And the madness continues

Note to self: do not look up 'ultra trail Europe' on Google. 

I might have just waisted 45 minutes on making a 'possible race calendar' for 2013. Brilliant.

What I've been up to?

Well, being self-employed and working my cute *ss off for one thing (hence, the lack of posts). And, not feeling like running, and still dragging my cute *ss out of the door (oh, the joy of taper mode - am I the only one that is not a fan of taper runs?). Shopping for new running skirts at hiphardlopen.nl to dress that cute *ss of mine in. I guess it is safe to say that the passed two weeks have mainly evolved around my *ss. Which isn't that cute, by the way.

Enough about my bootay.

There's another planned marathon coming up. Berlin, Germany. This weekend. I've never been to Berlin, so I might just make a touristy weekend out of it. Since this might just be another 'here goes nothing' marathon. Uh-huh. I've really been too lazy to do some substantial speed work - with this summer's ultras, speed work made room for long long long runs. Well, that sure paid off at  the Swiss Alpine Marathon K78 ultra. So, I really shouldn't complain about my slow physique. Right? Right? Plus, the thing with marathons is - it either is 'your day' or it isn't. So, no need to freak out now. *cough*

On to more important things. Have you checked out the new Snow Leopard print at runningskirts.com? You should. Here. It's even cuter IRL. I usually where the running skirt style, but got this one in the athletic skirt style. I find the athletic skirt style to have a better fit when worn over tights. And with winter just around the corner...I might just be wearing tights before I know it.

Brings me to one last thing. As for the Berlin Marathon - dress my slow bootay in the PR plaid skirt (and have that 'this is embarrassing' thought going through my mind all marathon long), or pick the snow leopard and make fun of those speedy cats?

Still no SuperWoman

Yep, that's correct. No super powers on this girl.

Long story short - not to bore you.

So, I did make it to the start line of the TDS at the UltraTrail du Mont-Blanc. Nervous to the bone. But excited. Lucky for me I ran into Hugo right at the start. And I did not let go of him after that. Sorry, Hugo. ;)

Weather reports were pretty 'blah'. Downpours, freezing temps, wind, snow. Not the kind of thing you'd like for 31 1/2 hours of running through high alpine terrain. Well, running...

Hugo and I decided on starting out really slow and to stick with that pace till the Cormet de Rosselend aid station at 63K. Little did we know that that might not have been the best approach. Since we started out in the back we got stuck between slower runners on the first climb and ended up waiting (standing around - cold...) for 45 minutes to even get up there. Till the 44K point we tried to make up for that. After that 44K point there was a pretty mean 20% elevation climb (11K of muddy fun...), and it was already late in the afternoon - so we decided on taking some time at the 44K point aid station to get changed for the night and to eat. We took an embarrassing 60 minutes there - let's just say we were socializing a bit too much. Result: the climb was a muddy mud slide. Steep and muddy/slippery. Not a great combo. Plus, it was getting colder. It had started snowing and temps were dropping. I knew I had some warm gear waiting for me at the 63K aid station, but Hugo didn't. So cold. 

To top this fun of, I took a pretty mean tumble at 61-ish K. Slipped and rolled down the mountain. Hit my shoulder on a rock. Pretty hard. Pretty pretty hard. As a result, the MD in the hospital in Switzerland prescribed me with some nasty pain killers and patches - and a sling. And I've been stuck in that sling for 1 1/2 weeks now. Stupid shoulder - annoying pain. Luckily I didn't break anything - MD isn't sure whether it's 'just' a crack or a muscular thing. I call it 'a souvenir'. Or 'battle scar'.

Okay, the race. At the 63K aid station (and after 16 hours in the race) I wanted to get ready for the night - despite of the shoulder (at that point I didn't realize what was going on with the shoulder - that's what Mr Endorphin was doing to me. But boy, was I in pain). Tried to squeeze Hugo into some of my ultra warm gear. And that's when the guy from the Organization came into the aid station. Saying the race was still 'officially open', but we could only continue at our own risk.

And that's when it hit me. I've just started my own law firm. I no longer have employee insurance benefits. My self-employment insurance doesn't cover 'at your own risk' situations. I was still having fun and ready to continue (and felt surprisingly great), but I was worried about my business. There you have it. So, I picked my firm. I picked my income. I picked avoiding the risk that something would happen and my insurance wouldn't cover for the loss of income because of it. Oh, boy. Would I have continued if I would still have been employed by another law firm? Embarrassingly enough - I think so. Ouch.

I've already had some 'encouraging' emails telling me I'm 'weak' and a 'quitter'. Yeah, very friendly. Luckily, I've had more emails and text messages saying I've acted ' like a self-employed grown-up' . An ' entrepreneur'. Does this make me a grown-up now? I'm not sure. What I am sure about is this - I'll be back next year (and boy, Hugo knows I will force him to come with me).  And I will be running for a charity. And will still be covered in glitter. And pink. And I might wear a full body suit to avoid my shoulder from getting cracked again. Stupid rocks.

