running Archieven - Meisjes van Vijftig

Positive powers: a runners project

Posted on Sunday October 29th, 2017Sunday October 11th, 2020 by Meisje van 50Leave a Comment

Remember, my last blog post? About the positive energy I received from other runners and their stories? It didn’t matter how many times we first timers asked the same questions, the experienced runners were always prepared to put our minds to ease. Questions about food, gels, training schedules, injuries, the start village at NYC. Even the weather forecast. We communicated through Facebook, private message, email and in one case even by telephone. Some runners really touched me with their stories. And really showed the positive power of running. For example the woman who lost her father last week. Continue reading “Positive powers: a runners project” →

Why rest is so important for your marathon training

Posted on Sunday July 9th, 2017Sunday March 21st, 2021 by Meisje van 501 Comment

The road to NYC is rough. As positive as I was at the beginning of my marathon training, I hadn’t counted on my body not delivering. And it all started out so great. My schedule proved to be the right one for me. Increasing mileage went smoothly. I had fun in running. I felt great. Strong. And then I got cocky. And I broke the number one rule: always listen to your body. Well, I did listen, of course I noticed the signs, I just didn’t act on it. Rest? I don’t need that! I’m stronger than that. Yeah, you can call me stupid. It all started with a minor infection. One that asked for an antibiotic. It helped. Of course it helped. That’s what antibiotics are for. But it asked a lot of my body. I felt better after a week. The fever broke. The pain was gone. I felt good. So, what’s the harm in running 27 kilometers. No matter that I didn’t run in a week. That my body had to work extra hard to beat the infection. Be strong. You can do this! Well, I soon found out my body didn’t agree with that assessment. Continue reading “Why rest is so important for your marathon training” →

The NYC Marathon: that’s only 60.060 steps.

Posted on Friday February 17th, 2017Sunday March 21st, 2021 by Meisje van 502 Comments

Oh man, what have I done? Listen, no need to be shy about it. If you’re hitting 50 your hormones will have you do weird stuff. (YES. It’s the hormones! Don’t you dare suggest otherwise!). You’ve got more yesterdays than tomorrows. You’ll get the feeling now or never. Men have an easy solution for that. They buy a motorcycle. Or car they’ve been dreaming about since they were 16. Some exchange their wife for a younger model. Women tend to do it differently.They take a hiking trip through the country. Or make a trek through any of the desserts. Me? Continue reading “The NYC Marathon: that’s only 60.060 steps.” →

A year of running

Posted on Tuesday December 27th, 2016Sunday March 21st, 2021 by Meisje van 50Leave a Comment

The end of 2016 is nearing. I know I won’t make it to 365 miles this year. I got to 68% of my goal. With only 1 week to go, full of medicine because of a root canal treatment, I would be a fool to even attempt to run the full 587 kilometer. Still, I’m grateful for a lot of things. The Facebook group A year of running that Mark Zuckerberg started, is one of them. I started to run again in May. Without this group, my running efforts would probably have ended the same as always: getting to 5k and then slowly diminish the mileage until I was couch ridden once again. Not getting better, not getting faster, until I would start all over again. But not this year.
Continue reading “A year of running” →

Aaaaaand this is how my Spring Challenge ended

Posted on Thursday June 23rd, 2016Sunday January 31st, 2021 by Meisje van 501 Comment

It is time! I ended the Spring Fitness Challenge. Remember? Six weeks ago I declared war to the kilos I gained after I quit smoking. On May 5th I had a check in with the local gym and we -my coach and me – set a goal: shake of some fat and get stronger to run better. If I’d loose some weight in the process that would be a huge bonus. Because the 14 extra kilos that steadfastly clung to my body, really started to bug me. Big time! My coach and I worked out a schedule in which I ran two times a week and did some strength training two times a week. The same time I started to participate in the highly motivating A year of Running challenge that Mark Zuckerberg started. #werun365 ends in December 2016. And now the six weeks of the spring challenge are up. Results? Continue reading “Aaaaaand this is how my Spring Challenge ended” →

#werun365 – The Mark Zuckerberg challenge: A Year of Running

Posted on Sunday June 12th, 2016Saturday September 26th, 2020 by Meisje van 505 Comments

A growing number of people accepted the challenge of Mark Zuckerberg. It didn’t took me long to accept. What I’m talking about? The running challenge Mark Zuckerberg started through Facebook: A Year of Running. Mark challenges everyone this year to run 365 miles with the hashtag #werun365. That equals 587 kilometer. It’s a sportive thought with a positive result. Not only for me. A lot of people are infected with the running fever. There are people just lurking in the group. And reading. And then, suddenly they are motivated enough to go out there and run. Not 10 kilometer at once of course. Continue reading “#werun365 – The Mark Zuckerberg challenge: A Year of Running” →