Three Things Thursday

1. Fundraising for Team Hole in the Wall: As you've probably already noticed I'm raising funds for Team Hole in the Wall (and picked Team Hole in the Wall as the charity of my choice for the New York City Marathon '11 - fingers crossed that nothing will keep me from showing that marathon who's boss...). When I came home from work yesterday, and checked my mail, there was a letter from a Dutch Stichting called Stichting Evellius, that said that they are willing to sponsor the costs of one child to go to one of the Hole in the Wall camps. I'm beyond happy because of this, and feel humled by their generosity. I can't thank them enough!

2. Playing footsie: The toes... What can I say? Well, the toes are still behaving like a naughtly little 3-year-old. Yesterday the podiatrist worked on my left 'big' toe. She squeezed some kind of fabric underneath the toenail to prevent it from growing in. If this doesn't work, she'll have to place some kind of braces on the toenail. Sounds painful. However, the toe isn't any less annoying. I have to check in with the podiatrist in 2 weeks.

The pinky toe on my other foot is somewhat less annoying. Or, it was somewhat less annoying till I accidentally popped the blister yesterday morning, and now it's back to looking like a gross pinky toe again.

And then there's the second toe on my left foot (the one next to the 'big' toe - does that make sense?): that one is truly bugging the heck out of me. When I wake up in the morning it's okay, but at night or after a run it manages to work it's way up to being 1.5 times its original size. Huh? It doesn't really hurt though, just a bit of a sore-ish feeling going on there. No clue, no clue at all. If it doesn't feel better in a week, I'll check with my GP.

3. Running shoes: My beloved Asics GT-2160's (2A width) felt heavy and bulky on last night's run. It was the first time that they felt heavy on my feet. Weird. My Asics are my go-to shoes for long runs (14+ miles / 22+K), since they have good pronation control (at least, in my opinion), and that's just what I need when I get tired at the end of a long run. Plus, they come in narrow widths and still have a large toebox. Could the 'heavy' feeling be caused by the barefoot running I've been adding to my schedule lately? And to the shorter runs I've been doing in Newtons? Do you have any recommendations on lighter shoes that have good pronation control and are narrow or come in AA width?

Wanted: Muddy trail

The new kicks, right out of the box. Replacing my (re)tired GT-2150's.

I'm off. Looking for some muddy trails. ASAP!

Three Things Thursday - the 'There's a Throwback Thursday in here' post

Ran: 5 miles / 8K with the dogs - 42:50 minutes + Cycling: 30 minutes

1. My new Newtons were sparkly white when I opened the box less than 24 hours ago. This is what one lousy 4.5 miler does to new running shoes. Lucky for me, I'm not going for the fashionable and crispy white look. I like it dirty. ;) Yep, I said 'I like it dirty'. And no, I'm not referring to 'that', I'm referring to trail running. ;)

Aren't they pretty? ;)

2. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve 2010 already. Another year has gone by. As for my private life: it wasn't a walk in the park. Not the easiest year, at all. But I do feel like all these personal 'battles and bumps (to be honest...some were mountain-like bumps) in the road' made me a stronger girl - mentally.

As for running: I do realize that this may sound corny, but it honestly seems like just a week ago that I picked up running (January 2010). And I'm still in awe over how much my life has changed (for the positive) in these past 12 months. It's been a heck of a ride, but I truly feel like this is where I'm supposed to be right now, and that this is the 'real me'. And I haven't felt like that in a long time. A long long time.

3. Last but not least: the post Kevin (http://halftriing.blogspot.com/) has been anxiously waiting for all week. Throwback Thursday!

This is me. I must have been about 2 years old in this photo. The photo was taken in France, on a summer holiday with the family.

As you've probably already noticed, I'm sporting the 'preppy European girl' look. Lacoste shirt: check. Striped Bermudas: check. And, yes, I am a girl. Hence the hair. I actually had the same haircut as my mom back then. And Twiggy. And Agyness Deyn. One might even say that Agyness stole my look. I won't hold that against her. That's just not the kind of person I am. ;) Plus, it looks better on 2 year old Me anyway. ;)

Lookie what I got!

Ran: 6.3 miles / 10K - intervals - 60 minutes (with cooling down, warming up, etc.) - Running Group practice

Last week I ordered a sweatshirt and a t-shirt through Spreadshirt.com with the name of my blog on it and the name of the gym I work out at.

The gym asked me if I needed some sponsoring (heck, yes!), so this was part of the deal. Medisch Bewegingscentrum Utrecht or MBU is the name of the gym, by the way.

