finish line for a second time after 1,5k, then we headed for Ter Heide and the dunes. The wind was in the back and I was almost flying over the cycle track at a pace of 4:30-4:40/km. Of course, that wind would come back to haunt us on the beach. At the 8k mark we turned down to the beach, crossing some loose sand before finding the wet firm sand in the tidal zone. The tide was retreating leaving some wet spots around, luckyly not enough to get seriously wet shoes, however. The wind was a strong as feared coming from the forward left. It was strong enough to whip up the sand. I tried to join some of the groups forming to get some shelter. But I had problems keeping up with their pace and had to drop off on more occasions and wait for another group to catch up from behind. So I ended up running much of the 9k beach alone draining my energy. My pace plummeted to 5:10-5:20/km. The beach being nearly featureless seemed like it would never end. The distant cranes of Europoort seaport didn't seem to get any closer.
The beach eventually ended but that was actually the worst part. Here we had to cross a few hundred meters through loose sand going uphill towards the dunes. All power was plainly sucked out of my legs before finally reaching the firm surface of the path leading up through the dune. Even though the conditions became very favourable on the last 4k (strong tail wind) it took a bit of time before I got the speed back into the legs. But then my pace went up reaching laps below 4:40 like in the beginning. I didn't give it everything knowing that I was already way off any personal best time, so I just cruised into Monster crossing the finish line in 1:42:49. Net time was 1:42:06 as clocked by my Garmin (no official net time as we ran without chip). Remarkedly, this was the first time I didn't improve my personal best in a race but that had to happen one day.
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Run & Map
I have earlier mentioned that I'm participating in the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project. Combining running training with mapping actually works great, provides you with plenty of opportunities to go to new places. I have found many nice running tracks that can not be found on any existing maps, neither are well visible in Google Earth due to tree cover etc (or because they didn't exist when the aerial photo was made). Now they are there on OpenStreetMap for any runner to use!
The main requirement for mapping is a GPS recorder and for runners the obvious choice is the Garmin Forerunner family (FR205, FR305 or the new FR405). I have the FR305 which is an excellent aid both for running (records track points, speed, altitude (crudely) and heart rate at one second intervals for later analysis) and for mapping (here the recorded track is of course the prize). For completeness, there are alternatives to Garmin but I don't know much about them. Polar has recently come out with their RS800CX which also has the ability to record GPS tracks with the optional GPS pod. I also believe Suunto has a GPS solution but I don't know if it will actually record a track.
Now, how do I do it? (these are mainly tips for other OSM mappers who are not afraid of getting a little bit of exercise while mapping). First of all I choose an area with missing or poorly mapped ways and roughly plan the course to be run. Then perform the actual training eventually as a "Park & Run" session if it is too far from home. Back at home after the training it is time to get the data out of the Garmin in a useful format. Unfortunately, Garmin's own software Trainingcenter isn't very useful here so I have found alternatives.
Here is my usual workflow: Connect the Forerunner to the cradle which will download the new data to the Garmin Trainingcenter. This is primarily for logging my training. After this I fire up GPS Babel. This software supports the Garmin Forerunner (as 'input' check 'device' and select 'Garmin serial/USB protocol'). As output select 'GPX XML' and choose a file name. Check 'Tracks' in 'What' and click 'let's go'. If all goes well all data will be extracted from the Garmin and saved as a gpx file on your disk. This includes all stored tracks (maximum 13000 trackpoints) and waypoints. Since you probably only want the most recent track it needs to be isolated. GPSBabel is not very handy for editing gpx files, it is mostly for converting between formats. However, I have discovered a nice little tool simply called GPX Editor (site in French only) which does precisely what I need. English support forum here. It is freeware and can be used for viewing, editing and simplifying tracks. I use it mainly for selecting the desired track, cutting out uninteresting (or privacy sensitive!) parts of the track and saving the result. The software takes a little bit of time to get used to but otherwise works flawlessly. The rest should be standard knowledge for the OSM mapper. I use JOSM as editing tool (open the gpx file and download existing OSM data to start mapping). I usually upload the gpx file to OSM, mainly as 'evidence' (this is why it may be desirable for privacy reasons to chop off parts of the track, such as the parts near your home).
