“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”
I LOVE the quote above from Nelson Mandela. It summarizes beautifully, how I am currently feeling about my marathon training, and my passion for marathons in general.
Countdown!
45 days to go to Rotterdam Marathon 2015 (hashtag: #MR15 in social media)!
I am still - as always! - catching up on recording running stories and training recaps for #MR15.
This fact does not take away the happiness I feel, since I've been documenting my training better compared to my 3 previous marathons. It can only get better from here on. :)
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| Monday, 23rd February 25 kilometers |
Make It (KM) Count!
Last Monday, I recorded another 25 km run. It was supposed to be 30 km but the battery of my sportswatch was empty, and went off by kilometer 25.
SO, I'll count it together with my 2 other previous 25Ks.
This coming Saturday, I'll run again the 30 km distance to officially document it on my Nike+ stats. It is more for my mental prep to be honest.
Before I continue in the 30+ km zone, I wanted to write a blog that will save my 25Ks collages. I would like to run the distances of 32, 35 kilometers before I taper.
Below is my tentative plan of how the next week's Saturday/Sunday training will look like (posted on the 25th of February/UPDATE - 16th of March):
Saturday, 28th of February:
Sunday, 8th of March: Half-Marathon, CPC Loop Den Haag 2015 (my first race in 2015) ✔ DONE! (blog link to follow - short version: I basically did not do anything the week leading to Sunday's race because I was still feeling poorly. On the day itself I was not sure if I was going to reach the finish line. But I treated the race as a slow long distance run, and was 15 minutes faster than I thought I would be. With a total of 10-12 minutes loo/drink breaks: I finished with 2:44:40 net time.)
Sunday, 22nd of March: 32-35
Sunday, 29th of March: 25 km
Sunday, 5th of April: 21 km
Sunday, 12th of April: THE #MR15 Day! :)
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| An image I posted on my @HappyFeetNL Instagram account on the 9th of December, 2014 officially announcing my Rotterdam Marathon goal |
So far in preparation for #MR15, I've ran:
November, 2014 - 125 km (My official first month of training)
December, 2015 - 61.8 km ( :( Deep dive in the km due to flu virus!)
January, 2015 - 100 km (Relapse from flu virus prevented me from reaching 150 km but I forged on!)
#MR15 - 377.1 km - current kilometer stand 25th of February
(UPDATE, 16th of March: here)
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| Sunday, 1st of February 25 kilometers |
Sunday, 25th of January
25 kilometers
Each collage above represent each 25 K run of the last weeks. I put the corresponding date to each collage, and hopefully, when I find the time & have the peace, I'll edit this blog to include the link (on the dates) to the corresponding blogs about each run.
Marathon (Training) Magic . . .
As always, when I write updates, I like to list things about why I love marathon training; the preparation for Rotterdam Marathon helps me remember and keep them in mind:
- The beauty of life outdoors. Looking at the pictures I was privilege to capture during my runs has been giving me fulfillment as much as the run themselves.
- The joy over the friendships formed through the mutual goals & passion: Rotterdam Marathon/Spring Marathon/longdistance running/staying fit/healthy lifestyle!
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| December, 2014 Bruggenloop Rotterdam |
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| November, 2014 Zevenheuvelenloop, Nijmegen |
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| September, 2014 Dam tot Damloop, Amsterdam |
- The people you meet! Getting to know more inspiring & motivating people on the road to the goal you set for yourself . The pursuit of the dreams and goals becomes a shared experience with like-minded souls.
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| The Mermaid Club Watch out for my blog about how it is to be TMC Ambassador and be amongst many inspiring women all over the world! |
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| Janine & Mark from Belfast More about them and their inspiring stories, next time! (click on the link to check out Janine's new blogsite!) |
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| Janine |
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| SO MANY INSTAGRAMMERS! I'll share more on motivating IGers, next time! |
- The lessons learned! Revisiting* wisdom already learned and gaining new ones (blogalore* after a long dry spell !) contributes to the exciting road, which leads to the marathon finish line.
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| My (other!) blogs about life behind running: My Daily Mooosings in the Netherlands The Lightness of Being on The Bike |
- The never-ending transformation. Happy Feet=Happy Mind.
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| Let's Goooo! 21st of February (Saturday) at km 5 of a 15 kilometers run #MyShadowandI :D |
Once again, I wish everyone continued success in their preparation for various Spring marathon!
Please do leave a comment below to tell me how things are, or that I can check your blogs and offer support, on your way to fulfilling your goal what ever they may be. :)
All my previous blogs related to Marathon Rotterdam Training :
You have a powerful mind. Nothing is impossible for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the unwavering support, Bicolano Penguin!!! It means SO MUCH to me. Maraming salamat, V. Mabuhay!!!
Delete(My apologies - I published the blog already before I proof-read it for the umpteenth time! It's my attempt not to lose blogs in the bowels of "draft mode". :) )
Running is such a healthy pursuit. Congratulations on your endeavor.
ReplyDelete