I will just remember this for the Marathon (in just 8 days!). Have been ill this week, so I haven’t trained, and next week is all about tapering. Just try to finish, and don’t stop 😉
Something to keep in mind
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Tag Archives: Running
First MBM clinic
Hell yeah, the whole ‘Mont Blanc Marathon’ thing has all become very real again. Last Sunday we had the first of two clinics by MudSweatTrails with the group that comes with the group travel. First we had an introduction round on the basis of pictures, including someone who had not provided a picture ‘because she makes sure she is never on them’. That tactic failed her this time though, they made a very fine picture while she was talking 😉
It became clear the group has a very diverse (running) background. Some people have been running over 30 years and participated in dozens of marathons, some have been running for a long time, but never off the road or more than a half marathon, and some have been running for just a few years (such as we). It was very funny to notice the different views on and goals for the marathon. One man is going to crawl home if does not finish under 6 hours, but I’m already very happy when I finish within the time limit of 9 hours (I believe).
The training is going very well at the moment. I can run for 2,5 hours again without feeling my knee, so I think I dare to say it is entirely healed. The only downside of this whole injury-thing is that I lost my speed (if I really had any). I’m even slower than I was before :p But well, that is very trainable!
Race report Voorne
The weather predictions were pretty bad the day before the race. Warnings for black ice in the night and morning, while we would have to leave at 8.30 for an 1,5 hour drive, and the rest of the day rain and strong winds. Luckily the warning was withdrawn before we left and the trip was as easy as they can come. We arrived well in time to pick up the race bibs and the customized buffs. I decided to try my buff immediately, since the predicted wind was definitely present (tried to blow away the start arc)!
After less than 100 metres it was already clear what we could expect on that trail: a lot of muddy trails and barely any hills. We started quite at the back, because my lack of training required me to keep the pace low. The downside of this was that at every really muddy spot we had to wait for the people ahead to cross it, which was pretty annoying. The scenery was by times really weird. The maasvlakte was very close, which resulted in a natural scene in the front with a background of large cranes and industry. Not exactly what we are used to.
Running-wise, the first part up to the aid station (km 10) went quite well, but after that it became noticeable that I had a ‘slight’ lack of training. Running 18,5K proved a little challenging if training only went up to 10K. On the bright side, my knee held up fine 🙂 The chatting with local runners offered some distraction and made time fly by. And my beloved boyfriend was kind enough to run with me the whole distance, instead of charging of to a better finishing time. Even when I became really tired and grumpy in the last few kilometres…sorry dear :p
As a surprise the organisation had selected a very good ‘swimming pool’ just before the finish, which was impossible to run around. As you can see in the picture, the only way to pass it was straight through. Really makes you feel like a child again 🙂
End conclusion: Fun trail with excellent organisation, but the lack of height differences and change of scenery made it a bit dull. We may come back for the long distance (35K) next year to check out that route, it should be more challenging.
The philosophical side of running
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Help, doubts!
To make a long story short: My knee is still not completely recovered. So while Stephan could nicely begin his Mont Blanc Marathon training, my goals are a bit more modest: (1) run for (at least) an hour without pain during or after the run and (2) participate in Voorne’s duinentrail (website) on December 9 (indeed, coming Sunday…). All achievable goals you might say, but what if I tell you I had 3 weeks to complete them and had to start at the very beginning with 15 minutes of running/walking in a 1:1 ratio? Makes it a little harder right!?
I must admit that 3 weeks ago I did not expect to come so close to really do this, but I ran 52 minutes last Tuesday. Unfortunately, that was the first time my knee hurted a little bit again when walking the stairs afterwards. However, everything was fine the next day so today we went for a run of at least 60 minutes in, oh yeah, snow! 🙂 We were out for 75 minutes, of which we walked a few, and I am really curious to how my knee will be tomorrow! I mean, if it is fine then, it should be able to make it through a 18 km race on Sunday, right? Ahhh, I know the safe option is to not go of course, but well, if it is possible I do really really like to go! Please help? Anyone?
And I know it is cold, but which runner would not like to run in a snowy, magical world like this? Plus it is a great excuse to reward yourself afterwards with home-made apple pie 😀
Wrapping up November
This month I officially started my training program for the Mont-Blanc Marathon. I am happy to say that my knee injury seems to be a thing of the past. Because of this I was slowly building up the weekly mileage again during November. Even with two recovery weeks I easily ran about 115k. What, compared to what I ran this summer, isn’t that much… but I do not have any issues, pains or whatever! So I am feeling confident for the upcoming month, where I will add some serious speed-work again.
To wrap up, below you will find a satellite picture with the paths I ran during November. Yeah, it is a mess :p
Oh, and a point for anybody who can figure out where this is…
Mont Blanc Marathon
Today it is official: I started with my training schedule for the Mont Blanc Marathon. A couple of weeks ago we came across this race and decided to register for it. After some registration issues, mainly getting and uploading a medical certification saying we are not going to die during the run, we are officially registered. How to get there and where to stay is taken care off. But somehow is still felt somewhat unreal.
For the ones not certain on what the Mont Blanc is, the Mont Blanc is with 4810 meters the highest mountain in Western Europe. And is situated on the border of France and Italy.