Just got them in the mail. How cute are these? :)

Oh, and by sponsoring, they mean, I can work out there for free, the PT is for free and every once in a while (not that often) new running shoes and running clothing are paid for. Sweet deal! :) Ofcourse I have to mention their name about a zillion times a day, now. But, hey, I babble along enough as it is, so mentioning their name a couple of times is absolutely OK with me! :)

Just simple math

Ran: 12.5 miles / 20 km - 1 h 50 min - weekend long run - marathon pace

My beloved GT-2150's

+

Coldplay playing on my Ipod

+

CEP compression socks, Peak Performance tanktop, Runningskirts.com strappy top and Runningskirts.com pink runningskirt

+

one GU vanilla bean

=

ONE HAPPY RUNNER

Hope you will all enjoy your weekend long run as much as I did! :)

Three Things Thursday

Ran: 6.3 miles / 10K - 55 min Easy the week post-marathon run

OK, this is going to be a very chaotic and very random three things thursday-post...I just have to get a few things off my chest. :)

1. On my trip to Switzerland last week I saw a Dobermann-dog (huge dog!) wearing a rainsuit. No kidding... It even had a little hole for his poopoo. I don't get the things people are trying to get their dogs to wear these days. Why would you want to dress up your dog? Beats me...

These dog costumes are hilarious, though! I'll have to admit that! :)

Tried to convince my dog Lordie to wear the crocodile-costume. Unfortunately, he didn't really 'dig' it. Mr. Fancy Pants... :)

2. I really lalalove (*chimes*) the Newton Lady Isaac Stability Guidance trainer and would love to take them out for a run or two (or more...I just need those shoes!). Problem is, I can't find them anywhere. Apparently, a size 10.5 Wms Lady Isaac Stability is all sold out. Booohooo! If anyone knows of a store selling those and shipping to Europe; please do tell!:) If anyone wants to send them to me as a gift; even better. :)

And yeah, I know my feet are huge, but, hey, what can I say, I'm a tall Dutch girl...it comes with the genes. :)


3. The new Fall/Winter skirts from runningskirts.com are out this September! Wooohooooo! I'm doing my happy dance here! Really can't wait for these skirts to be on their website! :) So excited! The new preppy black is adorable!

For a preview, check out their blog here: http://runningskirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/outdoor-retailer-running-skirts-knock.html .

Question: Any fellow runningskirts.com skirt-addicts out there?

Inov-8 Terroc 308 Womans trail running shoe review

I've been doing my off-road work-outs on the Inov-8 Terroc 308 trailrunning shoe for a couple of months now, and I have to say I love these shoes! I have both the Terroc 308 and the Flyroc 310. I will post a review on the Flyroc 310 (these are also great; especially for muddy conditions) soon.

Womans trail running shoe

The Inov-8 Terroc 308 is a trail running shoe created for women. Its last is shaped specifically for a womans narrower foot and heel shape.

Cushioning

The Inov-8 Terroc 308 is a trail running shoe. It's not just a running shoe with a grippy sole added to it. The Terroc 308 has less cushioning than normal running shoes, and is - you can tell this by looking at it - lower to the ground. For example, it doesn't have the chunky heel that most running shoes have. This is also what makes the Terroc 308 a great shoe for natural running. I use the Terroc 308 just for running trails and hard surface tracks, and find it has enough cushioning for that kind of running. Also, I'm planning on running a mountain marathon (the Swiss Alpine Marathon K42) in these babies.

Neutral shoe

The Inov-8 Terroc 308 is a shoe designed for neutral runners. I have a pronation problem, and therefore added an insole (just a Mysole-sole - no custom orthotics). Inov-8 added some technology to the shoe (medial and lateral posting) to help aid pronation and supination. For me the insole and the medial/lateral posting-technology do the trick. Plus, in trail running the whole pronationsupport thing is up for discussion (Google it; lots of articles on it).

Upper

The Inov-8 Terroc 308 has a mesh upper. I used the shoes in the snow, and really didn't get freezing feet (wet, though, but strange enough not cold). And my feet are usually freezing, so this is a biggie! I also used the shoes running through little streams, and the water goes right through the mesh, and won't stay in the shoe. Your feet get soaked, but because of the mesh, they dry very quickly. Therefore, no complaints about the upper.

Fit

The Inov-8 Terroc 308 fits true to size and is great for normal to narrow feet. I have narrow feet and the fit couldn't have been better. Never had a blisterproblem with these babies.

Traction

The greatest asset of the Inov-8 Terroc 308; it has great traction. The outsole has grippy rubber on it, and that works! A couple of months ago I was running down a hill through the snow, and did not slip at all! The Terroc 308 is, as I said before, lower to the ground than a normal running shoe, and that makes that you are more stable in rough terrain. The shoe performs excellent on mixed terrain.

The Terroc outsole

Weight

This shoe is light! With only 300 grams, it feels like you're just wearing slippers.

Well, you can tell I love these shoes, huh!

I would recommend these shoes to anyone that's into trail running. Check out Inov-8's website: http://www.inov-8.com/