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Register THAT!

Hi y'all,



Hello 2020 and hello epic adventures! I may or may not have done a thing again....okay I did...twice even and I don't know about you but registration days are as thrilling as they are aweful don't you think? I registered for THE two most wanted events in the world in 2020 and ensured that I will be part of them. No I am not going to Tokyo ...so okay maybe not THE most wanted but certainly up there. What did I register for you ask? aaaaah well...here we go:

1. The Nijmeegse 4daagse. For y'all non Dutchies..it is THE biggest marching event in the world. You march 4 days and 40km per day (or 50 if you're dude, military or bonkers and those are not mutually exclusive btw) My sister and I will be doing that one together since it has been something we have talked about for a couple of years. Now there's two ways to get in if you're a first timer you either enter the ballot OR you buy your way in and secure a spot at ViaVierdaagse. An amazing program that will help you prepare for those 4 days on the ashfalt in the usually blistering sun and you don't have to draw. So the only really realsies first timers join that way because if you truely wanna walk the walk instead of talk the talk...you enter that registration day and if you're lucky you pay up and secure a spot.

2. 50th edition of THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON! Now how do I know I'm in when the rest of y'all are probably still biting nails? Well...I'm gonna run for charity. I will run for Stichting ALS Nederland and since I am no longer working there I can do this without feeling the conflict of interest I did before. I'm paying for my own trip, stay, food & race entry and additionally the fundraising goal is set at 3000 euro. Once you fill out that form on the registration platform, enter your details & thus book a room and a race entry you're in.

The stress of registration days though is real though. For the Nijmeegse 4daagse at ViaVierdaagse the registraion opened on MONDAY MORNING AT 09:00hrs SHARP. Seriously people?? Monday morning at 09:00hrs?? And immediatly the server overloaded and the stress whatsapping, calling and texting commenced. I had about 5 screens open on two laptops, as did my sister and at one point even my super amazing husband man joinend our tribe. Two hours in my sister whooooohoooo'd because she finalized her payment and thus got in. And that is when we all freaked out because what if she did get in and I didn't?? Na-ah not an option so that is when we turned into ladies from hell as we nearly started screaming and ranting at our screens and than another hour later my sister whoooohooo'd again because she got me in too. Dances of joy were done and cheers were given and goldpieces were spend and as I dropped into the nearest lounche chair (yes I work at a really cool new place now with amazing furniture and people) I exhaled, dropped my hands to the floor and than it hit me... WE ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO DO THIS!!! Oh my lord what have I done now?

The registration for the 50th NYC marathon wasn't stressful like that because I knew I would get in if I filled out the form but have you ever had that feeling that you're about to do something completely scary, painful, hysterical, fun, epic and sincerely daunting? And that once you hit that SENT button there is no turning back? That once you complete that form come rain or shine you're gonna have to hold on to your part of that very weird bargain?? Well that is how I felt this morning. As I filled in the specs on my race entry form and reread it several times, my finger hovered over that button. Like there ever was an option in the universe that I would chose to not press it. It just that little tiny whisper in the back of your mind going....are you suuuuuure? When you've known you're entire journey in running would get you here at one point. That this is exactly why your friends don't believe you when you say you're not gonna run variable x because they know you'll change your mind about it. This is why your friends roll their eyes at you in front of you and laugh at you when you did-a-thing againg and it is why they are there cheering you on. There never was an option in which I would not run this one and If the only way for a dutchie to get in to this insanely popular race and earn that 50th edition medal is by running it for charity than I will do that. That is determination, that is what seperates the ones that do from the ones that talk. And oh yeah....I'm there to join in on the fun, not there to score a personal record. I just wanna make it to the human handing out medals in central park so I can hang it around my neck and say: REGISTER THAT! I just did that.

With registration days done and done I took the time I had this morning (because somehow my biological clock started working and I woke up at worktime early buttcrack of dawn on a saturday!!) and I used this time to write (duh) and to update our shared family planner (yes we have busy lives even if it is just the two of us) and that is when the intensity of my amazingly planned adventures sort of hit me. At one point I'm even gonna  have to do a nigh hike simply because my other activities can't be moved either that weekend. Basically if y'all wanna know...my work-out schedule has now turned into this:

Monday REST (YESSS)
Tuesday short hike + yoga / strength
wednesday run interval + hot yoga
thursday: short hike
Friday run (unless my long walk can't be done on saturday in which case I have to switch those training sessions)
Saturday: Long walk
Sunday; Long run


Yep and oh yeah...I work...FULL TIME. But you know what? Even if my biggest quality is sometimes my greatest challenge it is also the reason I get to where I wanna be. The mere fact that I don't see the obstacles at all and just jump in discovering the obstacles as I go along, is also the reason I start out to begin with. My base-line thought is and has always been: you either talk about getting over the wall in front of you or you start climbing. Those who talk remain on the other side and those who climb might hurt themselves and they even might fail at their attempt but they climb. When they fail, they shrug it off, look at the damn wall and try again and they keep trying until they succeed. The obstacle won't move by talking about it or looking at it from ten different angles. SO YES I am that person that just goes and than I make it work and if I fail I get back up and try again. For now I have updated our family planner and it is insane but not undoable. Tough but not deadly and as long as I don't puke faint or die I'm gonna keep going. My 2020 will be epic and I hope ya'll tag along.

That's it for now, be kind to eachother
until we read again, as always
Love, Marlies

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