Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 6

This was a bad, bad, bad training week...but on the bright side it was a really, really good work/private week. I went to CoLab, a three day event for baristas and other coffee professionals from Monday to Wednesday. All days were all day events, from workshops to competitions and so there was no time to go out for a run. 

But I did win the competition! Together with friend B, we formed the Dutch Dapper Duettes and won not only a trophy, but also a Brewista electric kettle, a pour-over system and server. Each. And let me tell you, it feels good to win something that's based on skills in your professional field.

As April apparently is Autumn weather, in stead of Spring, we had rain and even snow and hail on Thursday and Friday I was just extremely lazy. But I did force myself out on a run-walk-run on Saturday. I kept moving for almost 100 minutes. Originally I had 90 minutes in my schedule. But as I had not run enough this week and my legs were tired, I decided to walk every couple of kilometres and it took me longer to finish the route I had set out for myself. It's a great route though, if you're looking for a route in the East of Amsterdam, Diemerpark is great, filled with green, birds and bunnies. And if you run back through Diemen train station, you pass a real life llama. 

Hopefully next week will be better exercise wise, but at least I will be able to make great coffee with my new gear.

photo curtesy of the Barista League

---

Next week: a 50 minute short run, an interval training, a lesson in bouldering and a 95 endurance run.

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 5

A basic week this week. First a 40 minute run on Monday, a halve hour yoga session on Wednesday and a long distance run on Saturday.

This week I did change some other things though. The vegan diet has always intrigued me, because every single vegan you talk to says it gives them so much energy. But I'm never really sure what to make. So this week I picked a couple of easy 30 minute vegan recipes from the Bloglovin - the Edit. 

Especially the cauliflower rice, and the kimchi quinoa was amazingly scrumptious.

I'll probably not turn 100% vegan, but it was great to try for a week and discover some recipes that I enjoy, that are easy to make and that are meat and dairy free.

In line with that I bought a protein powder that is raw, vegan, and soy free. Now that I'm training more, I want to make sure my body does not feel abandoned after a workout. With the protein I can help my muscles out after a long workout. 

I've never used a protein powder, so I do not use it after every workout. Like, after a short 30-40 minute run a sandwich will do, but I do like it after a long and harder workout. Just to get used to it too. 

I did not want some strange protein, so after some research I found a plant based protein that is also soy free, which is important, because I do not want to have to much soy products as they are so high in hormones.

The taste is pretty awful so you do need to disguise it somewhat. I mixed a handful of spinach, with 5 sprigs of fresh mint, a slice of green melon with water and a scoop of the vanilla protein powder, and it tasted amazing! This protein is a bit grainy, which I gather from the internet is unusual. But I don't mind it.

---

Next week I'm in Antwerp for work until Wednesday, and its a full program from morning till late in the evening, so I'm not sure if I can do a short run. So I will have to make up for that from Thursday till Sunday, with an interval and a 90 minute run.

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 4

Week 4. Monday I did noooothing, at all. It was great. Tuesday I made up for my laziness with a 30 minute run with a couple of sprints.

Thursday should have marked an interval training, but in stead I went to a Saucony stride lab at the Run2Day Overtoom in Amsterdam. At the stride lab they give you a running analysis, give some running advice and then show you some shoes that work best for your running style.

And it was soooo informative! They put you on a running belt for a couple of minutes, and film you from the side, the back and the front. 

After you can see an analysis of how your hips move, if your knees are stable, how your ankles land and how far you 'jounce' (?), catching the hardness of the ground in your joints.

And so I learned that my hips are not as stable as they can be, but are still quite stable. This is quite common, apparently 8 out of 10 runners have unstable hips. This does not have to be a big problem, but it is important to have a strong core and work on having more stable hips, as it might give injuries if you are building up and increasing your distance. Which I am! So, something to work on. By working on my core, doing running exercises such as skipping and such and making sure I build up slowly. The good news? My knees and ankles are performing awesome! straight as a bird. 

I have a small step, and I bend my knee quite far, meaning I do not really need a strong cushioning shoe, as my knee bending does this work for me.

The shoes I had however are quite cushioning and springy. The guy mentioned this could just be my preference, but as my shins and feet do get tired really quickly he did advice me to try shoes that were not as cushioning. I tried some shoes out, with my old shoe on one foot and a more hard shoe on the other foot and the difference was huge!

