Afgelopen zaterdag gaf de Bouw & Infra Harmonie een concert in Winterswijk; die enclave in een verre uithoek van ons land waar meer Duitsers dan Nederlanders te vinden zijn. Een oud-lid van de vereniging, woonachtig in Winterswijk, had een uitwisseling op touw gezet met de plaatselijke harmonievereniging.
Al rond het middaguur werd ik opgehaald door een mede-orkestlid en na een zit van anderhalf uur in de auto kwamen we aan. Beetje jammer dat de snelweg net na Arnhem ophoudt, en je vervolgens op (altijd drukke) N-wegen je weg moet vervolgen. Waarom heb ik toch altijd het idee dat ik de beschaving verlaat als ik tussen akkerlanden rijd, waarbij er altijd een traktor voor je zit waardoor je helemaal met een slakkengang voortsukkelt. Mooie boerderijtjes, paarden, koeien en groentestandjes, Hollandser wordt een landschap niet! Winterswijk zelf viel mij wat tegen. We kwamen wellicht door een niet zo'n mooie wijk (bij de Lidl, voor diegenen die bekend zijn met Winterswijk); de architectuur van het dorp deed mij wat Belgisch aan en dat is niet positief.
Het gebouw van de harmonievereniging, geheten Boogie Woogie, was van de droeve jaren '70 bouwstijl, die zelfs je vrolijke humeur na een blik weg weet te krijgen. Nou hielp het ook niet echt dat het een grijze, winderige dag was en dat we een kwartier moesten rondrijden om een parkeerplaats te bemachtigen. Half Duitsland was naar Winterswijk gestroomd om goedkoper boodschappen te doen. Kan niemand ze even vertellen dat die paar rotcenten die ze besparen weer vervliegen in hun hogere benzinekosten? Ok, genoeg cynisme, want het was uiteindelijk een zeer leuke dag!
Om twee uur begonnen we met een laatste repetitie voor het concert. Na 2,5 uur stonden de puntjes op de i, al bleef het spannend of bepaalde stukken goed zouden gaan. Het Capriccio Italien van Tchaikovsky is geen makkelijk stuk, laat ik het zo stellen. De akoestiek van het trieste bouwwerk bleek gelukkig wel gunstig te zijn, zeker voor de klarinetten. We kregen er een mooie klank van, en daarbij stemden we ook nog eens goed.
Met drie uur pauze gingen de twee vegetariërs van het orkest (Miriam en ik) naar de supermarkt, omdat het voorziene eten natuurlijk niet geschikt voor ons was. We schraapten een degelijk kostje bij elkaar en gingen weer terug de warmte in. Ik had nog braaf een studieboek meegenomen en uiteindelijk nog dertig minuten daarin gespendeerd. De rest van de tijd ging toch op aan kletsen, eten en op de piano spelen die in onze kleedkamer stond. Om zeven uur gingen de meeste dames zich omkleden en daarna konden we onze instrumenten weer uitpakken en wat inblazen.
Rond kwart voor 8 zaten we op het podium; de opkomst in het publiek was middelhoog. We werden aangekondigd door een vrouw van de Winterswijkse harmonie, en ik denk dat ik zelden zo'n saaie aankondiging heb gehoord. Voorlezen van een papiertje is al zo makkelijk, put some effort, will ya?
Gek genoeg stond ik stijf van de zenuwen en ik kon niet wachten om te beginnen.
De March van Prokofjev ging aardig, maar we moesten duidelijk nog even inkomen. Gelukkig kon dat goed met de twee solostukken voor hoorn. Hierin hebben de klarinetten toch een makkelijke partij en de zenuwen kwamen tot bedaren. Onze solist op hoorn, Maarten Teulen, heeft zo'n ongelooflijk mooie toon dat het me altijd moeilijk valt om me op m'n eigen partij te concentreren. Het liefst zou ik in het publiek zitten om naar hem te luisteren.
Veel tijd om te ontspannen hadden we niet, want het zware werk kwam eraan. Met de Boda de Luis Alonso moesten we met de klarinetgroep echt aan de bak; loopjes, staccato...alles zat erin en volledige concentratie was vereist. Ik sloeg me er redelijk doorheen, maar had twee piepjes omdat ik in m'n haast het embouchure niet helemaal correct had staan. Jammer.
