Dam tot DamLoop 2011

For the Second time I run the Dam tot Dam run. A 16 km run from the dam in Amsterdam to the dam in Zaandam.I know this race is not a kind of race where you can really run a PR especially that I am running with the business group of McDonald's. This means i am running with runners who run more for fun then runners who want to run fast! Of course my goal was to run for fun but really fast :)



I took the train to Amsterdam. Once i arrived, it was pooring rain and i felt very cold! Luckily I met with another mcDonald's girl we had some tea and tried to stay warm before the race. 15 min before the race it stopped somehow raining, it was a perfect timing to head to the start of the race!

The atmosphere at the start was amazing, people are dancing and singing it was a great moment! I am not kidding just 30 sec before the start out of nowhere it started to rain so hard, i thought to myself this is not going to be a kind of race i wish to run!!
At 13:10 the race has begun and here i am hitting the pavement as fast as possible while the rain is hitting my head as hard as possible! The first km were absolutely wet! I felt the water in my socks, not the greatest feeling...
Under the tunnel it was nice and warm with a nice atmosphere and here i felt great i found myself a nice pace, at the exit of the tunnrl the rain was even harder and i could see the lightening in the sky! Here i realized that i am running ahead of the race (Vak3) with few other guys, few km further we catch up to the slow runner of the previous group(vak2) and that was a little drama.... I had to scream all the way for people to move to the right especially when the road didn't have enough space to over pass. It was not the best moment of the race...


At 10 km i was at 41'50 and here i had to focus to get the last 6 km done! few km further i hear someone screaming my name out of nowhere and i look to see @RubenRent cheering for me, JEUUH!

The last few km are the best because running through the town with people on both sides of the street and all kind of music playing around it really gives you energy. Of course me running with a McDonald's tshirt i heard everyone from everwhere screaming GO McDonald's that was really funny :)

The last km was pretty fast and i finished my 16.1k in 1h7min 26" and that is surely a PR.

I am happy and i hope next  year i will run a little faster!! :))

here is my official result:

Cheers

Adidas Ladies run 10 km

June 19th the adidas ladies run in Ahoy. I always enjoy those kind of races when it only women!! it gets a little more competitive!
Through twitter I read that some other ladies are going to run the Adidas ladies run, so we decided to meet before the race!
It was a pleasure to meet @SylviaVogelzang @MarjonRunning @RunnuningEllemiek and Karina.
Sylvia introduced me to Wilma from Run2Day Rotterdam!! Very nice lady!! She let us put our bags with her and gave us all a small gift!!

The weather was not the most beautiful day but I think for a runner it was the perfect day! Usually i am not a fan of hard rain like it has been the last few days!! Luckily it wasnt raining that hard that day.

At 12 I meet up with the other twitter friends at Kralingse zoom station. We took the metro to Ahoy. Never took the metro in the Netherlands so it was a nice experience!!

We arrived picked our numbers find a restroom and head out for the start. I really wanted to be in front for the start so i moved my way to the closest from the startline. I look at my garmin to see that it is DEAD!! Honestly i freaked out and suddenly out of the blues it turns on and gets the satellite signal! wohoo i am lucky!!

The first kms i kept repeating to myself dont go too fast!! somehow i tend to start with a pace of 4'03 and every km the pace goes higher....not very ideal!!
I really wanted to do a negative slpit!

So my pace was steady i felt strong in my legs and every once a while i check my pace to be sure i dont slow down and when i did i pushed myself to keep up the pace! Around 4 km i realised that I was 4th but also realised that i am running all alone...
One thing usually i like about a race is to keep passing other runners...it usually feels good and help me keep pushing myself but here i was looking arounfd to notice that i am really alone....the race was me and the time...

I felt strong the whole time until the finish line my pace was around 4'15 and my final time 42'28. I did finish 4th in my category and 5th out of 1890 runners.

I am very happy that i was able to run faster than my last 10 km

This week i wont be able to run because my husband is away and no one to baby sit!! Next saturday another 10 km race and that would be the last one for a while.

Zuidas Run 10 EM

Zuidas run on may 29th...the business loop van Nederland!! I did run this prace 2 years ago and my time was 1h 7min so my goal was to match this time...
We organized a team Accenture + my client C1000. We did got cool tshirts Accenture in the back and C1000 in the front. We had a team of 15 people....

The weather was really nice but we all underestimated the wind that was blowing so hard!!!
The first 10 km i was against the wind, i did a small mistake because my first km was below 4'10 i think i am starting too fast and i am not being able to build up the speed!!

After 10 km my legs were burning and when the wind was helping me i couldnt build up speed i was just dead!!!

