The Weekly Run Down – A New Link Up / Week 9

Super excited that Deborah and Kim are hosting a new weekly wrap thread, since the official Weekly Wrap closed it’s doors last week for good.

Join us in the new Weekly Run Down! 

So what happened this week?

This past week was much less as far as activity goes and that’s fine. This is the week leading up to my 3-in-a-row race Sundays so I need to play it a little bit safe if I’m going to achieve the 5K and 10K PR’s. I just want to note, if a PR doesn’t happen, it’s totally ok, I feel like I’ve been working pretty hard for it, more so than I’ve done in the past and I’m really proud of myself for that. That’s already a big win for me.

  • Monday –  RPM with Vincent
  • Tuesday –  lunch walk with Linda, Training with BRENG
  • Wednesday – lunch run with colleagues, Pilates
  • Thursday – BodyPump
  • Friday – Training with Runiversity
  • Saturday – rest
  • Sunday – 10KM race in Vorden (Achtkastellenloop / 8 Castles Run)

Monday I was still very tired from Sunday’s run and from not sleeping well. But Vincent and I still went to RPM like a couple of good zombies while Ron went to his training at Runiversity. Of course nothing goes without some sort of hitch with me so on the last number of RPM I somehow tweaked my knee a bit and it was a bit sore when I got home and subsequently when I woke up on Tuesday.

OK, I’m not injured but what the heck, knee???

Tuesday I was supposed to go on a walk with Linda at lunch, but that got cancelled due to work (on her side) and then later I realised I had a meeting anyway that I would have been late for had I gone for a walk… I quickly did a round later in the afternoon around our parking lot. The weather was AMAZING.

look ma, no jacket

After work was running with the BRENG guys (Vincent’s group) and it was a tough training! Vincent was in full-on trainer form! So we had a bit of a warm up, then we did running technique training for quite some time and THEN we did hills and fartleks. I think I told Vincent at least 5 times that we were no longer friends. Also, I’ll be getting him back when I massage him next time (Elbow, meet glute *insert evil laugh*). 11 Friggin Kilometers tonight.

bloody fartleks on hills!!!!

Wednesday I skipped the lunch run with colleagues. I was still so sore from the run the night before and the knee felt ok but a wee bit fragile. We got paid (yay!) so I actually went out with a few other colleagues to grab some lunch. In the evening was Pilates – same kind of report as last week, though I do feel like I’m “getting it” slowly but surely.

fresh salmon salad sandwich with a bit of smoked salmon pieces on top. NOM!
showing off my skillz of making instagram worthy food photos… note that I have no jacket on, sunglasses on top of my head and we are sitting outside. In February… NOT NORMAL.

Thursday was an early start – I had to work in Amsterdam due to a meeting with one of our banks in the afternoon. What a stressful morning ! I didn’t even get to go to lunch! I’m glad I brought a bit of food with me – otherwise I don’t know what I would have done. We literally had to rush from our office to the bank because we were late (my colleagues back home in Arnhem were there already – but someone had to finish their work and that person was me…). I don’t even think I drank any water until about 2pm. I was heading home around 3:30 when I got a message from Vincent that he was too tired to go to BodyPump. Ron had a Parent-Teacher thing for my stepson so that meant I was pretty much just going to go home and skip the gym.

this is how I “dress up” for work meetings! I will never grow up!

Friday – my day off. Didn’t do much except the usual. Bit of tidying, laundry and netflix watching. It’s a rough life. We had training in the evening which I wasn’t in the mood for (if I’m home chilling out all day it’s hard to be motivated) but training went well. 10 x 500 meters with 200 meters recovery. I think all of my intervals were faster than what was on the schedule and my trainer said that was ok anyway, and pushed me on two rounds to go even faster.