Het Capriccio Italien was op z'n best acceptabel te noemen. Er zat nog teveel onrust in. De moeilijkheid van het stuk ligt hem uiteindelijk niet in de techniek; dat is gewoon een kwestie van oefenen. Het zit hem in het feit dat mensen te stronteigenwijs zijn om naar de dirigent te kijken voor de tempowisselingen en dynamiekwisselingen. Die geven de ziel aan het stuk. Hier is duidelijk nog wat te doen voor ons! Toch vind ik het knap dat we een stuk wat concours-niveau is met een repetitie of vier toch uitvoerbaar hebben gemaakt. Dat doen niet veel amateurorkesten ons na!
Met de Dance Macabre konden we onze kwaliteiten weer laten zien. Iedereen kent de Dance Macabre (als je tenminste in het spookslot van de Efteling bent geweest). Het is een zeer moeilijk stuk, de loopjes liggen erg open en bijna iedere groep heeft een moeilijke partij. Respect voor de saxen die de 'viool-solo's' voor hun rekening namen. Op 15 november gaan we het stuk met een echte viool opvoeren.
Eindelijk konden we dan ontspannen, met de afsluitende mars The Washington Post. M'n embouchure stond op opgeven en met de laatste noot was ik uitgeblust. We namen het applaus in ontvangst en ik was erg blij. De dirigent zag er oververhit uit en zei dat hij toe was aan een biertje. Anders ik wel! In de pauze was het erg druk en het duurde dan ook lang voor in aan de beurt was bij de bar. De dirigent had nog steeds geen biertje dus ik kocht er ook maar een voor hem. Hij leek er nogal blij mee te zijn, en ik moet zeggen dat het mij ook goed smaakte!
Na de pauze konden we lekker genieten van de prestaties van het andere orkest. Ze speelden een mooi programma, met erg lange nummers. Hun sterke punten liggen in de uitmuntende stemming en harmonieuze klank. Om tien uur was het hele gebeuren al afgelopen en eigenlijk gingen we meteen naar huis. Meestal wil ik graag blijven hangen, maar de autorit van 1,5 uur weerhield me daarvan. Sowieso had ik weinig keus, als meerijder. Het was een ontzettend mooie dag en ik kijk nu alleen maar meer uit naar het concert van 15 november aanstaande. Helaas is het in Sluiskil, een uithoek aan de andere kant van het land.....
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Book addiction
I was browsing through old photo's when I found these two. They are quick shots, made with my phone, but they had a tremendous effect on me!
Those of you who know me, know that I am a book addict and these two photo's made me realise that I haven't been in a bookstore for almost a month. That's insane! I love visiting bookstores in Utrecht, but the bookstore on the photo's is my favorite.
It's a second hand bookstore, Aleph, and I love the lay-out of the store. Books all over the place, a shabby salesman reading the newspaper behind his desk... You can just browse the store for ages without being disturbed. Although the shop is in the centre of Utrecht, it's not often crowded. People prefer to go to Selexyz, the big store just around the corner. I prefer to hang around at Aleph, where the smell of old books is all that enters your nose...lovely!
Those of you who know me, know that I am a book addict and these two photo's made me realise that I haven't been in a bookstore for almost a month. That's insane! I love visiting bookstores in Utrecht, but the bookstore on the photo's is my favorite.
It's a second hand bookstore, Aleph, and I love the lay-out of the store. Books all over the place, a shabby salesman reading the newspaper behind his desk... You can just browse the store for ages without being disturbed. Although the shop is in the centre of Utrecht, it's not often crowded. People prefer to go to Selexyz, the big store just around the corner. I prefer to hang around at Aleph, where the smell of old books is all that enters your nose...lovely!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Workin' it
After yesterday, the contrast with my highly inactive summer couldn't be bigger. Working two jobs and doing a full-time study is no sinecure. In the fourth week of my new busy life, the ultimate culmination was the 15 hour work day I had yesterday.
