Adventures of a marathon girl

Hi y'all December is almost here and that means party time and giftshopping for all kinds of gift related encounters this beautiful glittery icy cold and dark winter month has to offer. As you crawl under a blanket trying to figure out what to get that long distance female (oriented) runner on your list, don't fret..I'm here to help you out. I know I have done this before and I'll probably do one every year, just because new stuff keeps coming in every year and the latest and greatest should make it to this list. Unlike other years I will bring you this year's list in separate blog posts over the upcuming weeks. Expect me to feature: clothes, gear, gadgets, reads, (pre) race day food and recovery. Here we go: Let's start at the very beginning: underwear. Advice number one: do NOT shop bra's for a woman. And ladies learn this: shop your bra at a good store when your ladies are not average. Read between the lines here... in case you didn't get t...

Hi y'all, I did it! I ran and finished the Amsterdam half marathon last Sunday. I dreaded the day and the actual finish line and I wanted the run to be over with at the same time. Twisted and complex as that might sound and yet the unreal really happened. I did it and I am proud of me. So....what was it like? Our coral started at 13:26 hrs in front of the olympic stadium. The weather was a little too summery for my taste but I was sooo nervous that I kind of blame part of the coral sweat on nerves. Trying to calm down I started talking to three fellow runners and learned about they're favorite runs. So fun to exchange cool runs and...as it turns out we live in the same city. How is that for fun!? Now I have run this particular half before but this time I feared I wasn't fit enough. I darted off, high fived my husband around the first 500m and than I was on my own. No more excuses just me and my absolute desire to run this one. It didn't take me long to get into...

Hi y'all, Amsterdam half marathon is coming up quickly and I am just not ready. I have not done my usual over-the-top training but just the basics. That for starters makes me anxious. The pas few weeks have been hell on finding a good shoe and I haven't so both my feet have blood blisters needles to say that they hurt. Both of these arguments are excuses and they don't come close to how I have been feeling since we got back home last Monday. I have been working my ass off to just not stop and think about mom and everything but with Amsterdam coming up so are all the emotions that are part of that. Last time I crossed the finish line at the olympic stadium my parents were there to actually see me finish that full marathon. Now mom is dead and I am scared to cross the line. Like it's making that the real final step. And I'm angry, mostly with myself. Grieve got the better part of me and when I look in the mirror I see me just about 2 seizes bigger than I wanna be ...

Hi y'all, Remember the first of September? I did a thing...I signed up for the 50 MILE (not KM) month at I love to run. Just this past Sunday I hit that mark making it official: I DID IT & thus earned each and every viber of the medal that came with said challenge. Finishing the challenge soon spiraled into a full blown psychological mirror conversation on that spark, the one thing I need to get that feeling of wanting to run. And it is something like this: Picture a bunch of guys boasting on the tracks, having fun and there's just a little of that guys-like 'I-dare-you' going on. I will trade you the world to stand with guys like that before a run. I love a good fun-loving and totally competative run. The kind of rivalry that's fun to be around and that makes not winning a personal win because it made you all the faster for it. I like a run where someone won't let go of me and just keeps running next to me to make sure I try my hardest without giving in...