To everyone: my very best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!

And if you need some inspiration, here is a link (although probably only Fran will understand it!):

Marathon Man

...a 52-year-old Belgian man who will be running a marathon every day in 2010. His goal is to promote a healthy lifestyle. Anyone can go and run with him on his first few marathon distances here in Gent, then he will be running all over Europe.

Good luck to us all in achieving our personal goals and see you next year!

Corrida: Official time and TV report!

Our official time for the 8K was 52:59! A little better than I thought!


There was a nice TV news report on the Corrida on our local news - here is the link - you might not understand because it is in Dutch but it is a great way to get an idea of what our city looks like and what the race was like!

Leuven Corrida 2009

Our third time running the Corrida here in Leuven - this year it was chilly with gray skies and a bit of a nasty wind but downtown there was a great atmosphere with all the runners milling about. They even had honest to God real porta potties this year! We got downtown just in time to see the start of the 4 K race - here is a short video of those speedy people:

We were able to watch the 4K winners come in at the finish line before we had to line up for the 8K, which was pretty cool - they were amazingly fast! Just as we were about to start our race, it started to rain a little but luckily it stopped quite soon.

This year's course was a bit different, instead of one 4K loop that we had to do two times, it was one big 8K loop, covering some new parts of town. There were four big hills - two of them cobblestoned - and we had to go down two and up the other two. The cobblestones worried me a bit, since they were very uneven and slick from the rain, so I ran very carefully and even walked up the very steep alley that goes along the Saint Damian Church (he is buried right here in our town). But that was the only bit that I walked the whole race, which I am pretty proud about; for the rest of the race we kept up a nice steady pace and I am quite sure we came in somewhere around 55 minutes, but I will have to check the website for our exact time, because the finish line clock read 93 minutes (they start it at the beginning of the 4K and it just keeps ticking!)

Once we got through the finish chute we got our bottle of wine and a sports drink, which I was dying for, and headed home - a twenty minute walk through town, just the right cool down! All in all, it went very well - even though we missed Joy and Patrice running it with us this time!

Later this afternoon we are meeting friends of ours to go bowling and then they are coming here for chili with all the fixings, which I made yesterday. I hope I am not too stiff to bowl! Have a great Sunday everyone!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all things bright and beautiful

tonight

tomorrow

and all year!

The snowy weather, icy roads, and the storm that is expected to pass over Belgium tonight are keeping us from attending the traditional Christmas Eve dinner with the in-laws, so we have made some last minute preparations to have a cozy evening with just the five of us here.

I did manage, with Felix to keep me company, to get to the gym to run 7 kilometers on the treadmill. It has just been too dangerous to even think about running outside - the sidewalks are a mess and the roads are still very slippery. I also ran 6 on the treadmill on Tuesday and both that and today went well, so I hope that I am well enough prepared for the Corrida on Sunday (if the weather permits us to run).

Hope you all have a very merry Christmas, wherever you are!

Cribs was here!

Watch the video below to see what happened when MTV Cribs came to our backyard!

Let It Snow!

We got a big snow storm on Thursday afternoon and evening, and the next day we woke up to 15 cm of beautiful white snow! My two oldest boys, who only had to go to school for the Christmas breakfast and their report cards, recuperated all the snow we shoveled from the driveway and sidewalk and wheelbarrowed it to the back to make a snow slide:

It is still very cold (-8 C) and very slippery outside, so I won't be doing my usual Sunday run outdoors, that's for sure. I am also going to a Raw Food cooking workshop tomorrow with Linda. I may just end up shifting my run to the treadmill on Monday morning...

Christmas Card Run 2009

Like last year, I decided to run a route so I could deliver some Christmas cards to friends in the neighborhood. But because we are having a cold snap (it was -4 C when I left) I thought I would skip the one person who lives a lot further out, and keep it to about a nice half hour, which is what I was thinking I could stand in this cold!

So all bundled up, with my fluorescent backpack for the cards, I started out. At first, I felt terribly cold, mostly my feet, but as I got going it was fine, I was dressed warm enough. If it weren't for my calf which started to hurt towards the turn around, I think I would have run longer and gotten that last card delivered (I had it with me just in case). I didn't have my ipod with me (didn't think it would feel good to have headphones in my ears with a hat and scarf jammed on them) and it was amazingly quiet and peaceful. This with the gray and frosty surroundings, made for a relaxing winter run of just over 4 kilometers and 30 minutes.

And that last card? I guess it will be going in the mail!