For my first job, I had to cycle to Nieuwegein, where I assist an elderly woman in doing her household jobs. She can only barely walk, so I vacuum clean the house for her, dust her stuff, polish her kitchen floor...that kind of stuff. She is very kind, and more often than not we are also drinking cups of tea and coffee for more than an hour. It's also the only time of the week when I allow myself to eat a cookie. She knows I don't eat snacks normally, so she always has something special for me :)
I leave her house usually at 11:50 am, when I'm off to my next job at the computer store. This is another 30 minute cycle trip, and I had 30 minutes left to eat my lunch. The store opens at 1 pm, and you wouldn't guess, but monday is a very busy day. People who bought stuff over the weekend sometimes come to bring it back, or people who ordered stuff from the website come and collect it. There were about ten people waiting in front of the store, so a little invasion took place when we opened the doors. I actually like the monday, because the time goes by very fast! In my fourth week of working this new job, I'm starting to like it more and more. I discovered that I really like to help and advise people in what to buy. Yesterday I sold my most expensive laptop so far and I felt really proud ^_^
Working in the store has resulted in some funny moments already. Yesterday, for example, two guys just couldn't believe a girl would LIKE to work in a computer store. The look on their faces when I told them I LOVED computers was priceless. When I asked them if they liked to see more women in computer stores they said 'yes, more of that please!', but that was no surprise really. I also had other women express happy feelings of seeing a woman in a computer store. MyCom has 23 shops all across the country, but our store is the only one with women. Not just one, we have three!
Last friday, my last customer of the day was wasted. He was trying to buy a sound-cart, but he was barely realising what he was doing. He didn't say goodbye once, but like 5 times. The stench of beer around him was appalling.
That same day but a little earlier, another guy offered me a zen meditation course after we had talked for about 20 mins. He also asked what I was studying.
Almost every day there is a customer with whom I end up talking for 30 minutes or so. And I like it! I like chatting with people. It's very cool to meet so many people and talk random things with them. I realised that two years ago, I wouldn't have liked it. I was much more close-minded when it came to things like that. I preferred to keep to myself and avoid strangers as much as I can. How different it is now!
Ok, lets get on with the story. At 6 pm the store closed, but that wasn't the end of the day by far! We had to count all the products in the store, to see if some things were missing (lots gets stolen around here). I went to score some food with two colleagues, and while we were eating the boss had a little monologue about how things were going in the store (not too good of course, but when is it ever good for a boss?). When that was done and everyone had dumped his or her two cents we formed into pairs to count everything in the store.
The first person had to scan every item in a section, while the other looked on the laptop if everything was correct. This took about two hours and of course, mistakes were made. The mistakes had to be found out by hand. Lets say that someone had counted 3 of item X, but according to the computer system there had to be 5 items X. We had to find more of item X. It was in the store of course, but there could be more X's at defects, in the storeroom...basically everywhere. This is when my mood finally went down. It took a long time to find all the mistakes, and we couldn't even solve all. The best processor we are selling was gone (the Intel i7, worth 260 euro) and it wasn't on display in the store. Did one of us steal it?? We will never know, but fact remains that it was gone.
At 11:30 pm, the boss finally dismissed us. It was a long day, but it didn't feel that way until the last two hours. This morning I've been busy cleaning my whole room, because the cat had fleas -__-
For my first job, I had to cycle to Nieuwegein, where I assist an elderly woman in doing her household jobs. She can only barely walk, so I vacuum clean the house for her, dust her stuff, polish her kitchen floor...that kind of stuff. She is very kind, and more often than not we are also drinking cups of tea and coffee for more than an hour. It's also the only time of the week when I allow myself to eat a cookie. She knows I don't eat snacks normally, so she always has something special for me :)
I leave her house usually at 11:50 am, when I'm off to my next job at the computer store. This is another 30 minute cycle trip, and I had 30 minutes left to eat my lunch. The store opens at 1 pm, and you wouldn't guess, but monday is a very busy day. People who bought stuff over the weekend sometimes come to bring it back, or people who ordered stuff from the website come and collect it. There were about ten people waiting in front of the store, so a little invasion took place when we opened the doors. I actually like the monday, because the time goes by very fast! In my fourth week of working this new job, I'm starting to like it more and more. I discovered that I really like to help and advise people in what to buy. Yesterday I sold my most expensive laptop so far and I felt really proud ^_^
Working in the store has resulted in some funny moments already. Yesterday, for example, two guys just couldn't believe a girl would LIKE to work in a computer store. The look on their faces when I told them I LOVED computers was priceless. When I asked them if they liked to see more women in computer stores they said 'yes, more of that please!', but that was no surprise really. I also had other women express happy feelings of seeing a woman in a computer store. MyCom has 23 shops all across the country, but our store is the only one with women. Not just one, we have three!
