Zilveren Turfloop 2012

Here I am standing again at the start of the Zilveren Turfloop in Mijdrecht ready to run a 5km. The weather was just perfect!! Cold but sunny!  All I wanted is to run fast but not too fast...Euh!! More like run without any knee pain but not disappoint myself!
At the start, I was with Falco my fast neighbour who decided a day before the race to join my ride and run a fast 5k.

Falco n Me before the start

The whole week I was wondering if I should run on Sunday the 5 k. Part of me wanted so bad but also didn' t feel at all getting disappointed of how "Slow" I became and also I am still recovering from my knee injury that lasted forever, so running carefully was part of the deal! The IT band injury broke the whole trust relationship with myself, with my legs. Every minute of the 5 km I was scanning my whole body to see if I feel any pain!! 
Part of my recovery is to hit the gym and do squats and lunges and this has been making my running quiet heavy! I have been running but in an easy pace. I haven't had any fast training run, the last fast run was Amsterdam Marathon (8K). The main goal of my recovery is to be able to run more often and longer without absolutely no pain.

Not racing for a long time made me loose the feel of how to manage my race. The start was around 11:00 after the start of the 10 km race where Roberto was taking part of it and he wanted to run a sub 38'

As for me that's how my 5 km went:

km 1 went way too fast!!  (Pace 3:50/km) what am I thinking? That's the pace of my top condition and not a pace of someone in my situation!!
Km 2 was more what I wanted to run (Pace 4:03)
Km 3 went bad! I felt my legs super heavy from the squats of the day before, I felt that I am running but my legs are not moving and this dropped my pace to (4:10/km)
Km 4 and km 5 Were much easier at a consistent pace (4:04/km)

I crossed the finish Line in 20'11" which is 14.86 km/h. I also finished 3rd in my category!
This time cannot disappoint me! I know with my love for running and dedication I can be a fast runner again! The most important of this whole race that I enjoyed every minute of it, painfree and that's what count the most!

FiNESSh Foto (Foto: Falco)

At the finish, Falco was waiting for me and he was also happy with his 5k time of 18' 03.  He made sure to capture my fiNESSh foto! Thank you! Then we waited for Roberto who finished the 10k in an amazing time of 36'47

Roberto n me after the finish

        Another race, another achievement! Hup to a healthy recovery!