How freakin' nervous can a girl be?

I'm so nervous for the marathon tomorrow that I can hardly eat! What's up with that? Never had this before!



Yep, I'm actually on the countdown for a nervous breakdown...that's how nervous I am...

Any advice on how to calm my nerves?

Marathon Etiquette

Ran: 3.2 miles / 5K - 30 min - pre-marathon recovery run

Apparently there is something called 'Marathon Etiquette'. Just when you think you found a sport that makes it perfectly fine to burp, fart, and pee in the bushes whenever you feel like it / really have to go, someone mentions 'Marathon Etiquette'. Great!

I found an article on Marathon Etiquette on http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/race-etiquette-for-runners-3356989. Having read the article, in my opinion Marathon etiquette basically comes down to this:

1. Follow the instructions of the race officials at the start line; if you are a slower runner, which is fine, don't start at the front of the pack; a.k.a. stick to your corral!;

2. Look before you spit or sneeze (there is always a 'Spitting Guy' in a race, so this one should be on signs througout the course! At least in my humble opinion...);

3. Easy on the groaning, grunting and wheezing; not nice to listen to for your fellow runners! We are all in pain, just no need to make the other runners feel miserable;

4. Don't stop suddenly to walk on the course or at water stations; move to the side of the road! Ofcourse, when in a mountain marathon, it's perfectly fine to walk on the course and to hang around at water stations;

5. Don't suddenly change directions or cut off other runners; this one is a no brainer, actually;

6. Smile at and say 'thank you' to the race volunteers; OK, smiling might be a bit much to ask for at some point, but do say 'thank you' when handed a cup of water.

Good news: no word on the burping and farting, so I guess there's no problem with that. ;) :)

Do you have any thoughts on racing etiquette?

Race recap: Repower Seelaufserie 4K race in Davos, Switzerland

Sure, I would have been faster with this cat screaming at me :)

Ran: 2.5 miles / 4K pace-workout 19:27 min - Repower Seelaufserie 4K Race in Davos, Switzerland


Just a short message all the way from the Swiss Alps. It's still freezing cold out here, but actually that cold is great to run in! :)

Had a pace-workout scheduled tonight; the last one before the marathon this Saturday. There was a race in Davos, Switzerland tonight, so I figured that I'd rather race and do the pace-workout at the same time, than just do the pace work-out. Lazy, huh? ;)

It was a local race. About 110 participants, and it's held on a hilly course around the Davos Lake. Great crowd! And very well organized for such a small race. Planned on running it as a pace work-out, so I tried to stick to a 4.50 min / km pace. Great run and finished in 19:27 min. Not bad for a pre-marathon work-out. :)

And, yeah, I'm still slow. :) The first woman finished in about 15 min; fast! Still came in 6th in my age group, but wasn't even close to the speedy ladies! :)

Getting more nervous for the marathon every minute!

In my dreams I AM a Kenyan... High Altitude Training - day 1

Ran: 9.7 miles / 15.5K - 1:23 min - in Davos, Switzerland!

First day in the Swiss Alps! Love the clean mountain air! Great to be able to take a deep breath without all the city pollution.

I am here already to get used to the altitude for the Swiss Alpine Marathon on July 31th. This race is in Davos, Switzerland and it's the 25th year that it's held. The race is very well organized and the runners are always all so positive! For info, check out their website http://www.swissalpine.ch.

It's cold up here (Davos is a Swiss village at an altitude of 1560 m / 5200 ft), but it's a good cold. Not that bad actually after all this heat and humidity that we had in Holland lately. :)

Had a run scheduled today, and although it was the first day at high altitude, I told myself I had to go - it should be the last long run before the marathon next weekend. This high altitude means that your heartrate is higher than it is at home...at least in the first couple of days. I was prepared for that, and figured the run was probably going to be hard. I couldn't have been more wrong!

Had a great run! Ran through Davos City and around Davos Lake (Davoser See) and did some hillwork. Loved it, truly had this feeling of having wings and finished the run with a huge smile on my face! It totally made my day. :)

Was a bit scared of what the altitude would do to my running, but I really shouldn't have been! Now I know why all those Kenyans train at high altitude; that's their secret! :)

So tonight - in my dreams - I AM a Kenyan. :) Just for once. :)

Things I do NOT want to hear in the last week before the Swiss Alpine Marathon

4. "The Swiss Alpine Marathon K42? Gee, that's a hard course! Didn't you know that? You shouldn't be running that as a marathon debutant" - Hard course? You think? Thanks for pointing that out. Maybe that's why I've been doing all these hill workouts and strength training.