Last friday, my last customer of the day was wasted. He was trying to buy a sound-cart, but he was barely realising what he was doing. He didn't say goodbye once, but like 5 times. The stench of beer around him was appalling.
That same day but a little earlier, another guy offered me a zen meditation course after we had talked for about 20 mins. He also asked what I was studying.
Almost every day there is a customer with whom I end up talking for 30 minutes or so. And I like it! I like chatting with people. It's very cool to meet so many people and talk random things with them. I realised that two years ago, I wouldn't have liked it. I was much more close-minded when it came to things like that. I preferred to keep to myself and avoid strangers as much as I can. How different it is now!
Ok, lets get on with the story. At 6 pm the store closed, but that wasn't the end of the day by far! We had to count all the products in the store, to see if some things were missing (lots gets stolen around here). I went to score some food with two colleagues, and while we were eating the boss had a little monologue about how things were going in the store (not too good of course, but when is it ever good for a boss?). When that was done and everyone had dumped his or her two cents we formed into pairs to count everything in the store.
The first person had to scan every item in a section, while the other looked on the laptop if everything was correct. This took about two hours and of course, mistakes were made. The mistakes had to be found out by hand. Lets say that someone had counted 3 of item X, but according to the computer system there had to be 5 items X. We had to find more of item X. It was in the store of course, but there could be more X's at defects, in the storeroom...basically everywhere. This is when my mood finally went down. It took a long time to find all the mistakes, and we couldn't even solve all. The best processor we are selling was gone (the Intel i7, worth 260 euro) and it wasn't on display in the store. Did one of us steal it?? We will never know, but fact remains that it was gone.
At 11:30 pm, the boss finally dismissed us. It was a long day, but it didn't feel that way until the last two hours. This morning I've been busy cleaning my whole room, because the cat had fleas -__-
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Examenjaar 2004
Wat: Een reünie van de Oude Hoven. Kosten: 15 euro. Verwachtingen: geen.
Na een epische reis die 40 minuten behoorde te duren, maar die vanwege falen van de kant van Arriva twee uur kostte kwamen de heer Christiaan Mulder en ik aan bij onze oude middelbare school. We waren hongerig, dorstig en onze blazen stonden op knappen na twee uur treinen en bussen. Eenmaal uit het toilet werden we gespot door de andere drie mensen van ons jaar die waren gekomen.
Ons jaar bestond uit zo'n zeventig mensen, en we waren in totaal met vijf man! Een iets grotere opkomst was leuk geweest. Nu hadden we bij de lunch onze verhalen al vrij snel uitgewisseld. Een meisje die ik vroeger een vriendin noemde was nog steeds even lief en aardig en ik vond het prettig haar te zien. De andere twee kende ik nog slechts vaag en over Christiaan hoef ik het verder niet meer te hebben, want die ken ik maar al te goed!
Het was veel komischer om alle docenten weer te zien. Mijn favoriete docent, de muziekleraar meneer Den Hollander, was er helaas niet. Sommige docenten leken totaal niet veranderd te zijn, anderen zagen er of heel goed, of heel slecht uit. De geschiedenisdocent leek wat vermagerd, doch zijn ego was nog steeds even groot. Hij herkende me niet meer, terwijl ik toch drie jaar bij hem in de klas heb gezeten. Ik was dus echt een muurbloempje (boehoe). Hij zei dat ik er heel anders uitzag. De geschiedenis docent die ik de derde had, wist me echter wel bij voor en achternaam te noemen, dus toen wist ik het zonet nog niet.
