WRD: Vacation Catch-Up

RenéeWeekly Run Down34 Comments on WRD: Vacation Catch-Up

Deborah and Kim are the amazing hosts for the Weekly Run Down! Feel free to join in as well to wrap up your week in fitness!

WEEK 31

Plan vs. Actual

Monday – 3.25KM walk, GLI gym 1 hr intake – no workout (appt w/different PT), 3.5KM biking
Tuesday – 3KM walk (office day) to and from train station
Wednesday – 3KM walk, W6R1 run, 6KM, GLI 1 hour, gym 55 min
Thursday – 2.22KM walk, gym
Friday – 2.75KM walk, W6R2 run , gym 55 min
Saturday – 2.5KM walk, parkrun in Alkmaar 5KM, 17/17 Dutch parkruns done!
Sunday – 2KM walk, long run W6R3, 1.4KM w/u walk, 10KM run (!!!)

It’s been a few weeks, my 3-week summer holiday is officially coming to an end and, to be honest, I have no idea how I’m going to start up again; work, training, keeping up with housework, cooking, etc. UGH. First world problems right?

I’m going to try and keep this short – I know no one wants to read a huge ass blog post about what someone else has been doing with the last three weeks of their lives; feel free to skip through and just look at the pretty pictures if you don’t really have time to read through it all.

Week 26 – First full week of vacation

Yoga 1x
Pilates 1x
Running – 4 runs total; 30KM
Biking – total 20KM

Highlights: 2 concerts (Rammstein and Muse) with my friend Babette. First week of marathon training was a bit challenging since these concerts were already planned ages ago, but I completed all runs, so I’m happy about that.

And yes!  I tried Yoga.  It was super chill – I loved it!  Unfortunately the class is on Monday mornings and usually I’m at work so I won’t be able to take that particular class again, but I’m not against trying another class at a different time.  Was nice to go with Wendy too – really felt like a relaxed vacation day, especially since afterwards we just lounged, had coffee and a good chat.

Rammstein in Rotterdam with Babette!
Intervals in Nootdorp/ Pijnacker
and… here we are again for Muse!

First Week Sunday Long Run – CHECK

Week 27 – vacation in Denmark

Running – 3 runs, total 16KM
Biking – 58KM

Second week of marathon training; We drove just north of Hamburg on Monday so that we could have a relaxed first day of vacation. On Tuesday morning Ron and I did a little round in Bad Bramstedt (the town where we stayed), had breakfast, and then hit the road for the 3.5-hour drive to Odense.  We did track training on Wednesday in Odense and on Thursday we ran with the Odense Running Crew.   Friday we were in Copenhagen and did a bike tour (just over 9KM) to the main touristic sites.  I was planning on doing my long run on Saturday because Sunday the weather would be a bit better and we wanted to do a long bike ride then, but Saturday’s wind and rain was so crap I ended up scrapping that idea.   Sunday’s ride was epic though, absolutely loved it!  It was super windy but at least we had some sunshine.   I figure 48KM on the bike was an ok substitute for 12KM running.   Won’t be scrapping my long run from now on though.

First Day of Vacation Beers are a FACT!
Track Wednesday – super cool track at Southern Denmark University
interesting old buildings in Odense, near where HC Andersen grew up
Funen Village – a sort of open air museum of “the old days” on Fyn (the island where Odense is located)
Friday in Copenhagen
The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
The sky was amazing that day!
New Harbor
Back in Odense
It was raining the whole day so we went to the Brandt Museum where there was an Anton Corbijn exhibition.
Denmark’s weather is really “wait 5 minutes, it will change” – makes for very dramatic photos!
In Kerteminde
We walked around a bit where there were many narrow streets with very old houses.
Heading back to Odense (our rental bikes were 7 speed junkers but did the trick!)

