tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992691566355594022024-03-13T09:02:21.300+01:00My Road To IronMan MallorcaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03336868469541080712noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399269156635559402.post-10550145210944938652015-09-28T10:22:00.001+02:002015-09-28T10:22:45.655+02:00The Story - The Day After<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>The day after</b></div>
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Besides sore legs and some little wounds on my left foot,
I am doing fine. Of course by body is a bit tiered but it could have been
worse. I want to tell a (short) resume of my Iron Man. Maybe it will be a long
story, but maybe I will come with more stories and pictures in a couple of
days.<br />
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<o:p><b>Getting there </b></o:p></div>
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Early morning with the alarm at 05.15 and a small
breakfast, it is no use to put your stomach full with bread or muesli on
race-day, the carbohydrates should already be stored and a full stomach will
only be uncomfortable during the swim. Together with my great support crew
(Elise, Masja and Evelien), we went towards the start at 06:00.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transition zone at check in - blue covers for the night</td></tr>
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The day before the race, everyone had to check in his/her
bike and special bike and run-bags. So at race day I only needed to give it a
short check in the transition zone to see if everything is ok with the bike and
to remember ones more where to find my bags and bike. This was also a good
moment to visit the toilet for the last time.<br />
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Then moving from transition zone to the start, where I put on my wetsuit – against all expectations, it was allowed to wear a wetsuit! The water temperature had dropped to below 24.5 degrees after one rainy day last Wednesday: It was 24.4 degrees. Athletes are allowed to choose for a wetsuit now (above 24.5 it is forbidden because of the risk of heating). For me, it is a now brainer, A wetsuit helps my legs stay a bit high in the water, making me more horizontal and thus faster. Getting out of the wetsuit might take 15 seconds extra in the transition, so not worth thinking of going without. Another feature I implemented was the powergel I took with me under the cap. So I had a quick boost already immediately after the swim during the walk towards the transition tent. Great tip from Bart, one of my swimming partners at D’elft, although he suggested to take it halfway the swim when there was a turning point at the beach.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transition Zone (at end of race day)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre race picture</td></tr>
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<b>07:10:</b> Up into the water, getting wet and warm. All
muscles awake and loose, this was a short warm up before the race. It is still
dark at this moment, which makes it quite unusual to go for a swim, but
interesting as well. I was wondered about the large amount of people that did
not go into the water before the race. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise</td></tr>
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<b>07:20:</b> We need to move towards the start. The start is
organized as a so called “rolling start”. You can choose which group you want
to start in, based on the expected swim time. Groups are made on 15 minutes
intervals, so <1 hour, between 1 hour and 75 minutes, between 75 minutes and
1.5 hours etc. After the start for the recreational competitors, they will
first let the fastest group into the water, followed by the next immediately
after. So it is not 2500 people running into the water together, but a continuous
flow that takes about 15 minutes to enter the water. Time starts running when
passing the start, not at the sound of the horn, so time wise it does not make
any difference between where you start. During the IJ-Swim in Amsterdam, I did
a 3.8km – with wetsuit – in 1 hour 3 minutes and some seconds while I was not
taking the best use of others at the last kilometer back then. So a bit
opportunistic maybe, but I decided to join at the back end of the fastest group
that aims for a swimming time of within 1 hour. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start of the professional men</td></tr>
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<b>07:30:</b> Start of Men professionals. <o:p></o:p></div>
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About 30 pro-athletes run into the water. The fastest of
them will do the swimming around 45 to 50 minutes, do the cycling at an average
speed of around 40 km/h (including the ~1400 altitude difference to take) and
finish with a marathon time of about 2 hours and 50 minutes. The winner had a
total time of 8 hours and 17 minutes… From all professionals that finished their
race, I beat 1 Russian athlete.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>07:32:</b> Start of Women professionals. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Small group of only 9 women start their race, 7 will
finish. Fastest in 9 hours and 24 minutes and the slowest still over 1 hour
faster than my time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>07:37:</b> Start of the ~2.500 "age-group" athletes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My start</td></tr>
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Although they organized the start as a rolling start,
hundreds of athletes run and dive into the water within minutes! No
difficulties to find nice feet to follow – drafting in the water is very beneficial
and safes a lot of energy. Swimming went very good, I could relax in the water
with a nice long stroke. Of course there were some battles in the water, people
that change direction for now reason, people in front of me that suddenly stop
for a moment, people from behind that don’t know that and thus try to
over-swim. The open water training I did around Utrecht this summer, with
Zwemanalyse, together with the open water swim events, has made me confident in
not getting stressed out by some struggles and even let it happen and don’t
bother too much. If they get you angry you will lose focus and energy on things
that won’t contribute to your own speed. </div>
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After 1.2km, we had to come back to take a so called “Australian Exit” this is a very short turning point at the beach, at which a split time is measured. It is quite a strange feeling when you stand up straight and walk/run through the water and over the beach, after being horizontal for about 40 minutes. So Don’t hurry too much here, there is not a lot to gain. Better enjoy the atmosphere and smile to the support crew! My split time was 38:34 after 2.4km.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Return into the water - halfway swimming</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thumbs up for the support crew - halfway swimming</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swimming Result</td></tr>
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The second part went good as well. There was a bit more
free space around me, although still some little touching and struggling,
especially near buoys when people get closer to take the buoy around the
correct side. I came out the water with a time of 1:01:34, which is fast for me
and I am pretty certain that if we had fought less and I has pushed a little
more, a sub one hour time had been possible. But one o one, was great for me
especially with the effort I put in. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Find the blue bag</td></tr>
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Walking out of the water, taking out the top half of my
wetsuit, grabbing the energygel from underneath my cap and have a gentle run
towards the transition zone. Find the blue bag with my bike gear, move to the
tent, get rid of the rest of my wetsuit and take on my shoes and glasses. Have
a small drink from the bottle I put in the bag, and start moving again. At the
