Adventures of a marathon girl

Hi y'all, Well we're here on the very last day of 2016 and today marked yet another milestone in running for me. Today I ticked 1450 kilometers in running and that is by far the most I ever ran in one year. It really is a lot. Sander made me this map and even calculated the curve of our globe. The circle represents 1450 from the red Amsterdam tag to the edge of it and thus you can see where running those 1450km could have taken me in each direction. I would have, for instance, passed Rome and I would have run straight through all of France. Just a fun fact. You might have picked up on a little something but I love data. Runkeeper is my favorite app and when I saw that I might be able to make it to 1450km somewhere in the first week of December I started checking out my stats for 2016 on runkeeper and though I was well aware of my changes it kind of hit me that this is really me....I really did this. I ran all of these kilometers and I lost about 20kg of body weight. So w...

Hi y'all, Today I want to talk about my running club (and the best house ever!) and why I feel that running races in the virtual world has been one of the most friendly experiences I have had in running. As y'all know I am an addicted event runner and I run at least 10 IRL races each year, so the motivation to run has always been there and yet...when I came across a post on -A year of Running - by someone who was talking about the Half Blood Prince Half Marathon my heart jumped. An actual Hogwarts Running Club?? Perfect for a Potterhead like me. I had to find out more and so I checked out the website and decided right away to join my first ever virtual race and run the Half Blood Prince Half marathon. I had been sorted on Pottermore before and at that time I was sorted into Slytherin (not at all to my surprise) so I joined Slytherin even though the newest version of Pottermore mistakenly put me in Ravenclaw. I found out just a little later that there's a whole bunch o...

Hi y'all, With 2016 coming to a close I am, like many others, trying to focus on closing and starting up. Out with the old, in with the new. December has always been the most magical month of the year for me. The cold brings in this almost eery serenity on your early morning runs. The fog lingering over the frost bitten gras, frozen over lakes and canals, the sky coloring crimson red with the sun trying to break the night's dark blue. Go out for a run and you can imagine running into a wizard with his wand out conjuring a patronus just for practice (oh yeah...I am a true Potterhead). December is magical and this year I once again find myself redefining my wishes. Alas I'm still recovering from my my IT-band injurie but this year I am travelling the road of the wise. My goals can only be reached by being the smart one now. So I am rethinking my runcketlist and I have come up with a good schedule for the big moments: - January 8th 2017 Saucony Egmond quarter marathon....

Hi y'all, Today is thanksgiving, an all American celebration and the one day in the year you get to tell what you are thankful for. Something I believe we should do more often than just one day a year. We take so many things for granted and today I would like to let y'all know that I do notice you and I am thankful for the all that is you out there.  First and foremost I can never put into words how blessed I am with the love of my life. Meeting Sander changed everything in every possible way. He never doubts me, he always has my back and it is just so amazing to have someone in my life who's priority I am and vice versa. Someone to wake up next to and someone to kiss goodnight. I love my man more than I can tell, though I do tell him exactly that every morning when I wake up and every night before I fall asleep. Today I would like to express how thankful I am for the completely deranged and utterly nutty family I am from. Like any other family we bicker, we fight...

Hi y'all, I have been trying to come up with the right words for this blogpost ever since the mind-boggling results of the American elections. I have been in numerous debates with people from all over the world. Some people are downright rude when I speak up for those that openly have been targeted ever since. All over the USA, no the world, people are voicing what is happening to them on social media. Swastika's are popping up, young girls the age of ten and under (!) have been grabbed by the vagina by boys who tell them that if the president can do it than so can they, women wearing head scarfs out of religious believes are scared of wearing them....I am heartbroken. Do we really need a reminder of what hate can lead to? Let's just say that all it takes is one trip down memory lane. I speak up because I am a human and no I do not live in the USA but this is not just an American issue. It is a global issue since the world always looks at the USA and uses it...

Hi y'all, Perspective is a weird thing and somehow it is intertwinted with time. When time passes and you get some distance from your latest race, how you felt doing it and what it was like to cross that finish line, you'll find that it is the same distance that makes everything look small. You'll find it easier to talk about it without the overwhelming surge of emotions that rushes over you the first about 48 hours after a very long run. And right about that time you will notice that friends and family members are inspired and feel like they want to achieve something huge like that for themselves. With that inspiration comes some true responsibility. I am all about getting people up and out there on their new running shoes and I abslolutely love talking about running and why I believe everybody should run and why everybody is able to do so provided they have no serious health issues that would surface when they put 4 times their bodyweight on their knees and ankles wit...

Hi y'all, A year ago I ran the nike women half marathon in San Francisco and since that half marathon a lot has changed and I have changed a lot. One look at this before and after picture will be more than enough proof of that. It's a game of 'spot the differences' so let's play this game. These are the rules: 1. Look at the picture 2. Write down the first three changes you can spot within one minute So let me see If I can guess your list: 1. The distance changed (it doubled) 2. Lost (a lot) of weight. 3. Clothing / bottle in hand changed 4. The year changed All of this is true. I have worked my ass off and lost about 20 kg (44lb) of body weight and yes that is a lot. Yes I am capable of running twice the distance now, yes my clothing changed and yes a year has passed. There's one thing though that is bothering me with this way of looking at my accomplishments. It has to do with the before and after perspective. It feels like we're saying th...

Hi y'all, Last Sunday my blogtitle became a reality and I can only say that I am blessed, happy and over the moon by the all that was this most epic journey. Now if you by any change happen to stumble upon my blog via the link that you found in the article I wrote for TCS Amsterdam Marathon than I am sorry for being a bit late in updating my very own blog. These past two-and-half days were spend with my feet up and in a total state of 'woooaaah what adventure awaits me next??!! ' sharing stories with my family, writing about my first marathon for my fundraiser campaign, browsing through all social media updates, checking my race day photo's and by visiting my physical therapist to make the horrible muscle pain go away. Running my first marathon has been an epic journey in all aspects and race day itself wasn't day I proved my worth. Race day was the day I ended an adventure by finding courage and strength in me to complete what I had started, Race day was th...