Saturday a proper rest day. No RPM since we have a race Sunday. Had a bit of a lie-in and after breakfast and watching a bit of the European Indoor Athletics Championships in the morning we headed into town leisurely on the bikes to do a few errands. The rest of the day was just chilling out, eating pasta and getting ready for the race.

back to jackets

Sunday – RACE DAY!! I was pretty nervous actually, and the more Ron and the guys talked about it the worse my nerve were! We headed out just before 10 to pick up Vincent, Cas and Andree along the way to Vorden, about a 45 min drive from home. We arrived in plenty of time, picked up our bibs and then sat in the cafe of the Sport Center for a while. I think one mistake I made already was in the cafe – I had another coffee, which I basically never do (strictly 2 max espressos at home)! The longer we sat around the more nervous I felt! eventually we left the cafe and made our way outside to have a little warm up. Eventually it was time to start. I lost the guys because I had to go to the loo once more before starting, but I did find Jeroen in the corral (maybe you remember seeing him with me here) so we had a bit of a chat until the gun went off. I started of WAYYYYYY too fast (first kilometer 5:35) and finally got it down a bit slower by the end of the 4th kilometer. At that point we were off-road. Ugh. I’d forgotten about this. I’m not a trail runner at all and in some places it was really only wide enough for one person. I’m probably a bit too careful but the last thing I need in my life is a sprained ankle or worse so I took it easy. By the 7th KM we were back on the road but at that stage I just decided it was better to relax and not worry anymore about time. In the end I ran 1:03:16. I’ve done the 10KM once before in 2017 at 1:08:19. I remember though, as if it were yesterday, i had a LOT of pain my foot that day. Either way, it’s a 5 minute PB on this course.

Me, Cas, Ron, Vincent and Andree
Jeroen and I at the start

Of course my Runiversity trainer Chantor was there, two other runners from our group, Redmar and Debbie (no photo) and Ron of course – they all ran the 30KM.

Redmar and Chantor right before the finish
And Ron a few minutes later

And that’s pretty much a wrap!

To stay accountable, I’m also joining #RIOTS (Running Is Our Therapy Sisters) – Brandi at Funner Runner,Anna Louise at Gracious Warrior Princess, Briana at Mat.Miles.Medals,Meghan at Meghan on the Move, Jenn at Runs With Pugs and Elizabeth at Train With Bain

Week 10  is going to be a bit of a challenge but I’m going to do my best:

  • Monday – BodyPump
  • Tuesday – RPM, shake-out run home with a couple of 100 m sprints
  • Wednesday – Team Pie’s Wedding Anniversary
  • Thursday – BodyPump? 5 – 6 KM run with 3x 1000m intervals
  • Friday – 8 x 200’s at Runiversity
  • Saturday – REST (Ron has a 10KM race in Haarderwijk)
  • Sunday – 10KM Race in Den Haag (with Ron as my pacer)

So Tell Me –

How was your week? Did you get some good workouts in? Do you have to dress up for work (I’m usually in jeans and casual tops!)? Do you drink any form of caffeine before a race?

Comments

  1. You know, I especially LOVE your comment about working really hard for this, so the PR isn’t a big deal. You know you did the work, and you did more than you’d done before. I agree, that already is a victory ;-) And, you still got the PB on the course! I think that’s where the comparison should be anyways…why compare this 10K with another that had a different course (probably without off-road stuff)? Way to go!!! And, thanks for joining us on the WRD link-up ;-)

    1. Renée says:

      thank you for saying this Kim. It really resonated with me and helped me appreciate the training I’ve done even more, as well as put more belief in myself.

  2. So excited that you had a great 10K! Nice job. Bummer on the knee pain. I would definitely try icing that as well per your other comment. I hate when things are going well and then bam out of nowhere aches and pains. Thanks for linking up w us today

    1. Renée says:

      luckily the knee pain was just a few days. I really need to remember to ice more when stuff like this happens!

  3. Coco says:

    Great going on the 10K, but bummer on the knee. I feel your pain, a bit lower. ;-) I forgot to comment on your coffee date post about Pilates. I 100% agree that it is hard. And, it’s not for me. I just don’t enjoy it. But good for you for sticking it out — maybe you will come to like it — or at least appreciate it. ;-)

    1. Renée says:

      oh I’m definitely committed until June and I hope I come to appreciate it as well. I think the issue is we are so used to doing/ feeling “something” or breaking a sweat or beating our last run/workout/ whatever. and with pilates you need a lot of time and patience…

  4. Rabbit Food Runner says:

    congrats on the personal best!! I also always start too fast, the excitement always gets me. I’ll have to check the #Riots put, sounds like a great group!

    1. Renée says:

      thanks Becca!