bike, first put the helmet on, then the number belt around the waist, grab the
bike and walk to the end of the transition zone. With 2500 competitors, this
was quite a long zone, so I better put in a fast walk.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cycling: </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thumbs up for the support</td></tr>
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Cycling at Mallorca is awesome; the scenery is changing
all the time and the roads are going up and down most of the times. So a great
180km course, consisting of a first “flat”
(450hm) southern loop followed by the second northern loop with the
large climb (7.7km – 500hm). The wind was north east, almost zero at the start,
but getting quite strong during the morning. This means tail wind in the first
part, head winds when getting back towards Port d’Alcudia, tail wind again at
the road towards the climb that by itself is already inclining very slightly
(vals plat) and finishing with a head wind the last 25kms or so. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When getting onto the bike, you are very excited to get
cycling and go fast, but the heartrate has won already and is at a rate of 180
without having done one single thing. This is again due to the body’s physics
of swimming for a long time and then continues with vertical efforts, even when
the swimming part and the transition part where taken relatively easy. There is
one thing that you can do to get your heart rate under control: Slowdown in the
first 5 kms. Luckily I’d learned this the hard way during the half distance
triathlon I did in August in Klazienaveen, so I knew that I really had to start
slow and had put my gearing at the small ring. This means that a lot of people
passed me at the first part, not so fun!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpB2mCjNV_KTjRYvUwaKee-wcrUskc3Hy_6lL7Z8SCdXI5t3-5JUBxCSvFS5gqTKgcZjp6K9vZPs7BojLy1e24AbUsoh7DULXfdNsE6mXKhunp30njSgWt446J-9XowC0Vi6d6fYDwc5k/s1600/Cycling_cornering_partly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpB2mCjNV_KTjRYvUwaKee-wcrUskc3Hy_6lL7Z8SCdXI5t3-5JUBxCSvFS5gqTKgcZjp6K9vZPs7BojLy1e24AbUsoh7DULXfdNsE6mXKhunp30njSgWt446J-9XowC0Vi6d6fYDwc5k/s320/Cycling_cornering_partly.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cornering</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For me, the cycling went pretty good. I had a nice rhythm
a good speed and my effort wasn’t even at the limit I had decided for myself
(heart rate of 165). In the second loop, my legs started to hurt a little bit,
like I was moving on too large gears. My cadence here at Mallorca is about 5-10
revolutions per minute lower compared to dead flat and steady environment,
i.e.: home. I decided that I wouldn’t force my effort because the speeds was
already very good and I rather safe some energy and legs for the running instead
of going through the pain in the legs, something I usually should do during
single cycling events. Analyzing the heartrate of the second loop, one can see
that, except for the climb, my heartrate went down to around 140-150 instead of
150-160 I was on during the first loop. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipw0aB0tcUgAjUr1_YtJKc4rFmBF3Nl0y2GXDZmy9apxzJYQBwi8Dw0oLBvh7rwQvCtzczHDeJTRa8H9h9JdpbnHUj69_rQfYnKzHWyep46NWNELV3FPI0fZa1YMaB7FvpX62TbRmbUpo/s1600/Fietsen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipw0aB0tcUgAjUr1_YtJKc4rFmBF3Nl0y2GXDZmy9apxzJYQBwi8Dw0oLBvh7rwQvCtzczHDeJTRa8H9h9JdpbnHUj69_rQfYnKzHWyep46NWNELV3FPI0fZa1YMaB7FvpX62TbRmbUpo/s400/Fietsen.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Cycling result</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are a couple of funny things I noticed during the
bike part. First of all, there are lots of people on very expensive time trial
bikes. This doesn’t mean that they go very fast or that they are good cyclists
at all. A few examples: Quite a lot of those people ride very big gearing and
low cadence. Some maybe around 65 or 70 revolutions per minute. Maybe they watched
Tony Martin too many times. They do have very big legs which they need to ride
it like this, but when the road goes up slightly (>1%) they slow down a lot,
the just cannot change rhythm or they are too heavily build to get uphill
properly. This leads to a lot of overtaking uphill, and when it gets flat again
or goes down slightly (<2%), they overpassed me again. Steeper downhill,
they just stop pedaling, Maybe afraid or tired, but most of the real downhill
parts it is not difficult to go faster than those real big legged guys.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Another thing is that those pancakes have a hard time at
corners, especially in downhill sections. They move slowly across roundabouts,
and at the large descent in the second loop, they are just damn slow. One
example is shown at the photo, in this case not such a bad ass time trailer,
but it tells the story. He keeps his knee to the inside – which is nowhere
needed or good to do – while his bike is practically straight up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The last thing I need to tell about is the non-drafting
rules during triathlon. One has to keep at least 10m distance measured from the
front wheel of the rider in front of him. Otherwise he has to go to the left,
speed up and overpass him within 20 seconds. Drafting is simply not allowed. At
flat roads, and wind from aside, the 10m. is enough space to have almost no
advantage of the rider in front of you. But with a tail wind and/or slightly
downhill parts, the speeds are around 45-50 km/h. If you are around that 10m
mark you definitely take advantage of the rider in front of you. This leads to
quite some overtaking, and counter overtaking – or the so called sling shot
movement. Of course you see sometimes small groups or individuals that are too
close to each other and not taking any effort to make the distance again or to
overpass in 2 minutes instead of 20 seconds, which is blocking other faster
riders. It is not fear, and some get caught and will go to the penalty box (5
minutes) or even get disqualified. For the rest, just keep telling yourself
that you are doing your own race, so don’t get irritated when you see that kind
of things. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I finished my ride after 5:25.19. But it seems to be a
little less then 180km. My computer measured 177.6 km. And also the average
speed over the last 15km, as mentioned in the results, is not the speed that I
had in that part. For details, please check my strava recordings: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/401449055" target="_blank">Strava IronMan Cycling</a>. For the people who'd seen the nice strip of powergels attached to the toptube of my bike (facebook), I ended up having used 10 out of the 11 gels.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpW7PV0b1A1JlF2qcMGWnueh5fJOoiuiXdTP0nUCnREdYElteth3Abvv2sNsB8BK0Eb_hpEhx20UqnNbOXpDfdRwMSdfemhGRjaNDomA7dS8SCC084ti8kqsZSrL62XjlPW3vDNaKQdog/s1600/Cycling_windmolen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12.8px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpW7PV0b1A1JlF2qcMGWnueh5fJOoiuiXdTP0nUCnREdYElteth3Abvv2sNsB8BK0Eb_hpEhx20UqnNbOXpDfdRwMSdfemhGRjaNDomA7dS8SCC084ti8kqsZSrL62XjlPW3vDNaKQdog/s640/Cycling_windmolen.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very pretty scenery for cycling!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMX600gyDJKQBlL2NwMcNiAG4NYvkA9wIXO_IPJIDwy1JF3c9cN0DOXsqS3psiERrBdpT0ei349n1OW3R5wJEfM637QK9HluNS9hegNdhyMyhmGmzOpZ7CpgF5pXukiRuw_mLMPeydFU/s1600/CIMG9165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMX600gyDJKQBlL2NwMcNiAG4NYvkA9wIXO_IPJIDwy1JF3c9cN0DOXsqS3psiERrBdpT0ei349n1OW3R5wJEfM637QK9HluNS9hegNdhyMyhmGmzOpZ7CpgF5pXukiRuw_mLMPeydFU/s320/CIMG9165.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Find the red bag</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><b></b>
<b>Transition 2: </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Get off the bike, bike back at his place, to the red bags
for my running gear. It was hot, already 25 degrees in the shade, so I put on a
cap and used the sunscreen the organization had provided. I also changes socks,
so I would have nice, dry, socks that usually are my preferred running socks.