Om kwart over drie hadden we een foto momentje met ons jaar en omdat we echt maar met z'n vijven waren, was dat zo gepiept. Daarna had ik nog een missie. Er was een persoon die ik met name wilde zien. In zes VWO ben ik bijna van school getrapt omdat ik teveel spijbelde (het ging niet al te geweldig met me toentertijd) en ik had het vaak aan de stok met ene mevrouw die over de aan en afwezigheid van leerlingen ging. Ik zag haar staan en was zelfs zenuwachtig om naar haar toe te gaan! Ik was bang dat ze me niet wou ontmoeten ofzoiets. Bleek ze me ook gewoon niet meer te herinneren. En ik maar bang zijn dat ik haar grijze haren had bezorgd.
Al mijn doelen voor de reünie waren nu afgehandeld en we besloten ervandoor te gaan. Na een drankje in Gorinchem ging ik met de bus naar m'n ouders. Ik ben blij dat ik ben gegaan, maar ik weet niet wat ik ervan vond. De school is veranderd en iedereen is zijns weegs gegaan. Nostalgie is wellicht het gevoel wat ik erbij krijg. Dat maakt dat ik me oud voel, en dat is toch best wel raar op je 23ste.
Na een epische reis die 40 minuten behoorde te duren, maar die vanwege falen van de kant van Arriva twee uur kostte kwamen de heer Christiaan Mulder en ik aan bij onze oude middelbare school. We waren hongerig, dorstig en onze blazen stonden op knappen na twee uur treinen en bussen. Eenmaal uit het toilet werden we gespot door de andere drie mensen van ons jaar die waren gekomen.
Ons jaar bestond uit zo'n zeventig mensen, en we waren in totaal met vijf man! Een iets grotere opkomst was leuk geweest. Nu hadden we bij de lunch onze verhalen al vrij snel uitgewisseld. Een meisje die ik vroeger een vriendin noemde was nog steeds even lief en aardig en ik vond het prettig haar te zien. De andere twee kende ik nog slechts vaag en over Christiaan hoef ik het verder niet meer te hebben, want die ken ik maar al te goed!
Het was veel komischer om alle docenten weer te zien. Mijn favoriete docent, de muziekleraar meneer Den Hollander, was er helaas niet. Sommige docenten leken totaal niet veranderd te zijn, anderen zagen er of heel goed, of heel slecht uit. De geschiedenisdocent leek wat vermagerd, doch zijn ego was nog steeds even groot. Hij herkende me niet meer, terwijl ik toch drie jaar bij hem in de klas heb gezeten. Ik was dus echt een muurbloempje (boehoe). Hij zei dat ik er heel anders uitzag. De geschiedenis docent die ik de derde had, wist me echter wel bij voor en achternaam te noemen, dus toen wist ik het zonet nog niet.
Om kwart over drie hadden we een foto momentje met ons jaar en omdat we echt maar met z'n vijven waren, was dat zo gepiept. Daarna had ik nog een missie. Er was een persoon die ik met name wilde zien. In zes VWO ben ik bijna van school getrapt omdat ik teveel spijbelde (het ging niet al te geweldig met me toentertijd) en ik had het vaak aan de stok met ene mevrouw die over de aan en afwezigheid van leerlingen ging. Ik zag haar staan en was zelfs zenuwachtig om naar haar toe te gaan! Ik was bang dat ze me niet wou ontmoeten ofzoiets. Bleek ze me ook gewoon niet meer te herinneren. En ik maar bang zijn dat ik haar grijze haren had bezorgd.
Al mijn doelen voor de reünie waren nu afgehandeld en we besloten ervandoor te gaan. Na een drankje in Gorinchem ging ik met de bus naar m'n ouders. Ik ben blij dat ik ben gegaan, maar ik weet niet wat ik ervan vond. De school is veranderd en iedereen is zijns weegs gegaan. Nostalgie is wellicht het gevoel wat ik erbij krijg. Dat maakt dat ik me oud voel, en dat is toch best wel raar op je 23ste.
Friday, September 25, 2009
'Pics or it didn't happen'
Awful picture, but it did happen!