And so I had a dilemma. Because my old shoes are still fine, and wouldn't need to be replaced for another couple of months. But the other shoes ran so great and the Run2Day had this sale where you could get a discount if you brought in your old shoes. But I just was not ready to hand over the old shoes. Especially as the stride lab guy argued that it would be good to interchange between the pairs the next couple of months....and then the best thing ever happened, and the Run2Day gave me the discount without me having to render my old pair! 

Best.deal.ever. 

And so this weekend I took my new shoes, (btw Saucony by chance, I tried out multiple brands during the Saucony stride lab) for my endurance run to test them out. And the difference was insane. My calves did not cramp, my shins did not hurt, I did not feel tired as soon...my foot did doze of as usual, however it was not as bad as it usually is. So yay!

If you also want to go to a stride lab and you live in the Netherlands, do check out the locations and dates, which you can do here. You can make an appointment (for free) on the Saucony stride lab website.

---

Next week: 

40 minutes

interval

80 minutes

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 3

Major faux pas this week. I went on a long run on Saturday without enough build up in the days before. There are all these rules out there which gives you the tools to determine how long your long run is allowed to be. You know, to avoid injuries. 

I ran 40 minutes on Monday, running home from the office. The colleagues thought I was insane, but for me it was a huge time saver. In stead of cycling back home for 30 minutes and then having to run for 40 minutes,  I could just run home. Right?

However, I completely failed at doing an interval training this week. It was Thursday. I was tired, I felt chills down my back all the time. I took a bath and had dinner in bed. It was great!

But I paid for it during my 80 minute run on Saturday which turned into a 70 minute run, because I started to feel too tired and was scared of hurting myself. I already felt it after 5K, and so I through in a short break stretching out my calves and decided to make the run a little shorter. Let's hope next week will be better...

---

Next week's plans:

A 1 hour run on Monday, some vinyasa on Tuesday, an interval training on Thursday and then a long run of 70 minutes on Saturday.

Training for the Amsterdam Marathon II week 2

At the start of the week the days just seemed to slip away from me. I worked late on Monday and just wanted to have dinner and go to bed. A whatsapp message from the BF concerning my willpower and how I'm either training it or letting it die...Prompting me to put on my running shoes and going out there. It was horrible. I was tired. I didn't have time to digest my food and kept burping all the way. In the end I ran for 4km instead of 5, but I did go and I think it did help me motivate myself for the rest of the week. Although Tuesday I was at home on the couch chillaxing...

Wednesday I went out for my interval training, running up and down the waterfront near my house, 5 times 4 minutes. Exhausting.

Thursday, as part of my monthly tryouts, I went and did aerial yoga, hanging from the silk drapes and working my core. It was great! You can read more on this here.

Saturday was my long distance run day. For 70 minutes I ran up the Amstel again, only this week I ran into the city towards the zoo. I hate running in the city, with all the traffic lights, bikes, so I always try finding a route that gives me the best possibility of not having to stop. Because if I stop, I stop and walk instead of run. After I went to the Rijksmuseum to visit the Breitner exhibit with my mom and sister and ended the day with a full Ethiopian dinner with injera. 

---

Next week I have to run 3 times again. My short run on Monday will consist of 40 minutes of running, the interval on Thursday will be 7 (!) times 4 minutes and an 80 minute long distance run. Let's see how my willpower evolves...

Monthly Tryout II Aerial Yoga

A new monthly tryout and it's aerial yoga! Aerial yoga combines aerobatic arts and yoga. Because of the silk drapes you can really extend your stretches. Because you have to use your core to keep yourself steady and not swinging all around the room it also provides a hefty core workout. Plus, because you get great support from the 'silks' you are less likely to get injuries. Plus, plus, plus.

There are not a lot of places where you can practise aerial yoga. In Amsterdam you can find an overview here. But luckily there was a place not to far from my house. At Thrive we spun round, got to hang upside down and swing back and forth. 

Some do get nauseous from the swinging or the upside down hanging, but if you are not prone to getting dizzy, you should be fine. And the best part? Shavasana is spend lying in the silk gently swinging back and forth. So relaxing.

At Thrive tryouts are EU15 euros for a lesson of one and a halve hour, but make sure to get a place well in advance, it gets busy.