This might have been a mistake…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Running: </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqENaUMeEgF3fHFKqOfJBNwQ_Ida1Rn41VseoWOejXreyxxxT34-SWt3mMe3PZlIUfg6Z09tpQjjhflW8_6HNQXzjr9cTFBe7vJWH7gNa1EgVdYUaxOzHoWs_grZDrRywinZA2_3Tmrw/s1600/IMG_7409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqENaUMeEgF3fHFKqOfJBNwQ_Ida1Rn41VseoWOejXreyxxxT34-SWt3mMe3PZlIUfg6Z09tpQjjhflW8_6HNQXzjr9cTFBe7vJWH7gNa1EgVdYUaxOzHoWs_grZDrRywinZA2_3Tmrw/s320/IMG_7409.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running with ice cubs under my cap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The running course was dead flat, 4 loops of 9km’s and
6km more in the fifth loop to finish the 42 kms. It was hot, over 30 degrees in
the sun. This is challenging of course, keep drinking and keep cooling with
sponges and ice. I had saved some energy in the second half of the cycling part
and I knew my challenges. I started running easy, just above 5 min/km and
decided that going under de 5 min/km would be stupid to aim for because of the
situation. But going round with 5.20 per km on average would give me a good
pace for a very nice overall end time. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXm9PyGQfWHM0rmZJHBy4_KGV6uFd2y9bvL11TtjYy1rqt_I5z14UsPrfriOJF_AWdCpV928BF8deP6jpP6kTSeP3CdwQ2WMTytvIFlhkFJRFyMeOsB7LVgi91XfIU7vV13bywPMHjf4A/s1600/IMG_7414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXm9PyGQfWHM0rmZJHBy4_KGV6uFd2y9bvL11TtjYy1rqt_I5z14UsPrfriOJF_AWdCpV928BF8deP6jpP6kTSeP3CdwQ2WMTytvIFlhkFJRFyMeOsB7LVgi91XfIU7vV13bywPMHjf4A/s320/IMG_7414.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Support!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unfortunately, already after 4km, my left foot hurt as
hell. It was warm and swollen and thus squeezed within my shoe. This caused me
to run with short steps and not in a nice and loos manner as I am used to do,
hurting my muscles more than needed. Anyhow, from km 4 I was struggling and
after km 12 I decided to remove the sock from my left foot. This helped a lot
but still every round I needed to stop, take my shoe off and cool my left foot
with a cold sponge. The first loop of 9km went more or less ok, besides from
the left foot. But from that point onwards I was running from aid station to
aid station, allowing me to walk along each aid station. There were four of
them at the 9km course, and my main goal was to make sure I wouldn’t get caught
by the heat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepmvBiBeKXv5pIUp1uT_pMGAPedFZEHG05V9nsTfn_6SBXc4WscW62zwx_942OpcejB_bGZ21JRC9WkmLUzCfF82ZRk0TzX7ymk2rpTyaGplRPDPAo9ewSvKdr7KVv48uNyml2ZpkTu8/s1600/IMG_7424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepmvBiBeKXv5pIUp1uT_pMGAPedFZEHG05V9nsTfn_6SBXc4WscW62zwx_942OpcejB_bGZ21JRC9WkmLUzCfF82ZRk0TzX7ymk2rpTyaGplRPDPAo9ewSvKdr7KVv48uNyml2ZpkTu8/s320/IMG_7424.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Last Kilometer<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Second loop was the one that I removed the sock. And
although I had been fighting to get through I got back a bit of moral and was
thinking (or hoping) that if the third round would go the same, I would manage
and even within the 11 hours finish time. But during the third loop the
struggle got worse, I drank too much, which causes little stomach problems. The
moral went down again and I had to really push myself to the end of the third
loop.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
At that point it was still possible to do within the 11
hours, even when I should become a little slower during the last 1,5 loops to
go. But 3kms later the moral was down a lot, I had to walk a bit, started
running again, and decided to walk again. The stomach was hurting (in Dutch:
zijsteken), and instead of running from aid station to aid station, I went from
km to km, with a minute walk at the beginning of each km. End time was not
important anymore, it was just surviving and getting to the finish line without
stupid things (like collapsing as I saw a few others..). Temperature went down
a few degrees, I took another energygel, which I had forgotten to take in the
middle part of the marathon, and only used water at the aid stations. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Slowly I progressed to the finish, and after 11:18:27: I
can call myself an Iron Man!! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was relieved, glad, proud and a bit tired. Nine months
of endurance training, learning proper swimming and train the running to not
get injured by it, all resulted in this achievement. I am very happy with my
overall result, there might be a very slightly disappointment about the
running, but how I felt during the marathon I am just happy to have finished
the race. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6KPKWg65PY2TdwfcI1WJWuss-mR4YCbdfoTMHo6oMN44iUHgqYzmDue0pjRwHzjY75li8hyJpV-qTgQ0RBPkXY7RxLA6dnMRm1hFNretgOSIn0pfeHSiA0DXyPty2REEN597METwd_Y/s1600/Overall+result.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6KPKWg65PY2TdwfcI1WJWuss-mR4YCbdfoTMHo6oMN44iUHgqYzmDue0pjRwHzjY75li8hyJpV-qTgQ0RBPkXY7RxLA6dnMRm1hFNretgOSIn0pfeHSiA0DXyPty2REEN597METwd_Y/s640/Overall+result.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overall Results</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4beljxZJHq3dqV5F4lSmDi54m4D-CxrpyG4Mp4ydFkw1EqipPN1E3xHSxN3gKVU-N12F0OykSvtZzsxDt3MNgA0NuaJ6yZ3qG1TUhfUzVX0LKaxCE3eUlCuT0SVRRqOnIlvT4lr200Y/s1600/Gefinished+incl+SupportCrew+Goodies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4beljxZJHq3dqV5F4lSmDi54m4D-CxrpyG4Mp4ydFkw1EqipPN1E3xHSxN3gKVU-N12F0OykSvtZzsxDt3MNgA0NuaJ6yZ3qG1TUhfUzVX0LKaxCE3eUlCuT0SVRRqOnIlvT4lr200Y/s640/Gefinished+incl+SupportCrew+Goodies.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After finish photo with the goodies I got from the Elise, Masja and Evelien</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This was a challenge that is different from previous long
distance things I did. That where bike events and I can put everything out of
my body to finish as fast as possible and being exhausted in the end. Now it
was more a moderate output for a very long time, which I couldn’t put to the
limit during the running because of the problems I had. So it turned out a very
mentally game, both moral to continue as well as keeping smart and taking good
care of myself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After the finish I got the medal and the finisher shirt.
Looked for the support. Got a massage and free beer (got half a beer), and
coke.<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_lDeLdsZ_CCDqpgZS9W3rW9khhE1-lnTQlPla0khX9NjmF43kySm3nNf0uZinSMBOdB6C2-DQXbZrBs3xhrO-kjn3c9AliHZWB4MAu7mCZhW6vWvp2qPQe1uphbHrO1wdPOQtRoFpe4/s1600/Finishfoto+Support+Crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_lDeLdsZ_CCDqpgZS9W3rW9khhE1-lnTQlPla0khX9NjmF43kySm3nNf0uZinSMBOdB6C2-DQXbZrBs3xhrO-kjn3c9AliHZWB4MAu7mCZhW6vWvp2qPQe1uphbHrO1wdPOQtRoFpe4/s640/Finishfoto+Support+Crew.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After finish foto</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Support Crew: </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Elise, Masja and Evelien have followed me during the day
and made the pictures. They cheered for me at the beginning, half way and in
the final stages. And I am so glad that they were with me. Also I was very
surprised and pleased by the very large amount of people who followed from the
Netherlands (and Australia/New Zealand/Kazakhstan), that is really great!
