In a hurry for 16 hours 26 minutes and 21 seconds !!!

What a day !

2009-06-21T02:31:00.000-07:00

It was a great day yesterday, a record of 185 finishers in fantastic weather conditions this time !
Well done to all the walkers and many thanks to all who were involved in this great event, the walkers, marshalls, spectators, organising committee and especially my supporting crew, Steve Partington and Steve Brennan who made it possible to finish within the top 10 and under 17 hours ! I'm very happy with this result !
I had only one "rest" which was at Peel when I fell in front of the crowd, which was the best place to do something like that ;-) . But there wasn't much damage so I could carry on to Douglas promenade . Finishing in 16 hours, 53 minutes and 41 seconds for the 85 miles (137 km) in 8th position.

Again many thanks to all and probably till next year ! I will have some sleep now !

Bye bye and cheers !

Martijn

Isle of Man here we come !

2009-06-16T23:38:00.000-07:00

This will be the last post that I do from Holland, the next one will probably being published after "The 85 miles" , at least if I survive it ;-)

It will be a very busy day today, collecting all my stuff and that's a lot because I will be prepared for 2008 weather conditions so I think that 1 case isn't enough.

I will also get in contact with Alex to check in online which saves some time compared by doing it on the airport.

Tomorrow we'll first fly to Liverpool where we will do some sight-seeing and will take the ferry to Isle of Man. This is the first time for me with the ferry so I'm looking forward to it. And finally we will go to the best hotel in the Isle of Man, The Welbeck Hotel !

See you all soon !

Beste regards,

Martijn

Last few days !

2009-06-15T01:47:00.000-07:00

It's getter more and more thrilling with only a few days to the start ! Training has been done and I will relax these days, if possible ;-)

Last friday I had some great news regarding the job and it's now official that I can start work as of the 1st of July, the only thing to do is to sign the contract ! And as always at the latest moment, but at least I'm happy with it !

I'm looking forward to meet all the walkers and others involved in the Parish Walk and especially to meet two times winner and 9 times finisher Charlie Weston C 584, on picture, who cheered me on during the last stage from the 100 miles in 06. We had a lot of fun with him in the Welbeck Hotel after the 2007 event !

For some reason I'm a bit worried about the weather predictions and try not to focus on that, fingers crossed !

Cheers,

Martijn

Cleaning Murray's holiday cottage........

2009-06-11T01:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I respondend on Murray's request on manxathletics.com where he's looking for some volunteers and a cleaner, by e-mail.

I'd send him the following text : Hi Murray if I've to drop out of the race for some reason I would like to go for the only paid one job.

Shortly after sending this I received a reply and he told me to write a story on the blog. So far so good I thought. But early in the morning there was a message on the blog that I wouldn't take part in this years Parish Walk !

It was very nice that Murray misunderstood about the reference to a job and he was thinking that I could not make it this year because of a new job in Holland !

But this is not the case unfortunately, I've to walk ! But in case if I will drop out of the race I would like to make some money and will clean his holiday cottage at Port Soderick.

It is very close to the start now and will only do some 40 k this weekend !

Cheers,

Martijn

10 K Run & Walk in Diemen

2009-06-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Alex and Cisca Wijsman in Diemen for a small running event which was organised by some local medical practitioners.

After a short cycle route I arrived at their home and had some drinks before the race and Alex told me about his story on the European Championships in Denmark for the masters.

Alex took part in the 10 K and 30 K race where he finished in something like 60:47 and 3 hours 19 minutes. He was a bit disappointed about the 10 K race but happy with the 30 K result, the course was not flat at all and also the other athletes were slower.

Because I walked over 100 K last weekend we both decide to racewalk the 10 K and had the idea to do it slow in about 67 minutes or something like that.

There were about 40 runners and 2 walkers at the startline and went of for four laps of 2.5 K. This time I walked without any equipment and did not no what pace I was walking and the first lap did go in 14 minutes and 7 seconds which was not like we had planned but we kept going.

I walked just some meters ahead of Alex and was a sort of pacemaker for him.

We passed the halfway mark in about 28 minutes and 37 seconds where Cisca handed over some drinks. With only 2 laps to go we realised that we could make it in under the hour and we finished in 58 minutes and 19 seconds, just ahead of some runners ;-) And we didn't walk at maximum pace so we were very happy with this result !

I'm really interested in what the result would be if we walked at maximum pace, possibly it would be something like 56 minutes and will try that in the near future in an official race.

I had a very good week because it's very certain that I can start work as of the 1st of July and something special happened to me, finally after 37 years I got in contact with my half sister for the first time in my life and I'm very excited about that !

And with only 2 weeks for the big race it can't be better !

Nice weekend,

Martijn

50 miles in Anna Paulowna

2009-06-01T00:43:00.000-07:00

The 50 mile event in Anna Paulowna attracted 92 walkers which was a record. We all started at 10:00 pm in very good weather conditions. Because this event is organised by the Royal Navy there's no need to be concerned about anything, very good feeding stations and a well marked course with glowsticks. Compliments for the organisation !

I walked with centurions Piet van der Kroft (known from the 100 miles in 06)right on picture with red top, Rob Wiche and continental centurion Gerard Heunks, which was some good company to walk with and we had a lot of fun. Just after 40 k we walked in daylight again which is much nicer and just in time for the nicest part of the course. Temperature increased very quick from here up to 24 °C but with some wind it wasn't too hot.

Because we talked so much or better said too much we went of the course several times and made some more miles then necessary but never mind !

Just after the last feeding station at the 75 k mark it was only about 6 k to the finish and after about 50 minutes the event has ended for the four of us and went home for a well deserved shower and some sleep.

Because it's again nice weather today I'll go to Amsterdam and will walk back for another 10 mile recovery walk, although there is nothing to recover from ;-) And with this distance I'll complete just over 100 kilometres this weekend.

Best regards,

Martijn

One day in the Navy !

2009-05-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

It was a very busy week with a lot of job interviews and therefore a bit quiet on the blog. It's very likely that I can start work as of the 1st of July and that would be great but I'll make things official until everything is definite.

