Faster again!

Oct
9
Submitted by XL-Network on Sun, 2011-10-09 22:12

Yes... I did it again. Last year I was faster then three years ago (I didn't compete in 2009 because of a injury) and this year I improved my time by 38 seconds. I walked the 4 mile of Groningen in a time of 26:47.4 and that puts me in the top 4.39% of all runners. Pretty good. And that with only three times training. Okay... I have to admit that my basic condition with rowing and biking (ahum, 5200 kilometers in America) helped. But still, I'm proud of myself. Also I have no muscle ache or any other pains.

Before I left I had to make a 'delivery' and was standing in line at a toilet. The thing was that the (mostly) ladies were telling me that I could just go at the pee pole. Ehhh, right... I promised to hurry. When I opened the door of the toilet I received a applause from the ladies. After that I walked to the entrance of my starting area and... I didn't get in. It was so crowded that I had to wait outside. But when the gates of the start opened people started to walk and the latecomers could get in. The downside of starting at the end of your starting area is that there are a lot of slow runners in front of you. The first 1000 meters I walked relatively slow and zig-zaged. Once on the straight out of Haren I got up to speed and could finally walk decently. The next problem arose, a stabbing pain in my side. Fortunately it didn't got any worse and went away. At the end I could even speed up.

After the race I went to the clothing car to get my backpack with things. And I was really quick that day. I didn't even have to stand in line, but could get it immediately. Waiting for the rest of my colleagues and away we went to our rowing club where we could eat and drink. On arrival it was not busy, but that would soon change. Jan Herman was the only one behind the bar and when it got busier I decided to help him and collect empty glasses and wash them.

Around 4 PM I had agreed to meet with the rest of my rowing team to head out on the water. Since I rowed yesterday I offed to steer. In the meanwhile it started to rain and the borrowed raincoat came in handy.

There are still some photos (and maybe a video or two) coming of the 4 mile, but they haven't been posted on their website yet. So be patient... you can view the detail page of my performance.