vrijdag 30 april 2010

Month Total 1583 = 26hr 23 min

Having to have a week off this month has brought my daily average down a bit. But counting up the first 4 months of the year I'm still 1 hour 39 minutes 'ahead of schedule' to clock up an average of 1 hour a day. So still definitely doable I'd say...

Vroeg Koninginnedag

101 min
Start 5.45
Glad I got out early this morning as the sun was briefly visible. Since about the minute I got back in the door it's been dull and grey and the queen got thoroughly rained on in Zeeland.
(New inverted version of The Song, specially for today:
The sun is coming up and the moon is going down
And later on the day will be filled with The Crown.)


Running went fine though I didn't do any hills or faster bits, just steady plodding to get my legs back on track.










Last night there was much needed torrential rain to water the newly ploughed fields and fill the bucket in the garden.

woensdag 28 april 2010

Bruised But Bearing Up

33min
Start 19.30
Took my battered legs out for a test run tonight after 5 whole days of non-running. Felt fine, though I noticed the difference between landing on my heels and on my toes. With heel landings the whole leg 'jars' much more so that I could feel all the cuts jiggling whereas with landing on the front of my foot everything went much more smoothly. Yet another reason to adopt the barefoot style.
























The earth is literally as dry as dust at the moment after weeks without rain. The tractor ploughing the Eng was turning up a huge cloud behind it.

vrijdag 23 april 2010

Mummified Legs + Week Total 354

Won't be running till after Sunday as my legs need to recover from having the veins with the leaky valves 'stripped'. Have to wear these fetching support stockings till tomorrow night. Apart from mild running withdrawal symptoms it's no big deal as far as pain is concerned. Operation was weird as I had an epidural instead of full anaesthetic and could feel them 'doing stuff' to my legs.

woensdag 21 april 2010

Groenekan and the Angry Geese

121 min
Start 17.30
Out to Groenenkan and back via the Berekuil and Bloemendaal.







dinsdag 20 april 2010

Utrecht + Soest

123 min
Start 18.30
First an hour on the outskirts of Utrecht. Out towards Groenekan.
Did some run/jumping over the traffic bumps that separated the cyclepath from the road.










Than back to Soest whilst listening to the Archers in the car followed by a last 50 minutes or so out towards the Eem and then around the Eng till almost dark.

maandag 19 april 2010

Close Encounters of the Sheepish Kind

110 min
Start 18.00
Wanted to go for a long run this evening but set out not really having decided where to. Went out to the cycle bridge and as the Klompenpad is shut now for 3 months because of the bird breeding season went over to the other side of the Eem and climbed over the fence to the field there. (I do hope the birds know they're to make their nests on the other side...)
Ran out to Amersfoort, crossing the Eem in the Isselt industrial estate before turning back to Soest via the Birkenweg.

zondag 18 april 2010

Hilversum Ladies Run + Week Total 377

57 min
Start 12.15
Beautiful spring sunshine, not too hot to be troublesome. I seem to remember that last year there was a bit more leaf cover from the trees but still, even for me, the sun was a welcome extra rather than a hindrance. Cycled gently for the 45 minutes or so from Soest, gradually warming up. Started off with gloves and light jacket but by the time I was there I was down to the one light cotton top over my running shirt. Missed the warming up as I was getting a plaster at the first aid tent to stop my chip rubbing against my foot.













The 5k started 15 min before us at 12 so we could see them setting off as we waited in the start cages. Great atmosphere. I started off gently and did the first half in 28.40, which is 20 seconds under the 2 hour half-marathon pace. Feet felt fine so tried speeding up a bit in the second half, and although I felt strong and passed a few people there wasn't any real reserve for me to go any faster. Funny really, I reach the end feeling barely even out of breath but I don't seem to be able to get my legs to go any faster than they do, no matter how I 'tell' them to.


Forgot to stop my timer when I crossed the finish line as I saw Janneke and stopped to talk to her. She was there doing some sort of promotion for her work so had a prime place via the VIP tent.


(Just had a mail with the official time.)
Onderdeel Nike Ladies Run
Netto tijd 57:36
Bruto tijd 57:42
Snelheid 10,417 km/uur
Afstand 10 km
Plaats 223e van 758 deelnemers










I was glad I took my 2 x 200ml drink bottles with me as there weren't many official drink posts (only 1?) and if it wasn't for a few families along the route with kids handing out cups of water I think some runners would have had a definite problem. I was able to take a few slurps every 5 minutes or so and didn't have to stop to deal with a cup. Various people commented on and asked about my shoes. Some had read a recent article in the news about them and others just stared in amazement.

When I got home was able to sit in the sun in the garden and go through all the various folders about forthcoming races.

vrijdag 16 april 2010

Chip Test Run along the Eem

98 min
Start 19.00
Suddenly wondered this morning how I was going to attach my time-registration chip to my Vibrams without the help of shoelaces. It actually wasn't such a problem as the strap fits exactly through the spaces. Took it out for a test run this evening and found that after about half an hour there was a point that had made a tiny scrape on my foot where it rubbed the skin. (The visible scratches are from yesterday's run, nothing to do with the chip.) Stopped off at Carin's to get a plaster for it and ran back just in time before it was completely dark.