Hi there,
and sorry for the silence during the past weeks. Fortunately I have been doing better lately, so I hope the worst health problems are gone for now. A month ago I could not have imagined that I would be able to finish a marathon, but that’s what happened in Amsterdam about two weeks ago. The trip had been eagerly waited for and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet my old running buddies. It is one of the best things in life being able to meet them regularly and run together. If anyone of us wants to achieve a goal, like reach a PB then we don’t run together, but that has been the most common setup lately: to start together and to finish the marathon together.
I had booked my trip well in advance to get everything at an affordable price. The trip to Amsterdam was not one of the most pleasant ones. I haven’t tried out Flixbus before, but as I was travelling alone, I was prepared to take a small chance I wouldn’t take, when travelling with the family, ie. a dirty toilet etc. The trip was completed with a minor delay and with stiff legs, but otherwise all was fine. Anyway, how much can you complain when you get to travel with a fee of about 20 EUR from Germany to the Netherlands. My dear friends were already waiting me, when I arrived late in the evening of the Friday the 18th of October. After a quick supper we rushed to our AirBnb apartment.
After the good night’s sleep there was plenty of time on the Saturday to have a look at the city and its many tourist attractions. We had a small boat tour on the city canals and a couple of meals that would hopefully digest without any big problems. Naturally we also visited the marathon fair to get our bib numbers and to have a look at the latest sports equipment.
On the race day we woke up about three hours before the start and had a normal breakfast. Somehow the routines were there after 26 finished marathons, and in that case you shouldn’t change too many things when preparing oneself to a race: a bit of yoghurt, few slices of bread with cheese and plenty of coffee. That’s the recipe, at least for me. After that a quick switch to the racing clothes and shoes and off we went. It was Uber that took us to the starting spot – or maybe a kilometer away from the starting point that resided on the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium. The weather was perfect for the marathon, about +11°C and cloudy at the time of the start. Later in the afternoon there were a few degrees more. We arrived at our starting grid about 20 minutes before the start which was absolutely fine. It was nice to follow the atmosphere at center of the attention (in the middle of the stadium field).
The start shot was fired at 09:30 and the elite group managed to run a few kilometres before we recreational runners reached the starting line. Our plan was to run at a peaceful pace in order to give me the possibility to finish. My latest long run had after all been a few months ago (if I remember correctly, it was about at mid August). The Strava tracking tells that we were able to keep up with the plan until about 30 km, and after that the run became a total struggle for me. One obviously should train a bit before taking part at a marathon… Like most things in life, also the marathon came to an end, and I must have say that I rarely have been so happy to having crossed the finish line. It seems that I have a basis on which I can at least rely on that much that I am able to run a marathon through – not quickly, but still complete the race. The experience itself was nice and the city of Amsterdam is worth paying a visit.
This was my last marathon this year. It is no use of running more races, before the running condition gets better once again. I set my hopes to the next year, and will probably start the racing with the traditional Bremer Winterlaufserie. The next marathon will be probably in March or April, let’s see. Until next time, Cheers!