I'm considering to do a 50 mile walk this Saturday which is again a nightwalk starting 10:00PM in Anna Paulowna, in the northern part of Holland. This event is organised by the Royal Navy and it's a good one, I've done it before in 2007 and I do remember that it was well organised.

Weather conditions were close to "Parish conditions" in that year but the predictions for this weekend seem to be great, at least I will take the risk !

After this event I've to decrease the long distances (if I'm able ;-) and will prepare further for the greatest race in the year ; The Parish Walk !

Nice weekend !

Martijn

55 miles in sunny Holland

2009-05-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

It was a great weekend with 2 walks, first one on Saturday and the other this Sunday.

Yesterday I walked to Hilversum again but this time to buy some equipment which is necessary for the dark hours during the Parish Walk, a flashing light, one for on the head and another one to keep just in my hand.

I would be great if I don't need them and finish just in daylight, but that's not so realistic, although it's the "longest" day during the event. This walk was totally 20 miles in distance and I had some problems with my feet due to wrong socks, so I won't take them with me to the Isle of Man !!

Today I had planned a longer session from about 50-60 K and had some good support from my mother who was with me with her bike. So no more walking with a bag and thus more comfortable. Temperature was a bit high about 23 °C but with some wind it felt great. I think that she was more tired after the total distance of 55 K then me but it helped me a lot carrying the food and drinks and someone to talk to and she told me that this was the first and last time supporting me ! Or I've to do shorter ones ;-)

I've tried my other socks and didn't had any significant problems, so I will use this pair of socks during the Parish Walk. I'm considering to do an organised 50 mile walk next week and this will probably be the last long distance before the Parish walk !

Cheers,

Martijn

Almost to Bride !

2009-05-17T03:15:00.001-07:00

All the walkers were very lucky this Friday/Saturday during the 50 mile walk which was organised by my walking club sv. De L.A.T.

Predicted were some heavy rain showers, as always during this walk but this time they didn't show up. Alex and I started an half hour earlier in case of the coursemarks were flushed out due to the previous showers. But the marks were good visible, so no problems.

It was a record entry this time with 230 walkers who all had the ambition to walk 50 miles within an easy time limit of 20 hours. The only thing to do is very similar like the Parish Walk to get round. The only difference is that in this walk we started 2 hours just before midnight and have to walk about 7 hours in the dark, a bit of sleepwalking instead of racewalking.

Just after 9 kilometres Marcelino Sobczak came out of a car and had to miss the first part of the course due to a traffic jam. He is the lucky winner of the 15 hours race a few weeks ago were he produced a fantastic 138 K in " The Nacht van Loon".

We carried on to Diemen for the first rest for about one and a half hour and started again at about 3:30 am southwards into the direction of Weesp, my city, for the nicest part of the course and more important in daylight again.

This latest part is one of my favourite training course and after another rest at 57 K we walked again into the direction of the finish, the same place where we started about 12 hours ago. I had no complaints this time and it was an easy walk which equals almost the same distance to Parish Bride. We had a lot fun and went to my home for a well deserved sleep !

Cheers,

Martijn

Another 32 miles !

2009-05-12T08:24:00.001-07:00

Today I had another good training, I walked the same course as I cycled with Michael and Irene one and a half year ago although for some reason it wasn't exactly the same because it was a bit shorter in distance, 32 miles. But I do remember that we had to search for a restaurant because a lot of them were closed in October, which can explain something.

Weather was fine today, lots of sun but windy and therefore not ideal for persons with hay fever, so I hope for lots of seawind during the Parish Walk !

It's getting better at the moment because of the previous walking trainings and had no blisters or muscular problems. The only 'pain in the ass' is walking with a bag which gives some problems on my back and again it was very busy on the road.

That's why I looking forward to next Friday for the 50 miles walk, which starts at 10 :00 PM in the famous media village in Hilversum. In Holland it's very common that a walk starts just before midnight. I don't like that very much because normally it is a time to go asleep, but when you've started you will forget hopefully. And another thing, it's not a race so a lot of people walk in groups and have some nice conversations, about......... WALKING !

After this walk it is only about one month for the Parish Walk and will reduce the "long" distance and will replace them by some speed training, or to shorter ones !

Cheers,

Martijn

Not so lucky with family visits

2009-05-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

Today I had another training on the program and again in combination with a family visit, at least that's what I hoped for...

Temperature was ideal, about 14 °C and cloudy but that's not a problem. Because it is not very attracting to walk many times the same course I had the idea to visit my aunt and her husband who are living in a village called Huizen. I had no idea how much it was in distance and thought it would be close to 25 K for a "single ticket".

Some parts of the course were not so nice due to a lot of traffic on the road but most of it was great and after about 20 K I noticed that I was close to the house of my aunt and used my cellphone to navigate me to it exactly. But again nobody home ;-)

I decided to go backwards and scored some water and energy drink for during the walk and was in a hurry to get back just in time.

Just about 4 K before I arrived at home I met an old colleague and therefore I stopped and we talked a lot because the last day I saw him was my last working day somewhere in december last year. But I lost a lot of time and decided to run the last kilometres to my home and arrived just in time ;-0. Total distance was about a marathon.

To be honest walking with a bag is not comfortable, far from it, but to stop every 5 or 10 K and do some shopping is neither an option. That's why I look forward to the 50 mile walk which is an organised one within 1.5 week !

PS the job interview did go well but they classified me as over-educated so I've really no idea about the coming result !

Cheers,

Martijn

Party Piece !

2009-04-29T03:20:00.000-07:00

The training last Monday was a succes and I had plans to do a short easy training on Tuesday. In the beginning of the day I felt good but suddenly I started to feel sick and spent a lot of my time on the toilet and above the sink producing a big "party piece ".

Possibly those are symptoms of dehydration because I had only one and a half litre of fluid for the 54 K and with lots of wind and sun you will lose more liquids during exercise, maybe somebody can tell me how much to drink for a 54 K ?

At the moment it's getting better and will do it easy and see if the food and drinks stay in my body and will postpone the training for a while untill things are back to normal. Today I received an invitation for a job interview next week and hope I will be the lucky one ! Besides this interview I have another option but this one is uncertain and I have to wait for an invitation . So it looks like it's getting a bit better with the poor economy and possibly just in time !

Regards,

Martijn

Well done walkers and runners !