800m before the finish of the Damloop, a small army of photographers busied themselves with getting pictures of all the runners.
800m before the finish of the Damloop, a small army of photographers busied themselves with getting pictures of all the runners.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Damloop Veteran
Ladies and gentleman, I did it!
Last saturday I ran the Dam tot Damloop, whilst being hopelessly undertrained. I didn't go running for about a month beforehand; I only went to the gym once in awhile. Thankfully, my lifestyle is active because I cycle everywhere I can (I avoid public transport whenever possible), so my endurance level is pretty decent. This saved me during the run. But let's start from the beginning!
I signed up for the Damloop because an acquaintance of mine, Erik, persuaded me after the Batavierenrace that took place in April earlier this year. At the time, I was still ecstatic from running my race it seemed like a cool idea to run 10 mile. So I signed up, naïvely thinking I would really follow a training-schedule. This all didn't happen of course and the dreaded day of September 19th came closer. I'd glance at my calendar every once in awhile, as if 19 September would magically disappear (I also still keep hoping that my period skips a month..i'm a fantasising fool). The week before the race I spent trying to NOT think about it at all, and I must say it worked! Only on 18 september I began to worry about it. The enveloppe with practical details about the organisation, my start number and whatnot was still lying on the table, untouched. The package also contained a free special t-shirt. I had ordered size M, thinking that it would be safer to order a size bigger than I normally wear. The shirt was so big that it was almost a dress. I put it on and I felt like a little kid again, trying on my mothers clothes or something. I drowned in the thing!
Meanwhile, my three fellow Damloop-heroes had already e-mailed about the time we would leave for Amsterdam, so it was only a matter of buying the necessary food-stuffs and drinks. Saturday, the big day, I spent the morning in bed, idling around with my laptop. In the afternoon, Christiaan and I went shopping for a last light meal. At 5 pm we took the train to Amsterdam, because Chris already had to start running at 18:40. Erik and Christiaan would start at 19:35, I would start at 19:45. The train was packed with people in purple t-shirts. No wonder, considering 25,000 people were running this night! Outside the station, the purple was even more prevalent. Several tourists and random passers-by were trying to find their way through the mass, looking utterly bewildered. I'd be scared too, if I'd unexpectedly cross 25,000 purple folks. Chris handed in his bag (all bags were labeled and driven to the finish) and got ready for take-off. We cheered for him as he and the 2,449 other people ran past us, looking like a big herd of sheep.
With an hour to kill, Erik, Christiaan and I strolled around. We went for a last toilet-break, handed in our bags, drank some sports drink and I ate a banana for some last minute energy. It was time to go to our start groups. I was really getting excited now! At length, it was time for my group to go to the start. Really bad trance music accompanied us as we were getting off. It was a really weird experience to run in such a big mass. I hoped that it would spread out after awhile, but it didn't. I immediately felt I would be able to run the whole race. My breath was steady, and in a natural rhythm. This is the most important part for me while I am running. I have trainings when I can't stop panting. I almost felt like whistling, but after 8 km my legs started to feel a little tired. The running experience was good distraction though. Lots of people were watching, almost everywhere you could hear music and the 'by night' aspect was provided by the many lights and campfires on route. It was a little annoying to run in a big mass every once in awhile. It was very hard to run past people, because not every slow runner kept to the right side of the road. I haven't felt more like a sheep in my life as during this Damloop. You couldn't escape the big running mass even if you wanted to. It was like being part of a huge unstoppable moving organism. Quite the experience!