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Google vs Yahoo vs OSM:
Here are three different versions of the race venue on 13 December (StartbaanRUN) with some interesting differences:
Google Maps (aerial photo)
Yahoo Maps (aerial photo)
OpenStreetMap (map)
So the Dutch Ministry of Defence told Google to hide the details but nobody bothered to ask Yahoo to do the same! Very good for us as Yahoo has permitted the OSM community to use their aerial photos for our mapping project.
Sunday, 19 October 2008 (updated 21 October)
ING Amsterdam Marathon (21.1k)
A new personal success, improved my half marathon time once more, although by only 15 seconds this time. From the beginning I did not really intend to go for an improvement on the 1/2M time as I didn't feel to be in my best shape (but it turned out not to be that bad, after all). So I just started at a comfortable pace with the intention to enjoy this event. But after a few kilometers this "comfortable" pace was actually on target for a new personal best time and I decided to give it a try keeping the same pace. Until about 16 or 17 km I felt reasonable at ease then I had to work harder. The heart rate rose somewhat and my legs started to hurt a bit but my pace didn't suffer (the Garmin mercylessly told me if I had to speed up). The last couple of kilometers were less than enjoyable but the approaching finish in the Olympic Stadium kept up the moral. Approaching the tunnel leading into the stadium I imagined myself carrying the Olympic Torch into the stadium like at the games in 1928. I could still put in a small sprint the last 200 meters up to the finish line. Result 1:34:44 (and then my Garmin even claims the distance to be 21:26k!)
At around the 8k mark I was overtaken by the 1:35 pacer with a tail of runners and I decided to join them. I didn't even know that there were pacers at the half marathon. Anyway, after a couple of kilometers I (or more correctly the Garmin) got the feeling that the pacer was not quite on schedule and I decided to overtake him and his group, never saw them again. At around the same time I started to overtake marathon runners. They had started 3.5 hours before us and being out for more than 4 hours at this time many of them didn't seem to be very comfortable anymore. They would finish in more than 5 hours (my finish time + 3.5h) and the slowest of them most likely didn't make the time limit of 6 hours.
Videos:
13.9k mark (35k mark for marathon runners)
Finish at Olympic Stadium
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Another two weeks gone
The normal training is continuing, now preparing for the half marathon of the ING Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday. I doubt that I'll be able to improve my best time on this occasion as I don't really feel in better shape than during the summer with the current best time made in August. I may go for an easier pace and try to enjoy the race event instead of going full power. But let's see.
Last weekend I went to Denmark for family visit and got a couple of runs in the local forests there. The weather was ok (dry and with sunshine one day). Otherwise only runs in my home area. The Run4fun training at work has started up again after the summer break. At today's Run4fun training I actually got more excercise than bargained for. We did 13 km to Delftsehout in a run with a lot of fast fartlek. Not sure if that was a good idea 3 days before my half marathon!
Just registered for a new 10k race taking place in some secretive surroundings (the picture above may provide a hint). The race is named the Startbaanrun ("Runwayrun") and takes place on the runways of Soesterberg air base near Utrecht. The base is due to close down in January 2009 and the race is one of the farewell activities taking place at the air base. So it will probably be a one-off event. A unique opportunity to run on a runway!! (at a slightly lower speed than the usual users of the runway :-), see photo above).
Thursday, 2 October 2008
De 30 van Almere
The weather was perfect, sunshine, 18 deg C and next to no wind. The scene was set for my first 30k race. My plan was to run the race at a constant pace of 4:45/km. This should be a breeze as McMillan predicted a 30k pace of 4:38. Hence, I went away in 4:45/km using the Garmin to monitor the pace. The plan succeeded as I crossed the finish line in 2:21:32 corresponding to 4:43/km. However, this does not tell the full story. The last few kilometers were anything but easy. Where my heart rate had been quite modest until about 27k then it shot upwards into the red zone. The fun was definitely out of it as I felt very discomfortable. I insisted on keeping up the pace and manage to do so. But after the finish I was more devastated than I have ever been before in a race, including the marathon in Rotterdam. And McMillan predicts that I should be able to run a marathon at that pace!? Forget it.