Thanks everyone for all the good luck wishes and the cheers afterwards at watts
app, facebook, sms or other means! </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>The day after: </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My legs hurt and are stiff. My left food has a few
abrasions because of the running without sock. No blisters at all! And I feel a
bit tired. I had a short night, my body was still very active so it was hard to
catch the sleep (is this nice dutch-english or not..?). Overall I’m not feeling
that bad at all. Today we went to the fan shop to do some shopping and get the
medal graved.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Sorry, this day after story became very long, but it tells more or less my Iron Man racing day. Hopefully I can cheer for one of my friends, colleagues or family members sometime in the future for their sporting achievements. This doesn’t mean that everyone should do an iron man! That would make it less special ;-), and sporting achievements can be made on any level or distance that suits the athlete!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqgWwfL6xznKusf_AuLnZx3MsRjkKuGUSxreWAlAL_awZY55sYMF6jqJPKR0fV01yiXTKbzXebva2RAiicDt20_ufcpq2ADimWVobPys3M-se6fiyBnq2vw8CllLx2ApwhxrysumXhqI/s1600/IMG_7428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqgWwfL6xznKusf_AuLnZx3MsRjkKuGUSxreWAlAL_awZY55sYMF6jqJPKR0fV01yiXTKbzXebva2RAiicDt20_ufcpq2ADimWVobPys3M-se6fiyBnq2vw8CllLx2ApwhxrysumXhqI/s640/IMG_7428.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfPsvIZt7aq925vnQGPZXrV8IiqOqPe7R6jKcENuAy8crgIpkV4bqNI74jTCS6Ru_0o7Olk0gUJwDcu4a9y4H9Ml8cDPom5c4CNhV3JNfhr596b_S9q7zWWYzFkDsitHOhrswXenXCc8/s1600/Masja_Hup+voor+het+rennen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfPsvIZt7aq925vnQGPZXrV8IiqOqPe7R6jKcENuAy8crgIpkV4bqNI74jTCS6Ru_0o7Olk0gUJwDcu4a9y4H9Ml8cDPom5c4CNhV3JNfhr596b_S9q7zWWYzFkDsitHOhrswXenXCc8/s640/Masja_Hup+voor+het+rennen.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chears for running</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQPObgOSSnkAvEddrLESk1yZ7lfCVTzHXjHitpZkCM15KJNmbF-LVjA9k2TxKISUT_D9UKv9zm8vhPACpftWnfn7bd5HKN0QSTLJMk3zFMOSWjjgUvs9AfZK2nE1QmRAIkgdOQsG79N0/s1600/Support+crew+chillen+in+de+goot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQPObgOSSnkAvEddrLESk1yZ7lfCVTzHXjHitpZkCM15KJNmbF-LVjA9k2TxKISUT_D9UKv9zm8vhPACpftWnfn7bd5HKN0QSTLJMk3zFMOSWjjgUvs9AfZK2nE1QmRAIkgdOQsG79N0/s640/Support+crew+chillen+in+de+goot.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Support crew chilling out</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHg1_wNct_iz3mmmrVthSYW-2SFdsm0nAiX2hQeOzfpSuJ29gAaoDs_2pwJYOyKy47qDxKOUvfLFg1uUbuK_4w3oshdxgRKsJS8vLxGD177zAdAUAHssXlSsWR-rjR7jdxx03Gj7ris4E/s1600/Hup++voor+het+fietsen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHg1_wNct_iz3mmmrVthSYW-2SFdsm0nAiX2hQeOzfpSuJ29gAaoDs_2pwJYOyKy47qDxKOUvfLFg1uUbuK_4w3oshdxgRKsJS8vLxGD177zAdAUAHssXlSsWR-rjR7jdxx03Gj7ris4E/s640/Hup++voor+het+fietsen.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chears for cycling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQPObgOSSnkAvEddrLESk1yZ7lfCVTzHXjHitpZkCM15KJNmbF-LVjA9k2TxKISUT_D9UKv9zm8vhPACpftWnfn7bd5HKN0QSTLJMk3zFMOSWjjgUvs9AfZK2nE1QmRAIkgdOQsG79N0/s1600/Support+crew+chillen+in+de+goot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5qHy3mDVwkhzQ9PkshQ7HF2M6tAD9mCdQvq9-cnNOgfSnavF-GjKZ4MVTeM-KGNTOkG1XrrWAWox-hx2b_TrLy0oN_EaNVSb-RLLXMDcHcAw0PiqzPXpauw8ZN43hmEkg59dS8zh6jQ/s1600/DSC_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5qHy3mDVwkhzQ9PkshQ7HF2M6tAD9mCdQvq9-cnNOgfSnavF-GjKZ4MVTeM-KGNTOkG1XrrWAWox-hx2b_TrLy0oN_EaNVSb-RLLXMDcHcAw0PiqzPXpauw8ZN43hmEkg59dS8zh6jQ/s640/DSC_0185.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bike, the day after incl the goodies</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmPnpj4ZJyLOJszzlvcKBWlPD9vqfo0WvjHBa-gW5GoO_o3ErjZ2zj-gcgQFe85zzNur_n1Y8Uyop0gBSqWaabzInbo5m_n2zVVuQvrTEmZaUJhKUMdki_K4poXPrruU9UA1XAssNCgA/s1600/Rennen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmPnpj4ZJyLOJszzlvcKBWlPD9vqfo0WvjHBa-gW5GoO_o3ErjZ2zj-gcgQFe85zzNur_n1Y8Uyop0gBSqWaabzInbo5m_n2zVVuQvrTEmZaUJhKUMdki_K4poXPrruU9UA1XAssNCgA/s640/Rennen.JPG" width="635" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The running results</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Z7SJEzwrV1VKAFQ4xwoAubu7sHp6xyr6OGtkaQp68mlapC5BQjBuSW0-ZoQI_skgwEDcQEWWbHYFkYBePFKAiYFzTsQsiMBrGQGO1OjHnPhckRF9BfNgXNWAzJPnI1ZpfUKqa2374QQ/s1600/IMG_7326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Z7SJEzwrV1VKAFQ4xwoAubu7sHp6xyr6OGtkaQp68mlapC5BQjBuSW0-ZoQI_skgwEDcQEWWbHYFkYBePFKAiYFzTsQsiMBrGQGO1OjHnPhckRF9BfNgXNWAzJPnI1ZpfUKqa2374QQ/s640/IMG_7326.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start of the swimming</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfqvvi3KI8w7O8prKaOTMRJ0kR1tqrV0FhmHjvixSGwGuiExlb3NV9XDb94wVmFjQAxKWIBkQ_6AhDygTng_5vNelCoWmRnB6p5RnDN-7r8o7rTIvMGZ0OS4bgL0bJQwyTo00_nLqY5g/s1600/IMG_7330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfqvvi3KI8w7O8prKaOTMRJ0kR1tqrV0FhmHjvixSGwGuiExlb3NV9XDb94wVmFjQAxKWIBkQ_6AhDygTng_5vNelCoWmRnB6p5RnDN-7r8o7rTIvMGZ0OS4bgL0bJQwyTo00_nLqY5g/s640/IMG_7330.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise at port d'alcudia beach, people waiting at halfway point</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitk1xnqFaGQFk6TvMep9jGxDff_USpQSNrtp75xTTGGcT6NvfQFaEFQTphiSEfvMnZz8YBMQBkZDm56Ggiw1c2Nkyv_agyxl9Npn6dEnBUCqnsp_0LYFkxGHaeRdRih87kTQqLjrFI38Q/s1600/CIMG9197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitk1xnqFaGQFk6TvMep9jGxDff_USpQSNrtp75xTTGGcT6NvfQFaEFQTphiSEfvMnZz8YBMQBkZDm56Ggiw1c2Nkyv_agyxl9Npn6dEnBUCqnsp_0LYFkxGHaeRdRih87kTQqLjrFI38Q/s640/CIMG9197.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03336868469541080712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399269156635559402.post-28834657819977027972015-09-22T16:40:00.001+02:002015-09-22T16:40:10.966+02:00Mallorca!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRz9xwzdbhX79D09x6A4gNR7106liFX8JAquKoWomPjjJvG3gzS5fHOuUA0CVyYKcI3X5Hcxb2ZZnSioa00DhqPCo94yko_bDjgiFqDvoa7zshfftCD-ReZmgU5L3HSpnZyUj9FM-6Nig/s1600/DSC_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRz9xwzdbhX79D09x6A4gNR7106liFX8JAquKoWomPjjJvG3gzS5fHOuUA0CVyYKcI3X5Hcxb2ZZnSioa00DhqPCo94yko_bDjgiFqDvoa7zshfftCD-ReZmgU5L3HSpnZyUj9FM-6Nig/s400/DSC_0162.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bike is ready to go, thanks Beuk for the wheels! good for the moral.</td></tr>
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The promised biweekly update I couldn't keep already from the beginning, but last post now was already over 2 months ago. It turned out that with training, work and some social time as well, writing this blog was the activity that suffered. Now I arrived in Mallorca, with some free time to spare, I will share some stories the coming days.</div>
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Yesterday was my first day at Mallorca, after an early flight (05:10) I
arrived early at Mallorca as well. After waiting for quite some time for the
special luggage (the bike) and a long queue at the car rental, I was set to go
to the other side of the Island: Port d’Alcudia. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The weather is very good, around 27 degrees at the moment.
Little wind in the morning, but increasing in strength during the afternoon.