Very Briefly

Just a very quick post, as I have to leave soon to pick up my son from school...went to the gym this morning and ran 34 minutes on the treadmill and my calf was okay. It still feels tight but not terrible like yesterday. It might have been the extreme cold yesterday and not really being warmed up. Today I was well warmed up in spite of the cold temps - biked to school and to the gym - and of course, it was nice and toasty warm at the gym. I kept the pace nice and easy and stretched it out very thoroughly afterwards. And I'm using my Oxyflex, Mom!

Just looked online at the Corrida course - instead of repeating one 4K loop twice this year, there is one big loop for the 8K. There are going to be a couple of mean hills on it, and it looks long - but it will be fun to run in some other parts of Leuven we've never run in before. Just hope the weather is decent!

Congratulations Jenny!

I've been wondering all day...and I just found out that Jenny ran a 3:41 time in her marathon today in Dallas - WOW, I am impressed and proud! Great job, Jenny!

By the look of the pictures it was misty in Dallas but Jenny was in shorts and a tank so it can't have been that cold. By contrast, here it was freezing, but sunny. We got out to the lake but had to cut our run a bit shorter than we wanted when I got a killer leg cramp in my left calf. With the Corrida in just two weeks I am a little worried. I must make sure I stretch enough and run enough easy mileage the next 13 days, and hopefully it will be okay.

Just another day at the gym...

No, I didn't trip and fall! Just went and did a Matt Roberts workout and spoke to three of my gym friends. Those of us who are moms are busy being supportive for our kids in secondary school who have exams right now, and going to the gym in the morning before they come home at noon is about the only down time we get. You would think you would be able to get a lot done hanging out at home with studious kids but for some strange reason you just don't. I'm glad I got my Christmas cards done and a translation I promised to do, but I wouldn't want anyone to see how the house looks right now...

So maybe I should have stayed home this morning to clean but it felt much better to run, lift some weights and get on the elliptical. Oh yeah, and commisserate with my gym friends. No one to talk to when you stay at home and clean, is there?

Lost & Found

Was anyone else intrigued by the article in the latest Runner's World about the man who finds all that money on his runs? I have never found any cash on my runs, I think Belgians are too careful with their money to leave it lying around on the street, but today I for some reason (probably that article) started paying attention to what was on the ground. Besides a lot of trash, dog poo and beer cans, I also saw:

• half a cucumber wrapped in plastic
• a child's blue mitten
• a black haired wig
• a slice of salami

Go figure. I did have a great run actually, out and back to Carpetland, which is just shy of 7 km. My first run outside since coming back from California, but today the weather is just about as perfect as you can get here in the winter: 12° celsius (which actually feels just right once you get going), not too windy, not too rainy (just a few drops here and there). The only thing missing was some sunshine. It was actually a great 50 minutes and now I feel good about doing the Corrida later this month, it should go fine.

Happy Sunday!

Interested?

If you are interested in seeing what the workshops I do with my friend Linda are like, take a peek at our blog: http://natuurlijkevenwicht.blogspot.com/ We took some pictures this time, and as you can see, it was a lot of fun! We made four recipes with the group, the energy bars (I shared that recipe here), waffles with dried apricots and pumpkin, corn muffins with sweet potato, and healthy brownies. The participants also went home with a 22 page recipe and information booklet, and all the extra goodies.

Now it's time to coddle my children since they will all three be studying for exams this weekend. I am planning to make some date bars (a new recipe I got from my mom which I plan to healthy up a bit - if it turns out good I will share it with you).

Ups and downs

Lily just left a comment that she wished she could tap into my energy - she was feeling the winter doldrums. Honestly, today, I wish I could too! My energy really flows with ups and downs, I have always wished I could have a more consistent pattern of energy. But it is not to be, and I have to learn to accept it and go with my own personal energy flow, and not feel too bummed on those inevitable days when I just don't have it.

Yesterday was our last workshop, in the morning, and by the time it was done, I was wiped. We ended up doing 5 workshops for a total of about 50 participants, and they all went really well. But it is amazingly draining. So I didn't do very much the rest of the day, except for the usual running of the house and taking care of the kids. This morning I had to go do an errand at the telephone office, which means waiting in line for a long time, getting a long explanantion about how to get wireless internet installed in our home, biking home with a big heavy box full of modems and cables (you should have seen me balancing it!), and then opening the box to find the lady never mentioned that if you have an alarm (we do) that the technicians have to come and do the installation for you. So then I had to phone and was told they will call me to make an appointment, next week sometime.

And honestly, every last drop of energy I still had is now gone!

But tomorrow is another day, and I plan to go to Zumba class (and hopefully NOT fall on my butt) and be a bit perkier than today.

PS: Kilax is giving away a signed copy of Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer at her blog - this is a book I really want to read, and hopefully go to see the author speak at a MO lecture in Gent in January. Check it out!