3. "Maybe you should wear a t-shirt saying 'If found on ground, please drag across finish line' Hahahaha" - OK, not funny, not funny at all. And so not true. If found on ground (or tumbled down the mountain) there are helis down the course waiting to fly you to the finish line / the hospital.

2. "Wow! The Swiss Alpine Marathon? That must have seemed like a great idea 3 months ago!" -OK, what are you trying to say here? That it's not a great idea? I think it's a fantastic idea, so zip it!

1. From a Swiss Alpine Marathon K42 veteran: "Hey, don't worry; it hurts like crazy up to a certain point, and then the pain just won't get any worse" - Gee, thanks buddy, great, just what I needed to hear!

And last but not least, a friend of mine was kind enough to point out that this sign is at the start line of the Swiss Alpine Marathon K42:

Well, 'bud'', that one is a bit old, isn't it? And don't get your hopes up on your birthdaypresent this year. :)

Great...the weather forecast for the Swiss Alpine Marathon in Davos, Switzerland

Just checked the weather report for the Swiss Alpine Marathon next weekend (July 31th). Guess what:

57 F / 14 C in Davos city, and 35 F / 2 C on the mountain (this would mean: snow on the mountain)

Hello! We're in the middle of summer here! What's up with the freezing cold?

Great: snow, freezing cold, slippery mountain trails...just what I was hoping for. Perfect... Might want to reconsider that runningskirt I plan on wearing...

And then I could wear what this guy is wearing:



Well, maybe not...

Three Things Thursday

Ran: 3.4 miles / 5.4K - 30 min - easy run (as scheduled) - took Lord en Diddy with me (Canicross!)

1. Apparently, they are selling diapers for cats now. Yep, that's right: diapers - for - cats. I really can't wait to take a look at that business plan; very curious which story they told the bank to get the loan to get them started.

Even more shocking: people actually buy these things. Since one of my cats (still haven't figured out which one) peed in the living room yesterday evening (probably got scared by a loud noise), I might have to consider trying one of these things. On the other hand, I would probably be totally scratched up before I even got the thing on one of my cats.

2. La Lohan is in jail...again...the poor thing (yeah, I'm being sarcastic here). Now 'experts' say that she got filler in her lips before going to jail:


http://www.usmagazine.com/stylebeauty/news/experts-lindsay-lohan-got-filler-in-her-lips-before-jail-2010217







a. Why, for crying out loud, is this 'breaking news'? Nothing to write about the oil spill/Third World hunger, etc.? Just wondering...;


b. Orange is not a good colour on Lindsay...at least, in my opinion it's not;


c. Just assume that she did get the filler; why would you do this before going to jail? You know the other inmates are planning on treating you as the 'flavour of the week' anyway, so why trigger that?


3. I have my outfit for the Swiss Alpine Marathon K42 laid out already and am planning on wearing the red plaid runningskirt from http://www.runningskirts.com/. Well, not just the skirt, ofcourse, that would be silly: I will also wear a t-shirt, a jacket, compression socks, etc. Just wearing the skirt would be a bit too much...but only just a bit.

How cute is this?

The thing is, there is a 6000+ ft elevation in this marathon, and therefore you could end up in the snow/rain/hail. A.k.a. extreme cold. You never really know with that mountain weather in the Swiss Alps. I have the Athletic Skirt with compression shorts underneath. A bit more warmth than the skirts with a brief, so I guess I should be fine. Or at least I hope so.

Already took the skirt out for a test run, and its comfy! However...fellow runners did ask me where I'd put the old bagpipe. Ha! Funny - not!

Wacky Wednesday: Did I really just do that?