At last, the large purple organism of which I was part, ran past the 13km sign. My legs were really starting to go on strike now. "Please walk!" I tried to push on, ignoring my sore muscles as much as I could. Most of the time I was overtaking people, now others were overtaking me! I felt like my grandma could beat me in a sprint now. This thought sparked a last drive in me to continue the last kilometres on a decent speed. As we neared the finish line, the public grew larger. All the more reason not to succumb to walking! The photo moment 800m before the finish fooled me yet again. Thinking it was the finish I sprinted past a few others, trying to look heroic, only to discover that it was another 800m to the finish. At that moment you really start to swear to yourself. All sorts of nasty words flashed through my mind as I figuratively lashed my body to run the last meters. I was never more glad to pass a finish line than I was passing this one. In a delirium, I walked through, got a drink and some food. I didn't even feel proud yet, but was more worried that I couldn't find my friends in the crowd of 25,000 people. Luckily, my friends were smart enough to wait me up at the bag retrieval point. Then, I really felt the joy of completing the run. Sadly, we had to walk another hour to reach the train station (because we walked the wrong way) and that really killed the little strenght I had left in my legs. Being able to sit down in the train was almost orgasmic. An hour and a half later I finally reached my home, and the shower. I was so glad to wash myself and then to lay down in bed! Sadly, I had a really bad headache. I guess I didn't drink enough. Three aspirines later, the headache was still there but I finally fell asleep.
The next day I didn't do anything at all. The headache was gone, and I felt really proud about myself. I didn't think I could run 16km, certainly not with while being so undertrained. But I managed it, and I'll never forget the whole experience! It took me 1 hour and 51 minutes (8,6 km/h), but hell, I did it!
Last saturday I ran the Dam tot Damloop, whilst being hopelessly undertrained. I didn't go running for about a month beforehand; I only went to the gym once in awhile. Thankfully, my lifestyle is active because I cycle everywhere I can (I avoid public transport whenever possible), so my endurance level is pretty decent. This saved me during the run. But let's start from the beginning!
I signed up for the Damloop because an acquaintance of mine, Erik, persuaded me after the Batavierenrace that took place in April earlier this year. At the time, I was still ecstatic from running my race it seemed like a cool idea to run 10 mile. So I signed up, naïvely thinking I would really follow a training-schedule. This all didn't happen of course and the dreaded day of September 19th came closer. I'd glance at my calendar every once in awhile, as if 19 September would magically disappear (I also still keep hoping that my period skips a month..i'm a fantasising fool). The week before the race I spent trying to NOT think about it at all, and I must say it worked! Only on 18 september I began to worry about it. The enveloppe with practical details about the organisation, my start number and whatnot was still lying on the table, untouched. The package also contained a free special t-shirt. I had ordered size M, thinking that it would be safer to order a size bigger than I normally wear. The shirt was so big that it was almost a dress. I put it on and I felt like a little kid again, trying on my mothers clothes or something. I drowned in the thing!
Meanwhile, my three fellow Damloop-heroes had already e-mailed about the time we would leave for Amsterdam, so it was only a matter of buying the necessary food-stuffs and drinks. Saturday, the big day, I spent the morning in bed, idling around with my laptop. In the afternoon, Christiaan and I went shopping for a last light meal. At 5 pm we took the train to Amsterdam, because Chris already had to start running at 18:40. Erik and Christiaan would start at 19:35, I would start at 19:45. The train was packed with people in purple t-shirts. No wonder, considering 25,000 people were running this night! Outside the station, the purple was even more prevalent. Several tourists and random passers-by were trying to find their way through the mass, looking utterly bewildered. I'd be scared too, if I'd unexpectedly cross 25,000 purple folks. Chris handed in his bag (all bags were labeled and driven to the finish) and got ready for take-off. We cheered for him as he and the 2,449 other people ran past us, looking like a big herd of sheep.
With an hour to kill, Erik, Christiaan and I strolled around. We went for a last toilet-break, handed in our bags, drank some sports drink and I ate a banana for some last minute energy. It was time to go to our start groups. I was really getting excited now! At length, it was time for my group to go to the start. Really bad trance music accompanied us as we were getting off. It was a really weird experience to run in such a big mass. I hoped that it would spread out after awhile, but it didn't. I immediately felt I would be able to run the whole race. My breath was steady, and in a natural rhythm. This is the most important part for me while I am running. I have trainings when I can't stop panting. I almost felt like whistling, but after 8 km my legs started to feel a little tired. The running experience was good distraction though. Lots of people were watching, almost everywhere you could hear music and the 'by night' aspect was provided by the many lights and campfires on route. It was a little annoying to run in a big mass every once in awhile. It was very hard to run past people, because not every slow runner kept to the right side of the road. I haven't felt more like a sheep in my life as during this Damloop. You couldn't escape the big running mass even if you wanted to. It was like being part of a huge unstoppable moving organism. Quite the experience!