2009-04-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

There were some great performances last weekend in the Sara Killey Memorial Walk as well as in the Flora Marathon. Well done to all the athletes !

Myself had some good training today and had planned a distance of about 50 K. When I arrived at Baarn, a village very close to media place Hilversum, I noticed that my aunt and uncle were not at home. So my planned pitstop was not a succes.

I decided to go backwards after the 25 k and had choosen a different route and walked in places I've never been before. Especially the parts through the woods were very nice and enjoyed it very much.

The way back was a bit longer and the total distance was about 54 K if I can trust the GPS system. Time was 6 hours and 24 minutes, not very quick, but it was a training and no race. Walking did go well but I was not so comfortable due to hay fever and as a result of this my eyes looked like if I came straight out of an Amsterdam Coffee Shop ;-)

I hope to increase the distance soon and will probably do some speed training.

Cheers,

Martijn

Parish Walk secured; training started !!!

2009-04-23T02:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I walked to Diemen, which is very close to Amsterdam because I was asked for dinner by Cisca and Alex Wijsman. It was only about 10K walking but I noticed that the switch from running to walking was a bit hard but I could made it just under the hour.
The real reason for this visit was to arrange everything for the trip to Isle of Man next June.

Alex had the idea to travel this time first to Liverpool where we will take the ferry to Isle of Man and it was a very good idea, more then half of the price compared to last year !
After the coffee I walked to my home and had a good day.

Today I did a 30 K walk and combined it with a visit to my grandmother who's moved to an eldery home and unfortunately she was bit down when I arrived (and before ;-) . It is sad to see people struggling when getting old.
After my visit I carried on on my usual training course but I prefer to train at the Marine Drive area (on picture) were I've done some training during my stay. Unfortunately this has not been included in the Parish Walk course, but I understand it's difficult for the backup cars.
My feet were burning a bit and I didn't inspect my feet but when I arrived at home I saw that these socks looked like an Edam cheese with very big holes in it ;-) and put them directly in the litter can.
It took me three and a half hours for the 30K but it was hard with one banana and a half litre of water and a can of coke because it is not comfortable walking with a bag with lots of weight.

I think that my next walk will be about a 50 K and will again combine this with a visit to other family members.

Regards,
Martijn

Geinloop

2009-04-20T00:05:00.000-07:00

For the first time in my life I took part in the "Geinloop" which was held last Saturday in Driemond which is 3 kilometres from my home. So I had a nice warming-up as I walked to the start.There were a lot of friends and local athletes at the start and the atmosphere was very pleasant in sunny but very windy conditions.

There were a lot of distances to choose from ; 2.5K, 5K, 7.5K, 10K, 15K and the half marathon. I decided to do the 10K this time because the marathon is still in the legs. The first half was "easy" because of the tailwind and I started to quick 3 minutes and 45 seconds a K but after 3K I realised too late that I blew up and slowed down every kilometre.

I passed the 5 K mark in a time of 19:54 and then I knew that the worst part had to come with the opposing wind. As lunch I had some flies the last kilometres and I can tell you that I don't like the taste and struggled to the finish with a final sprint I could made it just under 42 minutes and finished in 41:54 which is really slow. Normally I have this as split-time in the half marathon but I didn't had big expectations before.

The positive thing in this race was a PB on the 5 K because I'd never done a 5 K race. I did one 5 K race when I was joining the army in 1992 for a year and finished in something like 21:47.

Compliments for those who've organised this event, the course was nice and the atmosphere was

very pleasant !

I will definitely come back next year !

Cheers

Martijn

Another PB !!

2009-04-15T02:18:00.000-07:00

It's raining PB's the last weeks ! Today I've to celebrate another one, my longest holiday ever which persists now 4 months exactly. I hope I will improve this tomorrow because holidays are very nice !

To be honest I do hope that I'll find a job as soon as possible otherwise my participation in this years Parish Walk is very uncertain and that's a pity ! Although I like to stay in the Welbeck Hotel I'm considering other options and will probably book the Nelson Hotel which has so much space and is never fully booked ;-)

I will do some training the coming days (running) and do have a 10 K race next Saturday and don't have some big expectations because of the marathon and see it just for fun ! After this race I've to reduce running and increase the walking exercise. I will do some training on my own and at least one 50 miles in the beginning of may organised by my walking club sv De L.A.T which is not a race but a recreation walk, but Miles are Miles ;-)

Well that's it so far, I've to put on my shoes now because it's E2E weather outside !!!

PS Hi grazy Mike, I hope you are happy with this advertisement ! The Ascot to follow !

Best regards,

Martijn

Roetersrun Amsterdam

2009-04-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Alex Wijsman recommended the "Roetersrun", a 5 K run in the centre of Amsterdam organised by the University of Amsterdam. Of course I said yes but didn't realise that this was so short after the Rotterdam Marathon.

But obstinate as I am I had the idea to go for a sub 20 minutes which is possible, but not just after the marathon.

Alex, Cisca and I travelled to the start where we did our usual warming-up, drinking coffee and after that we went to the startline. The course exists of one small lap ( 500 meters) followed by 4 bigger laps from about 1100 meters. Alex decided this time to run instead of racewalking.

Just shortly after the start in good weather conditions my body was complaining and I realised that I could not go for my ambition and I was wise enough ( for the first time in my life ;-) to slow down and not to blew up. I slowed down the pace and joined Alex who was doing very well.

With only one lap to go I told Alex that it was possible to improve his last year time, he was surprised that I knew his time because he didn't. For those who don't know : I'm a statistic freak ! Finally we finished in 23:39 and Alex improved his last years time with 17 seconds.

My GPS told me that this run was 5.5 K, which is 10 % more in distance. I don't like that at all and will go back tomorrow again to measure the course with my bike !

Cheers

Martijn

5 PB's in one race !

2009-04-06T01:11:00.001-07:00

I still can't believe it, 5 PB's in one race ! Circumstances were ideal yesterday, sunny and about 15 °C. So I didn't had any excuses this time ;-)

Just before the start I met a friend who's also living in Weesp and we had a lot of conversations because we had to wait one hour for the startsignal.