Running Group: Ran: 6.3 miles / 10K - with speedwork - intervals (1K in 4.20 min - 10 x 1 min full speed / 1 min rest - 1K in 4.10 min)

Did I really just do intervals for 30 min, and was still able to push through a 4.10 min 1K in the end - in this 90 F / 30 C heat with 200% humidity? I was wheezing like a 90 year old smoker, that's for sure, and for a minute I really did think that I wasn't able to breathe at all, but I pushed through it! Might seem like not such a big deal, but to me it was! And I felt great (and tired) afterwards! Sweet! :)

OK, I wasn't this tired or fast (not even close!), but you get the picture

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/

Giveaway Nuu Muu exercise dresses by Racing with Babes

Racing with Babes http://racingwithbabes.blogspot.com has this great giveaway on Nuu Muu dresses! Check out the giveaway by using the following link:

http://racingwithbabes.blogspot.com/2010/07/nuu-muu-review-and-giveaway.html

Worst and best 'celebrity jogging'-picture of the day

Ran 30 min on treadmill - pace workout (11 km/u - 7 miles/hour) with incline (-9% - + 15%)
+ 30 min strength workout (legs, arms and core)

Worst




I like Felicity and all, but that just looks painful...



Best (obviously)





Does Matthew M. ever wear a shirt when out jogging? I'm definitely not saying that he has to, but I was just wondering...

OK, I'm off to the gym for a treadmill workout.

Thunder thighs

Why is it that I seem to have huge monsterthighs (compared to the rest of my body) in every picture ever taken of me running? I present to you Exhibit A:

Exhibit A (just to make this clear; this picture was taken at an all ladies run: I do NOT tend to dress this pink in my daily runs!)

The thing is; they really aren't like that in real life! I guess I just don't photograph well... Thunder thighs might be a better word to describe them, though (less humiliating); thanks NIKE for your ad!

Things that freak me out in the middle of the night

3. The thought that there might be something underneath my bed. I know, I'm in my late twenties and all, but I still do not like the dark.

2. The elevation chart of the Swiss Alpine Marathon K42; looking at the chart, I'm surprised I can even sleep at all...

1. My precious dog trying to take over the entire bed and kicking me out of it in his attempt to conquer the bed. Every...single...night. Gotta love little Lordie!

Nice and sunny

Did some speedwork as scheduled: Ran 5.5 miles / 9 km 45 min and 15 min cooling down




It was nice and sunny out there this morning. Not too hot, not too many runners outside. Went running with my canicross running group at 8.30 AM. Had Lord and Diddy (a.k.a. THE Dogs) all buckled up, and off we went!




Canicross practice


For those of you that don't really know what Canicross is; it's basically just running with your dog. But here comes the fun part. The dog wears a harness that is connected to a leash. And that leash is connected to a belt you're wearing. What happens is that the dog actually pulls you forward. There are canicross races and everything. Sooo much fun to do! Great group and I love being outside and working out with THE Dogs.


Lord and Diddy were in the mood this morning and went like a rocket. Great! Really not much to say about the run; it was just a nice run. The sun was out, Lord and Diddy were behaving perfectly and my legs were feeling great. Had a nice chat with M and R (they are also in the canicross running group) and went home at 10 AM.


And now I'm off to the garden to enjoy the sun a bit more!

A wet, wet run

Long slow run: Ran 8.8 miles / 14K 1:17 min

The Swiss Alpine Marathon (http://www.swissalpine.ch/) is in 2 weeks now (2 weeks from today! Gee, I'm nervous!), so the long runs are getting shorter and it's time to give my legs some rest for the marathon. Tapering-time! This will be my first marathon, and I actually have no idea if this taperingthing works, but, hey, I'll just give it a try! All the books/websites say it works, so I'm expecting miracles. ;)

It was about 20 degrees Celsius (70 F) at 9 AM outside this morning; way better temp for running than the extreme heat of the past weeks! Headed out of town to run through the fields, past some farmers (cherry, strawberry, etc.). It smelled like strawberries everywhere! Jummie!

The run was going nice and slow; well, apart from the pitstop I had to make because I had to pee; there's no point in not going, 'cause it will only give you cramps; thank the runninggods that I don't have any shame and will pee just about anywhere! Don't get me wrong; I'm not gonna pull a Paula Radcliffe on you, but if a girl's got to go, well, she's got to go!

Paula...pulling a Paula Radcliffe (I think Paula rocks!)

And then it happened; just my luck. I had about 3/4 of the run in, when some idiot in a BMW tried to drive me into the bushes! Hello, Mr.; you couldn't have not seen me coming; I was wearing a pink runningskirt and an aqua top! And:

1) I was on a CYCLEpath (CYCLEpath = not for cars; what the heck was that guy doing there!),

2) the path had enough space for two SUV's driving side to side and

3) I was running all the way on the right of the path, so he had about 5 meters / 17 feet to pass me (your car isn't that big, fella!). For crying out loud, why did he have to push me into the bushes! Well, sir, consider yourself blacklisted...

