Looking forward to July already

stats of the week: run 28 km, zwift cycled 28 km, gym 3 h

My favourite holiday destination is Scotland. The landscape is fascinating, the light is glorious, and the people are the friendliest I have encountered anywhere. I am excited to plan our two-week journey to the west coast in July. The only drawback is that two weeks are far too short to fully appreciate the beauty of the islands.

This will be the third time I have tried to get to Bass Rock, which is home to the world’s largest gannet colony. I am very pleased that I have managed to book the boat trip this time; however, it will still depend on the weather on the day. I also plan to visit the Isle of May, the Isle of Arran, Mull, Canna and Skye. It is a challenging itinerary for a fortnight of travelling.

I missed my target of running a full 10K by the end of January. At least I managed to reach a distance of 8.5 km this week, and I am quite confident that I will complete a 10K soon. However, I am still very slow and a long way off last year’s performance.

Photo Wikipedia: Gannets allover - the white colour on Bass Rock

Modest Mileage Record

stats of the week: run 26 km, zwift cycled 18 km, walked 11 km, gym 3 h

Thanks to the daily wake-up treadmill jogs I can notice a record weekly mileage since the incident. Also I extended the outdoor distance to 7 km. 

The skin still feels numb at the lower leg but this doesn't interfere to do my routine of easy running, indoor biking and strength training at the gym. So I still hope to get fit for more mileage in spring.

Photo: My regular treadmill wake-up counts 2.5 km with a speed of 8 - 10 km/h starting with a walk of 500 meters.

Walking Paris

stats of the week: run 13 km, zwift cycled 20 km, walked 48 km
stats of the previous week: run 16 km, walked 14 km, gym 3 h

As we still had a free train journey left over from a previous holiday, we finally used it and travelled to Paris for four days. As expected, the trip involved a lot of walking. The days were tiring, but well worth it, with wonderful sightseeing and visits to several museums.

I’ve increased my treadmill run at breakfast time to 2.5 km, while my outdoor distance remains at 5 km. I’m still aiming to reach 10 km by the end of the month.

Photos: To see Notre Dame was amazing

Stunning architecture: The Fondation Luis Vuitton

Classic view: Le Pont Neuf

Very traditional varieté: Moulin Rouge

One up, one down

stats of the week: run 17 km, zwift cycled 45 km, gym 3 h

The situation is still marked by ups and downs. The highlight of the week was my participation in a local New Year’s Eve run. As I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to manage the full 5 km, I started cautiously, but soon found my rhythm and finished in 30 min and 16 sec. I was pleased with this result until the next setback, when my L4 nerve once again caused an increased feeling of tension. However, in the meantime I have been able to return to my routine of running 2 km on the treadmill every morning before breakfast.

As a yearly habit, I am once again taking part in the popular Dry January. This time, my target is to remain alcohol-free until my running distance has increased to 10 km.

By the way, this blog celebrated a jubilee last week: it has now been in existence for 20 years. The very first post dates back to 24 December 2005.

Photo: In the past, I enjoyed running in wintry conditions. Nowadays, I prefer the treadmill because of the risk of falling.

Another little setback

stats of the week: zwift run 6 km, walked 26 km, zwift cycled 52 km, gym 1.5 h

Clearly, last week’s mileage was a little too much. I developed some pain in the groin area and was once again forced to cut back on my training just as it was beginning to improve. In the meantime, winter has arrived here, bringing cold fog and freezing temperatures, which have resulted in icy paths. Today we had to abandon our attempt at a jog and resort to the treadmill. C. has now decided not to take part in the New Year’s Eve race, as she is always afraid of falling.

On Boxing Day, our traditional trail run through the local woods took place as usual. We call it the “Christmas Roast Digestion Run”, and it has been held for more than 25 years. I love it because runners from various towns and clubs come together for a sociable, chatty run with no element of competition.

Once again Herman

stats of the week: run 24 km, zwift cycled 46 km, gym 3 h

I am pleasantly surprised by myself for having logged 24 kilometers of slow jogging this week: including 2 kilometres each morning on the treadmill and two 5K runs, which still involved some walking breaks but were at least completed in under 33 minutes. As a result, I signed up for a New Year’s Eve 5K run, where I will be accompanying C. I still sometimes feel unsteady on my right leg and my performance remains limited, but it feels good to be back out on the road.

On Thursday, we attended another concert by the much-admired Dutch artist Herman van Veen. Over the past 50 years, I estimate that I have been to at least 40 of his concerts, some of them in his home country, the Netherlands. He has a rare gift for making people deeply happy; every time I leave one of his concerts, life seems more reasonable and humane.

Herman is 80 now, and this may have been the last time I have seen him perform. He has been one of the greatest inspirations in my life. Thank you, Herman.

Being patient and wise

stats of the week: treadmill jogged 8 km, walked 15 km, gym 3 h

I received the third and final injection at the L3 vertebra, once again without any effect. The neurologist examined my nerves and concluded that only L4 is affected. This means I could have avoided the three L3 injections, which, incidentally, cost €210 each.

The good news is that the doctor’s prognosis is that the nerve will take some time to recover, but it will recover. In the meantime, I have been able to extend my treadmill intervals to a couple of 1 km runs each.

However, it is clear that I am not yet ready to take part in a race. I must admit that I did consider walk-jogging the 5K at the local Christmas run. In the end, I convinced myself that it would be wiser to take photos instead.