Just after the start it was difficult to run because there were so many people but after 2 K I was able to run the pace like I've planned. The atmosphere was very good along the course, so many people and bands playing music which gives a lot of distraction. Even some friends from the walking scene recognized me in a field of about 6500 runners.

Untill 36 K everything did go very well but I experienced some "bad trip feelings" from here and slowed down a bit. The last 2 K were very nice and can be compared to an "Alpe d'Huez" atmosphere. Finally after 2 hours and 71 minutes and 36 seconds I reached the finishline and I'm very happy with this result, PB improved with 7 and half minutes and 5 PB's on several split times.

The race was won by of course a Kenyan, Duncan Kibet in a new course record : 2 hours, 4 minutes and 27 seconds !

And now, just relax ! But not for long, Thursday is next race !

Cheers

Martijn

Final test succeed !

2009-04-01T07:47:00.001-07:00

The final test was on the program today and did go very well. The first 2 kilometres was a warming-up at low pace, thats never a problem ;-) Followed by the target marathon pace @13.7 kilometres for one hour and that felt great, but it's only one hour ;-). Again it was windy which I don't like, not for the reason that I've to work harder for the same pace but I don't like the noise and cannot concentrate. I think this is the reason why I was really slow in last years Parish Walk !
After that hour at the marathon pace I had to do 6 minutes at almost maximum pace which was something between 15 and 16 K an hour which was hard after that hour but I felt good. Of course I did a cooling down session after it.

Everything is shown in the graph above : blue line = speed, red line(on top) = heartrate and brown line = altitude which is most of the time zero in Holland ;-)

Click on the graph to enlarge for those who like the technical stuff. I keep the target for the marathon somewhere between 3 hours and 5 minutes and 3 hours and 15 minutes. I had the idea to go for a sub 3 hours but I need to be patient, there are many years to come ! If I can make it in 3 hours and 5 minutes Im getting very close to it and will try it next year !

Keep you informed !

Martijn

No rest for the wicked !

2009-03-30T08:21:00.001-07:00

Actually I had a rest day on the training program, but there ain't no rest for the wicked !

The weather has improved so much that it's very nice to be outside and to see everything is getting green again and just to hear the birds.

That's why I decided to do some walking today and had the idea to surprise my grandmother with a visit. This is a walk from about 12 K ( and back) and goes through some nice parts of nature. I think that Grazy Mike and Irene will remember one of the pictures when we did a "short" cycle tour shortly after the Dutch 50 K championship which was a "pain in the ass" afterwards ;-) for the three of us.

It was nice to walk without equipment and all the technical stuff and I really enjoyed the walk, just to relax in Parish pace. My grandmother was very happy to see me and is recovering from some surgery due to some heart problems and is getting better now with a pacemaker.

I could use a pacemaker next weekend as well but not that type ;-)
After a lot of conversations I decided to go backwards for another 12 K and had a good day.

Weather forecast for next weekend is looking very good with lots of sun and temperatures round 19 °C !

PS well done to all walkers in the 10 K championship last weekend !

Regards,

Martijn

Rotterdam here I come !

2009-03-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

The preparations for the Rotterdam Marathon next weekend are almost completed and and I'm looking forward to the race with only 1 week of "easy" training. The kilometres are reduced now to a total of 40 K and have to do a final test next Wednesday.
This test is a 1 hour run at the target marathon pace which is about 13.6 k/hour. The test is to remind me which pace I've to run in the marathon and after that hour I've to do 6 minutes at almost maximum pace, not a real sprint but very fast.
The theory behind this is that the body will burn the carbohydrates as much as it can and as a result of this it will absorb the carbohydrates up to the maximum the days after just in time for the race !

Despite the hard winds the training did go very well, which I conclude from heartrate measurement, and I was thinking to adjust my target time to a sub 3 hours finish. But to be honest that would be a stupid thing to do. I'll keep the target based on my half marathon time and this will be 3 hours and 7 minutes. I hope to run a flat race and have to pass the half marathon mark at about 93 minutes and then see if I'm able to go faster. I can remember that I lost a lot of minutes in the second half last year when I was targetting a time of 3 hours and 13 minutes but finished in 3 hours 18 minutes.

I would be very happy if I can finish this piece of shit in 3 hours and 7 minutes but I'll be satisfied when I finish in under 3 hours and 15 minutes. Therefore I need to be ahead of the 3 hours 15 minutes pacers carrying the pink balloons to recognize them.
The weather forecast for next week seems to be very well with temperatures around 15 °C and less wind, so it seems to be ideal conditions !
But unfortunatly I don't have a lot of faith in the people who are doing the weather predictions !

So I've to come back to this later just before the race !

Cheers
Martijn

It wasn't a bad trip !

2009-03-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

The LSD was a great succes and I didn't experience "bad trip" feelings. The conditions were good enough to run in athletic short in temperatures around 10 ° C and lots of sun !

The distance was about 32 K in 3 hours and 7 minutes so I'm able to run at least this time but I hope to cover some more kilometers in the coming marathon which will be held in Rotterdam, one of the fastest courses in the world.

At the moment I'm writing this I'm very lucky to have a rest day because it's close to Parish weather outside ! I've planned 5 training sessions this week with a total of 96.5 K. The week after that I've to reduce the kilometers because of the race in the weekend but I still do 4 sessions with a total of 40 K.

I hope that all this effort will help me to set a new PB on the marathon this year. It's a bit poor on PB's this year unfortunately.

Best regards,

Martijn

I've to try some LSD this weekend !

2009-03-20T01:26:00.000-07:00

It's a good week so far. After the half marathon last Saturday I was able to train 4 times this week and will do 2 more sessions this weekend which takes the total distance up to 101 K this week.

Because I've to switch to the marathon training program I've to do more longer runs and therefore I've planned to try some LSD tomorrow which sounds more scary then it really is.

LSD, stands for Long Slow Distance and this is very important for the marathon training. These runs must be carried out at low pace which is about 70 % of maximum heartrate and must be as long as the target marathon time.

Based on my half marathon time I've done some calculations and this resulted in ideal circumstances a time of 3 hours and 6 minutes which is 12 minutes faster then my PB from last year. As a result of this I've to do a LSD of 31 K in 3 hours and 6 minutes at 10 K an hour.