Hi y'all, Me and my fellows are entering the realms of bittersweet and endings. The road we have travelled together is narrowing and it's not going to be long before I have to face the music on my own. After dangers untold and hardships unnumbered the time has come for me to stand on my own two feet and trust that Joris The Tin Man and Esther the good witch have taught me all their lessons and that I am ready to do this. I can't believe how fast time has passed and how much this entire journey has changed me. Last weekend I ran my last long run before the marathon and I did smiling all the way, helping struggling fellow runners and it felt nothing like the first time I ran a 30km run. Almere gave me confidence, boosted my spirit and has left me feeling proud to actually be a long distance runner. The road leading up to this point has been incredible. Trust me: you can't do this and have it not change you. It is simply impossible. You can't do this if you are n...

Hi y'all, So this weekend the biggest running event the world (yes that is correct) has to offer took place in Amsterdam and this year, for the first time since I seriously started running, I could not run it because it didn't fit into my full marathon schedule. We are talking the Dam tot Damloop which takes runners from Amsterdam to Zaandam over a 10 mile race course beginning with the dreaded and therefore twistedly loved IJ-tunnel. That is the tunnel that you drive through to get to the other side of the IJ to Amsterdam North. Kind of like you'd run a tunnel from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Or from Antwerp city to Linkeroever. The complete length of this tunnel is just little over one mile but what makes it specifically hard is the plunge it takes from ground level to it's lowest point and back up plus...it marks the first two miles of your ten mile run. Furthermore the tunnel is never closed for traffic except during Damloop weekend thus making running through that t...

Hi y'all, The adventure has taken a turn to the darkside and yesterday, as I ran my first 30km race ever, I have met every deamon there is to meet. I went straight to the pits of hell and back and I have never ever felt all of what I felt before. At the same time you find yourself surrounded by people that, for just that time and place, are true angels. They drag you out of your dark thoughts and help you move forward, they are the ones believing in you when you have lost all faith, they literally help you push through when you thought you had nothing left to give. Running. It's horrible and beautiful at the same time. If you ever really want to know what you are made of, if you ever want to truely grasp the way your own body works, if you ever want to know what it really means to not give up... I suggest you take time, you take all your time and you train for that full marathon. It changes you in more ways then you could ever know. So what happened yesterday?  The love of ...

Hi y'all, Another two weeks have passed since my last update but I have not been sitting around doing nothing. In the past two weeks my brother, sister and me have been busy organizing my parent's 45th wedding anniversary. We made sure my parents could enjoy the party so we took care of decorations, food and drinks. We arranged  (cooked/baked) and brought over all the food and drinks and an amazing set of volunteers from the church my parents used to visit made sure non of us had to lift a finger serving it all. The party was beautiful and very emotional too. The number of guests was heart warming and the love everybody showed for my parents was touching to the core. Most people are shocked and horrified to see how rapidly my mom's bulbaire ALS is progressing and knowing the 100% mortality rate of this disease makes each and every moment with my mom precious. As y'all know I am fundraising for the ALS association in the Netherlands and me and my family are impressed a...

Hi y'all Last week I was being my own biggest enemy. Being back in Amsterdam with all the distractions and the same-old same-old training routes, sort of bummed me out. I didn't wanna do the work and I felt bad about myself for eating horrible stuff, not sleeping enough and all that ended with me postponing workouts and feeling low about that as a result. I ended up fixing the training sessions anyway but I didn't feel as good about them as I did in Spain. So what is happening? Not working is happening. I have always had this issue. I can juggle the completely insane work-hours with all the extra's when I have a fixed schedule. Oddly enough that makes things easier for me. As soon as that is gone (think exam weeks / holidays) I kind of fall apart. Having no schedule equals having no goals, no deadlines, nothing to hold on to and I can't handle that. If I do not have these life buoys I am at drift and I go completely overboard one way or the other. I either binge...

Hi Y'all, The journey is beginning to take a toll on this traveler. I am but 75 days away of this incredible thing called marathon and I'm starting to feel the miles. The road is hiding under the dusty rain washed shimmer of summer, my shoes are wearing out as am I. But I trot on, back straight, shoulders down and my head held high. Tired or not: this story has not yet come to a close. This road is a dangerous one, full of weary travelers like myself and untrustworthy characters bound to prey on the likes of us. We must always keep a watchful eye and a clear mind for on the magical road to marathon finish there will come a time when you'll need to have your wits about, a time where you will have to face your foes and fight them.  I thusfar encountered and battled a few foes. The first foe was a dodgy fellow named disbelieve. I could see it in the eyes of a few people and it made me doubt myself. Can I actually pull this one off? Can I make it? Feeding straigh...

Hi Y'all, The journey is beginning to take a toll on this traveler. I am but 75 days away of this incredible thing called marathon and I'm starting to feel the miles. The road is hiding under the dusty rain washed shimmer of summer, my shoes are wearing out as am I. But I trot on, back straight, shoulders down and my head held high. Tired or not: this story has not yet come to a close. This road is a dangerous one, full of weary travelers like myself and untrustworthy characters bound to prey on the likes of us. We must always keep a watchful eye and a clear mind for on the magical road to marathon finish there will come a time when you'll need to have your wits about, a time where you will have to face your foes and fight them.  I thusfar encountered and battled a few foes. The first foe was a dodgy fellow named disbelieve. I could see it in the eyes of a few people and it made me doubt myself. Can I actually pull this one off? Can I make it? Feeding straight into my fe...