The forecast for the coming days is good as well, temperature will drop a
little, but keeps warm enough. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The plan for this week is to rest as much as possible, to do
a little cycling, swimming and running just to keep everything sharp. For me
just as important as it is fun to do is cycling the race course to know get
familiar with the profile and corners a little bit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOn5_XcOVlhdNdT4JPvbLnjWWnOEyvW9wCvGU5wzbHh6ozwScLXM_J8gRQopQh4dLSGb_3iVTkiwF2nMmCnnLFJp82Cpk-VaU8n7IimDoXuh3JeRUmIu3E9aeiZjwl36UyI9BCfYXuRM/s1600/DSC_0165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOn5_XcOVlhdNdT4JPvbLnjWWnOEyvW9wCvGU5wzbHh6ozwScLXM_J8gRQopQh4dLSGb_3iVTkiwF2nMmCnnLFJp82Cpk-VaU8n7IimDoXuh3JeRUmIu3E9aeiZjwl36UyI9BCfYXuRM/s400/DSC_0165.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The scenery of the first half of the bike course.</td></tr>
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Day 1, in the afternoon the first bike ride to inspect the
first loop of the course. Flat is relative here and although I assumed rolling
hills, going up and down a bit, it felt harder than expected. Some 6% uphill
parts really hit the legs even when it is only for 200-500 meters. Maybe it was
also the early flight and lack of sleep that made my heartrate be higher than I
would have liked it to be. On the contrary, the second half of the loop was
with more tail winds and some running downhill parts. What goes up, must come
down and when cycling around 45-50 km/h without hardly any effort for 3 or 4 km’s
is very rewarding of course. Strava link: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/397171120">https://www.strava.com/activities/397171120</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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This morning I started with a little walk (4km’s) from the
house to the start venue. Probably this will be my warm up on Saturday as well,
as I expect that roads will be very busy so going by car and to be able to park
a car will be a nightmare. I did do a little swim in the salt water, just to “taste”
the water over here. It is not that nice and although I’ve practiced it (once)
at Kijkduin, I still didn’t like it. I will do another swim or two, just to get
a bit more just to this taste in the coming days, and for the race: just keep
attention to my breathing and simply deal with it. The water is sparkly clear
and a lot of fish can be seen close to the cost already. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I will do a short running practice at the end of the
afternoon or beginning of the evening, when temperatures have dropped a bit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If you want to follow my race this Saturday, you can do so
by looking at the live results at the Iron Man website, search for my name or
startnumber (842): <span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/live.aspx#axzz3m4LtNqtq">http://www.ironman.com/<wbr></wbr>triathlon/coverage/live.aspx#<wbr></wbr>axzz3m4LtNqtq</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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It should update every now and then when I pass a timing
point (about every 30km’s on the bike course, every few km’s at the running
course, and at the start and end of each part of the triathlon). There seems to
be an app as well, at least in the play store, don’t know if/how it works, but
you might give it a try. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gIk30-5DzXKR0qdKqMJMkQfNHcvw03RptY8CUKGFb0M0I4-lSojg0GYa7CLoewZp1DSuFtUcnuvItz1nYl4RJv6o1vDNJdV0LNzqnqjgPtnLTzcAxP9eYr0mQAOrCEMfJCnA0m_KNno/s1600/DSC_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gIk30-5DzXKR0qdKqMJMkQfNHcvw03RptY8CUKGFb0M0I4-lSojg0GYa7CLoewZp1DSuFtUcnuvItz1nYl4RJv6o1vDNJdV0LNzqnqjgPtnLTzcAxP9eYr0mQAOrCEMfJCnA0m_KNno/s640/DSC_0166.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03336868469541080712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399269156635559402.post-82122846698099365122015-07-11T17:57:00.000+02:002015-07-11T17:57:06.097+02:002.5 Months To Go<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wxHCFkRjWhBUUO7Ah4i3KnerVAD5W2OUQ_nETYWay6gYvO-iCnJJXXLLVpPmV1sMFg3OOw6wZzqrOH-8ecSqukWzALceKL4MLVKHB3_hCBh1RChclYF-XzgqdlD314BUkZpcHpx9xV8/s1600/Downhill_TroisBallons2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wxHCFkRjWhBUUO7Ah4i3KnerVAD5W2OUQ_nETYWay6gYvO-iCnJJXXLLVpPmV1sMFg3OOw6wZzqrOH-8ecSqukWzALceKL4MLVKHB3_hCBh1RChclYF-XzgqdlD314BUkZpcHpx9xV8/s320/Downhill_TroisBallons2015.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Still two and a half months to train and prepare myself
for the race. On one hand this sounds like a lot of time, on the other hand it
will pass by quickly. The last couple of weeks were mainly focused on cycling
and at the moment on running.</i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Trois Ballons</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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In the Vosges in France, a race over 219 km. (although
the organization speaks about 213km), racing over 7 “official” climbs covering
4300 altitude meters. This is the short description of the race I rode two
weeks ago. Together with Beuk, Michiel and Manasse, I went to la Haute Fourche
(<a href="http://www.lahautefourche.com/">http://www.lahautefourche.com/</a>) in
the Vosges in France. This accommodation is hosted by a Dutch ex-pub owner and
focused on cyclists. It was a very nice and relaxed place to stay, with proper
cyclist’s diners and breakfasts and good ambiance. Definitely recommendable if
you ever need a place to stay in that area. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The race, or so called “cyclo-sportive” was held on
Saturday, but we arrived already on Wednesday to do some rides in advance. The
Vosges is absolutely magnificent for cycling activities with its beautiful
nature, easy to ride roads through the valleys and climbs varying from nice and
steady (up to 14km long) to short and nasty. So it gives fun for everyone so to
say. I lost quite a lot of weight the last couple of months, and this was the
first time I really experienced the benefits from this. We did three rides in
advance, first day a small round through little Finland. Second day we did a
100+ km ride covering the Ballon D’Alsace, the Plance des Belles Filles the
Ballon Servance and les Croix. Especially the final push up to the Plance des
Belles Filles, in combination with temperatures of 28 degrees, where quite
challenging. Friday was an easy ride at which we took our time to have a cheap
but good lunch. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgpKYIijPtjPtfXuf3cZyrsR8OaR9-mEfXysD5Cv5ba8sliDyUcSoFO7SN3SWFdXRVte6xsynE8XT4foOVzjFh2xNkXoiOrj1307EX-JkFPztz5swwTC2hPYG5GLEAaIJBhQsvEyrncf4/s1600/result_troisBallons.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgpKYIijPtjPtfXuf3cZyrsR8OaR9-mEfXysD5Cv5ba8sliDyUcSoFO7SN3SWFdXRVte6xsynE8XT4foOVzjFh2xNkXoiOrj1307EX-JkFPztz5swwTC2hPYG5GLEAaIJBhQsvEyrncf4/s320/result_troisBallons.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Official Results</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Raceday: Waking up with the sound of rain. Bummer, you
would think, but rain was likely to stop around 07.00 in the morning and the
temperature had dropped significantly. Our host had prepared a good breakfast
buffet, available from 05.00 in the morning. Together with Michiel we went to
the start early to get a nice spot so we would be able to have a good and fast
220k ride today. For me, the race was great! We took off with speeds of
40-45km/h for the first 20k or so. At the first climb I felt much better
compared to two years ago and could climb with some easiness over the steep 19%
passages. Rain had stopped but with wet roads we proceeded with careful
descents. The next climb, the Ballon D’Alsace, went fine, in the first part a
lot of people overtook me. But that stopped after 2km of climbing. The day went
on and on, up to the summit of the Grand Ballon. I climbed this one just within
1 hour, which I was quite satisfied about and even better, with a little over
80km to go and around 5 hours of cycling, it might be possible to finish within
8 hours – where the goal initially was set to 9 hours for the gold certificate.