Week 28 – back home and chilling out

Running – 4 runs, total 33.4KM
Biking – total 37.5KM approx
Gym – Bodypump, RPM Sprint

Week 3 marathon training; Monday we travelled back from Denmark so on the road all day.   According to my schedule I have 4 runs to do and so far I’ve done two.   On Wednesday I wanted to just get out and do something besides zap through Netflix so I biked 23KM through town, Meinerswijk, Arnhem South and back up home (I live in Arnhem North). 

Vincent asked me to go to the gym with him on Thursday; I’d already done a pretty rough recovery run (Intervals are going well, it’s the slow running that’s actually been difficult – start too fast, struggle to slow down, too slow is tiring, rise, repeat), but I went ahead and joined him for both BodyPump and the RPM Sprint class.  WHOAH.   I really love RPM, I love the build up, peak and cool down; Sprint is a super intense HIIT cycling class, like we just hit the ground running and the heart rate stayed up around 150 almost the whole time.   I think I’d do it again- the class is only 30 minutes but man, what a workout.

In long run news; struggle bus again, not feeling great about my lack of endurance, but it is what it is right now, I’m doing what I can and that’s all I can do, right? I am hoping to reframe my negative feelings into something good for next week’s long run.

dramatic weather also back in Arnhem, taken on the Sacherov Bridge over the River Rhein
I was so glad to see the bridge today!! This meant I was only about 4km from home!

Oh and one other update – I’ve been to the hairdresser (my alternative one, since my hairdresser is currently on maternity leave) and am happy with the result!

Hair is pink and purple again – yay!

Coming up Next Week

Next week will again be a challenge; it’s 4-Daagse week again and I’ve offered to massage clients who especially need it after each day of the 4 Day Marching event in Nijmegen (40/50 kilometers walking for 4 days). So I’ll be working my normal job 4 days, and 3 evenings I’ll be doing sports massage. How am I going to get my workouts done?

  • Monday – was a rest day, but I’ll be switching out with Tuesday’s intervals (3 x 1200 / 200 rest)
  • Tuesday – walk at lunch
  • Wednesday – 5KM run (AM)
  • Thursday – switch out with Friday (REST)
  • Friday – 8KM Fartlek run
  • Saturday – Intervals (3 x 1600 / 200), gym?
  • Sunday – 16KM long run

That’s a wrap!

How have you been? Have you had a summer holiday yet this year? Are you training for a big race or have you run your “big race” already? Have you ever been to Denmark? Have you heard of Anton Corbijn? Are you a fan of museums on holiday? Would you ever dye your hair funky colors?

34 thoughts on “WRD: Vacation Catch-Up”

  1. I love all your vacation pictures — and your hair! We do like to visit art museums on vacation. Sometimes we go for the classics, sometimes we go for modern art. I guess my big race of the year is my Half in November. I’ll have a lot of base building to do, since I’ve cut back on running so much this summer. I’m giving myself until …. August?

    1. thank you Coco! I do like a good mix of fun and culture when we go somewhere. I think August is in plenty of time to start training for sure.

  2. Your Denmark vacation looks really great! One of the countries I have not been to yet. I don’t have any long races until Nov or Dec so I am just doing short runs and lots of cross training right now. Welcome back to the WRD link up

    1. Thanks Deborah! I hope after my marathon to just go back to having some fun runs and get my cross training in more again.

  3. I so enjoyed all of your vacation photos you posted during your adventures over the past 3 weeks. I am living vicariously through you, lol. I don’t have any summer vacation plans as of yet. I’m taking a week off work in August but don’t have any travel plans. It might just be a staycation, which is fine.

    Also I am LOVING your new hair color!

    1. Thanks Kim! Staycation is also good. For real. That was my 3rd week and I wouldn’t trade that for anything!

  4. Loved seeing all the sights of your trip! I wrote up a rough sketch of a training plan for MCM this weekend. I’ve been doing long runs on most weekends, so it’ll mainly be a matter of gradually increasing those and working in more consistent speedwork. AS I have said so many times it should be patented, I enjoy running marathons, but the training not so much.

