A Pleasant Surprise....And My 1st Trail!

July 28th, 2013 :

I am in love with the Dutch weather!! I go to bed early to wake up early and enjoy sunrise runs, Or I wait for the evenings to cool down and hit the road for another few kms. I have been hitting my highest mileage ever. 100km !!! I never reached 80km in the past! Every km has been a joy, every run has been unique, every run has made me feel stronger and every run has been closer to the race of the year Berlin Marathon! Magic is going to happen there in Berlin,  I am giving it all, my time, my dedication my everything because my goal is to run a sub3hours. I am officially now at my lowest weight ever and still 10 weeks to go. I feel stronger than ever and nothing is about to stop me BUT sometimes life surprises you. The Big surprise is that I am officially pregnant with my 2^nd Baby! Yes I am PREGNANT!! I am going to be a Mommy again!!

Baby#2

Podium at Vechtloop Half Marathon

Christine, Me & Wies

Shall you get disappointed if you go to a race with one intention but you end up with a different one?

Since Boston marathon my body feels broken. I did few races since then and something just does not feel right! My knee pain comes and goes. I still go to the physiotherapist every other week to be sure I don't end up where I was a year ago, on the bench with IT band syndrome. But still this is not stopping me from signing up to races, which partially I am addicted to. It feels as if I can't say NO to a race!

Gala in Amsterdam!

For the "Vechtloop" Half Marathon race, I went with the intention to run my fastest time! Of course to run your top race you have to rest, eat good and take it easy the night before! Since I am a Girl on the Go what do I do the night before?

Being Invited to a gala in Amsterdam, I couldn't refuse not to go but instead I put on my high heals, dressed to impress and here I go...
I had a lot of fun but in the other hand this comes with consequences.  The next day your body is tired and dehydrated!! Lucky me, the next day turned out to be one of the warmest day, which it doesn't help at all!


On Sunday I arrived to Weesp a beautiful little town, I have never been there before but It definitely left a big impression on me!  I met with my running friend Christine who is also there with a goal to run her best race.

We picked our start number where we also received a cute jar of honey! I thought it was so cute! We went on a warm up and there already we realized how warm it is going to be!  At noon, while the sun is shinning just above our heads, the start gunshot took off . This time I wanted to start slower than what I usually start and save the best for the last. Just as planned the first kilometers went smooth, the course was nice it goes along the river in some part in other parts it goes through the bushes and in another part it goes on a bike track middle of nowhere just out of town surrounded with greens and farms. A very peacful run!

I felt great until 14 km, I kept trying to stay hydrated even though this is always a struggle for me. From 14 and onward it was a battle. At 14 km a supporter shout  to me "Go First lady!"  I had no clue I was first since the 5k, 10k, 15k all started together. I couldn't notice who has finished and who is still running... Bref, When I hit the 14 km point it was time to turn back and to run back toward the finish.... I got to see Christine who was the 2nd lady but there was some good distance  between us. Was that too comforting and made me lazy the last few kms?
The last 5 kms were the longest and the hardest, the wind was blowing in my face pushing me
backward, the heat was not helping me to find my strength, I felt somehow weak. I was just running all alone no sight of runners around me beside a volunteer on the bike telling people to cheer up for me because I am the "First Lady" I thought it was funny!! Knowing also that I am ahead and leading the race I didn't bother much to fight my way up to the finish. I just hobbled the last kms.

Just before the finish I see my boys and I hear PeuterD shooting "Mama renne renne renne"! With a big smile I crossed the finish in 1:33:30

Christine, Me and Wies

30 year old Milestone & Colours By the Sea

Wow what time flies! A small update ... On Sunday June 9th I turned 30. YES I just hit the 30 year old milestone!! This number scares me! It sounds Old!! But after an awesome holiday with my family where I got to celebrate almost every night, I came back home on my birthday all refreshed! I feel younger,  wiser and happier than ever! I can't ask for any better start!

So bring it on! I am ready to Rock n Roll my 30's!!

The Colours by the Sea

The Crazy four: Ronald, Merit, Me and Andrea

Have you heard of this most fun run of the year? The Color Run, also known as the Happiest 5k on the Planet, is a unique paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness, individuality ...

The Color Run is a five-kilometer, un-timed race in which thousands of participants are doused from head to toe in different colors at each kilometer. The fun continues at the finish line with a gigantic “Color Festival,” using more colored powder to create happiness and lasting memories.