At last, the large purple organism of which I was part, ran past the 13km sign. My legs were really starting to go on strike now. "Please walk!" I tried to push on, ignoring my sore muscles as much as I could. Most of the time I was overtaking people, now others were overtaking me! I felt like my grandma could beat me in a sprint now. This thought sparked a last drive in me to continue the last kilometres on a decent speed. As we neared the finish line, the public grew larger. All the more reason not to succumb to walking! The photo moment 800m before the finish fooled me yet again. Thinking it was the finish I sprinted past a few others, trying to look heroic, only to discover that it was another 800m to the finish. At that moment you really start to swear to yourself. All sorts of nasty words flashed through my mind as I figuratively lashed my body to run the last meters. I was never more glad to pass a finish line than I was passing this one. In a delirium, I walked through, got a drink and some food. I didn't even feel proud yet, but was more worried that I couldn't find my friends in the crowd of 25,000 people. Luckily, my friends were smart enough to wait me up at the bag retrieval point. Then, I really felt the joy of completing the run. Sadly, we had to walk another hour to reach the train station (because we walked the wrong way) and that really killed the little strenght I had left in my legs. Being able to sit down in the train was almost orgasmic. An hour and a half later I finally reached my home, and the shower. I was so glad to wash myself and then to lay down in bed! Sadly, I had a really bad headache. I guess I didn't drink enough. Three aspirines later, the headache was still there but I finally fell asleep.
The next day I didn't do anything at all. The headache was gone, and I felt really proud about myself. I didn't think I could run 16km, certainly not with while being so undertrained. But I managed it, and I'll never forget the whole experience! It took me 1 hour and 51 minutes (8,6 km/h), but hell, I did it!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Runnin' like a fool
Last year I had the luminous idea to start running. I got into it because of the Batavierenrace, the biggest student running event. After a few weeks of training I thought it'd be cool to try and run the 1/2 marathon next year.
And now it is 2009 and guess what. Tomorrow is THE BIG DAY of the Dam tot Damloop. Not a 1/2 marathon but 10 miles. I signed up for it in june, with the event still comfortably far away and with the noble intention of following a training schedule.
I think I followed that schedule for about two weeks, then it all went to hell. I went to London, Copenhagen, played WoW, went to the gym, cycled, worked, chilled, picked my nose, did my laundry, stroked my cat...you name it...BUT I DIDN'T RUN. So errr...tomorrow is going to be a total joke. Sure, I'm not in a bad shape, I feel pretty fit physically. I don't know if I feel fit enough to run 10 miles comfortably though. The last two weeks I've been nervous for various reasons and totally lost my apetite for food. I was low on energy and didn't do much at all (and lost 2kg). All in all, not an ideal preparation *cough*.
Today I tried to make up for it by bulking food. I kinda failed though, because I only ate breakfast and dinner. How the hell can you eat, if you don't feel hunger????
So right now, I'm enjoying the feeling of chillin'. After the run tomorrow I think I'll feel more dead than alive!
And now it is 2009 and guess what. Tomorrow is THE BIG DAY of the Dam tot Damloop. Not a 1/2 marathon but 10 miles. I signed up for it in june, with the event still comfortably far away and with the noble intention of following a training schedule.
I think I followed that schedule for about two weeks, then it all went to hell. I went to London, Copenhagen, played WoW, went to the gym, cycled, worked, chilled, picked my nose, did my laundry, stroked my cat...you name it...BUT I DIDN'T RUN. So errr...tomorrow is going to be a total joke. Sure, I'm not in a bad shape, I feel pretty fit physically. I don't know if I feel fit enough to run 10 miles comfortably though. The last two weeks I've been nervous for various reasons and totally lost my apetite for food. I was low on energy and didn't do much at all (and lost 2kg). All in all, not an ideal preparation *cough*.
Today I tried to make up for it by bulking food. I kinda failed though, because I only ate breakfast and dinner. How the hell can you eat, if you don't feel hunger????
So right now, I'm enjoying the feeling of chillin'. After the run tomorrow I think I'll feel more dead than alive!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)