One day later I will do a short recovery run and have only 2 weeks to prepare for the race.

Have a nice weekend and don't try LSD at home !

Best regards,

Martijn

25 seconds too slow and still a PB !

2009-03-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

It was a great event yesterday in The Hague which was celebrating the jubilee for the 35th year. The event attracted a total of 26000 runners divided over several distances !

There were some big expectations, specially from Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia attempting to set a new world record which is 58 minutes and 33 seconds ! But a few minutes for the startsignal it was pretty obvious that the weather conditions were not great, it was very windy (as I expected before) and a bit rainy.

I had another target then finishing under 1 hour and would be happy if I finish under 90 minutes. Just after the start I started my polar watch in a wrong mode and my watch was making a lot of noise, very annoying, and if that wasn't enough my heartrate belt dropped down from my chest to my belly, so this was not working properly anymore. Therefore I stopped the measurement and carried on without measuring speed and heartrate. As a result of this I started to quick and was quicker at the 5K, 10K and 15 K mark then previous year and was thinking to improve my PB. But when I passed the 20K mark I lost several seconds and finished in a time of 89 minutes and 21 seconds. This is 24 seconds slower then my PB but I'm happy with this result, still under 90 minutes despite bad weather conditions and a new PB on the 15K in 63 minutes !

The race had a surprising winner, Sammy Kitwara (on picture) from Kenia defeated Haile Gebrselassie in the last meters in a time of 59 minutes and 47 seconds, far outside the world record.

Cheers,

Martijn

sabbatical on the blog

2009-03-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

It's a bit quiet on the blog. The reason for this is that I've to do everything which is within my power to find a new job and that is very difficult in this financial crises. Even a job as a carbage man is not available !
I've to find it quick to secure my participation in the most important event this year; Parish Walk ! And for another reason; unfortunately life costs a lot of money. I'm sorry to tell the same old shit again, but it's just the way it is.

Back to training, the last preparations for the half marathon next weekend are going well. Tomorrow I've to do a 24 K run in 2 hours followed by a 17 K run in 1.5 hours on Sunday and in the week after that I've to taper the training and will do an interval training session on Monday and a short run on Wednesday.
Target will be again in under 90 minutes but I'm aiming for a time of 87 minutes which equals 4 minutes and 8 seconds a K. It's also depending on the weather, the last weeks it was very windy and that costs a lot of seconds or possibly minutes.
As a surprise I've registered for the Rotterdam Marathon 3 weeks later and hope this is not too short after this half marathon, and I might be not trained enough for this distance but I've the benefit that the Parish and the 100 miles are in my head to relativate this "short" marathon distance. Well at least I'm very excited for this event !

Have a nice weekend !

Cheers

Next race : Fortis City Pier City half marathon !

2009-02-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

Training is going very well at the moment and the injury is almost disappeared which I'm very happy with !

Next race will be again a half marathon, but there are also other distances over 5 and 10 K. This race will be held in The Hague and is the fastest course in the world. In the year 2007 Samuel Wanjiru (on the picture) ran an awesome worldrecord on the half marathon in a time of 58 minutes and 33 seconds . I'm feeling a bit embarrassing to tell you that I need 30 minutes more to finish this race ;-)

This race is a real city race attracting a lot of spectators which gives a lot of distraction during the run although I prefer nature courses like Egmond and Schoorl and in the Isle of Man !

A total of about 13000 runners will start over 2 weeks and I hope to start in the front of them avoiding to lose time in the beginning.

PS some Parish news : Frank van der Gulik known from the 100 miles walk will try to compete/complete in this years Parish Walk !

Cheers !

Walking plans

2009-02-16T02:31:00.001-08:00

The quiz last weekend was a great success, it attracted a lot of visitors on the blog and I still have my tenner in my wallet ;-) I'm very glad that Robbie Lambie didn't visit the blog because he's very good at quizzes ! More quizzes will follow dudes !!

At the moment I'm sorting things out which walks I have to do to retrain the walking muscles because it's only about 4 months until the Parish Walk starts !

I've still some running races the coming months but I forgot how to walk and have to increase the distances as well.

I'm thinking about the following walks/races :

28th of March Amsterdam - Hoorn, which is a road race over the marathon distance (42.195 km) organised by my walking club s.v. De L.A.T.

2-3rd of May Mergellandroute organised by NOAD. This is a recreation walk over 135 K in the most southern part of Holland with lots of breaks in it, specially in pubs. To be honest this is one of the most beautifull walks in a hilly scenery and therefore a good training for the Parish. I've done this walk 4 times and would be very lucky to get my number 5 !

15-16th of May Kennedy Walk organised by s.v. De L.A.T. which is 50 miles or 80.5 K. This walk is attracting a number of about 200 walkers and goes through very nice nature areas. A part of the course is very close to my home so I've to be aware of not to drop out ;-) This will be the fifth time for me doing this one. Alex Wijsman is leading in the ranking and has done them all 23 times !!!

Of course I will do some training by my self and hope this will be enough to finish the Parish in a time of 16 hours 26 minutes and 21 seconds !!!

Quiz

2009-02-14T02:29:00.000-08:00

I would like to give Murray a fair change to win his tenner back ! Or anybody else who knows the answers.

I want to know the names of the 2 novice walkers on the picture and after which event this picture was taken and at last the place where this picture has been photographed !

Good luck !

Finished in one piece !

2009-02-09T02:55:00.000-08:00

It was a great run yesterday in Schoorl, nice course and good weather conditions. During the night and just before the race it snowed and there were some hail showers but after the startsignal it remained dry. Because of my injury and a lack of training I didn't know what to expect and felt a bit insecure ;-)

The most important thing is to finish in one piece without getting injured. I felt great after 1 K and tried to keep this pace as long as I could.

Some pieces of the course were very slippery which was very difficult to run on but passed the 5 K mark in about 21 minutes. At that moment I was thinking to improve my PB which is 1:28:57 on a faster course but that's ridiculous bearing in mind that I've been injured and didn't train much. I passed the 10 K mark in 42:15 and was still going very well.