We Own the Night!

The evening of Sunday 19^th of may, I run “ We own the Night” a 10km women’s run organized by Nike In Westerpark Amsterdam. I was offered a Nike start packet  by Leonie, together with my friend Laura and she promised that It will be an amazing evening.

As promised, an after-hours run like no other. A10 kilometers of light, sound and the unexpected, together with 2000 women to celebrate the young, the female and the fabulous city of Amsterdam.  The after run party is held at the Gashouder with a performance by Eva Simons.

At 19:00 I picked up my start packet which included an orange Tshirt  and a nice bracelet and of course my start number. The Nike stand displayed cool outfit and shoes, a must have!! 

Before the start I got to chit chat with the ultra runner Leonie who was there being sure that the evening turns out to an unforgettable experience. I also got to meet with Francien and Fieke the coolest Nike chicks.

With @GirlsLove2Run

De Loop Van LeidscheRijn

Foto: Wendy

De loop van Leidscherijn is a race of 15 km with a theme “The Romans” The start/finish are located at the Roman village a few minutes walking distance from my house. A Roman village with an Xpo is built with catering, stage with live music, terrace, changing facilities and stands filled by various local associations. I was planning to run the 15km but few months back I saw messages from @Loopmaatjes that if he manages to have 20 relay teams     (2 (1x5 kms and 1x10 kms) or 3 (3 x 5 km) runners) he will become a sponsor of the event.

Of course I got all excited to support Mr @Loopmaatjes to reach his goal. I decided at that point to form my own relay Team and the first person I asked was my running mate @RunningRonald. All enthusiastic he started thinking of a team name and fun ideas which always makes me laugh! In meanwhile I was trying to figure out who should be the 3rd runner in order to run the 3x5km.
I was specifically looking for a fast runner I wanted to win the relay event.(Duh?) At the end I managed to convince @sportsjunkie my fast neighbor who was doubting if he should run the whole 15 km or join the ThunderTrio team which is the name that Ronald came up with for our fast Team.

ThunderTrio

Marathon Monday Boston 2013

I just can't believe I ran Boston Marathon!! It was not a dream, at the same time I can't believe what happened before the finish line, it was not a nightmare, everything was REAL!

Now that I gave it some time and found a place in my heart of  this adventurous, mixed feelings weekend in Boston, I am ready to write about it!
Monday April 15th was a day of extreme emotions: From extreme happiness to have crossed the finish line of the Boston marathon with a Personal Best to an extreme sadness, fear and disbelief within an hour after I finished when I heard the bomb exploded ...

My marathon performance has nothing to do with the explosions that is why I want to only talk about the race and the rest will forever stay a memory that I will never forget...

Where to start from? I  can honestly say I have never been as happy during or after a marathon as I was on Monday. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been this purely happy at a race.

It’s no secret: I like to run fast. I am internally competitive and incredibly driven by time goals. But this time when I finally made my mind to run Boston, my goal was just to run without having a goal time in mind and finish healthy without any injury and enjoy every km of this race.

Since my arrival to Boston on thursday and after a relaxed flight on a business class where I got to lay down for 8 hours, I have been feeling super relaxed, no jet lag, no knee pain from sitting 8 hours everything was just cooool and easy.

Afsluitdijkrun, Beirut HM and Marathon

The Afsluitdijk is a major Dam in the Netherlands, constructed between 1927 and 1933 and running from Den Oever in North Holland province, to the village of Zurich in Friesland province, over a length of 32 kilometres (20 mi) and a width of 90 m, at an initial height of 7.25 m above sea-level.
Afsluitdijkrun took place om March 10th after a successful edition 1 in 2012. A 30km run from Den Oever to Zurich. A perfect training for the Boston marathon. The week before I had pain in my calves and it resulted in a sensitive knee. The whole week I was wondering if I am going to manage to finish the 30 k on Sunday.

I picked  Marcel and Christine up from Marcel' s house in Zaandam and drove to Zurich. Marcel was injured and didn't run but stood on the side of the road to take some pictures. Christine wanted to run it as a training for 'Marathon de Paris'.
The day of the 30k the weather was better than the predicted forecast but the wind was very hard. I wanted to run at 5' the km and I wasn't sure with these circumstances if it was possible and especially with the doubts of being able to finish without any pain!

Ready to sprint the 30 km ;) against the wind with Rene and Christine