I already knew that i shouldnt give up and that i could finish on the podium....the last km were the hardest ....i saw the pacer of 1h10 just passing me....I refused to be behind this time i stayed with him and passed him at the finish to end up with a time 1'09'

I wasnt too happy with my performance and i wasnt expecting to be in the top 3...but to my big surprise i was!!!! Very happy...i forgot about my time that i am over 2min slower than 2 years ago, i just enjoyed being third.

Leiden Marathon

This was my first half Marathon after pregnancy. I wasn't sure if i was ready for it or not!! Being ready in my opinion is running fast... the question was am i ready to run as fast as last year?
Apparently NOT!! i run in 1h 32 min ...2 min slower than my PR

the Nice thing of this whole race that i got to meet with some twitter friends. Running Ronald, RubenRent and others.... so according to RR i could keep up with RubenRent but here i started with him at pace 4' 13/km and of course i couldn't keep up with this pace it was way too busy!!

At the finish line my beautiful husband and son were waiting for me!!!
Every race is special!! Every race has its unique taste:)

10 km of the Jaarbeurs Marathon

Here it has been 5 months since the birth of my son! I signed up to the city pier city 10 km in March but somehow my start number never came and i didnt push to get a new number so i let go i thought maybe i wasnt yet ready to run a race!

The first few months after the pregnancy i think were the hardest. I couldnt find a rithym in my life i was nursing every 3 hours so i felt it was a never ending. Now that my son goes to the creche 4 days a week and now that he started to sleep from 7pm till 7am with an 11 pm feeding life became much easier. i have more energy to do things even though i am still nursing him and this takes a lot of energy and time. Not until the last months that i started to run like 4 times a week...

Finally i made up my mind that i need to sign up to another race. This race is the 10 km on April 25 th. What is so special about this race is that the start is only 50 m from my house!!
The day of the race everything was hurting me, my knee, my stomach, i was tired...obviously these symptoms started because i was very nervous!

I knew i wont have a PR but i also deep in my heart i knew i can run fast!! Why i wouldnt be able to do a PR? The answer is Simple -->lack of training...

11 am the start, 10 min before the start i walk toward the start and find myself way behind the start line. Thanks to another twitter frien @MennoHollander we were able to move few meters closer to the start line. 11'03 was my start time 3 min behind the official start. The first 2 km were a combination of running and skiing. Skiing because i was running right and left to move away from the crowd. The biggest obstacle was the heat! My mouth was absolutely dry i was suffering from dihydration from the first few meters!!! After the first 2 km I picked a good pace around the 4'15 and cruised my way to the finish line.

Nothing is more wonderful to know that my hubby and little boy are waiting for me at the finish line!! Thank you boys for the support!!!
I finished with a time of 43'08. In the overall ladies i was placed 13th out of 1070!! BUT  I had a neutral feeling i wasn't too happy or sad.  I know i could do better but i also know that i should be patience to my body who had a C-Section 5 months ago.

I was happy to see @JudithWebber another twitter Friend.

Next race would be on may 15 th the half marathon of Leiden!!

Cheers

Welcome 2011

On a personal level 2010 was a great year with the birth of my beautiful son. I could have not wished for anything more precious.

One of my goals in 2010 was to run my 1st marathon. One month before Rotterdam marathon in April that is  when i knew i was pregnant so this goal got postponed to this year.
I managed to run throughout all my pregnancy which is something i am so proud of.
Rotterdam marathon might be on my list this year but it all depends on how fast i get back in shape and if i manage to increase my weekly mileage.
Few things need to be done:
1) - loose the baby weight ( 5 Kg to go but they are the hardest to loose)
2) - Find the balance between running, newborn baby who needs attention and a 4 days job.

I know this wont be easy but with my love for running i hope to get the motivation to run whenever it is possible.

Few goals for this year.
1) to do at least one PR in either 10k or 21k
2) to RUN and FINISH a marathon

I am looking forward to 2011. BRING IT ON!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas!

I love this time of the year. Normally i would be spending it in a condo on a ski hill with my family. When i say family its like brothers, sister, their kids cousins etc
This year with the new addition to my family it will be a quiet christmas, i wont be in a condo on a ski hill and i wont be skiing the next day but it will be a white christmas here in the Netherlands. I am looking forward to celebrate all that with little D.
Christmas day would mark the 5 weeks since the birth of baby D. I wonder if i should call him baby because i see a little boy and not a baby anymore!!

After having a c-section i really thought i would have to wait 6 weeks before i can do any activity. Sure enough being a little impatient and my eager to start running 6 weeks would not be an option. On week 4 post pregnancy i managed to run... That felt damn good! Somehow i felt strong as if i was never pregnant ... Or as if i was running with my pre pregnancy weight!
Well that is good news! Right? I hope it stays that way...

Baby D

Running while having a newborn at home is going to be challenging. Now it is somehow easy because we are both off from work but when hubby gets back to work eventually all depends on what time he comes home from work. All this has to be planned...but i have a feeling 2011 is going to be a good year!

Merry christmas!