After 16 K I struggled and lost many seconds untill I increased speed again for the last 3 K when I realised that I could finish in under 90 minutes. But no, I reached the finish in 1 hour 30 minutes and 12 seconds and I am happy with the result, still an average of 14k/hour and placed 172th out of 2500 runners. And the most important thing that it is going a lot better with my injury. This is a good perspective for the coming half marathon next month !

Cheers !

Final preparations for Schoorl

2009-02-05T02:01:00.000-08:00

At the moment I'm busy with the final preparations for the "Groet uit Schoorl Run" which will be held next Sunday. There will be an international championship on the 10 K, a half marathon and a 30 K run. When I was not injured I registered for the 30 K race but because I'm not 100 % recovered yet I had to switch to the half marathon.

Last week I had an appointment at the physiotherapist who told me that I could continue the training in combination with some exercise to see if things will improve. He noticed that my legs are very well trained but I need to train the muscles on the back and around the stomach area.

To be honest, these exercises are very hard for me because I'm not used to it and I hope this will go more easy the more I train them.

Meanwhile I've done some endurance runs with distances up to 24 K at low pace because I've to be careful with the intervaltraining. Due to a lack of training I lost my form and have to be realistic that I could not set a PB, but I will be very happy if I can finish the half marathon without pain.

This course is a very nice one which goes through the forests and through the dunes which is very close to the beach, but it's not as hard as Egmonds race because we don't have to run over the beach which is also better for my injury.

Today I will do a 15 K run and another relaxed one on Saturday and hope this will be enough to finish Sunday in one piece ;-)

The job hunting is not going very well because the recession and have only outgoing money instead of incoming money which is very frustrating. Possibly I need to adjust requirements and accept a job as for instance a carbage man, then I automatically train the muscles on the back and stomach !!!

Regards and nice weekend !

Martijn

Second of Winter series s.v. De L.A.T

2009-01-30T00:24:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was the second of the Winter Series organised by my walking club s.v. De L.A.T.

The walkers had several options to choose from, 5 K, 10 K and a B race from 25 K. In principle I was asked for some lap recording but due to a lack of walkers this time I was asked for some safety reasons at the turning-point because there are a lot of cyclists on the course.

There were some nice battles in these races in cold but sunny conditions and I was happy when I received a warm cup of tea. I'm a bit late with publishing the results but the reason for this is that the results were not on the internet since yesterday so I had to wait.

Unfortunately Alex's story is in Dutch but the results might be interesting for some of you.

For the results click this hyperlink and scroll downwards : http://www.delat.nl/index.cfm?fuseaction=archive.detailtext&id=436

Have fun and a nice weekend !

Martijn

Slowest race since 23 years in Egmond !

2009-01-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

The title for this posting is not promising any good news....

With temperatures round freezing point and high winds about 40 miles an hour it seems to be a very tough race and it was !!

Just after the startsignal we had to run 3 kilometers through the village of Egmond and then the worst part had to come, 7 kilometers over the beach with the hard wind in your face. Everyone stayed together in groups just trying to stay out of the wind, which was impossible.

I tried not to blew up and passed the halfway mark one minute slower then last year. At that moment I realised that it was not possible to improve my last years time and worked hard to limit the damage. After the beach part we followed the course through the dunes which was better to do less wind but a bit hilly which gives very nice views.

Finally I finished in 1 hour,33 minutes and 52 seconds, which is 1 minute and some seconds slower then previous year. At that moment I was a bit disappointed, but after that I've heard that even the elite runners were more then a minute slower I was statified with the result and went to the pub for a few lagers and they tasted very good ;-)

The men's race was won by Wilson Kipsang from Kenia in 1 hour 5 minutes and 36 seconds. The ladies race was won by Workitu Ayanu from Ethiopia in a time of 1 hour and 16 minutes and 33 seconds, both not fast times for a half marathon.

I hope to start the training program tomorrow again !!!

Cheers Martijn

Ice Mania !

2009-01-09T05:27:00.000-08:00

It's still winter in Holland and everyone is happy because this is the first time it happened since 12 years ! The stores that sells the skates are doing very good business.

To be honest it's very cold especially at night when sometimes temperatures were recorded from 22.2 degrees below zero in the southern part of Holland, and that will freeze your bollocks off !!!

The weather forecast for next Sunday, racing day, looks fine, 10 degrees celcius below zero at night and over the day round freezing point with less wind and lots of sun. I am wondering if the beach peace will be frozen or not, because if it's frozen it would be difficult to run on and besides, 7 kilometers on the beach is never an easy thing to do.

I finished the training program almost, with only one relaxed training tomorrow, I hope to be ready for the race. Thats why I did some walks the last days around the lakes and rivers on the ice which is a bit difficult ;-) In one way I'd regret that I didn't skate but if you want to get injured you must do it. At least it was nice to see that everyone is having fun and I took some pictures, maybe the next possibility will be over 12 years again, you'll never know in Holland !

Well I hope my next posting will be good news and wish all the walkers and volunteers lots of luck in the next HSBC Securities Services Winter League Walks, with hopefully higher temperatures !

Spartathlon : the ultimate challenge !!!

2009-01-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

First of all best wishes to everyone, that 2009 will be a year with lots of sportive achievements !

I'm very happy that all these holidays belongs to the past now, and can go on with the "normal" things in live.

Everybody in the Isle of Man (and some in Holland) knows that the Parish Walk is a great and HARD event with a big history, which is very good described by Dermot O'Toole, a multiple finisher, in his book " A Walk Through Time". But there is more......

Since I'm bussy with long distance walking and running I'm searching on the internet for other big events which will be interesting for the future. One day I've heard about the Spartathlon race in Greece which is also a big event with a great history and it's very heroic : an ultrarun over 245 K !!!

This race is the ultimate challenge for me and hope to do it once, only once !!! This race starts in Athens and will finish in Sparta. The athletes have to qualify for this race which must be a 100 k race within 10 and half hours in an official race.

The time limit for the 245k is 36 hours which is an average of 6.8 k an hour, but the first 81 k must be done in 9 and a half hours. So I'm thinking if I have qualified to combine walking and running for the first 81 K and then switch to "normal" walking just to the finish.

There are only 15 Dutch finishers ever so I would be very happy to be number 16 ! But first I've to qualify which will be more difficult then the 245 K. Possibly I will give it a try next September, at least if I survive next Parish !!!