  5. Cari says:

    Growing up is overrated. I’m sad Payless closed down here before I could get a 3rd pair of the Mary Janes I adore and have worn for the last few winters
    That salmon sandwich looks amazing. I got an outdoor dining day in February when I was in Amsterdam. The funniest thing was I said to my former professor who had moved to pick the restaurant & that it should have an English menu unless she wanted to read it to me. Well she chose well, aside from the menu. It was in English, except it was machine translate . Have to find and post the photo — never saw any other bad machine english in my whole time there. BUt the Oxtail sandwich was amazing.
    :( re your knee but yay on 10K

    1. Renée says:

      i agree about growing up. And everyone should have a good pair of mary jane’s :) these are doctor martens and really live up to their reputation. I think I’ve had them about … 18 years now?? how sad does it make me that I still wear them??

      oh gosh when were you in Amsterdam??? not this year February! I’ve seen some pretty bad translations, some that are really funny!

      knee is ok now, thankfully!

      1. Cari says:

        Yay on knee!
        It was two years ago – ICeland and Amsterdam on a wonderful whim and fare sale. The team from Amsterdam marketing had visited us six months prior and excited me for a visit. I need to come back though — it’s literally all I saw of the Netherlands besides Schipol. Want to come in tulips season

  6. Great job on your 10K and your PB! You’ve been working hard and it shows!

    I’m glad you’re sticking with Pilates. I did it for a long time and really loved it. It is definitely hard in the beginning, but I swear my core was so strong for it.

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks Michelle! And as for Pilates, do you feel like your core is still kind of strong because of pilates?

  7. Liz Dexter says:

    A great week and well done on your PB! I did smile when I saw your horror of the trails – sister in trail-horrors here!! And lovely to think you were watching the Indoor Champs along with us. My friend Alison was assistant ref and I’m looking forward to my track and field summer so I was watching the officials as much as the athletes at times.

    1. Renée says:

      thanks Liz! and yes we are watching that kind of stuff all the time. honestly we must bore other non-sporty people because we are constantly watching, doing or talking about sports!

  8. Congrats on your 10K!!! I haven’t run on in years and would also love to get a PR.

    Your scarf is very pretty. So colorful and perfect for whenever Spring decides to show up.

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks Zenaida! and thanks for the compliment on my scarf. it’s one of my favorites!

  9. Rabbit Food Runner says:

    Hmm, I thought I commented but it didn’t save — Congrats on your 10k! 5 minutes is a lot to shave off of a 10k. Nice work

    1. Renée says:

      ah you did Becca – but it just went into needing approval mode.

  10. kookyrunner says:

    Nice job on that 10K! Shaving 5 mins off your previous time is AMAZING!!

    1. Renée says:

      thanks Kim! I am happy with the result, but it’s not a PR of all time. I’ll get there.

  11. Wendy says:

    Congrats on your course PR! That had to feel fantastic!

    Can you send some of your warm weather here? We’re back in the deep freeze (not normal!).

    1. Renée says:

      thanks Wendy! unfortunately we’ve not got the spring like temps anymore or I’d send some warmth your way!

  12. runswithpugs says:

    I’m sorry you had foot pain but OMG you did so great!!!!! Congratulations and I am so proud of you!

    Love your IG-worthy photos! We have all been there. We are back to “cold” weather after record highs (in the 80s) this weekend. I can’t keep up.

    I generally hold on the caffeine until after I race or run. It doesn’t always agree with me beforehand.

    Thanks for linking up with us!

    1. Renée says:

      thank you Jenn! I can’t imagine having coffee only after the race… but I definitely try not to have too much before as it can cause… um… issues!!

  13. Hannah says:

    Congrats on the PB! Hope the achy knee is feeling better.

    1. Renée says:

      Thank you Hannah! Knee is ok now!

  14. Marcia says:

    Wooot for the 10k PB! Your hard work is paying off! Sorry about the tweaked knee but it sounds like it’s A-okay ,thank heavens. OMG it looks glorious over there. Please send that over!

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks Marcia! unfortunately we’ve moved on to monsoon season over here apparently…

  15. Congrats on your 5-minute course PR! That’s fantastic!

    1. Renée says:

      Thank you Debbie!

Comments are closed.