To top it off, it started raining like crazy in the last 1/4 of the run. Should've checked the weatherreport before the run; note to self 'Check weather before running; even in summer!'. Crazy, crazy; hailstones and all...in summer! I was soaking wet, (wet t-shirt contest-wet) but being my little competitive self, I wanted to finish the run as scheduled...so I did. Thank the modern world for hot showers! :)

Note to self - before running

If only I would have known a year ago, what I know now about running... I would have been in wayyyyy less pain and I would have been wayyyyy less frustrated.

A note to me - before I started running.

If I only would have known:

6. Eat right. This means: easy on the creamy pastasauces, easy on melted cheese on your pasta/bread/whatever, and easy on fast food. No brainer actually. Your stomach will thank you when you're running your long run the next day.

5. Toenails are overrated! Really, they are. Someday you will find yourself at a point where you're actually happy when your toenails are just bleu/blackish, and not falling off.

4. Slow long runs are supposed to be slow. That's why they are called SLOW long runs. There is no point in speeding on those runs; it will only work against you.

3. Going from not running at all, to running 5 times a week = not a great idea, like, not a great idea at all. Going from not running at all, to running 5 times a week, without proper warm-up, cooling down and stretching-routine = even worse. And there's nr. 2

2. Increasing your weekly mileage by > 50% + no warming up + no cooling down + no stretching = injuries! Hence my shin splints on both (!) legs.

1. Shoes: proper running shoes! Proper running shoes are not 'the kicks you pulled out of a box and that must have been in there for at least 5 years' (OK, now you know what shoes I started running in...). Go to a running store, and get yourself some good advice! Your feet and the rest of your body will thank you!

How I became a runner

About a year ago, in July 2009, I decided that enough was enough, and that I needed to start exercising again. I was quite the athletic type in high school, but after I went to university...well, let's just say that my priorities were all over the place back then. Priorities being my sorority, go clubbing 5 nights a week, and still managing to pass my exams and getting my mastersdegree (Law). Not to mention the amount of alcohol involved.

Next thing was starting a career and getting my first 'real job'. Getting a job at an international law firm = either no time to exercise or no time to sleep. Easy decision... After changing to another firm I really didn't have an excuse not to exercise anymore, so that was it. And running it was.

Me about a year ago...well it's not really me, but you get the point

Being me, I needed some motivation to keep me going, and I signed up for my first 10K in October 2009. People from the firm were also running, and I didn't want to be the last one to finish, so I trained a bit. Well, actually I didn't. I figured running around the block (4K) once or twice in the weeks leading up to the race would do the trick. I could't even run that 4K loop without stopping several times. 'Training' wasn't enough, obviously, because I was the last one to finish. Embarrassing...Extremely embarrassing.

And then, all of a sudden, I planned on running NYC 2010. Probably because that 10K went so great. :) I still don't know how I figured I could train for a marathon, knowing that I couldn't even run a 10K without vomiting my lungs out.

To start training and running the right way, I joined a running group In january this year (2010) for the speedwork days, and teamed up with a running buddy for the long runs. And that was it. I became totally hooked on running! From not being able to run 30 minutes in October 2009, I was all at once running 18 mile/29K long runs. And got faster. Don't get me wrong; I'm still slowwwwwwwwww...but I'm getting there. :) And most important: I'm loving it!

I'm loving it so much, that I plan on NYC in November 2010 not being my first marathon. Nope...this silly runner signed up for the Swiss Alpine Marathon K42 (it's in two weeks (end of July)), being Europe's hardest trail marathon with an 1900 meter (6230 ft) elevation. The route mostly goes over small mountain trails. And hey, that's just me; why go the easy way, when you have the opportunity to go the hard way?

Well, there you have it. How I became a runner. Some might call me absofreakinglutely out of my mind for not only running a marathon in my first year of running, but making one of them the hardest European trail marathon there is, but hey; what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger, right?

About that kill-part: just to be on the safe side...please keep your fingers crossed for me to not trip and tumble down that mountain, OK?

There we go...

Well, there we go: I just jumped on the blogrunners-train! I'm Dutch (if it ain't Dutch, it ain't much!), but I'm blogging in English. Why? I love to run races in other countries and meet up with runners of all nationalities.

So, here we go: another blogger is born. Silly Girl: start running!

Just hoping that someone gets bored enough to read this blog...