    1. Thanks Kim! and I agree. Race day and finishing with that glorious medal around my neck – yes! Training, not so much.

  5. I really enjoyed all your photos of Denmark that you shared on IG and FB! I visited Denmark and Sweden when I was 15 but I don’t remember much at all! Such a shame. I’ll have to go back!

    1. Thanks Wendy! I’m surprised you don’t remember much, it was only, what 15 years ago? *wink*

  6. I’m loving your vacation photos! I’ve never been to Denmark but would love to see it! Sorry your endurance is a bit of a struggle right now – it will get better. Hang in there! And, I have to say your hair color is so much fun! I love it on you :)

  7. The pictures are so cool! I’ve never been to Denmark but I’d love to go! I think I’d have a hard time getting back into routine if I had 3 weeks off as well- I’ve only ever had 10 days as my longest vacation. This weekend I’m headed to DC with my mom so I will have 5 days off but that’s it. I don’t get a long summer holiday- my job is year round.

    1. Thanks Montana! We have a lot of days off at my company. In fact it’s “normal” here to have at least 25 days a year. At first I felt guilty for taking more than a full week off, but after 25 years I’m just as Dutch as my colleagues who are ALSO taking 3 weeks off. My employer is super generous with time off – I have 41 days! I hope you didn’t broil too much in DC while you were there!

  8. Your holiday looks lovely! Oh my those crowds in Copenhagen! I just read an article about how overcrowded with tourists Europe is this summer. There will be no summer holiday for us this year…just two trips to Atlanta getting our teenager situated at college.

    1. Thanks Marcia! You should see Amsterdam right now. UGH. So. Many. Tourists. I get that people want to visit the major cities but for the locals or just people who need to be there for whatever reason, it’s kind of hell. Atlanta trips are just as important if not more as summer holiday!

  9. You certainly did vacation at a beautiful place! Thanks for sharing your photos with us. I was in Denmark years ago and I would love to go back with my hubby. Maybe this is the nudge I need! :)

  11. Great pics, how lovely! And here we go … holidays in the autumn, one booked one not. Big race DONE! Will be getting blonde streaks put back in my hair soon.

    1. Thank you! where are you off to? YES, YOU DID THE RTTS!! Any races planned for the rest of the year? When are you getting your hair done?

    1. Thanks Lisa! I love vacation beers too! And vacation Gin & Tonic’s aren’t too bad either ;)

  13. Love, love your photos. I’ve never been to Denmark but would like to visit one day. By the way, which app did you use for the Sunday Runday photo?

    1. thanks Zenaida! That photo I first used Prisma to funk it up and then snapseed for the text. The photo itself is a video still.

  14. Love your hair!
    ODense looks so much like mental Denmark. Copenhagen not so much
    love the Sacherov Bridge picture
    I keep doing random days but don’t think I’ll have a big summer break this year. I’m OK with that as I’m saving some days for Spain next year

    1. Thanks Cari! And yes I thought that too about Odense, though the New Harbour photo is really the pic you see all the time of Copenhagen. Are you going to do the camino by chance?

      1. Camino was a one time bucket list, but not so much any more. More of a one day thing. At the moment we’re doing Barcelona, Seville and Madrid but it’s all TBC

  15. Sounds like a fun three weeks and I love the pink and purple hair! It looks great. Sorry to hear the long runs have been such a struggle. I hope it turns around this week.

  16. New Harbor looks like a lovely place to visit. Those colorful houses/buildings are gorgeous!

    Going back to work after vacation is always hard and I LOVE my job! Today I started a ten-day vacation from work – not going on a big trip this time, just going to spend some relaxing time with my mom.

    Have a great weekend!

    1. New Harbour was really busy! But so glad we got to see it during our tour! Spending time with mom is always good!

Comments are closed.