The race course was ok, mostly on bicycle tracks in green areas. It was shared with the 15k runners and therefore had to be run twice. The course was flat except for a number of bridges crossing large canals. The bridge ramps started to feel like large hills at the latter parts of the race although they were only a few meters high. Almere is situated in Flevoland, a reclaimed part of the Ijsselmeer. So we were really running on the bottom of the former South Sea (Zuiderzee), that became the Ijsselmeer after it was separated from the North Sea by the Afsluitdijk in the 1930'ies.
Saturday, 20 September 2008
Beautiful Autumn Weather
Just registered for the half marathon distance of the ING Amsterdam Marathon. This will be the major running event in October for me. I had also considered going to the half marathon at Eindhoven Marathon one week earlier but I think that would be too soon after the 30k race two weeks earlier.
Today I had a nice last long training before the 30k race in Almere next weekend. The legs feel good, the weather was excellent: Sun, 17 deg, light wind, can't be better. Just hoping we will get similar weather in Almere. The training went through Delft, along Delftse Hout, through Bieslandse Bos (new wood), along Dobbeplas in Nootdorp and back through Delftse Hout along another route. The distance was 18 km at a leasurely pace of 5:18/km (almost lsd pace).
Last Sunday I went to my favourite area of Meijendel in the dunes. This time I paid a visit to Scheveningen Bad. The swimming season is almost over so the beach was not overly crowded. Like today the weather was very pleasant. It looks like we have finally entered a period of nice stable weather, something this summer couldn't offer.
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Vlietloop: Running with a cold
Today I ran my first 10 miles race. The 10 miles distance is surprisingly popular in metric Netherlands and I found that
it was time to try this "odd" distance. The race took place in the small town of Voorschoten just south of Leiden. Parts of
the course followed the Vliet, the main inland canal connecting Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden, hence the name of the race.
However, my participation was a bit uncertain. Friday night I started to get the familiar soreness in my throat and nose announcing an upcoming cold. Normally, this means that I have a fully developed cold about two days later, sometimes with fever, so I was not very expectant about racing today. Surely, my nose is running but this morning it was not that bad (no fever or unwellness, just a runny nose) and I decided to start at the race as planned. The poor weather certainly would have given me an excuse to skip the run but I'm from the cold north so a bit of rain and wind isn't going to deter me.
The race went reasonable well, but I was suffering from strained breathing at the latter part of the distance, even though my heart rate was at sub threshold level. In the past the breathing has not been the limiting factor so I'm a bit pussled. Yes, I have a cold but so far it is confined to the nose region. But, I did tighten my Garmin breast strap a bit extra today to make sure it stayed in place. Maybe too tight. Anyway, I made it in 1:11:37 for the 16 km (my Garmin didn't count more than 15,98 km, 100 m short of the nominal distance). This is not a great time, but ok for the conditions with rain, wind, wet tracks and a runny nose.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Back from holiday
Long time, no hear. I have just returned from holiday in Denmark. Not holiday from running, however. During a little more than two weeks I have logged more than 100 km of running. We had excellent weather the first week there, then it got wet, very wet with monsoon-like rain on two occasions. The running culminated with a half marathon race, the Juelsminderun on 9 August. And I kept the tradition of always improving my personal best. This time I did it in 1:34:59. That is, I have reached my goal for 2008 of running better than 1:35 on the half marathon distance, be it with the absolutely minimal margin!
The race was held for the first time on the occasion of the Danish championships in long triathlon (half Ironman) taking place in Juelsminde the following day. Despite the little bit sour weather with drizzle from time to time, I was there as spectator to see the athletes doing the 1,9k swimming, 90k cycling and the final 1/2 marathon on the same race course as we did the day before. Not that I envy those people enduring such a trial, but it is impressive to see those athletes competing for 4+ hours. I think I will stick to just the running discipline.