I drew up a training schedule for this marathon and that started today. During my run it suddenly felt all too real! I was wondering what we let ourselves into: it is a marathon in the mountains for crying out loud…. 42 kilometres and over 2.5k in elevation gain. Where we live the highest “mountain” is something like 65 meter high. That’s merely a speed bump compared to this. We are proper flatlanders, what are we looking for in the Alps? I suppose the answer is the challenge ahead… it is a massive goal and it will be absolutely awesome!
Anyway, we are registered and I am set on completing in a decent time. So there is a lot of work to be done! And I am excited to do so 🙂
Duinentrail Schoorl 2012
Welcome back! As you might remember, we were going to run the duinentrail in Schoorl. The event was last Sunday, and because it’s an 1,5 hour drive we decided to go there for a long weekend instead of just for the event itself. We arrived Friday in the end of the afternoon in a drizzling rain, hoping the weather would be better the rest of the weekend. I mean, hiking and running are a lot more fun when done in sunshine 😉 However, during the night we had some of the heaviest thunderstorms I have ever heard, so that was promising…
Saturday we went out to explore the area where the race would be, so we made a 15 km hike through the dunes of Schoorl. It’s a quite a beautiful dune area with a diverse nature and some steep dunes that would be absolute hell to run!
After the hike we could already collect our race bibs at a hotel. When we came home I got a little scared something was wrong because I did not receive a timing chip, but then I realized I probably said I would use my own chip when I signed up…. At that point I also started to get a little worried about my knee. Stephan decided to switch to the 14k, but I figured my knee would probably hold up after a month of active rest. Meaning: no running, but a lot of biking, hiking and knee exercises. But only time could really tell if everything went well, or would be a minor disaster. In every case I had decided to finish, no matter what. So even when I had to walk, I’d try to finish within the time limit of 4,5 hours.
Before the start I was really excited and nervous, did I make the right decision? Well, early on in the race I noticed I did not. Not only did my knee start to hurt after just a few kilometres, but because I had not run for a month it was merely impossible for me to run uphill! Now I know I have never been the biggest fan of running uphill, but at least I used to be capable of it for a while. This time it was a practically impossible to get up any hill, which was really frustrating. After I settled for walking all the uphills it went better, but the pain in my knee was not exactly becoming less. I was longing for the first aid station, but that appeared to be after kilometre 12, which was ‘slightly’ further from where I expected it :p To that point I could stumble on, but when I tried running away from the station the pain was excruciating. After a little bit of walking it was not so bad anymore so I could run the part over the beach. In the next dune section, after about 16k, I unfortunately had to stop, the pain became really too much. By that time I figured I had to be officially the last person on the track, but that I would be able to finish within the time limit anyway. I walked through the rest of the course (after getting a pain killer from another trailer, thanks!) and found out that I had not been the last person at the point I had to walk. In the end I did finish last of course, after 3.45 hours, but at least I did finish and I have a finisher shirt to prove it! 🙂
The next day my knee hurt like hell when we wanted to hike a last round before going home (it did fade after a while and I did not notice it again until after the ride home), and every muscle in my body was sore. After a week now I do not feel it anymore, so hopefully my next very short run will go fine.
Todays run
My run from today in just a few words:
- Rain
- Heavy rain
- Very, very heavy rain
- Shelter under tree and get cold
- Going on in more rain
- Seeing sun and thinking the worst is over
- Being wrong about that
- Getting in a thunderstorm, including a ten-minute rain burst
- Running in small rivers that used to paths
The differences with last week could not have been bigger. Today it was only 15° Celsius and pouring with rain, instead of 30° and a lot of sun. The forest was pretty much deserted for a Sunday morning, since I only saw 4 mountain bikers and 2 other runners. But well, I guess you aren’t a real runner unless you went out in the rain! 😉
Morning run and testing gear
As Stephan mentioned in his last post, we bought some new running gear. What else to do after two weeks of summer work than spending some of the earned money 😉 We needed small running backpacks to carry enough water for 2+hour runs, as well as some food and clothing (e.g. training jacket). To get those we went to the only trail-running shop in the Benelux, scarabee sports and outdoor. After quite a long testing/fitting session we both found a pack we liked, as well as a top (for me) and shorts (for Stephan). Unfortunately, Stephan got hurt on our first test run the day after so I had to continue on my own. Running with a backpack needs some getting used to, but today on my second run with it, it already felt more comfortable than the first time. I can’t wait to do some really long runs for which I have to bring some food as well and fully use my pack! (And hopefully Stephan can join me again by then.) We bought the two packs below, mine is on the left, Stephans is on the right.
Today the planning was to rise really early and run right after dawn (7.00) when it’s not very hot yet, but without setting the alarm (I did want to wake naturally…). After waking up at 4 o’clock at night (which I considered a bit too early), the next time I woke it was already light outside and it turned out to be 7.40. Luckily the woods provide much shade, so most of the time the heat was not as bad as I had feared, but when I came back home and stopped running my whole body looked like it came right out of a sauna: covered in a thin layer of water. It meant that today had been an excellent opportunity to test the pack while wearing a top and sweating, and it passed with flying colours. I had no problems with friction on my shoulders whatsoever. 🙂
The next run I will test some other ‘new’ running gear, next time I’ll run on huaraches!
Ambulabimus 