So I went off for a fast descent and a place in a good group for the last parts
between the climbs. The Col d’Oderen is a very nice running climb and I was
bloody fast – in my opinion and overtook a lot of other riders so I had managed
my energy over the da very well. Although I was still not at the finish of
course and I knew about the last climb, which is not mentioned in the road book,
but is very steep and ongoing for 3 times a few 100 meters. Arriving at the
beginning of the climb, I was prepared, still I was suffering a lot for about
10 minutes to finish this last hurdle. On the top it was a km of 6 till we were
back at the main road to the finish and I had to push everything to keep the
wheel of a small but fast group. Then when arrived at the last long stretch of
9km’s almost flat, the speed went up again to around 40-42 km/h. 2 strong
riders in the group, 1 semi strong rider and myself took the responsibility for
keeping the speed high. The four or five other men could not or where not
willing to take over. The result was absolutely great, I finished in a total
time of 7.51.and some seconds, with an average driving speed of 28.15km/h. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EZjC4vrOmdn_5cABuAO9qZnh79_7WLp_vvtz_dAvKvMUecUC-gWu5LMfVJaIxOnnurY8mRkaAjh4AU6oLiDsNI2-zblYGHc-3sasJ2fuinhu-eSkJSaIaCCREAygv_wIp51y_z7i7v0/s1600/trois+ballons+strava.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EZjC4vrOmdn_5cABuAO9qZnh79_7WLp_vvtz_dAvKvMUecUC-gWu5LMfVJaIxOnnurY8mRkaAjh4AU6oLiDsNI2-zblYGHc-3sasJ2fuinhu-eSkJSaIaCCREAygv_wIp51y_z7i7v0/s640/trois+ballons+strava.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Strava record for the ride</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Nootdorp running ½ marathon - <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/334579285" target="_blank">Strava Record</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
End of June I ran a 21.1km race together with good friend
Mark vd Burg. The event was held close by in Nootdorp and the course was
through the nice green area between Delft, Pijnacker and Nootdorp. We agreed to
start with a speed of around 05.00 min/km to get to a target end time of around
1 hour and 45 minutes. Which for Burg would be quite easy, but he was allowed
to accelerate in the second lap (first lap was around 14km, second lap 7km). We
had a good pace from the start of km times between 4.50 and 4.55 per km. After
10km we speeded up a little already, and continued this into the second lap.
Burg was not running away from me and up until 800m before the finish we kept
together. Pace was down to 4.30 per km for the last 4 km’s and with this strong
finish I finished in a time of 1 hour, 39 minutes and a couple of seconds. This
is a new personal record by over 21 minutes and an indication that pace and
endurance for running is good as well. Especially the first 17km’s which we did
between 4.55 and 4.40 per km, is very promising for the Iron Man. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Swimming</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Swimming in a pool is good for the technique training but
with Ralph as a trainer it is also a very hard training from time to time.
Well, swimming is improving and around 1 min 50sec per 100m is quite steady
doable (in a 25m. pool). But swimming will be outside in the sea, with a wetsuit.
First experiences with that are passed as well, with no idea about speed but
with an idea about what it will take to swim the 3.8kms. Moving costs more effort
because of the wetsuit, but the legs keep higher in the water as well. Swimming
in the Noordzee, with high wind and current is very difficult! Which I
experienced with the beach challenge last week. Luckily it is most likely that
Mallorca will have quite calm and clear water. At the Kijkduin challenge, the
idea was to swim for about 700 to 800m into the sea, and then come back. The
course was triangular shaped which would lead to a total distance of around
2km. From the start it was a hard swim with the large waves and salty water.
But things increased, with stronger and stronger current resulting in a finish
after ~ 50min. I came out of the water some 2kms away from the intentional
finish. With me, around half of the competitors stranded over there at the
naked beach… Afterwards, the organization came with a news item stating that
the current went up to 4 to 6 km/h just after the start, while around 2km/h
should be the maximum. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Next</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
For the coming weeks, I will try to increase my running
volume up to 2, to 2,5 hours of training. Week 30 will be cycling the alps and
watch the Tour de France to see the real work. Sunday 12<sup>th</sup> of July a
7km swim in the Rotte (<a href="http://010swim.nl/events/evenement/rotte-swim-experience/" target="_blank">010Swim event</a>) and end of August 2 times a ~4km swim event in Utrecht (<a href="http://www.zwemanalyse.nl/index.php?id=41&command=bekijk&config=newsflash&rec=89" target="_blank">Zwemanalyse</a>) and Amsterdam (<a href="http://ijswim.nl/" target="_blank">Ij-swim</a>). On the bike I will work on my TT setup and getting used to
cycling in that position. And to combine everything, I subscribed for a 70.3 triathlon end of August in Klazienaveen (<a href="http://triathlonklazienaveen.nl/" target="_blank">70.3 Klazienaveen</a>), so I will do half of the distances I need to do in September in Mallorca. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Qv2s-cqC3GRvMkVtSERVgp8il6ROQbxXWk2sgFZU__W-seGY86cpn8JqtsA39_KbMndQna9C84YZBTGDEUXsDOTECAIrSvRRQdjwLD4m6uU2ZdU9qpF3-yb2jqZhETTYcU0QMcn9tmg/s1600/troisBallons_Downhill2_2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Qv2s-cqC3GRvMkVtSERVgp8il6ROQbxXWk2sgFZU__W-seGY86cpn8JqtsA39_KbMndQna9C84YZBTGDEUXsDOTECAIrSvRRQdjwLD4m6uU2ZdU9qpF3-yb2jqZhETTYcU0QMcn9tmg/s400/troisBallons_Downhill2_2015.JPG" width="268" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9C9W3645riZR2cOgbS5xlifz0sPyYa4iYP8icT8rNzm900yZhRl9TOdA05H5F9VAK-wKNTzUfqDAIcxjKe-i4ar2ju5RYZccfypE-MQhBEUP5uHp2GkJqEfwyWNCEzaHqy_RXDo0W74g/s1600/TroisBallonsClimb_2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9C9W3645riZR2cOgbS5xlifz0sPyYa4iYP8icT8rNzm900yZhRl9TOdA05H5F9VAK-wKNTzUfqDAIcxjKe-i4ar2ju5RYZccfypE-MQhBEUP5uHp2GkJqEfwyWNCEzaHqy_RXDo0W74g/s400/TroisBallonsClimb_2015.JPG" width="267" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03336868469541080712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399269156635559402.post-74867649188737915062015-05-22T19:23:00.000+02:002015-05-22T19:23:34.196+02:00Status Update - took a while to write<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHilgDRUtZHbXQcCG9v3chCK-K8BLxlgFxW39Dbw4v887NzRDn7fmu-KP_aJ74_Kw5iTAtMmC9TFcP5jTSZx0f9u8cnRiRyAkaIBLQX8eo1e3NbtvaHX5OCZIjczgBqFjhZKsIHbo57o/s1600/Wetsuit_Front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHilgDRUtZHbXQcCG9v3chCK-K8BLxlgFxW39Dbw4v887NzRDn7fmu-KP_aJ74_Kw5iTAtMmC9TFcP5jTSZx0f9u8cnRiRyAkaIBLQX8eo1e3NbtvaHX5OCZIjczgBqFjhZKsIHbo57o/s200/Wetsuit_Front.JPG" width="60" /></a>It has been a while since my previous post, no not a while it just took too damn long!! A two week
holiday to Croatia was one reason for the gap between the blogs, another is
just the lack of quality time to write a piece of text. This post will simply update on the current status of training. Hopefully not too booring, I promise to deliver some more interesting posts on materials, fitnesstests, numbers etc in the following weeks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Current status: </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
People are asking me if I get in shape or if I am ready
for the Iron Man. No, at this moment I am not yet “ready”, there are still 4
months left for training and then I will be prepared. However, at this moment I
have the feeling that it will become possible to complete the three parts of
the event within the time limits that are applied. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
By the way, Croatia is a great country to visit. Not that far from Netherlands, nice old cities and very beautiful lakes and waterfalls. I managed to do one running training over there, although the intention was to go more often. Swimming is great in the sparkling blue sea over there, but it was too cold at this time of the year. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Meanwhile, more and more preperation events are finding their way into my agenda, more to read about that in this blog at the different sports.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i>Swimming </i>is mostly about technique for me. Last couple of
weeks I was able to train mostly on the Wednesday mornings, with Richard as a
trainer walking around. He put the focus a lot on my arm movement: High elbow
above the water, and also keep the elbow high under water. This should result
in an efficient and straight movement of my arm. Meanwhile, I did around 3.2km
of swimming within one hour and 20 minutes of training, this includes rests and
drills. My legs are lacking behind in technique, the leg movement is low and
not adding a lot of speed or even stability. So there is still a lot to gain
because I believe that there is more than enough power available in those legs.
