This was a last minute decision. I signed up a week after King of Spain.
A week before the marathon, i was already logging in 50km mileage, which is unusual given, on an average training week, i only clock in an average 60km. When i finish this race, i would have achieved the highest mileage logged in a training week. This one was 94km.
The Area
This has to be the furthest northern drive (towards Friesland) for me. As we approach the open sea, it feels like home; the ocean breeze. I later read that Lauwermeer is a man made lake and formed in 1969 when the dike between Lauwers sea and the Wadden sea was closed.
The Race
This is the first edition, and at start line, it felt like a cosy family race. It is a full tarmac race, with only very brief sections of trail surfaces. We ran a 5.20 pace for a good 21km, but soon after, my legs started losing its power, and so did i mentally after km 30. There were so much discomfort and pain, that i was on the verge of tears. Very unusual feeling, and at this point, the pain takes the joy of running away from me. The wind (Beaufort scale 4) along the wide open landscape makes it all the more challenging. Gertjan (as usual) was a Godsend trying to shield me from the wind, but it probably helped 20% of the way. We had a third person running with us and often times, i had to rotate places with him. It is a new experience, running closely in a group of 3.
I was counting km in my head, 10km to go, 5km to go, 2.5km to go, and finally we reached the sluice at Lauwersloog, and i breathe a sigh of relief, that i can finally rest when i cross the finish line. I stop feeling the pain, and march on to the finish line.
Not knowing my position, we were planning to drive home. I didn’t think a time of 3.52 hours was going to get me any Top 3 placings. When we got into the car, Gertjan’s instinct says that i may have win a price for the women’s age group category. True to his instinct, i was placed 1st in my age category, and the prize was onbitj koek. 🙂
Reflection
Since Rotterdam marathon, i had to set myself a new challenge, and excitedly signed up to UTTJ (115km 2 stage run of 70km and 45km – as part of a qualifying race for CCC) and since then, been logging in long miles of about 90km a week. The experience i gained was a different one, as i learnt how my body adapts to these long run requirements. Running a 15km a day became quite attainable, and quickly became a habit. This effect will show when i logged in my Invictus run experience. The key benefit of logging these miles is twofold; mentally training the brain to accept that a 21km run (now) is in fact a short one (therefore allowing the body to push harder thinking it is a “short” race) and physically, the actual training WILL make the body a lot stronger, keeping in mind that i should always have enough rest and keep the training injury free.
Today, i have scrapped the CCC plan and decide to focus on speed training and achieving the FM goal of 3.40 for Boston qualification next year.
meysrunningjourney.com 