Impressions after Sunday's Olympisch Stadionloop's 38th edition

Our youngest - 4 years old on this pic - daughter wearing
my first Olympisch Stadionloop shirt
before and after my run in 2011

After finishing for the first time, as last runner to my first ever 10K race in November, 2011, I promised myself a spectacular come back at the Olympisch Stadionloop, when the time comes to run it again.

photo courtesy of
Phanos (Hardlopen Phanos Amsterdam) FB page

photo courtesy of 
Phanos (Hardlopen Phanos Amsterdam) FB page

Fast forward to 3 years later: I finished 3 marathons as a "marathon tourist"; I dealt with an injury to my toe nerve that cost me a year to recover from mentally; I shared 100+ memorable running blogs, and I still have at least 100 more stories of running adventures untold. 

Our almost 7 year old daughter  aka Littlest
outside of the Olympic Stadium Amsterdam
entertaining herself before my start

Littlest my number one cheering fan!

This child has so much energy
and energize me at the same time!

In the end, it was not a spectacular PR come back but a come back to the roots of my running beginnings. Long(er) version in a race recap blog @ Happy Feet'S Miles (to follow) ; short version, here: I had a great time @ the Olympisch Stadionloop 2014! I shaved off 14:34 from my first Olympisch Stadionloop 2011 time of 1:21:48, by clocking 1:07:14 in 2014.

collage created by my husband!

photo courtesy of 
Phanos (Hardlopen Phanos Amsterdam) FB page

for more pictures taken on that day by Phanos,
please check out this link:
Phanos on Flickr

Even if it is not my best 10K time, which currently still stand @ 1:01:40 from Marikenloop 2013, I am VERY happy with this result. The best 10K racetime for me this year (so far! #14TenK). It felt good to come back to, and participate in this event. A great experience to see that in my first week of Spring (2015) marathon training, I am more fit than I was 3 years ago.

Kudos to the "never give up" & "you are never too old to begin and reach out for what seems like an impossible dream" spirit!!!

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If you would like to see some more pictures of the great day,

made even more special meeting (and hugging for real!)

inspiring running (#IGers and FBers) friends, who kept me 

motivated, and going in the past months (years) : 


@lk_dolphin

@marleennnx 

@ntasjaa 

@inoukie 

@cursorwan 

@hvgils

please check out Happy Feet in the Netherlands on Facebook!

11/100

"Dress-Run" for the Half in Amsterdam

5 days to my 3rd consecutive year of running TCS Amsterdam Marathon -  this year will be my first Amsterdam Half Marathon, thanks to the generosity & sponsorship of VIVA  and Wehkamp.nl.

Feel very lucky to have been selected to run for Team VIVA
via the VIVA Sportief FB Page

In October, 2011, I ran my very first 8K in this event. 

This was my first real running goal, which I trained 8 weeks for.  My training begun literally on the day I decided that I will start to run: 8th of August, 2011. 

This is a memorable picture from the 8th of August, 2011documenting my 8K walk
on the first day of my 8 weeks of training
to run my first 8K!

Running my first 8K, going inside the Olympic Stadium of Amsterdam to reach the finish line of my first running adventure was the most memorable experience in my life.

October, 2011
Almost to the finish line of my first 8K!

The year that followed, I ran my first Amsterdam full marathon - yes, 5 times 8 kilometer and plus some! 3 weeks after I finished my first ever marathon in Berlin.

It was a triumphant return to & a warm reunion with the Olympic Stadium. :)

October, 2012

October, 2011

Perhaps this week, I will finally manage to do a recap of both experiences! My procrastination in doing recaps is monumental. But that is another blog topic for another day!

With this bog, I simply wanted to share something "new", that I hope will become a tradition. 

Contrary to my stressful habit in the last 2 years of last minute choice of what to wear in running events - today, I actually did a "dress-run" for what I am going to wear on Sunday!

Theater lovers, are familiar with the term: dress rehearsals.

I love play in words, and so from now on for fun, I will post blogs (this is how I motivate myself to create a positive habit!) about my "dress-run".

taken outside of our back garden
I am wearing pink long sleeves Dry-Fit running shirt
courtesy of VIVA & Wehkamp.nl
Also, I am wearing ZUZA compression socks
courtesy of Lunatik Athletiks

Monday Easy paced "Dress-Run"