Almost a shame to run there, instead of walk and enjoy the view…
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Tag Archives: Trail
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 Luckily the warning was withdrawn before we left and the trip was as easy as they can come.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.
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 😀
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! 😉
Registered for Duinentrail Schoorl 2012
Manon and I decided to enter the Duinentrail Schoorl 2012. We are going to run 30 kilometre through the dunes near Schoorl. These dunes happen to be the highest in the Netherlands. So we have our work cut out for us in our first official trail run.
In case you are interested to register as well, I am afraid you will be disappointed. The trail has reached its maximum capacity and entry is closed. You could hope for some cancellations, but otherwise you will have to wait a year 😉
Endurance runs
So, I have not written much last week, but that’s because we haven’t run much. Our last run together was Sunday, which lasted 2.5 hours. My dog was spending that weekend at our place, so he had to come with us 🙂 We were going into a part of the forest we don’t know very well, so we ended up doing some more kilometres and uphill running than intended.This resulted in very, very heavy-feeling legs towards the end of our run, and the very strange experience of not at all being out of breath or thirsty, but still craving to stop running!
This week we started working from 8.00 to 17.00 and this renders us rather tired at the end of the day. And since we stand and walk around all day, it’s probably not so bad we don’t run afterwards. So, this morning it was my first run this week and it did not start very well. After less than half an hour I had a minor headache and pain in my neck/shoulder, so I figured it wiser to make it a shorter run than planned (which was about 2 hours). After running uphill smoother than ever (I did not say I was going to make it an easier run..) I encountered 3 male runners stretching at the lonely oak. I surprised myself with how cheerful and not-at-all-tired my ‘hello!’ sounded and they looked at me a little astounded. This seemed to make me fly and I blazed down the hill. It only felt better and better after that moment, running in ‘my’ part of the forest 🙂 Eventually it did become quite a long run in the end, of 1 hour and 50 minutes. I’m curious if I can make myself run this week, but I definitely hope I run well right from the start!
Ambulabimus 