At least two test events are in the planning: The swimchallenge beginning of
July at Kijkduin, 2.0km swim in the sea. Secondly, end of August I will compete
in the Ijswim in Amsterdam, 3.8km in open water. Just before my holiday I
bought a nice wetsuit that I will use during these events. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghGn0G-hCkmbcJonAGYyS9iY0PpEgrdCtOX93UIbSaA052Dt46UJYXCvzGpYfxyD4zkNNhv6D3CbnW4EQYsDDTN_Pi9c-xPCr1xO7-YVgMziEU15ICrakPTQQNAWdRFbLkTl-c1aCSHMA/s1600/wetsuit_back.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghGn0G-hCkmbcJonAGYyS9iY0PpEgrdCtOX93UIbSaA052Dt46UJYXCvzGpYfxyD4zkNNhv6D3CbnW4EQYsDDTN_Pi9c-xPCr1xO7-YVgMziEU15ICrakPTQQNAWdRFbLkTl-c1aCSHMA/s320/wetsuit_back.JPG" width="106" /></a><i>Cycling </i>is still fun to do. There has been a little dip
because of the two weeks of rest, which caused sore legs the first 2 rides. But
last Thursday I rode the Klimclassic in the Ardennes, together with e.g. Arjan
and Twix. This 166km bike ride started in Maastricht and went to the south over
some steep hills (>20%). The ride went pretty well, with a nice speed and
good feeling in the legs. Next stop will be the Trois Ballons in the Voges in
France half June, 220km ride with 4300 altitude meters and the goal is to ride
this within 9 hours. A bit of improvement in the endurance part will be needed
for this so a couple of long rides on low intensity are planned for the coming
weeks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Running </i>keeps being the bottleneck part, it is improving
but the volume of running training is a bit fragile still. Although a 7x12
minutes training resulted in almost 18km of distance shows that the length of
training is increasing. Also the 44.22 minutes on a 10k trainingrace some weeks
ago was faster than ever before. Both were not at the limit, which is a good
thing. But, although I lost 12kg of body weight, my knees, ankles, hips and
muscles are sensitive for little pains after such efforts. So I keep on
extending training length, but not each outing. I train a bit of speed, but not
too much. And the running races are the little tests to run without rests. End
of June I will run half a marathon in Usuch a race, hopefully with a steady
state race as a result of good training the coming weeks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Next post will follow a lot sooner, is the intention. That shall be a topic with more facts and numbers. Meanwhile, you can follow pretty much all my activities on Strava.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03336868469541080712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399269156635559402.post-17258451276253433202015-04-09T04:55:00.001+02:002015-04-09T04:56:32.322+02:00Cycling – Ronde van Vlaanderen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Cycling will be the basis for me to work on my fitness
and make it possible to sport for over 12 hours on one day. With la Marmotte, les
Trois Ballons, the Alpenbrevet, the Arlberg Giro, the Claude de Criquielion, Amstel Gold race and Limburgs
Mooiste, I have already a bit of a track record in long distance cycling
(tour/cyclo sportive). This year, my cycling goals are riding ‘gold’ on les Trois Ballons (after achieving the
silver diploma two years ago); compete in local training races and ride the
Ronde van Vlaanderen.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Ronde van Vlaanderen</b></h3>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That event took place last weekend and it is known for
the cobble stones on short but steep climbs. This blog will spent a bit on my
adventure of last weekend. The “Ronde” starts in Belgium’s Brugge and finishes
in Oudenaarde, distance: 239km officially. The first 100km is flat and boring.
The weather forecast was ok, with a bit of rain predicted before the start,
which was between 07.00-08.00. In turned out to be full raining until around
11.00, with 4 degrees and wet it was very very cold. I did not anticipate on
this possibility so my choices in clothing weren’t suitable for this. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9rdJgHr6-s15UfLDaUPe7B8WNlj69NUC1yjE_N1yndjqJvQ4nV-ZzUQvwAGjoKn0_emo_9_2zjKelNR1BTix3fDlAh_R57-wmp7YBNfGUbgqguYpJWCJIDnVV4bZOiwnSPXf7cC_vog/s1600/DSC_1835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9rdJgHr6-s15UfLDaUPe7B8WNlj69NUC1yjE_N1yndjqJvQ4nV-ZzUQvwAGjoKn0_emo_9_2zjKelNR1BTix3fDlAh_R57-wmp7YBNfGUbgqguYpJWCJIDnVV4bZOiwnSPXf7cC_vog/s1600/DSC_1835.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Very dirty bike after the race</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
From the start I was aiming to ride within groups to safe
my own energy as much as possible while maintaining a reasonable speed. The
course was not that exiting, although hazardous in the rain and with the
typical Belgian style roads. i.e.: Cycle stroke at the side can move half a
meter to the left or right out of nothing, or even worse, differs around 5 cm
in height with the main road. Have seen multiple riders go down on these sudden
changes. The route through villages caused delays at traffic lights and
therefore large groups are created. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After the first refreshment (60km) I decided to ride more
on my own, mainly to increase intensity in order to increase my body temperature
a bit. The first part I did with an average heart rate of 128 beats per minute,
which is quite low. The higher intensity resulted in about the same speed but
less stress and a little more warmth. The route continued into the cobble stone
strokes, and hills and I could keep my effort on a good level. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The only hill that I could not do on my bike was the
Koppenberg. This 22% steep cobble hill was still wet and dirty, therefore
slippery without enough traction on the back wheel. From all people around me,
I’ve only seen 1 guy reaching the top on his bike. After this disappointment
for me, I had a little dip in my moral and also got over careful on the
following cobble streets. But after 15km or so, the strength and confidence
came back step by step and I kept that up until the finish. What really helped
in this stage was that I kept on passing other cyclists all the time. Not that
I was the fastest, there were some people passing me as well, but it boosts you
when you feel strong and passing others after 200+ km. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhd5QRfAxAI_rlHc_rfmYKA8vVC12WYCvdjzDRFiNuhyphenhyphenre-l8VvmG1Bq76ud2uTaNHrNa6BuZXKLHVbIvRvQrOLYTb5RlsTwqGSrsPH28qZEW65Fk6FECDzTHDAmkysj01U7t6Xbv-uKs/s1600/DSC_1836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhd5QRfAxAI_rlHc_rfmYKA8vVC12WYCvdjzDRFiNuhyphenhyphenre-l8VvmG1Bq76ud2uTaNHrNa6BuZXKLHVbIvRvQrOLYTb5RlsTwqGSrsPH28qZEW65Fk6FECDzTHDAmkysj01U7t6Xbv-uKs/s1600/DSC_1836.JPG" height="177" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Close look at the dirt...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
At the end of the day the figures showed 262km (the extra
km’s is for getting numbers, go to the start etc.), with an average speed of
27.36 km/hour, and average heart rate of 137 beats per minute. The total height
climbed this day was close to 2.000m. Strava: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/279248479">https://www.strava.com/activities/279248479</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Pictures and movies (look for number 3777) <a href="http://www.sport.be/rondevanvlaanderen/2015/nl/mypage/?bibnumber=3777&mailing=true">http://www.sport.be/rondevanvlaanderen/2015/nl/mypage/?bibnumber=3777&mailing=true</a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>Tour or Cyclo</b></h3>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Tour (Toer/toertocht) usually has a time window in which
you are allowed to start, like with the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Time is measured
sometimes but not always, and a ranking is not made afterwards. So no need to
make it a race at any time. Examples of this are the Amstel Gold race, Limburgs
Mooiste, Veendendaal Veenendaal, and thus also the Ronde van Vlaanderen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A so called “cyclo”,
or “cyclo-sportive” is more like a race. All participants start at the same
time (or might start in 2 to 4 starting groups). In front of the pack it is
really a race, people want to win and speed is very high. More in the back,
people might ride a cyclo in the same way as they do with a tour, but most
often there are certain time challenges to retrieve a Bronze, Silver of Gold
brevet. Most often, cyclo’s are organized on a challenging parkour (hilly/mountainous)
and speed and intensity are high. Examples of this are La Marmotte, Les Trois
