Adventures of a marathon girl

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...