For those who are interested the link to their site, maybe something for Bethany ;-)

http://www.spartathlon.gr/main.php

Best regards,

Martijn

Winter in Holland

2008-12-29T01:28:00.000-08:00

It's winter in Holland at the moment. Since the second Christmas day it's freezing -5°C at night and with temperatures round 0 °C over the day the ice is getting thicker each day.

Altough I like skating a lot, especially on ice-hockey skates, I will not consider to try it this year.

It's years ago since I skated for the last time and will not take any risk avoiding getting injured. But at least I will take a look around the lakes because it's always a very pleasant atmosphere with typical Dutch winter sceneries.

This type of weather has some benefits : mostly very stable conditions and lots of sun !!! So ideal conditions for training. Besides it's possible to get well dressed for the lower temperatures.

Last week I had some good training (running) sessions as preparation for the half marathon in Egmond just within 2 weeks.

To be honest the training program is a bit hard because it exists of 5 training sessions a week with a total of about 90 K. But since I have no work anymore I can train 8 days a week like Grazy Mike told me ;-)

I'm in a hurry for the Parish Walk but also to find a new job because otherwise I would spent all my money and then it's not possible to visit the Isle of Man for another Parish Walk, so there is some pressure on me and I like that very much, it just feels like before starting a race !!!

Well thats it, I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas days and wish you a Happy New Year !!!

Best regards,

Martijn

First of winter series s.v. De L.A.T.

2008-12-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

Today was the first of three from the winter series walks hosted by my walking club s.v. De L.A.T. The athletes had several options to choose from : 5 K, 10 K and 20 K. The 5 and 10 K are A races and the 20 K is a B race.

Because I am in running training at the moment and still not recovered from my ilness this week I wouldn't consider to participate in this walk and therefore I was asked for lap recording.

I was very lucky to count the laps of the 10 K walkers and that took less time then the 20 K walkers ;-) These laps have a distance of 2.5 K starting on a 400 meter track followed by a route through a park and then back on the track which is one lap.

This event attracted 40 participants divided over the 3 distances which was not bad. There was a strong wind which made it difficult sometimes for the walkers but nevertheless only 3 people had to give up, well done to all of them !!!

After my "work" as lap recorder I went home and and changed clothes for my own training, the second one after being ill. Last Friday I did one but this felt not good, the same experience today, a 17 k run at low pace which is normally very easy felt like doing a half marathon at max. speed.

Altough it was windy the heartrate was higher then normal which frustrates me but what can I do about it ? Hopefully it will be back to normal soon with only 3 weeks to go for my race in Egmond.

I'm not sure if a post something again before Christmas, so i wish you all a Happy Christmas !!!

PS for those who are interested here the link to the results : http://www.delat.nl/index.cfm?fuseaction=archive.detailtext&id=435

Best regards,

Christmas Martijn

Shit Happens

2008-12-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday was my last working day and to celebrate this I had a farewell lunch with one of my colleagues. One of my favourite food is steak carpaccio and this was on the menu !!!

After about one hour I went back to work and one hour later I started to feel sick, I am not sure if this was due to the meat or flu. I was feeling very cold and had stomach problems so I wanted to go home very quickly. I took the train and was hoping for the best, but I was feeling sicker and sicker. Finally the train arrived at Weesp and I really jumped out just in time and produced a very huge "Party Piece " in front of hundreds of people which is very embarrassing !

After this piece of shit I was not able to train, I hope to do a relaxed training today and see what the damage is of my condition. Nobody is waiting for these kind of problems but we all have to deal with it sometimes. And also I had a better start of my holiday in mind.

At the moment I am glad that it's getting better and hope to continue the training program.

Be aware of raw meat !!!

Nice weekend,

Martijn

Egmond here I come !!!

2008-12-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

After the 10 k race last week I had to switch to the half marathon training program which includes more longer runs and intervals for 4 or 5 training sessions a week.

With only 4 weeks left I hope to prepare my self for the Egmond Half Marathon.

The Egmond Half Marathon is one of the hardest half marathons in Holland, which includes 7 kilometers on the beach and a lot of kilometers through the dunes. Also the weather has a big influence because it's in Januari so anything can hapen, snow, rain lots of wind etc.

This event organised for the 37 th time is attracting international topathletes and totally about 12000 runners !!! This race was won 2 times by an Great Brittan Athlete very long ago, in 1981 by Steve Kenyon and in 1987 by Mike Bishop. It's one of my favorites running races altough a very busy one so it's important to start in the front of the field to have some space. I'm lucky to have an racing license which gives me the oppertunity to start in the front.

Target will again be a personal best which I ran this year in Egmond in 92 minutes and 47 seconds. But it will be great if I dip just under the 90 minutes on this course.

Well with about the coming 320 km of training I hope I will achieve this, just realising that it's getting more and more difficult to improve each time ;-)

It's also a special edition this time because the famous Dutch marathonrunner Kamiel Maase is celebrating his retirement after this race and wish him the best of luck in his last race !!!

Best regards,

Martijn

Mixed Feelings

2008-12-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

Well done to al the walkers in the Empire Garage Peel to Douglas Walk ! It's great to see that my predictions were not so bad and that Crazy Mike is getting out of his retirement. I'm also happy for Eammon Harkin who's racing again after his surgery.

Alex Wijsman in company of his wife Cisca and I travelled Sunday to the Olympic Stadion in Amsterdam for the 10 K run. Conditions were great, it was sunny and not much wind so everything was looking great for the runners and spectators.

Totally there were 1057 participants, which was a record entry for this event. It has always something special to be in the Olympic Stadion existing now for 80 years. There were 3 distances, 1 k (kidsrun), 5 k and the 10 K.

Alex decided to racewalk the 10 K and not at maximum speed, he was aiming for about one hour, which is still faster then some runners ;-) . Myself had another target, a pb on the 10 K and hopefully just to dip under the 40 minutes barrier.

After the startsignal we all finally started and everything was going on schedule untill after 4 kilometers. Then I stormed into a lot of business runners that started 10 minutes earlier and as a result it was very busy on the course and could not run at the target pace which must be under 4 minutes a k. Well I kept going but was a bit frustrated and tried not to lose much time altough I realised that I could not beat the 40 minutes.... and passed the finishline in 40 minutes and 48 seconds, which is still an improvement of 8 seconds of my PB and almost 2 minutes quicker on the same course compared to 2007 so it was time for euphoria untill........