Of course, I took the opportunity to do some mapping while I was there in Denmark. The area was very much a white spot on the OpenStreetMap when I arrived. Not so anymore :-) Even the half marathon race delivered useful data.
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
More mapping
Not too much to report. The current sport is to gather GPS data while running. On Saturday I had a nice fast run (9,5 km at a pace of 4:45/km). The legs felt good and I just let them go. Got a bit of data for some uncharted territory. On Sunday the run became a bit longer than planned. Again, I went to my now favourite area in the dunes of Meijendel, this time to do some mapping along the coast. In particular I scouted the area around Wassenaarseslag with some brand new footpaths. However, before I knew of it I had already run more than 15 km and I was still far away from my car. When returning to the car the odometer was close to 23 km and my legs were starting to get sore. The speed was not high, around 5:35/km but much of the track was in hilly terrain with some loose surface. The weather was pleasent with some sun, 17C and only a light wind. All in all, a very nice run. And my contribution to the OSM map is growing :-) OSM map: Meijendel
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Kadeloop 12k
The Kadeloop is a classical run in the open polderlandscape around Schipluiden southwest of Delft. It is a loved and feared race due to the narrow track on a dike where it is almost impossible to overtake (if you try you may end up in the canal!). This year the race course was actually moved in some places to the parallel bicycle track because the foot path was considered too dangerous, in some places only 20 cm wide and hollowed out.
The weather was a bit to the hot side, about 22°C and humid with a bit of light rain. For the first time armed with my new Forerunner I set out at a fairly fast pace of 4:10/km and let my heart rate slowly increase to the planned value, then basically kept it there. It worked well although the latter part of the race was pretty hard. On the first half of the course through the polder we had a bit of head wind and I tried to find in one of the rows of runners that formed in order to minimize wind resistance. The race is a bit strategic as you have to try and find your right position in the field before the narrow parts start as overtaking is difficult. I succeeded in staying with runners that essentially did my speed and I had little need for overtaking (there are some wider parts on and along that dike where it is possible). The pace dropped a bit after 4 km and the almost 5 km on and along the dike went in a pace of about 4:20 - 4:25. Only on the last 0,8 km I could put in a small sprint reaching a pace of 4:01/km up to the finish line. I hadn't expected a very impressive time due to the warm weather and the potential difficulties of the dike path. So a finish time of 50:52 for the 11.83k (according to my Garmin) was more than satisfactory (pace 4:18/km), in line with my recent performance.
On my way home (cycling) I very unexpectedly got cramps in my right calf. This is something I have not experienced for the last 20 years or so. Probably, I was a little bit dehydrated, but still. Very unpleasent feeling. It was pretty painful and I had to stop for a few minutes, stretching a bit and then continue slowly home on the bike. The weather was also not cooperating serving a veritable downpour. At least, the souvenir from the race was very appropriate: A yellow raincoat!
Other news:
On June 25 I ran the traditional 6k Patentrun at my work. On the positive side I improved my personal best on that course: 25:23. But it was bloody hard running with a hart rate in the red zone most of the way. And the result wasn't that impressive compared to recent race times. It must be said that the race course includes a few steep hills and a tricky unpaved path. See the Races page for some pictures.Since a couple of weeks I'm the proud owner of a Garmin Forerunner 305. Main advantage: Now I don't have to stick to previously plotted out courses on gmap pedometer etc but can run anywhere and get the exact distance and view the actual course afterwards. I also had another purpose in mind, that can be combined with the running. I'm participating in the Open Street Map (OSM) project which has as its purpose to create a open map of the world, not encumbered by copyrights. As most existing maps and aerial photos are copyrighted, such data cannot be used for creating OSM maps. Basically, the map has to be made from scratch based on user GPS tracks and some other data free of copyrights. Generating GPS data while running is of course a great idea, gives you an excuse to go new places :-)