The Dam to Dam Race

I might have mentioned in past posts that I'd agreed to join Annie's company in running 10 miles from Amsterdam to Zandam (hence the name, Dam to Dam, hehe).  I was a bit nervous about running 10 miles, because lets face it... 3 months ago I could hardly run 1.. But I DID IT!!!

Anyway, here's where I must thank the book Marathoning for Mortals by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield.  There is no way I could have done it without the book's advice and training plan.  Get ready because I'm going to say something none of you will EVER have believed I would say.  I enjoyed the race.  I started with a smile on my face and ended with a bigger smile on my face (note, smile was not present the whole time).  Now, Andrey/Jason/Annie might say that it's my Liz-bot camera sensor since many cameras were on me, but I also felt like smiling.  The energy was amazing.  So many people were cheering us on, kids had their hands out for high-fives and bands/DJs kept up the beats.  It was a really really cool experience.

I'm shocked to say it, because I generally hate running, but I might be turning into a runner.  Maybe.  We'll see.  Next month is the Amsterdam 1/2 Marathon and I feel pretty ready.

I have been gushing so much, I forgot to tell you one of the other amazing things about this race.  I ran pretty fast! I finished in 1:40, which means 10 minute miles.  The energy of the race really helped and I felt great, though my knees are a little achy.  Thanks to the running bible, I have a rehab plan so they don't turn into an injury.  Another cool thing - there will be pictures!  Jason and Andrey brought their huge cameras out and took pics of me, Annie and Marc.  A big congrats to A&M and thanks to J&A.  I will post their pics when available.  In the meantime, here's my medal!

Post-race was a bit of a mess.  There were over 50k racers and 200k watchers, so even though they stagged the It took us over an hour to take the bus back to Amsterdam so I'd felt like I'd been on my feet for  many hours (which I had).  I power-napped on Andrey's shoulder on the bus and now I feel great.

If any of you readers have ever wondered about forcing yourself to run, I think you should.  With the right plan, anything is possible.

Loop in Dutch means run - this was a one way race.

On a running high.  Pretty sure Amelia was watching over me.  Thanks Ladybug!!!!!!!!

Love,

Liz

8 miles in 89 minutes

So this weekend was again the longest run of my life.  It was a crisp, cool day in Berlin and our hotel was very close to the beautiful park the Tiergarten, which is great for running long distances because there is no stopping.  While I'd always heard people talking about their bodies going into auto-mode and just continuing to run, I had never really experienced it, but I *sort of* think I'm starting to understand what they're talking about now.  I ran this alone even though Wendy had to do her long run too - she did 9 miles! and I'm going to pester her for a post about it.

There was no pushing myself with speed as I was just trying to survive 8 miles... eventually, I got into a bit of a groove and my blood pressure when down so I didn't feel out of breath and it felt sort of comfortable to just keep running.  Talk about a weird sensation.  Anyway, it's about an 11 minute mile though miles 2 and 3 were quicker at 10:30.  Have I mentioned I LOVE my Garmin watch?  Getting credit for activities makes me want to exercise and bike to work.

Will add pictures of the weekend soon!

Liz

Moving Day!

So, two weeks ago was moving day.  It was also the weekend of running 7 miles.  I think moving in the Netherlands deserves its own post because it's different than most cities.  This is how:

#1 - Buildings are narrow because taxes used to be levied based on the width of your apartment.  Stairs are very tight and narrow.

#2 - The buildings lean forward and have hooks, so when you need to move or bring in furniture, you do it through the window... see exhibits below. 

See hook all the way up

You hook the boxes into a net with a hook and put it out the window.

Then it's carefully lowered down with a pulley.

Then it's lowered down to the waiting person - SUCCESS!!!

Many thanks to the Amsterdam crew for their moving day help - you guys are the greatest!!!!!

Happy new digs!

Liz

Nike+ Training

Although running stores don't have good things about Nike products (or the one I visited in Middletown, RI didn't at least), I think Nike has more than just a good marketing department.  Their apps are terrific and the games they've come up with to motivate runners are pretty cool.  So cool that I'm jealous of people with iDevices to use their Nike+ stuff on.

What I do have is the Nike+ Training app for the iPad.  I really like it.  The app rewards you with cool stuff after you've worked out for certain amounts of time.  There are certainly improvements that can be made, but I'm a fan.  After doing 30 minutes of trainings I unlocked celebrity athlete's personalized workouts and after 60 minutes I got a bunch of smoothie recipes.

Yesterday I did 3 workouts by a celebrity sprinter (my effort to get faster) a dancer (to tone up overall) and that US gymnast Shawn something for stretching.  Then I tried a spinach, mint, yogurt, and apple juice one.  The taste grew on me, but I felt uber-healthly drinking it.  I followed that up by lots of popcorn (yum!) 

I haven't added any pictures to the blog recently, so here's the blog in a Wordle:

Thanks  to http://www.wordle.net/create

7 miles in 79 min...

This weekend was my 7 mile run.  This is farther than I've ever run in my life or ever thought I could run, but it wasn't that bad.  The bad part is how super-slow I am - 79 minutes means over 11 minute miles.  I ran to Vondelpark and around the park twice (each loop is 2 miles).  Running 7 miles was the first time in my training where I thought, 'I can probably survive this half marathon.' It's a good feeling.  Wendy and Annie are running much much faster than me, but finishing is my priority here.

It's amazing how small, incremental increases in effort can really add up!

Liz