Cisca and I were looking for Alex's finish but after 1 hour he was still not returning into the stadion. After 1 hour and 5 minutes he passed the finishline, but unfortunatley he was injured and had problems with his hamstring, just like 1 year ago in the same event !!! I'm feeling very sorry for him and hope he will recover quick.

That's why I choose this title for this topic, it's always important to return healthy at home after a race or training and the end of this day was not so good.

Stay healthy and keep training !!!

Best regards,

Martijn

Racing Weekend !!!

2008-12-06T00:58:00.000-08:00

Finally it's racing weekend, for you on the Isle of Man doing the Peel to Douglas Walk as well for Alex Wijsman and me doing the Olympic Stadion run in Amsterdam. Both races are scheduled on Sunday so I'm getting more and more excited.

The weather forecast on the Isle of Man for tomorrow is the same as it is in Holland, so if Adrian Cowin is right it will be 8 degrees Celcius and it will be dry !!!

Because there is no entrantslist published I will just guess who will win the race tomorrow. Visiting http://www.manxatletics.com/ you can see that there will be a strong visitor, Ben Wears who's 18 years at age, and produced a lot of quick races ( I checked on http://www.racewalkuk.com/) . So he has a big change of winning this race and maybe due to his participation he will hopefully motivate Michael George and get him out of his retirement as he told me that he's tired and lazy !

Other possible winners will be (unless they participate) : Steve Partington, Peter Kaneen and Sean Hands.

In the ladies race i think it will be a batlle between : Marie Jackson, Sue Biggart and Janice Quirk, assuming they will participate. Well within 24 hours we all know more !!!

For myself i have to do a final training today which exists of a 40 minutes run at very low pace including 3 accelerations and that's it.

So finally I wish you all the best of luck and the most important thing enjoy your race !!!

Looking forward to the results and pictures.

Best regards,

The Ducth Team, refering to the attachted picture, if you count all the sheep you will find out the number of sheep will be 11 !!!

Mind Games

2008-12-03T05:06:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately our mind is playing games and is trying to mislead us, looking for excuses to skip a training or racing and even worser to give up in a race !!!

I had this experience in this years Parish Walk when I was approaching Peel, I was cold to the bone due to wrong clothes and I had a thought that I would give up the race and was thinking about relaxing in the hotelroom watching the football game from the Dutch against Russia with a fine can of lager in my hand :-)

Fortunately I was very lucky when I met my back-up team Steve Partington and Steve Brennan who had some proper clothes for these conditions, thanks to them I completed this 85 miles !!!

Everyone must keep in mind that if you have to give up a race due to "Mind Games" you'll always regret afterwards. It's very important to think positive, I know that this is easier said then done, but at least try it !!!

Today I had such a day myself. I had to do an interval training for the 10 k race next Sunday which exists of 3 times 2000 meters with about 15 kilometers an hour average with in between these intervals 3 minutes rest, which is not really resting but running at a lower pace to decrease heartrate again.

Looking outside my room I saw that the conditions were far from ideal, it was misty cold and snow in road. I was thinking about skipping this training but I am glad I had done it afterwards. It was really slippery on the road but I could manage the speed target and was enjoying the coolingdown session for about 5 kilometers in the snow !!!

When the training is done I'm feeling great, especially after a hot shower and sit down on the chair and write on my Parish Walk Blog !!!

So my advise to all walkers : put on your shoes and start training !!!

PS attached my training result, heartrate versus speed.

Well at last compliments for Murray, who has produced a fantastic 2009 Parish Walk site !!!

Best Regards,

Martijn

Autumn and Winter training

2008-12-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

First of all i would like to say that i like it very much to write a blog, it is getting me motivated to train otherwise there is nothing to write about :-) I was a bit nervous in the beginning to be honest and getting everything organised.

Because a lack off long distance walks in the Autumn and Winter, there are some short races but to trafel 200 kilometers for a 10 k race that's ridiculous, since traffeling is making me very tired, i like to survive on running training and races from November till April. The distances varies from 10k to the marathon distance and possibly a longer ultrarun.

Next Sunday there is a 10 k run which starts and finishes at the Olympic stadion just like the famous Amsterdam Marathon. I aim for 40 minutes or just under to set a new PB which is 40 minutes and 56 seconds, but i think the race is a bit to early, nevertheless i'll go for it !!! Another participant is also a Parish Walk finisher, C666 Alex Wijsman who will racewalk the 10 K.

So with 3 training sessions left this week, 1 interval and 2 slow ones i hope to break the 40 minutes barrier and then go on for the half marathon in the beginning of Januari !!!

Well that's it for today and will keep you informed about the progress of training and racing !!!

PS apologies if my English is not always great and don't forget i'm Dutch and Crazy !!!

Enjoy your preparations and training !!!

Best regards,

Martijn

Why this title for this blog ?

2008-11-28T11:14:00.000-08:00

Some of you will have the question why i choose this specific title for this blog

The answer goes back 10 years ago, when the Parish Walk in 1998 was combined with the RWA 100 miles championship. After completing the 85 mile lap the 100 mile walkers did an extra 15 mile up and down on the promenade to qualify for the Centurion status within 24 hours !!!

I think that this was the first Parish Walk where the Dutch competed in : Hans van der Knaap, Marleen Radder and Arie Boertjes. Arie Boertjes, Centurion 942 who is still an active walker was very strong in this period. In 1996 he produced 204.5 kilometers in a 24 hours race in Holland.

Arie Boertjes reached the 85 mile mark in a great time of 16:26:22 and third place and a fifth place for all years first time finishers. His 100 mile was 19:38:14 which is a very good time on this "little" hilly course. So i would be very happy when i knock off a second of the "Dutch Parish Walk record holder", but i keep in mind that everything in such a long race can happen, with 2008 in my mind which was held in horrible conditions. The most important thing is having fun in this event which was not possible in 2008.

So let's all hope for good weather next Parish Walk !!!

Cheers C1037 Martijn