Ballons and Claude de Criquielion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1Ulnvw1yrJCAn-i-aaql2bzEYUR8pHPDfCNRB6fIt-4o9gq_gsFs_GMVYvTeCXKHaxLANc4_qjnqLaajnZnNtrRR1gI9hcUzZoRKcRozeXjaQMM6qMKfv6A8I7dki1iLimOpasN0oa0/s1600/IMG_20150403_184942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1Ulnvw1yrJCAn-i-aaql2bzEYUR8pHPDfCNRB6fIt-4o9gq_gsFs_GMVYvTeCXKHaxLANc4_qjnqLaajnZnNtrRR1gI9hcUzZoRKcRozeXjaQMM6qMKfv6A8I7dki1iLimOpasN0oa0/s1600/IMG_20150403_184942.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Evening before Ronde van Vlaanderen - "Biertje op de goede afloop"</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>Training figures since last post (2015-03-25):</b></h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 swimming trainings, approximately 4kms in total.<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 running training and 1 running race (paasloop
Pijnacker), 21km in total.<o:p></o:p></div>
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9 cycling rides, 871km in total. <o:p></o:p></div>
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1 “Inspanningstest” to determine my fitness, power, and
heart rate training zones. More on this in another post.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>Training goals coming weeks: </b></h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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With holidays coming up (23<sup>rd</sup> April till 5<sup>th</sup>
of May), I will take it a little bit more easy on training. Probably 3 runs,
and 2 swims, and cycling outings when possible. First training race on the bike
still need to be done and a training run (“Trimloop”) at AV40 is planned to be
the first 10k nonstop run in my preparations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03336868469541080712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399269156635559402.post-8106140692927041822015-03-25T22:30:00.002+01:002015-03-25T22:31:04.661+01:00Iron Man - What and Why?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: #FEFDFA; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For those who do not
know exactly what I am up to, I will describe the iron man triathlon in a bit
more detail in this post. Also, I will add my personal motivation and
challenges on the different aspects, as far as I can think of at this moment.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<b><span style="background: #FEFDFA;">Triathlon</span></b><br />
<span style="background: #FEFDFA;">Triathlon combines
swimming, cycling and running and is seen as one of the most challenging
sporting events to compete in because of this multi-disciplinary aspect. Many
events and many different race lengths exist but the mother of all races consists
of approximately 3.8km swim, 180km cycling and 42.195km of running.
Approximately, because it is almost impossible to stick to the meter when
organizing such an event with large transition zones etc. More information on
triathlons in general can be found on the </span></span><a href="http://www.triathlon226.nl/" target="_blank"><span style="background: #FEFDFA; color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">triathlon226 website</span></a><span style="background: #FEFDFA; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<b><span style="background: #FEFDFA;">Iron Man</span></b><br />
<span style="background: #FEFDFA;">Iron Man is a
commercial name of a circuit of triathlon events organized worldwide by the
World Triathlon Corporation<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.triathlon226.nl/frequently-asked-questions/triathlon-faq-algemeen/wat-zijn-ironman-powerman-xterra/" target="_blank"><span style="background: #FEFDFA; color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Link</span></a><span style="background: #FEFDFA; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. But the name also stands for the full distance triathlon.
The best known event is held in Hawaii, the location of the first triathlon in
1977, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon" target="_blank"><span style="background: #FEFDFA; color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Wikipedia</span></a><span style="background: #FEFDFA; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<b><span style="background: #FEFDFA;">3.8km Swimming</span></b><br />
<span style="background: #FEFDFA;">The Mallorca
IronMan swimming course is located in the bay of Alcudia. Open water swim with
a short walk over the beach halfway of the distance. Hopefully with the
opportunity to get some energy drink at that point. The fastest swimmers take
around 45-50 minutes to complete the course. Swimming is not a sport that I
have done a lot (let me skate on ice or row on the water instead), so I expect
to take around 1.5 hours for the swimming. Weekly swimming lessons are taken to
improve technique and be able to finish the swimming part in the first place.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="background: #FEFDFA;">180km Cycling</span></b><br />
<span style="background: #FEFDFA;">The parkour at
Mallorca will be windy, as we are on an island and is nearly flat. Only a very
small hill in the first half, and a serious climb in the second half of the
race - taking up around 500m above sea level. This is the discipline I live in,
and should be my basis. Rides up do 10 to 12 hours are not strange for me, so
this 180km shouldn't be that big of a problem. At the same time, cycling will
be my best way to improve my general fitness.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="background: #FEFDFA;">42.195km Running</span></b><br />
<span style="background: #FEFDFA;">Well, a marathon of
running.... Running never was my strongest point and I always mention that I
was never build for running as I am too heavy for it. So the main goal is to
train my body that it will last for the 42kms. Training now for about 2 months,
once or twice a week, increasing in duration and intensity, I can only say that
running is going better than ever and I almost start to like it. Losing some
unnecessary body weight is the other method to increase my chances.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="background: #FEFDFA;">Why do I want this</span></b><br />
<span style="background: #FEFDFA;">Completing an Iron
Man triathlon is something that is in my head for many years already. Not sure
where it comes from, other than it is a physical and mental challenge that
takes a lot of training preparation. All aspects I always have enjoyed in my
sporting activities. So the primary goal is just to reach the finish line.
Speed is not a goal, because my swimming and running is just lacking quality to
make time an important outcome, although I will push myself to the limit
anyways when I am competing.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03336868469541080712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399269156635559402.post-44662357543553437062015-03-21T16:42:00.002+01:002015-03-24T14:15:28.982+01:00Road to Mallorca - introduction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi there,<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0HRJMPykmDHR9eB0shpERtWFw3n7igr-EBu3OcAh0ym_Pk2GgdQDBsK0BJlkYbY80odg19BuFKHoc6PO3l0TBJUU9_XbaxbBre3mnzU1uzXvwewlXZ_AXB7GFTw9bG4bpQRtBruatkI/s1600/CIMG7731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0HRJMPykmDHR9eB0shpERtWFw3n7igr-EBu3OcAh0ym_Pk2GgdQDBsK0BJlkYbY80odg19BuFKHoc6PO3l0TBJUU9_XbaxbBre3mnzU1uzXvwewlXZ_AXB7GFTw9bG4bpQRtBruatkI/s1600/CIMG7731.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>Some called me an idiot, others just thought I was more crazy than they thought I was. I subscribed for the Iron Man triathlon in Mallorca - 26th of September this year. 3.8km swim - while I already drowned after 50m a few months ago. 180km bike ride with 2 small climbs, shouldn't be that big of a problem for me. And finishing with a complete marathon running - a sport I hate/hated because it is so slow and always hurting all kinds of joints and tendons with my 90+ kg.<br />
<br />
Well, I started with swimming lessons November last year. Running training started from January this year. And up to now, it seems that there is a fair chance that I could accomplish both disciplines. That's why I decided, with the support of Elise, to subscribe for an Iron Man at the end of this year.<br />
<br />
With this blogspot I would like to give everyone who is interested the opportunity to folllow my route to Mallorca. My intention is to post about every two weeks a new blog about what kept me busy in life and training and what progress has been made. This will give some words and feelings to the cold numbers that some of you already follow on the well known Strava app. Hopefully, with every other week, I won't bother you too much and too often with another training story. So if you like, please subscribe and follow me on my journey.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03336868469541080712noreply@blogger.com0Delft, Nederland52.011576899999987 4.35706770000001651.933368899999991 4.195706200000016 52.089784899999984 4.5184292000000159