Antwerp 10 miles

How I love this race, but truthfully run-races scare me. It's like running with gazelles. They're just a different breed. The thing I love is that the competition drives you to be your fastest on that course.
But yesterday leaves me with some homework to do. Got to fix the pacing problem that I have.
Plan was to start out mellow and build into the race and finish off with a negative split. I started out slowly allright, but apparently my legs love the longer distance pace, and want to stay there. So there was no picking up the pace or no negative split at all. I was ready to run, eager to go hurt, but the legs just said 'we love this pace you train us at and we stay here'. And that was that. Trying to find another gear was no use. The legs just wanted to hang out in the 4min/km zone. I guess I have them well trained for that. Firing up the pace was causing leg carnage big time - especially on the long uphill in waaslandtunnel!
When all was said and done I was stoked to pb by over 15 minutes!! 335th place in 1.05.17 for the tunnels in tunnels out race isn't bad after all! Must be my start was not as mellow as I had planned it...

Summary

A week in hilly and windy Lanzarote:

Swim 12km in either the lagoon or the delirious 50m heated saltwater pool....


Bike 435km up against the hills, up against the wind and through hot and black lava fields


Run 52km both on- and offroad and finish off with intervals on the track.
Everywhere you looked, there were always some rochstars around. Bella Comerford is on the pic above.

Over one week there has been some of everything: from light 'n easy to legs burning, heart nearly out of your chest max effort crazy hill repeat workouts.
To say that this camp was a challenge would be a gross understatement.
Recipe for getting some fresh air, emptiyng the head and hopefully becoming a better athlete.

Lanza calling

Yeahyeah...
Today I rode alone - did the exact same 80K ride as over the weekend, but in reverse way.
Time and avg was exactly the same as when doing the group ride...
Only difference: today there was a fierce wind blowing and it was rainy (again)... Luckily I was in a good enough mood to just go out and do the ride... Some'd say I had made peace with it.





BUT: time has come to pack again and leave for another training camp in a sunny venue.
Saturday afternoon I'll be in Lanzarote: home of big winds, hills, lava fields and above all sun!!! Club La Santa, in the middle of nowhere but with it's 50m outdoor pool, and it's track and field pitch



From windburn to sunburn!

left handers

atriac saturday morning group ride was on the list for today. As most of the group were out for the Ronde van Vlaanderen, there was just four of us.
Just over halfway Amber got a flat. Being a girl of course she had no spare. Luckily she could count on us men to help out a lady in distress! I had a spare, Sebastian had a pump.
Just as we were about to finish the fix, we break the valve and with a long and loud whistle the tire goes flat again. No worries, Tommy had another spare. Sure enough Sebastian's freaky pump bends the second valve as well. As that's the last spare we had, there was no other option for Amber to ride home with a semi inflated front tire....
What a secure feeling for her being able to go out with three handymen... maybe we should enter flat fixing class after all...

spring!

Springtime has arrived!
Short sleeves and shorts for the first time. Makes you bike just a bit quicker all of a sudden...

The OK sailors are coming out of hibernation as well. Ronny in front of his 'old' boat B-90

sprint race

Sprint races in the early spring: swimming is in the morning and in a pool, and then in the afternoon you get to start the bike&run leg according to your swim time.



the face says it all!! Sprint triathlons on hilly courses are hard!! You dig deep till snot comes out, and then you try to dig a bit deeper still.


But it's nice to see where your fitness is at right at the beginning of the season. It gives you such satisfaction, and it's such a relief to see that finish line...