It's been a while...a really LONG while! But it's that time again - Marathon training :)
Surely you dear followers wonder what happened of me after this promise to transform this blog into a sort of cultural blog. Well, in a nutshell, life was hard and didn't really want to relate all those "happy" feelings.
But that is now the past - again marathon training period has started!
Two races to kick off the season - the worldwide (or at least the Belgium think it's worldwide) famous Brussels 20km.
Now let me know take a step back here. Unfortunately, I forgot to relate my very first European race - the infamous Brussels half marathon. After training from Europe to the US (I was on vacay, again, poor me in the US), I showed to this race. I guess I should have set my expectations lowers. I guess I should have prepared myself to the idea that a European race would be cheered like a European cheers - internally, calmly, on the side lines...What I did NOT count was a well timed boy drama (sorry, won't be getting into THAT here!!).
Net-Net: the race was hard as well: close to no cheering and they had us go through F***** tunnels, WTF? No cheering for sure in those things and that dead sound of just feets running away. There is something glorious, even celestial to run over a bridge. Under a tunnel, not so much...But thinking about that boy drama, really pushed me in the first 10km. I can almost remember exactly where I was on the course, when I looked at my Garmin and the stats didn't lie. If I held on to that rythm, I was going to be beating my PR.
PRs don't come when you want them. They don't come when you've done it all by the books: the training, the long runs, the eating right, the sleeping enough.
Well, I was going to make my PR - it was there. In easy grasp. I must say maybe the boy drama continued to play a role, but it was mostly that fearless raging determination that kicked in. Once that comes into play, there is really nothing that will make it move.
Despite the cobblestones at the finish line (seriously guys, WTF!!!!!), I did hit my PR. Boy was I happy - and yes, I did talk to random strangers to tell them about it :)
After this Brussels half marathon, where not one person yelled my name (I was totally wearing my singlet!) - I could of even done with a European mild shout - and despite all the good press on the Brussels 20km, I went in thinking it would be a terrible experience.
I probably held onto that too much. I also probably didn't focus on running enough - not training as often, definitely for not long enough periods of time. Drinking until 2 nights prior. And mostly, no fearless raging determination (and no boy drama either). No drive at all. I did promise myself that if I met my goal (run 20km under 2hours), I would take it easy on training for the marathon the first couple of weeks. If not, no excuses, no BS, no nothing. Pure simple-as-in-the-books training.
My little brother came to cheer me and I must say that helped immensely, but again I wasn't with it. Temperatures were high - some 30C. I was dehydrated...Also, who seriously starts a race at 3PM!!!! I was high on endorphins unil 2am that night :)
I crossed the finish line at 2:02. Three miserable minutes under my objective.
So here I am 2 weeks later. Ready to seriously kick start the marathon training season. It will start tomorrow at 6am for a smooth 4-5km run.
Stay tuned - November 6th NYC baby
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