Stats of the race: 900 runners out of 1500 dropped. The weather must have had something to do with this.

So - I am no SuperWoman. Not by far. Then again, I do look good in glitter.

Okay, there we go

Thank you for all your sweet comments on this post: here.  Both on the blog and through Facebook. Sure helped a lot in making me worry less. One of you suggested mentioning it casually to the people at Race bib pick-up. In a 'so excited, but some people are weird' kind of way. Sounds like an okay idea.

As for The Race - the one I've been talking about for months, but never dared mention. The race I hope on running, the planned race, is the TDS race at the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc in the French Alps. It scares the sh*t out of me. Why? Check out the website: here. 

Yep, that's some serious elevation gain. And 114K is a long way to go. 31 1/2 hours - how the heck am I going to stay awake and focussed? 

50% doesn't make it to the finish line, so I'm being realistic here. I know there's a 50% chance I'll have to drop out. I'll just focus on how I feel and on trying to make the cut-off times at the checkpoints. I'll try my best. That's all I can do, honestly. And yes, of course I'm doubting everything now: my training, my gear, my taper, etcetera. On top of that, I've been really busy with starting up my own law firm in the last couple of months (in case you've missed it: I'm self employed now. Gulp...). And that's more exhausting than you'd think.

So, as in 'better safe than sorry', if you guys (and kick-ass girls) could send me some positive and strong vibes this Thursday and Friday, please do. I'll cherish everyone of those vibes. Plus, I'll need them. Boy will I need them. 

Things I don't get: a threat

The Race. The one I have set my hopes on. The one that is planned for this Thursday. The one that already scares the sh*t out of me and makes me so excited at the same time. It's a long one. It involves night time running. It has some serious (and by serious, I mean serious) elevation gain. I'll need poles during the race. Enough said.

The race I've been looking forward to for ten months now. Beyond excitement. 

Why would anyone want to throw negativity into that?

A little while ago, a running buddy of mine pointed out that a certain person was posting negative comments on Facebook and Twitter. Plus was telling other runners negative stuff about me. Why? I don't know. I hardly know this person and haven't spoken to this person for a long while (if you're not running the same races, it happens that you don't run into some people for a while). Nor have I ever said anything that could be labelled negative about him/her. Not on Facebook, not on Twitter, not in person. So, why this person is telling everyone that wants to hear it, that 'that b*tch is going down - literally. I'll kick her off of that mountain. That will teach her. I'll show her who's the better ultra runner', is beyond me. I can honestly say that I have no idea at all where this is coming from. Nor have I ever received such messages in the 29 years I'm on this planet. I'm not the girl to fight with people - I don't see the point. Nor do I see the point in disliking anyone (okay, some dictators in the Middle East do deserve a dislike, but that's about it). Live and let live. 

Plus, as for 'who is the better ultra runner' - is this a contest? I'm in it for moi. Not for anyone else. Plus, I'm slowpoke galore. I don't care about which place I finish in. I care about trying to make the check points. And having fun out there. I honestly couldn't care less about who finishes in front of me. Seriously, I hope he/she wins the race. 

It is kind of scary, though.

So, for those of you that are in Chamonix this week for the race and are in one of the races (and in particular the one I'm in) - I'm the girl with Silly Girl Running on her shirt - the girl that's covered in glitter (yeah, I know - there's this twelve year old pageant queen inside of me, that's fighting to get out). And if you notice anyone trying to push me off of a mountain - please warn me. Please. 

Luckily for me, there's this marine that plans on running the same race that I plan on running - he's already offered to use his muscles to help out. ;) Then again, better safe than sorry.

Have you ever dealt with such a weird threat situation?

Apparently I am Goofy

Despite me deciding on doing the Vermont 100 instead of the Goofy's challenge at the Walt Disney World Marathon, I somehow managed to just click 'register' on Goofy a couple of minutes ago. I could do that first 100 miler in Europe - I can't do Goofy in Europe. 

So, there you go. Registered for the Goofy's challenge. Solo. Who is willing to hop around the Magic Kingdom with this nut?

Confessions of a self employed lawyer

Okay, as from August 1st, I'm self employed. Freaking out all over the place. No need to freak out. In the last two weeks I've learned:

1. Setting up your own business takes up all of quite a lot of your time.

2. Working, running, eating and sleeping are pretty much all I do at the moment. I'm no fun.

3. I'm a stubborn muppet for wanting to work with Mac. Holland is not Mac minded. Finding a printer that is compatible with Mac (and not everything on the printer but the scanner) gave me a headache (no kidding). 

4. My office space is a mess. There's cables and piles of paper everywhere. Apparently being self employed doesn't come with a secretary. Bummer.

5. I have the brilliant plan to run another ultra (as a training run for the planned freak out race end of this month) this Sunday. 56K / 34-ish miles. Considering the fact that I barely had a good night of sleep in the last couple of days, this could be interesting.

Any advice from one self employed muppet to another?